Bontrager WaveCel – Did Trek Just Revolutionize Safety Helmet Design?

Being a fan of all things two-wheels, we noticed a new safety helmet design introduced by Trek Bicycles’ Bontrager division. The new helmets are known as WaveCel, and they incorporate a new structure that, according to Trek, is “up to 48x more effective in preventing concussions caused by common cycling accidents.”

These screenshots from the Trek website, as well as the two videos below, provide more detail, but it is worth noting that at least some of Trek’s claims relate to the performance of WaveCel versus EPS foam helmet technology, rather than some differing helmet designs, such as MIPS.

Concussions are big news these days in all sorts of sports and transportation activities. American football has created most of the concussion-related headlines, but this WaveCel technology looks like it could possibly be applied not just to bicycle helmets, but to other sporting activities, including motorcycle helmets, as well.

Bicycles typically travel at lower speeds than motorcycles, of course, but we understand that professional Trek road cyclists, including those who race the Tour de France, and decend the Alps and the Pyrenees at speeds exceeding 60 mph, will be protected by WaveCel helmets. Testing at Virginia Tech has resulted in very high ratings for the protection offered by WaveCel helmets.