How Woodpeckers are Helping You Have a Nice Bike Ride...

The SBT crew recently posted some research into porcupines and how they might one day help bike tire technology.  We also wrote about the cardboard bike under the Random Thoughts section of our website.  We also have a video of the cardboard bike.  Now, we bring to you dear readers, the coming together of the animal world and cardboard.  With the help of woodpeckers, a German research group has developed the cardboard helmet.

To be specific, we are talking about an interior shell of the helmet made of cardboard, the outer shell would remain plastic.  The German firm, Abus noticed the protection and impact absorbing properties of corrugated cardboard.  The tiny little pockets of air do a wonderful job of dissipating force.  Abus claims that up to 90% of their cardboard lining is air.  It is lightweight (15% lighter than standard helmets) and much more efficient at absorbing the energy of a crash than the solid polystyrene used to line most helmets today.  In fact, in tests cardboard is three times more efficient than the helmet we all wear currently.   So, what does this have to do with the woodpecker?

That’s easy.  But first some background…  There are roughly 200 species of woodpeckers living in most parts of the world save for the extreme cold of the poles and most tropical island environments.  They range in size from seven grams to over a pound.  The now extinct Ivory-billed woodpecker tipped the scales at 1.5 pounds.  Most woodpeckers are solitary creatures and they tend to be mean little buggers.  They have many different shapes, sizes, color schemes, and habits.   

One thing woodpeckers have in common is the habit of banging their heads repeatedly into trees.  One study suggests they peck into trees three times every second.  How they help out the German research team is by having a skull with properties much like the pocketed-air enclosures of corrugated cardboard.  Each time the bird pecks into the tree, the shock is absorbed by a lining of air-filled cartilage between the bill and the head. So, the birds never get headaches.  They never stop pecking so the skull nature created for the woodpecker is an excellent, über-effective method of absorbing brunt collisions.     

Most helmets made today have a general crushing standard of 250g, an incredible amount of force.  With this much force allowed, the German team felt the helmet should be redesigned to be able to absorb much more of an impact.  The cardboard helmet is still in the testing phase but look for it one day in your local bike shop.  We have posted a video of the designer, Anirudha Surabhi, discussing the helmet and its design implications.  Please visit www.stickybottleteam.net and click on videos.

Today, People for Bikes blogged about an increase in cycling-related fatalities (up 8.7% from last year) which suggests saftey should always be the number one concern for all bicyclists.