Forget steel, aluminium, titanium, carbon fibre...

[Elliot M]

And even bamboo.

The latest thing is apparently seatposts made of basalt. Which is rock out of a volcano.

http://www.canyon.com/_en/technology/vcls_post.html

[Will]

I suspect we may see a new materials war erupt...

[Elliot M]

[Alex S]

Oh that seatpost is going to be really safe if its made by the Canyon I'm thinking of...

These helmets are made to withstand collisions of up to 12MPH!!!

[img]http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/images/canyon_cruz.JPG[/img]

EDIT: its a shame this photo doesn't show the cellotape that holds the plastic top on.

[Alex S]

Their sales pitch says that basalt is 50% more flexy than carbon fibre under a 50kg weight, which means "more comfort and efficiency"

What it doesn't tell you, however, is how much more likely it is to snap under load. Or how it becomes brittle with age, etc etc.

Interesting find though

[Mike I]

[quote]First and foremost, it's important that the materials offer good elasticity and damping characteristics as well as absorbing shocks, since this is the only way the rider can be protected from undue vibration.

[Alex S]

remind me why racers dont go for suspension seat posts again?

[Andrew G]

[quote="Alex S"]These helmets are made to withstand collisions of up to 12MPH!!!

[jon avery]

I did wonder why 3 of mine have all snapped Is it a stupid question to ask why they dont make them to withstand impacts over speeds of 12mph , like lets say 20-30?

[Dombo]

[quote="jon avery"]I did wonder why 3 of mine have all snapped Is it a stupid question to ask why they dont make them to withstand impacts over speeds of 12mph , like lets say 20-30?

[Alex S]

I thought the european standard "CE" mark indicates that the helmet is "safe" for a slow collision, equivalent to the impact of falling over and hitting your head from standing still.

And i know that the more serious brands like specialized + giro etc conform to the more rigourous snell tests and can therefore be deemed "safer".

If my memory serves me well, specialized's dual density (2D) helmet is designed for higher speed collisions (around the 25-30mph mark)

So there.

[Andrew G]

Don't believe everything manufacturers tell you.

[Alex S]

i believe what independent tests tell me.

[Andrew G]

All depends how they word their descriptions, exactly what they say it will do, and what tests were done. A test being independent doesn't make it a good or valid test.

[Alex S]

Snell testing criteria are based on a minimum decelerating effect provided by a helmet in a variety of circumstances and don't provide indication of a "safe maximum collision speed", granted, but their criteria are widely respected as more difficult to "pass".

The european standard CE is the minimum requirement to call a helmet a helmet. If it failed european standard tests it would be called a hat.

Snell differentiates "good" helmets from "bad" helmets based on whether they pass or fail more thorough tests.