Getting a helmet that fits and is comfortable can be difficult, particularly if you have an unusually shaped head. But start-up Hexr has a solution, which was on show at the Rouleur Classic bike show yesterday.
Hexr uses a scanning app with a camera attached to an iPad to make a 3D scan of your head. It only takes a few seconds to move around your head and Hexo emails you a link to its 3D scanned data.
You can then order a Hexr helmet to fit exactly to your head.
3D scanning software is used to image your head shape and dimensions
That’s made using 3D printing of a hexagonal honeycomb cell inner shell. Hexr says that its structure is 68% better at controlling impact forces than a conventional polystyrene foam helmet, as each cell can buckle and bend under impact and interacts with adjacent cells to dissipate energy.
According to Hexr’s founder, Jamie Cook: “Cellular structures have the highest crush strength to weight ratio. That’s a great mechanical property when you’re trying to make a bicycle helmet - which needs to be both safe and lightweight.” Cook says that it’s taken five years and 3200 tests to develop the Hexr helmet.
Matrix of the Hexo helmet is 3D printed to fit your head
The Hexr helmet’s matrix is made of polyamide 11, which is renewable and derived from castor oil. Another advantage of the material is that it conducts heat eight times better than polystyrene foam.
The protective structure is wrapped in an aero shell, which Hexr says is seven seconds faster over 40km than a Giro Aether or Kask Protone helmet. There are channels to move cooling air under the surface of the shell and vent heat. Hexr claims a weight of less than 250g for an average sized helmet.
Hexr claims its shell is 7 seconds faster than a Giro Aether or a Kask Protone
Hexr offers customisation on its helmet too, with the option of different shell colours and engraving. For more details, see Hexr’s website.
Hexr pitches its helmet at the top end of the helmet price range, with a price of £349. You can reserve your helmet now with a £50 deposit and arrange your head scan, which for now takes place around London, although it’s planned to branch out UK-wide. Delivery is scheduled to start in March 2019.
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Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.
He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.
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