AEROHEAD II
Professional Time Trial Helmet
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Reduce total rider drag by 1-2%
Improve rider visibility and optimize weight distribution to reduce head movement during racing
Learn and leverage aerodynamic principles
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Currently being used by the #1 cycling team in the world in premier events, including the Tour de France
Gained functional knowledge of Solidworks CFD and Ansys Fluent. Validated both models against each other and the physical wind tunnel
Prototyped life size manikin fixture for precise data collection of different aero shapes
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“When you see how fast it is, you won't laugh anymore” – Jonas Vingegaard (Overall winner Tour de France 2022 and 2023, Runner up 2021)
Prototype Stage
We noticed that time trial helmets had increased in size over the past years, not decreased, going against intuition. We explored this direction with 3D printed shapes to maximize certain aerodynamic variables both in CFD and a physical wind tunnel.
We scanned a premier professional rider on the team we were partnering with to create an aero shape that maximized his specific time trial head and body positioning. Using wind average drag principles and evaluating frontal area at multiple pitch and yaw angles, we minimized the effective coefficient of drag on the 3D printed manikin
Validation
We worked closely with the team athletes at every stage, making sure that visibility, comfort, and safety were not sacrificed for aero gains. We traveled with the team to their wind tunnel in Eindhoven, Netherlands, where we measured significant drag reductions that will translate to direct race performance improvements
Final Product
Team Visma Lease a Bike has debuted the Aerohead II and it will premier in the 2024 Tour de France