Bike helmets come in an abundance of shapes, but most of them are essentially identical in function. Maybe the arrangement of the vents or the fit of the straps differ between models, but they're almost always just a rigid bucket you wear to protect your dome. Helmets certainly don't disassemble or break down for easy storage.
But hey, this one does. Closca's Fuga bike helmet is made up of three molded foam sections, all arranged concentrically. Push down on the center piece at the top, and the five-inch-tall helmet collapses into a flat disk 2.36 inches in height.
Closca's design won a 2015 Red Dot award, and the Spanish company used that exposure to mount a successful crowdfunding campaign earlier this year to scale up production. Now, the Fuga is becoming available. The helmets cost $100 each, and they ship in October. I was skeptical of the design, so the company sent me one. While it has a fit that's a bit different than a Giro or Bell, it's comfortable and it vents well enough. The cloth-covered sun visor pops out for washing.
We've seen a few collapsing helmet designs already. The Overade Plixi curls inward like an armadillo, the Morpher rolls up like a burrito, and the BioLogic Pango does some weird Transformers voodoo. Not every folding helmet is as safe as a regular helmet. In the U.S., the safety standard for bike helmets is governed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and it requires helmets to have a certain amount of foam to decelerate the head properly during a collision. Because folding helmets are all about saving space, some designs skimp on the foam. (The Fuga, which has a foam volume similar to a regular helmet, has earned CPSC certification.)
The entire proposition of a space-saving bike helmet may seem superfluous, and for many cyclists, it is. Regular non-collapsing helmets really aren't that much of a hassle to carry around. You hook them to your handlebars while your bike sits in storage, or you run your U-lock through the straps when you lock up your ride. But certainly there are some people for whom it's welcome. For example, those cyclists who prefer to arrive at the office without giving the impression they just zipped across town on two wheels. (We call these people "classy.") For such individuals, a folded Fuga can be inserted into a tweed shoulder bag or a hand-stitched Italian leather pannier. It one's bike commute includes a bus trip, a flattened helmet can easily be stashed under the seat. And of course, riders who use their city's bike share program can just carry something like the Fuga in their backpack, then pop it out for their ride.
So laugh all you want, but that person wearing the Closca bucket with the funny concentric rings is simply more mindful of their off-bike appearance than the rest of us. We should applaud them. Or at least quietly tolerate them.
