How a “black ice accident” led to the development of the Release Layer System - BikeBiz
This piece first appeared in theJune edition of BikeBiz magazine– not subscribed? Get afree subscription. RLS CEO James Cook explains why their tech guarantees maximum brain protection. For years, ‘MIPS’ has. . .
This piece first appeared in theJune edition of BikeBiz magazine– not subscribed? Get afree subscription. RLS CEO James Cook explains why their tech guarantees maximum brain protection. For years, ‘MIPS’ has been the safety technology people look for when buying cycling helmets. It works by letting the outer shell of the helmet rotate in the event of an impact. This then redirects the rotational energy and reduces the forces transferred to the brain, which is what can cause concussion and traumatic brain injuries. And while MIPS has been instrumental in educating customers and brands to the importance of a good helmet, there are now other technologies coming to the fore. One of which is the Release Layer System, or RLS. Repeatedly given 5 stars by the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings, it uses a different type of design to dissipate the forces that could cause brain injuries. In essence, RLS uses release panels which are connected to bearing layers. If a rider crashes, and there is an impact to the helmet, the RLS system activates with bearing below this layer rolling, allowing the panels to release. The theory being that the force from the impact is redirected away from the brain, thus reducing the likelihood of concussion or traumatic brain injury. Currently, RLS works with two brands: Canyon and HEXR. Canyon has a range of RLS helmets across mountain biking and road categories, and HEXR is more focused on road and urban riding. But that’s not where the application ends. This technology has the ability to be used outside of cycling, too. BikeBiz sat down with co-founder and CEO James Cook to understand the RLS brand and its plans for the future. Tell us about what led to the RLS technology being developed, and ultimately, how the brand was born. It began as an accident! At the time, we were selling custom-fit helmets with a removable shell. One cold morning on a group ride, a team member slipped on black ice, and when his helmet hit the ground, the removable shell released and shot across the tarmac road. Fortunately, he didn’t suffer a head injury, but it was the genesis for a new approach to helmet design. After five years of extensive lab testing, we evolved the concept to include small bearings to facilitate energy deflection and durable connectors designed to release only on impact, creating the Release Layer System. How are you leveraging the technology to work with manufacturers and brands in the cycling helmet space??From the outset, we carefully select partners who want the best brain protection for their helmets. We have a world-class design and engineering team that supports our partners through the development process to ensure they achieve RLS’s gold standard thresholds for rotational protection, which include well-known ratings like the Virginia Tech STAR rating and other test standards. Why would a retailer that’s stocked and sold MIPS helmets for years be enticed to sell their customers the RLS tech?RLS helmets consistently outperform helmets with MIPS in independent rotational protection testing. Every RLS helmet is tested to guarantee it provides the maximum rotational protection for its given model. That standard isn’t applied to MIPS. A retailer stocking RLS can be confident they’re offering customers the leading protection against brain injury, not just a marginal improvement over a bare helmet. Talk to us about the brands you’ve worked with so far. How did you approach Canyon and Hexr?Canyon’s DNA is to create best-in-class products based on independent ratings. Immediately, we were aligned as partners with a single mission of improving helmet protection and are proud to have launched at #1 on Virginia Tech’s STAR rating. We are excited to be launching with more leading cycling brands soon and see each partnership as an opportunity to build best-in-class products. With success in the bicycle space, do you feel there are other industries you would be able to apply this technology to? And have you started looking into this?We are currently developing the technology for helmets segments outside of cycling and are motivated to leverage the Release Layer System to further reduce the risk of brain injuries. Currently, there are over 200 million helmets sold each year, so the potential for real safety improvement is significant. If we could talk briefly about what the rest of 2026 and the future looks like for RLS, where would you like to see the brand get to? What’s the long-term goal with the company and the technology?This year is about establishing RLS as the leading helmet safety technology in all major helmet segments, which means a whole lot more testing and iterating!