ADELAIDE, Australia (BRAIN) — Kask has unveiled its latest aero road helmet model, the Utopia, at the Santos Tour Down Under race here this week. The helmet is being used by Team Sky, which helped develop it.
The company said the Utopia offers the latest technology in aerodynamics and ventilation.
Ylenia Battistello, Kask's cycling brand manager, said, "We are excited to extend our road helmet range and continue to push the boundaries even further with Utopia. We are really grateful to have such talented athletes on hand to test our products at the highest level, and have access to such hi-tech facilities in order to ensure design perfection."
Carsten Jeppesen, Team Sky's head of technical operations and commercial, said, "When it comes to aerodynamics there is little that is more important than the helmet, but it's not just about aerodynamics – the safety of our riders is our first priority, and Kask share this philosophy. In addition to this our riders need comfort, breathability, temperature management and style, all of which to contribute towards optimizing performance. Working with Kask on the development of the Utopia has enabled us to hone in on many of these areas to produce a fully tested, well-rounded helmet, which proves to be a great addition to the versatile Kask range."
To develop the Utopia, Kask tested 10 of the best road aero helmets on the market in the wind tunnel, and created a 3D scan for a computational fluid dynamics simulation. The helmets were tested at various speeds and yaw angles to reflect cross winds. At the end of the test, the drag data of Utopia versus the best competitor helmet resulted in a saving of up to 6 watts when riding at 50kph, the company said.
Utopia uses a breathable and quick-dry padding, offering a 5 millimeter layer of fast-wicking material called Resistex that takes moisture away from the rider's head and moves it to the helmet's outer shell.
The Utopia weighs 235 grams in a size medium. It uses Kask's Octo Fit adjustment system. It will be available in three sizes. Pricing information will be available in about a month and the helmet will be available at retail in the second half of 2018.
