A Recyclable Bike Helmet!

Imagine that you want to use the Divvy bike share but don't have a helmet. Do you take a chance and ride without a helmet, hoping you don't fall or have an accident? With the Kranium bike share helmet that will no longer be ​an issue. This enterprising company has come up with a way to offer low-cost ($5-$8) helmets on-location via a vending machine.

I spoke with Kranium CEO, Robert Miller at the Shared Use Mobility Conference in Chicago. He shared how his company is bringing this lighter, safer, low-cost helmet to market. 

Kranium cardboard core may completely alter the way bike helmets are purchased.

Tell us about the helmet.
It has a card-board core technology that is honey-combed in shape with pieces fitter together strategically to create a very light-weight shell. It offers about a 30% safety margin over the traditional hard plastic helmets. 

Our tests have shown with a lightweight card-board insert you can bring the g-force below 100: effectively producing a safer and lighter bike helmet.

We see an opportunity in the bike share market since there is no helmet solution on-site. Today, a rider needs to plan ahead and carry a helmet with them. We felt this technology would work well to provide a striped down helmet that was completely green. The helmet we are designing for ride-share is 100% recyclable. You can throw it away after a single ride-share, or continue to use the helmet for six months up to a year. 

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When will  you bring these helmets to market? 
To date we have designed and built an inventory of various-sized helmet stations. We will be ready to go in early 2016 in placing the dispensing equipment in the field. Additionally, in 2016 the engineering and packaging of the helmets themselves will be completed so we can introduce them into the helmet stations.

How much will the helmets cost?
We believe it will be possible to offer the helmets for $5-$8. 

Any plans to offer these in Chicago?
Chicago is in our plans. We have spoken with numerous ride share operators including Divvy. We have been getting a very positive reception for this idea.

Check Out Robert's advice to Bike Commuters