Sea Otter is here, and time to share all of the news we have from the event. We’ll be posting a bunch of articles covering the brands we had a chance to check in with from the event.
Twiceme
First off is Twiceme, a brand that offers NFC safety systems that are well known on the worksite, and continues to expand into sporting equipment. They recently announced collaborations with both Rudy Project and FidLock to start using their safety system in their products. Think of Twiceme as your emergency contact when something happens. In the event of an emergency, responders can hold their phone up to the logo on the helmet, and the embedded NFC chip can share the emergency data that you upload to it. The companion app allows you to upload/change your data, check that everything is working correctly with the chip, alert emergency services, and immobility alert if you are still for too long, a get back timer to alert your contacts if you are not back in time and the ability to share your location with others.
Twiceme is already used in some helmets from Oackley and POC, but they recently began a partnership that will see them add select Rudy Project helmets and Fidlock buckles. For Rudy Project, Twiceme chips will be added to Terraform and Terraform Pro mountain helmets. Both models will have the Twiceme logo on the back of the helmet, where the chip is embedded inside.
For Fidlock, the chip will be added to their magnetic-mechanical buckle system, allowing brands to quickly and easily add the Twiceme NFC chip to their helmet. A logo on the bottom of the buckle shows it it equipped, with a note saying to tap your phone to get the info. With FidLock buckles used in a wide range of helmets across the industry, you’ll start to see more and more helmets available with the technology.
Sweet Protection
Norwegian brand Sweet Protection their new Tucker III 2Vi MIPS helmet, along with the rest of their product line at the show. If you didn’t know, Sweet’s roots actually come from the skateboarding world, but we’ll save that story for an upcoming product review.
The Tucker III 2Vi MIPS is the helmet you will want for when you need to go fast. While the Falconer has plates that you can use to cover the vents, the Tucker has just three main vents in the front, and two small vents closer to the side that also act as your docking ports for your sunglasses. And when absolute speed is needed, there are snap on covers for the eyeglass dock vents.0
These front vents and internal channels are optimized for speed, while still providing plenty of ventilation to force air through and push the hot air out the back exhaust ports. All of this adds up to a 10W savings over the Falconer, and 150% more air through the helmet when compared to the previous Tucker, along with a 10% savings in weight.
Inside, it uses Sweet’s 2Vi fit system and a MIPS Air Node Safety System to customize the fit and add protection from rotational forces in the event of a crash.
We have the new Tucker in for review, so watch for that article coming soon.
Fidlock
We talked about Fidlock earlier for Twiceme, so it would be a great time to mention what they do.
Fidlock has been around in cycling for a while now. Where I first remember them was their bottles and mounts. Instead of a cage you have to slide your bottles in and out of, there is a small magnetic mount on the frame that guides your bottle in, and then it twists in place for a mechanical hold. To get your bottle out, just twist and pull. It’s stronger than a pure magnetic mount, and easier to use, especially in tight frames, than traditional bottle cages.
As I mentioned above, Fidlock also makes buckles that are used in helmets and bags. These buckles work the same way, the magnets guide it in, and the two parts slide together and lock in place. These are not new, but are really nice, especially when you are trying to get your helmet on quickly, or while wearing gloves.
The big news is the partnership with Twiceme, but we have some items coming in for review, so watch for those reviews coming soon.
KOM Cycling
Last, but not least for this round is KOM Cycling. The Michigan based accessory brand continues to add more mounting options to their lineup.
The new Saddle Rail Mount for cycling radars offers another option for mounting rear facing accessories. The mount attaches to your saddle rails and has inserts for round aluminum or oval carbon rails to help protect them and keep the mount locked in place. The mount extends behind and below the saddle, and is adjustable to place the radar exactly where it needs to be. A quarter turn mount locks your device right where it needs to be.
The new mount is compatible with the Garmin Varia and Wahoo Trackr radars and other devices that use the same mount.
Based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Scott joined Bike World News as the Cyclocross Editor in 2012 before taking over as Tech Editor in 2016. He has also worked as a photographer for various pro teams and shoot races along the east coast of the US, including the 2012 US MTB National Championships, 2013 UCI Cyclocross World Championships, and 2016 UCI Road World Championships. Scott has a passion for performance and technology, with 35 years of riding and mechanic experience. He also enjoys soccer, running, teaching group fitness classes, and is the founder of Lancaster Beard Company.
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