Sweet Protection enlists help of F1 engineer for Redeemer time trial helmet

Big helmets are here to stay

By Simon von Bromley

Published: Tuesday, 07 March 2023 at 12:00 am

Sweet Protection has announced the Redeemer 2Vi MIPS time trial helmet, which is designed to integrate with the rider’s upper body and shoulders for a reduction in aerodynamic drag.

After teasing it at the Volta ao Algarve, and during today’s team time trial in Paris-Nice, the Redeemer 2Vi MIPS has been officially revealed, along with details of its design process.

According to the Norwegian brand, the Redeemer 2Vi MIPS was designed in conjunction with the Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (which it sponsors) and Kyle Forster, an aerodynamics expert who has previously worked at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.

As noted when the helmet was first spotted, the Redeemer 2Vi MIPS appears to take inspiration from the POC Tempor – a time trial helmet which, though currently in vogue, was released over a decade ago.

It’s not just a Tempor imitation, though, because Sweet Protection has added some unique features to the Redeemer 2Vi MIPS, which are claimed to reduce drag even further.

After grabbing headlines at last year’s Tour de France, oversized and funkily shaped time trial helmets appear to be cementing their place at the pointy end of the sport.

Back to the future

The concept of shaping a helmet to integrate with the rider’s upper body isn’t a new idea.

Aside from the POC Tempor, speed skiing helmets have taken this idea to greater extremes for many years, after all.

It’s still somewhat rare to see in cycling though, where teardrop-shaped time trial helmets (in various shapes and sizes) have dominated in recent years.

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The Redeemer 2Vi MIPS uses outwashing shoulder edges to manage airflow around the rider’s shoulders.
Sweet Protection

As suspected, the Redeemer 2Vi MIPS is designed to integrate with the rider’s upper body.

The Redeemer 2Vi MIPS is designed to reduce the overall aerodynamic drag of the rider by more effectively managing the airflow over their torso.

Forster says the width of the ‘outwashing’ edges have been optimised to account for the differing widths of rider’s shoulders.

Sweet Protection has produced two sizes of the helmet, which vary in size in this area, one for smaller riders with narrower shoulders, and a larger one for bigger riders with broader shoulders (such as BikeRadar’s senior technical editor, Ashley Quinlan).

As expected (given it has already been used in the WorldTour), the helmet is UCI approved, meaning the larger size fits within the dimensions specified by the recent update to the UCI’s technical regulations.

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The Redeemer 2Vi will be available in two sizes to suit riders of varying shoulder widths (and head sizes).
Sweet Protection

Forster says the central hole on the forehead is a ‘Laminar Flow Bypass Duct’, which is claimed to direct airflow through two internal channels within the helmet.

Instead of cooling the rider, though (as happens with most helmets), Sweet Protection says this airflow is accelerated through the helmet towards exit slots at the rear edge.

This then flows over the rider’s shoulders, supposedly reducing the rider’s overall drag.

Forster says this feature also helps reduce the local air pressure at the front of the helmet, which also reduces aerodynamic drag.

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This isn’t a vent, it’s a Laminar Flow Bypass Duct.
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Sweet Protection says air is drawn through the two channels on either side of the duct and accelerated through the helmet internals.
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The rear of the helmet is designed to integrate cleanly with a rider’s back.
Sweet Protection

According to Casper von Folsach, performance coach at Uno-X Pro Cycling Team, quoting watt savings at certain speeds is “cumbersome” because of the variations in testing protocols and scenarios among manufacturers and facilities.

Having been involved with the benchmarking process versus competitors’ helmets, though, Casper says “without a doubt this is the helmet I would prefer our team to be riding”.

Design echoes

Sweet Protection says Søren Wærenskjold, the 2022 U23 individual time trial World Champion (who rides for Uno-X), was 3D-scanned and used as a model for the new helmet in CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics – essentially a virtual wind tunnel).

Wind tunnel tests were then performed with Wærenskjold and Joss Lowden, the former Women’s UCI Hour Record holder and current Uno-X team rider, at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub wind tunnel.

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The Redeemer 2Vi MIPS was developed using a 3D scan of Søren Wærenskjold, the 2022 U23 individual time trial world champion.
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Wærenskjold was also used for testing prototypes at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub wind tunnel.
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Sweet Protection tested a number of prototypes before settling on a final design.
Sweet Protection

Notably, this echoes the design process of the POC Tempor, which was designed around 2008 Olympic time trial silver medalist Gustav Erik Larsson.

The result of this design process (which focused on a single rider and their specific riding position) was a helmet that is reportedly more sensitive to a rider’s head position compared to more traditional designs.

Our tester noted it was crucial to use a low head position to experience the benefits of the Tempor’s design, for example.

Could Sweet Protection’s Redeemer 2Vi MIPS display similar characteristics?

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Former Women’s UCI Hour Record holder, Joss Lowden, tested prototypes of the Redeemer 2Vi helmet to ensure it worked across athlete’s of differing shapes and sizes.
Sweet Protection
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Compared to Wærenskjold, Lowden has extremely narrow shoulders.
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Sweet Protection eventually settled on making the same helmet in two different sizes to cover riders with different shoulder widths.
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Forster says the wind tunnel tests confirmed the helmet also performed well on Lowden, as well as Wærenskjold (the two have very different body shapes and riding positions), showing it isn’t optimised for only one rider and position.

He also said the Redeemer 2Vi MIPS has been optimised to retain its performance with varying equipment and is “tolerant to various rider positions” and head angles.

Sweet Protection’s Redeemer 2Vi MIPS specification and availability

The Redeemer 2Vi MIPS uses a multi-layer design that is said to give a “low stack height”, in order to reduce the helmet’s frontal area for better aerodynamic efficiency.

Sweet Protection’s Redeemer 2Vi MIPS will be available to buy in “autumn 2023”, in (Darth Vader) black or (Storm Trooper) white. It appears the yellow version worn by Uno-X is team-issue only for now.

Pricing is yet to be confirmed, but is set to be in the region of €450.

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The yellow version appears to be pro-only for the time being.
Sweet Protection / Szymon Gruchalski

In terms of weight, a size large / extra-large (59-61cm) helmet is 490g including a visor, whereas a small / medium (53-58cm) plus visor is set to weigh around 350g.

As the name suggests, the Redeemer 2Vi MIPS contains a MIPS Air Node rotational impact liner.