This backpack-balloon will make you go faster and safer

Startups dedicated to creating new cycling products never cease to amaze us. The latest to come out of the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter is a curious backpack designed with a dual function: to improve the cyclist's aerodynamics and to function as a sort of airbag in case of a fall.

Entrepreneurs' imagination knows no bounds. The latest, an aerodynamic backpack.

The Hong Kong-based startup Ram Air Fairing has announced the start of a crowdfunding campaign to develop its innovative cycling backpack, Pioneering. This backpack is not meant for carrying our belongings but rather is a kind of fin-shaped balloon that aims to significantly improve the cyclist's aerodynamics.

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The fin-shaped design of the Pioneering backpack aims to guide the airflow circulating around the cyclist in a controlled and smooth manner around it until it converges behind it, thus avoiding the air void that is usually created behind the cyclist and is one of the main sources of aerodynamic resistance. Although the design seems to have some logic, the brand does not provide any data to quantify the actual gain that its backpack would provide.

Furthermore, the structure of the backpack itself, an inflated air bag, provides good protection for the back in case of a fall, so its function would be twofold, all with a weight of just 299 g according to the brand's data.

Obviously, this is an accessory that can only be used by enthusiasts, as any clothing or accessory that modifies the cyclist's morphology, is not essential, and does not serve to dress the cyclist is prohibited by UCI regulations.