Followers of our Tour de France tech coverage will have already read how Intermarché-Wanty’s team, including its star sprinter Biniam Girmay, each have two of Uvex’s latest helmets at their disposal. One has the helmet’s vents open, the other has its plug-in cover glued in place to avoid contravening UCI regulation 1.3.013: "It is prohibited to add a detachable cover to a helmet."
Now Uvex has revealed details of the new helmet used by the team and made it available for sale. The good news for anyone not riding in a UCI-sanctioned race is that they won’t have to glue their cover in place, so they can decide whether they want more aero or more vented much more easily.
Uvex says that it has taken input from the pros, including Girmay, in designing the Surge Aero MIPS (or more correctly uvex surge aero MIPS, as Uvex has gone all lower case in its name), ensuring good ventilation with wide apertures at the helmet’s leading edge.
Plug in the cover and Uvex claims improved aerodynamics for fast finishes though, with the Surge Aero MIPS wind tunnel tested with and without the cover to optimise its performance. No hard wattage claims have been made however. The large vents come courtesy of Uvex’s integrated cage, which has allowed it to reduce the thickness of the cross-braces and improve the helmet’s stability.
The helmet incorporates MIPS Air Node, the lightest current MIPS implementation, where MIPS is incorporated into the helmet’s padding rather than forming a separate sliding plane layer within the helmet shell as with ‘standard’ MIPS.
Weights and prices
The Uvex Surge Aero MIPS is Uvex’s new top-of-the-line model with a claimed weight of 290g. It is priced at €249.95, with five colours and three sizes available to fit heads from 53cm to 61cm.
There’s a non-MIPS option with a claimed 260g weight and a retail price of €199.95. That’s a hefty €50 premium for MIPS – you can buy some of the best budget bike helmets with MIPS for not much more.
Uvex is perhaps better known for its sunglasses than for its helmets and it has a sunglass design to match the Surge Aero MIPS. The large lens Uvex Pace Stage CV glasses are also in use by Intermarché-Wanty at the Tour de France.
They incorporate a contrast-enhancing lens and Uvex’s anti-mist coating, as well as an easy-clean moisture-repellent surface. The Uvex Pace Stage CV glasses are priced at €139.95 and fit neatly into the Surge Aero MIPS’s side vents.
Lazer too has an aero cover for its helmets and has a patent on its Aeroshell. This performs the same function as the Uvex design but clips over the entire top surface of the helmet, rather than just blocking the vents. Although marketed as making the helmet more aero, it’s also handy if you’re riding in the rain or in cold weather, to keep your noggin happier.
