Push The Pedal

Being protected… not being protected from accidents can turn our lives into a nightmare. Electric shock, fire, minor home accidents, traffic accidents, travel accidents and thousands more. There are many dramas around us due to accidents. What about Sunday outings? Especially the bicycle trips that we enjoy at all ages that we love very much… For some, the bicycle is a means of transportation beyond the trip !!!

Until now reserved for market trips or experienced athletes, the bike is currently booming, especially in urban areas. The cycling craze, which offers an alternative to polluting transport and an opportunity to practice a health-beneficial sport activity, is spreading and growing due to the boom in electric powered bicycles. Although they only account for 5% of road deaths, cyclists are among the most vulnerable means of transport. While the head is protected by helmets, the chest parts of the body that are most struck account for 40% of particularly serious injuries. Faced with these obvious safety concerns, the French company Helite, specializing in non-automotive airbag technologies, decided to launch B'Safe, the first airbag vest for cyclists to protect themselves in the event of a fall or accident.

Much like the model designed for motorcyclists, the system uses an array of sensors that detect shocks and analyze the cyclist's movements in real time. When the rider gets on the bike, he runs his vest. This triggers two sensors that communicate with each other via wireless connection: the first is on the vest, the second is attached to the saddle. These sensors detect unusual shocks and movements that are synonymous with an accident or a fall. The invisible cushions built into the vest inflate in 80 milliseconds to provide the best protection before impact and absorb 90% of the shock when the rider hits the ground.

"We have a vest containing two airbags," said Helite's founder Gérard Thevenot. In the event of an accident, the airbags inflate automatically to protect the spine and anterior region, the chest, abdomen and neck.

The vest is made from a polyester fabric and looks like a classic cycling vest. Available in black or yellow, equipped with reflective stripes making it highly visible at night. It is waterproof using polyurethane film. Of course the Helite B'Safe vest is reusable, only the CO2 cartridge used to inflate the pads needs to be changed after each activation. Available in France since July and in the rest of Europe since September, the B'Safe vest looks set to spread quickly for safe cycling. Of course, our biggest wish is that the bicycle paths become more widespread.