How RLS Technology Is Cutting Concussion Risk for Cyclists

The Moment That Started It All

Something unexpected happened in a lab near Oxford. The team had been pushing the limits of helmet safety for months — long days, controlled crashes, endless data. Then a small, unplanned event changed everything. Not an accident in the dangerous sense, but the kind of accident that only happens when the right people are paying close attention. That moment led to RLS — the world's only Release Layer System — a concussion protection helmet technology that targets the force most helmets completely ignore.

The Problem No One Was Solving

Here is something most cyclists do not know. When you fall, the helmet absorbs the straight-down impact reasonably well. However, almost every real crash happens at an angle. The helmet grips the ground. The head keeps moving. That spinning motion — rotational force — is what drives straight through the skull into the brain. It is the primary cause of concussion and traumatic brain injury in cycling.

Conventional helmets were not designed to stop it. They absorb the hit but pass the rotation directly to the rider's brain in the milliseconds after impact. That gap has existed for as long as helmets have. RLS was built specifically to close it.

How RLS Actually Works

The system adds a patented outer layer to any compatible helmet. It works in three fast, mechanical steps — no electronics, no battery, no activation required:

• React: The moment a concussive force is detected, the RLS adhesive layer instantly releases its grip — responding only to impact-level force, not to normal everyday handling.
• Roll: The outer panel rolls freely on lightweight polycarbonate bearings in any direction, redirecting dangerous rotational energy away from the brain rather than letting it pass through.
• Release: The panel releases further to dissipate the remaining energy — completing the entire sequence in milliseconds, silently, and invisibly beneath the helmet surface.

The rider feels nothing different during normal use. RLS adds no bulk inside the helmet, pulls no hair, makes no noise, and does not affect ventilation. It is completely hidden — until the one moment it needs to show up.

What the Results Show

The numbers from independent testing are hard to ignore. In a pooled analysis of 68 helmets tested by Folksam Insurance, RLS reduced concussion risk by 76% compared to conventional helmets. Against MIPS — the most widely used rotational protection system on the market — RLS reduced concussion risk by a further 63%.

Drop tests at the University of Strasbourg told the same story. A standard helmet recorded a concussive risk of 65%. The identical helmet fitted with RLS recorded just 15%. That is a fourfold reduction — from a single layer added to the outside of the shell.

Today, RLS-equipped helmets hold the top spot in the Virginia Tech helmet rating system — the most trusted independent safety benchmark in the world. The Canyon Deflectr ranks first out of 88 mountain helmets. The HEXR Miden ranks first out of 42 urban helmets.