Slipping via the wind on the opening Group Time Trial of the Veulta Femenina this week on the heads of the EF Training-TIBCO-SVB ladies, POC has a brand new aerodynamic TT helmet known as the Procen. And whereas POC already had a few aero time trial helmets, this new POC Procen claims to ship the identical low drag with considerably boosted cooling airflow so racers can push more durable and sooner of their races in opposition to the clock…
POC Procen cool-vented time trial racing helmet
Working along with each the ladies’s and males’s EF Professional Biking groups, POC got down to make an aerodynamic time trial helmet that was not solely sooner within the wind, but additionally let the racers push sooner. Their reverse duck-billed swoopy Tempor already maximized aerodynamics for time trialists who may preserve a deep tuck. And the snub-tailed Cerebel already offered low aero drag for riders who moved their heads round extra as they pedal.
However what the professional athletes stated they wanted was a cooler-running TT helmet, so they may hold pushing exhausting deeper into lengthy TTs and races within the warmth of the summer time.
Venturi-effect TT helmet air flow
So POC leaned again on the Venturi-effect air flow that gave their long-running Ventral aero highway helmet its identify, and got down to adapt it to a vented TT lid. Profiting from this identical precept the place a bubble of high-pressure air varieties entrance & heart at the forefront of the helmet (see that pink strain hotspot, above), the brand new POC Procen helmet opens up three forward-facing vents there to permit the air in, lowering the height aerodynamic strain on the entrance of the helmet.
By then channeling that fast-moving, high-pressure air via inner channels and over the rider’s head, the Procen reduces frontal drag, cools the rider, and creates a turbulent eddy-flow of air in the back of the helmet (in blue-green, above). Paired with a pointy trailing edge design, that in the end smooths laminar airflow from the surface of the helmet over the rider’s shoulders and again.
Win, win, win.
The result’s then diminished aerodynamic drag on the helmet, improved airflow over the rider, and improved rider cooling.
“We already knew that with the Tempor and Cerebel we’ve got a number of the quickest time-trial helmets in biking. With the crew, we introduced our mixed expertise collectively and dug into our wealth of CFD information and proof to research the exact wants of efficiency and elite cyclists, particularly easy methods to handle warmth. Our goal with the Procen was to take care of the velocity and aerodynamic benefit of the Tempor and Cerebel and add a layer of efficiency via enhanced warmth administration, permitting riders to be optimized aerodynamically, use their velocity for cooling, and be capable of maintain peak efforts for longer.”
– Magnus Gustavsson, POC Director of exhausting items
Tech Particulars
The helmet’s built-in visor is one other distinctive ingredient of the Procen, utilizing POC’s Readability lens tech for nice visibility and quick temples like common sun shades to carry it in place. This visor/lens has an attention-grabbing 2-position mount that lets the rider pull it ahead 10mm away from the helmet through a small central pull-tab, in order that air flows across the lens and it gained’t fog up as you look forward to the TT to start on the high of the beginning ramp. You may as well transfer the lens out mid-race for further airflow, pull it off if water or mud obscure your imaginative and prescient, and it’s designed to interrupt away in a crash for security.
A lot of what appears to make the Procen TT helmet work is hidden from view inside that bulbous polycarbonate shell – most notably the important thing air flow channels via the EPS foam that transfer air easily within the entrance, over the pinnacle, and out the wide-open exhaust port within the again. What we do know is that the rear cowl of the helmet is made of soppy EVA foam in order that it may possibly comfortably relaxation in opposition to the rider’s neck & shoulders, and that it makes use of a light-weight & easy retention system with a basic buckle to remain in place, with “whole-head adjustment” to appropriately place the lid for every rider.
No phrase but on a claimed weight, however the POC Procen is EN 1078, CPSC, & AS/NZS 2063 licensed for international use in racing.
POC Procen TT helmet – Pricing & availability
The brand new Procen time trial helmet is available in only one Medium dimension, nevertheless it’s a fairly big selection becoming head from 54-60cm thanks to numerous thickness pads to fine-tune the match. The brand new POC Procen sells for $400 / 400€ making it their most costly helmet but, formally debuting this week – provided in Hydrogen white or Uranium black matte.
However it gained’t really be out there to customers till September 2023.
