Your questions about the space-age Uno-X time trial helmet, answered

Any eagle-eyed road racing fan no doubt took note of the wild new helmet on top of Uno-X’s racers at the recent Volta ao Algarve and Paris-Nice.

Even in an era where aero snoods and upturned breakfast bowl-shape lids are the norm, the Sweet Protection Redeemer 2Vi sure stands out. It’s got funky flared shoulders, an unusually straight back, and a weird hole on top.

Also read: Aero is Everything – The wild and wonderful TT Helmets of Paris-Nice

So what’s the deal with the Darth Vader-design helmet that’s on its way to the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes?

CyclingTips attended the helmet’s official presentation and has the answers to (nearly all) your burning questions:

Errr … so how did this helmet come about?

The Redeemer is the latest development in the four-year partnership between Norway-based Sweet Protection and the Scandinavian Uno-X crew.

Formula 1 aerodynamicist Kyle Forster, Swedish brand Mips, and Uno-X racers Søren Wærenskjold and Joss Lowden all collaborated in what was a 15-month churn of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and wind tunnel testing.

The result?

A lid that representatives described as “really, really fast and really, really safe.”

Explain those big splayed shoulders?

It’s all about aero efficiency, duh.

Flaring out the shoulders smooths airflow over the whole body and prevents a blocking point.

“The rider’s shoulders have a very specific pressure pattern where they have a high-pressure region. The tighter you can get around the shoulders, the less uncontrolled losses you’ll have coming out. And the less fluctuation and turbulence you’ll have will result in slightly improved drag and improve downstream flow effects,” Forster explained in the launch event this week.

The Redeemer caused a stir for its unique looks when it made its debut at the Volta ao Algarve. (Photo: Szymon Gruchalski))

And the hole on top?

No, it’s not a cooling duct.

It’s actually one of the Redeemer’s most pioneering design points. The so-called “Laminar Flow Bypass Duct” provides a passage for air to track from a rider’s crown, through the shell of the helmet, and out of vents in the shoulders.

“The pressure on the front of the helmet in the central area is reduced because we’re allowing some mass flow to bleed through,” Forster said. “It’s essentially as if we had a much smaller helmet in this region.”

What other techy stuff do we need to know about it?

The helmet comes complete with an anti-fog visor that’s optimized for aerodynamics and integrates the industry-leading safety systems from Mips into its design.

The Redeemer includes a ribbed structure slated to help shock absorption and the innovative Mips “Air Node” technology that reduces harmful rotational forces.

So in theory, it’s as safe as it is fast.

It looks … unique, and social media kicked up a storm when it made its debut. What do the team and designers think of the reaction to its radical new lid?

Sweet Protection design chief Thomas Larsen Røed said he was anticipating some uproar, and staff at Uno-X even saw the funny side.

But what counts, of course, is the performance.

“When you create something a bit radical, people are always going to come with guns blazing,” Røed said. “They can say whatever they want about it. But we know it’s a fast helmet, and we know it’s a safe helmet, so we’re happy with it.”

Anthon, I am your father pic.twitter.com/XszTDZhaYF

— Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (@UnoXteam) February 20, 2023

Is it as big as it looks?

Apparently not.

Weighing 490g including visor for a size large (size 59 – 61) and around 450g for a medium (size 53 – 58), it’s on par with competition. And designers insist it’s not the widest, longest, or tallest lid on the market, either.

The million-dollar question – just how fast is it?

Here’s the thing. Sweet Protection and Uno-X are adamant the Redeemer is one of the fastest in the bunch. But if you want numbers, you’re not going to get any right now.

“People are tired of hearing about how many watts you save from this that and the other because it’s so dependent on the protocol. Where do you do the test, what speed you do the test, the yaw angles, the test facilities,” Uno-X’s performance expert Casper von Folsach said at the presentation. “So I’m very hesitant on giving exact watt savings, because it depends on the scenario.”

So when is this thing available?

Sweet Protection anticipates an official retail launch in the fall. You better start saving up now, because it’s going to cost around €450 ($480 USD).

Check out more here.