Alpinestars has entered into the road racing helmet arena with the Supertech R10. Born from MotoGP technology this helmet bring that tech to the road. In this overview video we get a detail explanation as to what makes this helmet so special.
Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-gear-and-products/alpinestars-supertech-r10-helmet-review/
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Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-gear-and-products/alpinestars-supertech-r10-helmet-review/
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
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SportsTranscript
00:00 What is up guys? As you can see by the sign here, we are here for something very
00:04 important. This is the new Alpine Stars SuperTec R10 full-face street helmet.
00:10 With me is the Alpine Stars communication specialist, Heath Coffran.
00:15 And Heath, we're gonna go over this helmet a little bit because you've been
00:17 really close to this thing over the years and really learning the ins and
00:20 outs of this to help spread the word on it, the message, right? And now we've got
00:24 the opportunity to check it out for the first time today. I want to start by just
00:28 let's talk a little bit about who this helmet is for. Sure, so who this helmet
00:33 is for. I mean it's developed in MotoGP. You know, Andrea De Vizioso was here
00:38 today with us. He was the foundational development rider. So ultimately the
00:43 foundation for this helmet is built on racing. And so the purpose and the focus
00:48 of this to make the best helmet we could possibly make for the highest levels in
00:53 motorcycle racing. And that is it's something that Alpine Stars is so proud
00:59 of, right? Is the protection element and giving this rider, giving its
01:03 riders and the consumers, right, the ultimate protection. But there are other
01:07 things to this helmet. There's main focus areas, right? Number one is paramount for
01:12 this company. It has to protect the head because the end result, that's the one
01:16 thing you want to make sure happens the most. If a rider hits his head, is this
01:21 designed to do the job? Like that's number one protection. And in addition to
01:25 that you've got about another four key areas, right? And I might miss one of
01:29 these and that's why you got here, right? So we've got aerodynamics, ventilation,
01:34 airflow, is that ventilation? Okay, can you go through a little bit of those
01:39 five and and the areas of the helmet that are designed to support those main goals.
01:45 Yeah, and the last one is weight. Weight, right? Think about riders. I wish
01:49 everyone could feel it here because it is so lightweight, it's incredible. But
01:53 yeah, Heath, go ahead and talk about these areas. Those are the key points, starting with
01:56 aerodynamics. I mean I could literally talk for an hour about aerodynamics.
02:00 There's a lot of focuses and features within this helmet, aerodynamics. Number
02:05 one that you see from this helmet that you have not seen anywhere. This is the
02:10 side winglet of the helmet which allows for stability. So airflow, ventilation,
02:17 we're talking about aerodynamics right here. This is pure stability. Now you
02:23 think about on the track here today, how often were you in the tuck
02:28 position versus off the bike? Now I'm gonna cheat here because I
02:32 think you did mention this earlier in the presentation. So it's 80% right?
02:35 Is what the numbers you guys are looking at? It depends on the track, but the focus
02:40 here as far as aerodynamics go is mitigation of forces of air to the
02:46 rider. And so off the bike or in the tuck position. Because you think about it,
02:51 you're off the bike so much of the time. So a lot of the focus and then
02:56 aerodynamics within this helmet is off the bike. Because off the bike a lot of
03:01 speed is carried. Focusing through a turn is crucial in having less weight, less
03:08 wind force on the neck. So a lot of the aerodynamics tie into stability. Off the
03:16 bike is a key focus. And of course in the tuck position. And you mentioned
03:21 something earlier in the presentation which I thought was cool. It's
03:24 something along the lines of taking that pressure off the riders neck and just
03:28 making it easier for them to ride. Right? Focus on the actual riding. Yes,
03:33 absolutely. So within aerodynamics the number one thing with that is to
03:37 mitigate lift. Right? You're coming through, popping your head up. A lot of
03:44 airflow on a traditional helmet might cause lift. Right? So it's more strain. The
03:49 rider has to use more neck force to bring his head back down. Come back into
03:55 the turn. Because when you're on a bike, you're up, you're down, you're left,
03:58 you're right. You're moving all around. And that wind flow is coming from all
04:02 directions. So no matter what the position the head is, we wanted to add
04:07 the aerodynamics in such a sense where it doesn't add lift, but it keeps it
04:13 stable. Because stability is less stress on the neck. Okay. And so the end result
04:18 of that, more performance for the rider. Less effort, extra effort he has to put
04:24 in to do the race that he needs to do. Or to enjoy a track day. Yeah. Right. Less
04:29 stress. It's not just even about racing. You're not as tired. Right. So another thing with
04:33 aerodynamics is wind resistance. So looking at the suit in connection with
04:39 the helmet. Now we have full control. We can control the connection between the
04:44 back. This is the race fairing. Right? There's a race fairing. There's a road
04:48 fairing. So the race fairing is the ultimate in dynamics. It is then designed
04:52 to connect with the suit. As you see in MotoGP, those suits are designed
04:57 specifically for this. So in the future, suits will also be exactly proportioned
05:03 to match this rear spoiler. I've seen some pictures and hopefully we can show
05:08 you guys this. Yeah. MotoGP riders in the full tuck position where the helmet
05:13 finishes and flows right into the hump. So it's really not only just a clean
05:17 look, but it's obviously the performance of that. And it's you being able to
05:20 control air flow all the way through from the Alpinestars helmet through the suit.
05:25 And think about this. This aerodynamics portion of the helmet. There's a
05:29 lot to talk about. But just look at MotoGP for example. Right? Yeah. Winglets. How has
05:35 MotoGP changed over the years? Winglets. Even on the tail section. And so why
05:41 are they doing aerodynamics on the tail? Right? Yeah. I'm gonna let you finish
05:46 that because I think you've got more information. It's an advantage. Right?
05:49 Riders and teams want an advantage. I want as much less airflow to disturb my
05:56 bike's speed. So what the team did, think about what could we do to add even more
06:02 of an advantage with the rider. Right? Controlling aerodynamics is what we knew
06:07 could achieve that. And by doing that, the team developed these side winglets to
06:12 help an advantage. One less bit of stress on that rider. And I think one of the
06:18 important things to mention. I think a lot of people are going to be curious
06:20 about in the case of an incident. How these are designed to pop off. And in the
06:27 case of the spoiler itself. You can change that out. Right? So can you explain
06:30 the system a little bit on that? So for those of you that understand our motocross
06:35 helmet. The SM10. So it's a patented design in the event of an incident or a
06:40 crash. Right? You want to keep surfaces as smooth as possible. To mitigate any
06:45 rotational force energy being transferred to the neck. And ultimately
06:49 with the head for concussions. So the rear spoiler. We'll turn this just
06:54 quickly here to the side. This rear spoiler in the event of an incident can
06:58 pop off. Right? To make it as smooth as possible. Also the helmet can have a race
07:05 spoiler or can also have a road spoiler. Maybe someone on the road doesn't want
07:09 the full race spoiler. So you can pop off these sides and put on the shorter road
07:14 spoiler if the rider would like to do that. As far as the side winglets. In the
07:19 event of a crash. These are designed to pop off. Again to allow as much smooth
07:24 surfaces to be in contact with the asphalt. Or whatever surface it is.
07:29 Just to keep those rotational forces as mitigated as possible. To keep control to
07:34 the overall safety of the rider in the event of a crash. So ventilation is
07:39 another big thing on this helmet. Right? And there are intake and exhaust ports
07:42 almost everywhere. Yes. One of the things we talked about earlier. I haven't seen
07:46 so much ventilation ports on the chin bar. Which is very interesting. Can you go
07:50 through a little bit on some of the main features there? And what the goals are?
07:54 Because I think Alpinestars has done some unique things. Yeah. That's right. And so
07:57 through the process of the Y's within this helmet. Making sure there was
08:02 constant airflow. Not only to the visor. But as a rider breathes. Right? Hot air.
08:08 Riders in racing scenarios. A lot of breathing. A lot of controlled
08:13 breathing. That's a lot of hot air. Where does that hot air go? So the exhaust
08:19 ports here. You see on the front. Are angled out. So the angle within these
08:24 exhaust ports. Right here at the mouth. So what that does. As the rider is breathing
08:29 through the race. Through the helmet. That air gets to come out. And has a place to
08:35 escape to. While here in the front. There's air coming in through this vent.
08:40 This vent. The front vent. All goes through the shield and up. Through the
08:46 top. This vent here. By opening it all the way. The air here. Comes down the visor.
08:52 Then you have air coming up the visor. So there's a rotation of air. Always keeping
08:58 it clear. Especially in those rainy and humid conditions. Like we saw in
09:04 Argentina. MotoGP. Because the helmet was tested in those scenarios.
09:08 To offer clarity. In the craziest of rain. Or the colder mornings. Where you're out
09:14 testing. You don't want it to fog up. You can control how that air flows through.
09:19 Not only here. But also here. Through the top. And out the back. And exits out
09:24 through the back here. And then you've got some ventilation in the cheek pads
09:27 themselves. Correct? Yeah. I mean just everything is designed to have
09:32 ventilation. And you said. You said. Heath I came off the track and it's not
09:38 sweaty. It's like. How? No. I'm both out of shape and it is hot. I was incredibly sweaty.
09:46 Yeah. Really impressed with how it worked in that regard. So a key to
09:50 mitigating a sweaty helmet. Right? Is allowing that that moisture to one
09:56 evaporate. How does moisture evaporate? It's through air flow. Yeah. So if you
10:00 have a stale helmet on the inside. That causes you to sweat more. And then it
10:06 will absorb in the material more. But because of the airflow and ventilation.
10:10 It's not only helping you. But also helping the helmet. Somewhat related to
10:15 the airflow. I know you've mentioned it's a big thing for you guys. Is controlling
10:18 the air. And a really cool little detail is these. Let's see. Turbulators. Yes.
10:23 Exactly. On the screen itself. Yeah. And that actually. What you guys have
10:30 mentioned. Is that keeps the helmet quiet. Right? Which is very interesting. Yes.
10:33 Where the visor comes into the side of the helmet. It sticks out. It protrudes.
10:37 Also on the inside of this area. Is your ear. So you're coming to where a lot of
10:43 wind is coming off a protruding piece within the system. But also this needs to
10:48 open and close. So right. You need to have a connecting point. So by adding these
10:53 turbulators. What it does. Is it calms the wind around your ear. To not make it
10:59 cause whistling. And the whistling is ultimately what causes noise within the
11:05 helmet. And this is a prime area of where that happens. Got it. Interesting. So every
11:10 single visor that comes with the helmet. Will have this. Regardless of clear.
11:14 Regardless of smoke. Mid smoke. Photochromatic. Or also mirrored. Every
11:21 single shield. Will have the turbulators. To help keep the helmet quiet. And I'm
11:25 cheating here a little bit. But you did mention that some of that is from
11:28 Formula One. Right? Yeah. I was looking into that space. Our team always looks outside of
11:34 of what's happening. To see what's also being utilized in motorsports. For such
11:39 as an F1. They use a lot of different tools to help flow air. And control the
11:44 air. And that's another area. Just looking outside of the norm. How we can solve a
11:50 solution that we know riders need. Because you think about it. Guys ask you
11:54 know how quiet is this race helmet? You're like it's a race helmet. Like well
11:58 our team wanted to make sure we had a great answer for that. And that answer
12:01 was the turbulator design. Got it. Weight is a very big thing again. We mentioned we
12:07 wish you guys could pick this thing up. Because it is incredibly light. I think
12:11 you have some weights. But more importantly talking a little bit about
12:15 the technologies that you've used to enable to keep it so light. A little bit
12:20 in the shell and also the EPS liners. Correct? Yeah. So the EPS liner has a
12:24 special coating that's been polished. And it's kind of hard to see. But as I reach
12:30 my hand in here and talk. You can see my hand moving around. So there's a
12:35 anti-rotational slip system. That basically allows the helmet to move in
12:41 the event of a crash, oblique or direct impact. Just to mitigate the riders head
12:47 from being in a stable position. As the helmet turns you want the helmet to turn
12:51 not the head. And so what this system does by having the EPS have a polished
12:57 and really smooth surface in connection with the A-head in the crown and the
13:03 side fitment. It allows for that rotational to be mitigated. But also by
13:09 using this system it lessens weight. Because you're not adding you know more
13:15 features to make it thicker. You know by adding depth right you're adding
13:20 weight. You're adding volume. That lessens aerodynamics. And so this system is
13:25 designed to be very minimal but also highly effective. And so the team really
13:31 went to town in engineering something that was as lightweight as possible but
13:36 still as effective as it could possibly be. So then another big part of that is
13:40 with this carbon shell right and and that helps with the weight but there's
13:43 some other stuff to that right? What's Alpinestars looking at with the shell?
13:47 Obviously with carbon you want to use a high-density carbon that's a great carbon.
13:51 Right there's some companies that will use a carbon that's maybe not the best
13:53 quality. But this is high density, high quality carbon to take those force
13:58 impacts and a light material that disperses that through multiple areas
14:04 within the helmet. And by having the the different layers it allows each of
14:09 those impacts to be spread over a larger area. And then there's an epoxy resin
14:14 that separates each individual layer which allows it to be thin which allows
14:19 less weight. So every single layer has a form and a function. One of them is
14:24 puncture. So this is FIM, DOT and ECE homologated. And a lot of that shell
14:31 construction has to do with reaching that homologation. Got it, got it. So
14:35 actually I did want to mention you said something in the presentation which I
14:39 thought was cool. An interesting thing that Alpinestars has to think about any
14:44 gear company really when you're creating a product is the what-ifs. You never know
14:48 what's gonna happen in an accident right? And especially you reference GP right?
14:52 In Super Bowl we see some crazy crashes in GP racing and you guys are
14:56 providing these helmets to GP riders. You don't know what's gonna happen so it's
15:00 just taking all those considerations right and developing a helmet that's
15:04 gonna protect. Yeah so there's like a regulation of where the helmet needs to
15:10 be safe from impacts. Both linear and oblique. So it's a 22 ECE has a certain
15:16 standard. So we're far below what those standards are just like you said. There's
15:22 there's always the what-if. So we don't build a helmet to meet a standard. We
15:26 build a helmet to meet where we feel the helmet is safe. And so we have an
15:30 internal testing house inside at Alpinestars where we can test all of
15:35 this in real time on our own before it even goes to the homologation process.
15:40 We've already done the testing on our own. We know what it's capable of doing.
15:44 A couple other cool little features to wrap this up here. A couple that I had
15:49 noticed and we talked about and maybe you can just add a little bit to that.
15:53 Well the one thing is the you can customize a little fit a little bit with
15:58 what Alpinestars call their A-frame. A-head system. Sorry I messed that one up.
16:02 And that comes from the Motocross helmet but you've got essentially is it three
16:08 positions? So it's 12 points of customization within the helmet. So
16:13 there's four points and within those four points there's three different
16:17 levels of connection. Okay. And so what this does just as you experienced say
16:23 you have 57 degrees of a viewing port. Right? So within that 57 degrees like a
16:29 standard helmet like it's in this position. But say like today like hey I
16:33 need more visibility looking through these turns. With the A-head you could
16:37 take the whole helmet and tilt it up. Just within a minute and a half. You
16:42 reach in pop those four connection points to a different position causing
16:46 the helmet to be rotated back or down. But you could also have the helmet fit
16:52 higher on your head or lower on your head depending on where you have
16:56 pressure points. Some riders today were like oh I'm having a little bit of
17:00 pressure point. So like cool snap that A-head up one more. Oh it's great.
17:05 It's fine. So it just allows for a lot of customization. But also think too so
17:10 today we're on the track. Right? But later we're gonna be riding these on the
17:15 street. So what we can do we can take that A-head fitment system and rotate it
17:20 back up. Because when you're on the bike more upright right you're looking like
17:25 this. We're on the track you're looking like this. Right. So we're gonna switch
17:29 this A-head boom we're on the street. Yeah. But also guys might like that on the
17:33 track too. Like it's rider preference and we wanted an ease of use for
17:38 customization. You got some versatility built in. Yeah and it's a patented design
17:41 that we used in the SM10 in motocross that's been highly successful there. And
17:46 we wanted to bring that development and innovation into this helmet. Right. That's
17:51 awesome. The other thing that I think is really cool that you guys have began
17:54 borrowing from the motocross side is the kind of shape of the shell the lower
17:58 structure. The collarbone relief. Okay right. So in analyzing crashes even in our SM10
18:05 motocross helmet what happens what tends to happen you have a rider that hits his
18:11 head it comes down right here and what's right there your collarbone. Collarbone
18:16 is a very sensitive bone. So what we did is we made sure there was a small relief
18:22 just this much of a relief with a softer material. So if there was to be a side
18:27 impact on the rider with the collarbone in the helmet you have a soft material
18:32 that allows for less of a harsher impact. So let's just say this carbon went all
18:38 the way down. So you're having carbon fiber smacking your collarbone in the
18:43 event of a crash. So this helps mitigate collarbone injury but also it makes it
18:49 lighter. Right. Because this area makes it lighter a little bit here just a little
18:54 bit here right. One of the big five things that we talked about was weight.
18:57 How do we achieve this to be as light as possible but still as protective as we
19:02 possibly could. The visor itself you want to talk a little bit about how the visor pops. Yeah I'm hinting.
19:06 This is a big thing for them because and we've talked about this
19:11 before we said in front of the camera here this is a big thing for you guys
19:16 because it is a race helmet and this is a safety feature a little bit that you
19:20 guys are building into the visor itself. You said you don't want it to come up.
19:24 Right because when the team goes to develop something right we talked about
19:29 this was about five years of development and what we do within that development
19:33 phase is analyze crashes. So when riders crash what happens? We've seen riders
19:40 crash, visors pop off, gravel on the face. Yeah. There was a really big example of
19:45 that with Mark Marquez. Right. He had gravel in his face and it was really it
19:49 was not very good for him so we wanted to design something to help mitigate
19:55 that chance of a visor popping off. So what the team came up with number one
20:01 how you open the helmet. There's a locking mechanism that locks the visor
20:06 into place. When riders crash through the analysis riders crash with their heads
20:13 moving this way forward sliding sideways. Rarely where you ever see a rider slide
20:20 backwards. So by having the locking mechanism come up no matter how the
20:27 rider crashes or if there is an incident sliding forward it stays locked down in
20:33 position. Also for that it keeps the helmet smooth right we talked about
20:37 oblique impacts. By having a visor pop up and be exposed you have sharp edges that
20:46 could potentially whip the riders neck back in the event of a crash. So metal
20:52 connecting points here, metal connecting points here, metal connecting points on
20:57 the visor. All areas that are crucial to a strong closure are metal because we
21:03 felt that was the safest way to keep it down and then with the locked position
21:08 it holds that visor into place. So much technology and innovations going into
21:14 this helmet. I mean it's clear that you guys have done done your homework
21:17 right and tried to bring as much as you can into the product. And that's why we
21:21 went through so many intricate details within this helmet looking at what does
21:27 the racer need to do what he does best. And from an analysis of crashes
21:32 making it safe, making it light, like we really looked this over with a
21:36 microscope to make sure everything was thought about to give the ultimate in
21:40 performance where you forget you're wearing anything at all on your head. But
21:44 when you need it the most like it's there for you to do exactly what it's
21:48 designed to do. Awesome. Well Heath thank you so much for a thorough overview of
21:52 the helmet. It's really exciting to see all the technology in it. Guys we hope
21:57 you enjoyed checking out the R10. We're gonna have more on this helmet over the
22:01 next weeks and months. Gonna spend a lot of time in it. Look for for more content.
22:06 In the meantime if you like what we are doing with the videos here be sure to
22:10 like and subscribe. Leave a comment we'll try to get you as many answers as
22:14 possible. Get all your questions answered and thanks again guys we'll see you in
22:19 the next one.