Smith Optics announced today its expansion into the bicycle helmet market.The brand will unveil its debut collection of bicycle helmets at the upcoming Interbike 2013 tradeshow September 18-20 with testing samples available at the OutDoor Demo at Bootleg Canyon the preceding two days of the show.
“For years our customers have asked us to create bicycle helmets and we’ve been reluctant to do so because of the barriers to entry in the category,” said Blair Clark Sr. VP of Sales & Marketing.
According to Clark, 90% of the bicycle helmet market in the United States is dominated by four brands and all of the brands share a common material EPS (expanded polystyrene) as the foundation of the helmet design for impact absorption. While developing winter sports helmet, Smith discovered Koroyd, a patented tubular core material.
“Not only is Koroyd a better impact absorption solution than EPS, but also an impact absorption material that provides ventilation, ideal for the bike market,” said Clark. “What our product development team has done for bike helmets will disrupt the helmet industry in the same way that EPS replaced leather and foam on bike helmets from the ’70s.”
Leading the launch is the new FOREFRONT (MSRP $220), created to provide all-mountain protection with road-race weight. The Aerocore construction of the FOREFRONT allows riders ventilated protection with up to a 30% improvement over standard EPS impact properties. The patented tubular core structure of the Koroyd material combines with EPS to create a system of materials designed to surpass current standards at low and high speeds, says the company.
Weighing in at 285g, the FOREFRONT helmet features Smith’s new VaporFit adjustable fit system, integrated camera and light mounting area, and an additional helmet goggle retention strap.
“As a product-driven brand, it’s our goal to create innovations that improve the user’s experience. Our Aerocore application allows us to reduce volume and weight while increasing ventilation and impact protection. We believe the new FOREFRONT all-mountain helmet showcases exactly what Smith is all about: redefining what riders should expect from their products,” said Eric Carlson, VP of Product and Design.
Smith bicycle helmets will be available at North American retailers in Spring 2014. The 2014 Smith bicycle helmet line consists of three models; the FOREFRONT $220 MSRP, MAZE $80 MSRP, and HOLT $50 MSRP.
