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  • Hacker News
  • While this is cool, I’m really surprised that eyeglass or sunglasses manufacturers haven’t doubled down on simple HUDs. In swimming there are the FORM goggles [0], but everything in the sunglasses space is focused on voice and cameras (looking at you Meta).

    I really just want a basic, simple HUD that can display speed, distance, pace, HR from other sources. I don’t care about it being standalone, I already have a bike computer, phone, and watch.

    - [0] - https://www.formswim.com/products/smart-swim-2-lt-goggles

    by oflannabhra
  • As someone who commutes in traffic daily, this is not what I need or want. First up, it looks heavy and badly-ventilated, and then there's the potential for distracting info blocking my view of the actual road in front of me. Even if it was really good info (which would take really good sensors, plus a lot of compute to cram onboard), I am skeptical it'd be better than, you know, paying attention to your surroundings. I like ADAS functionality in modern cars just fine, but it seems like a stretch to try and bring it to bikes. What we all could use is some kind of ad hoc network between all road users, so the car that was thinking about turning in front of me could ping my helmet / bike and understand that it should wait and turn behind me instead.
    by blacksmith_tb
  • I get the impression that this is not where it’s aimed.
    by bdavbdav
  • What information would your bike send to the car in this example that would help?

    We're closer to having lidar in all new cars than this mesh network, so "There's a bike behind you travelling approximately X speed" is something the car already knows. "The cyclist requested you not to turn in front of him" - why would anyone ever send anything else?

    Perhaps the car can send you a message instead "I'm going to cut you off and there's nothing you can do about it" but even if that might actually improve safety I don't think it's the change you'd want to see.

    by dmurray
  • I also did many miles commuting and riding in the city. A key, absolute rule after too many close calls was to never cross in front of a car about to enter or cross-over the road I was on unless I could see the driver looking at me. No matter how clear my right-of-way was or how obvious I thought I was. One close call about every 10K miles or so was enough for me to realize only purely defensive riding in the city would keep me uninjured (or worse). Sure a lot of riders rail at bad drivers, but that doesn't help in the end if you get t-boned. Hope this helmet helps with that.
    by needSomeCoffee
  • I feel like this would work better if it were cheap enough to serve Uber Eats delivery workers instead of pro riders.
    by airstrike
  • I’m not sure they need any more distractions
    by bdavbdav
  • The title is a bit confusing imho, it seems it fits more for time trialing rather than general road riding? I can't see no vents whatsoever, my incredibly sweaty noggin would soak tons of sweat into that thing
    by Gualdrapo
  • It's not intended to be a real helmet. It's a prototype / marketing exercise. It is inevitably too expensive and/or heavy to be a practical helmet.
    by loeg
  • > Its primary function – setting it apart from other eyewear data systems – is to provide instantly visible alerts about the behaviour other road users (e.g. such as brake light activation, *crash detection*, etc)

    Just what I need, when a car nearby me crashes into a physical object, my vizor helmet is shouting "Bonzai!!!" with lighting bolts everywhere.

    by foo12bar
  • Kind of surprising this stuff still is little more than a concept. 12 years after google launched and scrapped it's glasses there are still no well established alternatives for cycling, which is such an obvious market. Everyone is wearing glasses, everyone has a computer mounted to their handlebar, let's integrate them together already.
    by KeplerBoy
  • That's a solution in search of a problem that does not exist. This would, at best, be useful for someone doing a time trial. I don't see road racers using it in any other context.
    by freejazz
  • And everyone will bully you on the group ride if you show up with this.
    by this_user
  • With UCI ruling on bike computer sizes in the name of reducing rider distractions, I bet that HUD glasses would be outlawed with post hast if they became a thing in the pro peloton.
    by tokai
  • There are HUD glasses for triathletes, and have been for years. That's why the ANT+ "extended display" profile exists. These HUD glasses have been on the market for at least 15 years. UCI rules prohibit them, which is why they are marketed to triathletes.
    by jeffbee
  • It might make more sense to put this in the glasses than attached to the helmet, which is ultimately a consumable. But I basically agree with sibling comment that no one really wants this. (I race bikes and know a lot of other racers.)
    by loeg
  • I'm sure I'm just being a crotchety old graybeard but I ride my bikes to get away from this crap. I do use Strava to track my rides on my watch but I don't even look at it until the ride is over.
    by ethagnawl
  • I'm sure I'm just being a crotchety old graybeard but I ride my bikes to get away from this crap.

    Don't apologize for being a human being. The world needs more of them.

    by reaperducer
  • I don't have strava or anything. I don't even know how long my rides are, my best times, my altitude. I just go for a ride; successfully capturing the exact feeling of riding since I was a teenager.
    by mc3301
  • I'm not sure who this is for. It's a time trial style helmet, but isn't very useful for time trialing. And it's not a commuter helmet. And it's not a road riding helmet, as it has no breathability. Is this a defensive patent thing?
    by mvkel
  • it's just a thing to show off in their trade show booth.

    maybe there will be some engineer on the project who learns something useful while working on this that can be applied to some actual project, but this is pretty clearly not an actual product that they intend to sell in anything more than single-digit quantities

    by notatoad
  • Note, they say it is based on their existing helmet[1].

    [1]: https://www.canyon.com/en-de/clothing/helmets/canyon-cfr/can...

    by merelysounds
  • Oh no I forgot to charge my helmet.

    Also, helmets are meant to be replaced every couple of years as the materials deteriorate (UV/heat) and the protection dissipates.

    As we like to say, dentist helmet.

    by nntwozz
  • I’m so done with technology’s “answer to a question nobody asked.” Like bluetooth derailleurs. Utter garbage. The only down side is that this wave of technocrap wipes out shelf space for analog cyclists. Hard enough to find a decent triple front derailleur, let alone 48-spoke hubs with a cartridge. Now this crap.
    by supertroop
  • > UV

    How can I get people to stop laughing at me for tinfoiling my helmet?

    by Scoundreller
  • https://www.consumerreports.org/health/bike-helmets/when-you...

    Not necessarily:

    But if you really like your old helmet—and it’s in good condition—one scientific study tested older helmets and showed that holding on to one for longer won’t necessarily put you at significant risk. Randy Swart, executive director of the nonprofit Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute and former vice chair of the helmet and headgear subcommittee for ASTM International, a nonprofit, voluntary standards-setting organization, says that his own helmet is “much older than that,” though he adds that there may be other good reasons to get a new helmet, such as more protective technology included in some newer models.

    by neves
  • To anyone who wants to ride more safely I cannot recommend enough this simple $20 mirror which I find so valuable that I buy extra and hand them out to friends and strangers to help keep them safer. A mirror mounted on your glasses or a similar mirror affixed to your helmet (close to your eyes and mounted on your head) allows for a large field of view that you can easily steer to see behind you.

    I ride on the streets of Oakland every single day and situational awareness is critical. The single biggest thing you can do for safety is watch each car as it approaches behind you for its speed and trajectory. Anyone approaching too close or too fast is a bad sign and with a mirror you can more easily avoid them.

    These are also available on Amazon and I am not in any way affiliated I just think they’re good life saving technology:

    https://takealookactive.com/

    by SequoiaHope
  • Radars do this better. They can warn you from much further away and do not require for you to keep an eye out - there’s audible cues.
    by belZaah
  • This looks like a choice is a serious eye injury if you roll is something you're looking for. Why not buy a handlebar mirror like this one https://cateye.com/intl/products/accessories/BM-45/ I have one on each of my bikes, road/gavel/fitness. Dirt cheap, gives very good rear visibility and very compact size.
    by bboozzoo
  • I’ll second this, it’s absolutely a game changer. I’ve used handlebar mounted mirrors and the like but I’ll never willingly go back.

    I tend to prefer helmet mounted and I glue them on which isn’t my favorite thing to do on a new helmet. It’s also a bit frustrating when you find yourself cycling in a country that drives on the opposite side.

    I do find that on very long tours the week following I’m looking where I’d expect the mirror to be when I want to look behind me.

    by EsotericAlgo