Will airbag bib shorts be used by the WorldTour peloton in the future?

Every so often in the cycling world, a piece of weird and wonderful tech shoots into the headlines. After a brief spell in the limelight, they’re then forgotten and filed into the drawer of unique ideas that never caught on. Sometimes, though, something out of the ordinary does become popular, and the next example could be airbag bib shorts — at least if Sam Ratajczak gets his way.

Ratajczak formerly held the position as Chief of Research and Development at Bioracer where he, along with his team, first came up with the idea in 2020. The idea never caught on, with professional teams unwilling to buy into the concept, but now Ratajczak is hoping to reignite the designs.

“Advancements in technology and ongoing analysis of cycling accidents suggest that the concept of a cycling airbag could evolve into a smarter, more effective safety solution over time,” Ratajczak said in a recent Linkedin post, first spotted by Road.cc.

“Ultimately, the introduction of an airbag system in professional cycling could represent a significant leap forward in rider safety, potentially mitigating the severity of injuries in crashes. As the cycling community continues to prioritize safety and innovation, the prospect of integrating airbag technology into the peloton remains an exciting possibility for the future.

“If anyone is interested in further exploring this concept, I'm all ears!”

At first, the idea of riding around with an airbag attached to you may sound crazy, but it’s not as far-fetched as you may think. It has already proven to be a successful concept in other sports, most obviously motorsports, but more pertinently for cycling, in horse riding too. Its effectiveness in horse riding remains debatable, though, at least according to this study that found that a higher percentage of riders wearing an air bag system suffer serious injuries in falls than those who aren’t wearing one — the study consisted of a sample of 1486 incidents.

Even if the system proved to be effective at improving safety, there would still be barriers to overcome, some of which inspired Ratajczak’s original designs. The first consideration was to ensure that the airbag bib shorts integrated seamlessly with the existing attire, so it wouldn’t be obvious that a rider is wearing one. Next up was weight, because there’s no escaping gram-shedding in modern cycling. We imagine aerodynamics would have to play a part in successful designs too.

While the prospects of airbag bib shorts remain a long way off, Ratajczak’s attempts at reviving the concept are timely in a period that has seen multiple large crashes in the WorldTour peloton. First Wout van Aert saw his Classics seasons ended after breaking his collarbone and several ribs in a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, before Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel were both injured in a horror crash at Itzulia Basque Country.

Anything that could potentially improve safety gets a thumbs up from us.

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