Tucano Urbano showcased its newest innovation for its urban gear lineup, and it’s an airbag that is specifically designed for the hustle and bustle of the streets, and for the protection of motorcyclists in the urban jungle.
Powered by In&motion’s airbag technology, Tucano Urbano threw its hat into the ring with its AIRSCUD FLEX. The bag promises to be comfortable, stylish, ventilated, and affordable. The vest joins Tucano's AIRSCUD Mesh in its growing range of airbags.
Tucano Urbano is not one of the first brands to partner up with In&motion. Furygan’s bag is designed around motorsports, making it for use with their racing suits and jackets. Meanwhile, we still have Helite and Hit-Air with their vests that work via a tether on the bike. In&motion’s system works via motion sensors and GPS and correlates that to historical crash detection data stored in the company’s databanks. Tucano Urbano is one of the latest brands to partner up with the safety technology firm, and its bag is rather unique in its positioning and its use case.
The same technology that can be seen on the back of some of the fastest riders in the world, is now being pioneered for urban use by the brand. Considering that some riders take the risk and wear plain clothes for in-city riding is one thing, but considering that anything can happen is another. Hazards are out there, the Tucano Urbano wanted to deliver a product that could not only work in a city environment but leave no excuse for riding protected. A lady's version was also shown and is also available for this model.
Among the elements that the brand boasted about in its presentation, the style was one of them, leaving a bit of a question mark on my head. I’ve tried a Furygan airbag on, only to feel that its bulk was a little un-stylish. Even if it is low-profile, the bag still has the In&motion module mounted at the back. Tucano’s execution is a little more vest-y in a way, hiding most of the technical stuff with a layer of polyester fabric to keep it “street.”
Other than that, the comfort of the airbag is brought on by polyester mesh on the chest and on the back to guarantee ventilation, and there are also stretch panels on the sides to enable the rider to move freely. The AIRSCUD FLEX lex is also certified as an outer layer, meaning that the airbag can be worn over normal clothes. Either that or it can serve as an underlayer to a jacket. It’s still abrasion-resistant either way, however, so riders will be able to wear it on its own on top of their normal clothes, or in a jacket for added peace of mind.
As for the safety aspect of this jacket, it’s rated with a CE Class C rating (oversuit), and it is also enabled by In&motion’s seven-sensor system which involves three accelerometers, three gyroscopes, and one GPS signal to detect a crash.
Gallery: Tucano Urbano AIRSCUD FLEX airbag vest
Price-wise, we’re looking at an impressively affordable tag of 299.99 EUR or about $320 USD given the exchange rate at the time of writing. However, and this is one big however, the In&motion system utilizes a subscription-based service whose prices start at 10 EUR ($10.72 USD) per month, but you can go for an annual plan at 120 EUR (about $130 USD) with up to four months suspendable where you’ll be charged just four Euros per month ($4.29 USD). If you don’t want the hassle of it all, you can just buy the In&box (the company’s name for its processing and sensor box) for a price of 400 EUR (about $430 USD).
A few doubts are cast when you do the math. If you want everything outright, you’ll be spending about $750 USD for the AIRSCUD FLEX.
