Alpinestars breaks into the Road Racing helmet game - big time

The Supertech R10 Launch Edition is easy on the eyes. Production is limited to just 200 helmets, but look for more S-R10 options down the road.

You’re not wrong referring to Alpinestars as an apparel company, but you’re technically not right either.

A better way to view Alpinestars is as a brand with multiple companies under its umbrella—companies that specialize in distinct fields, like leather suits, airbags, footwear, urban apparel, mountain biking, helmets, and more. If you’re familiar with the pitfalls that come with being a “jack-of-all-trades, master of none,” then you’ll understand why this approach is key to Alpinestars’ success. To group everything together and spread development resources thin would be to limit the potential of a product like the all-new Supertech R10.

The handiwork of Alpinestars’ growing helmet “arm” that’s been building motocross helmets since 2018, the S-R10 is Alpinestars’ first full-face roadracing helmet and—importantly—the final piece in its head-to-toe package for street riders. It’s the result of more than 10 years of study, development, and testing, and as with every Alpinestars product, its purpose is to offer as much protection as modern materials allow.

The Supertech R10 is more than 10 years in the making.

There’s more to a helmet than its protective qualities of course, which is why Alpinestars divided the helmet’s development into areas outside of just protection; namely, aerodynamics, vision, ventilation, fit, and weight.

The result is a helmet that’s not just “good for a first try,” but one that moves the goal post for full-face helmets. To understand how far that goal post has been pushed, we headed to Italy to talk to the team and test the first product in the Supertech R10 lineup: the S-R10 Launch Edition. Two hundred of these helmets will be made, with more colors and versions available down the road.

The R10’s shape is the result of countless hours spent in a full-scale wind tunnel. Notice the bottom edge of the chin bar, which has been sculpted to reduce the chance of collarbone injury. A softer EPP (Expanded Polypropylene) liner extends beyond the shell and is covered by a rubber compound.

Protection
The S-R10′s external and internal design are as you’d expect from a top-tier full-face helmet. A 3K high-density carbon outer layer is used for energy dissipation. 3K indicates that 3,000 filaments are used per roving—a piece of carbon fiber yarn with many individual filaments. The next layer is a unidirectional carbon composite layer that’s intended to prevent compression and limit impact energy transmitted to the rider’s head. Below that are aramid fibers and fiberglass to protect from penetration. All of this is then bonded together via an epoxy resin.

“There are a lot of crashes in MotoGP where crazy things can happen,” Alpinestars communication director Heath Cofran says as he explains the shell construction. “By putting different layers exactly where they need to be, it’s the ultimate in safety and answers the ‘what if?’ ‘What if a rider gets hit by the bike?’ We’ve seen a lot of riders pushing the limit in sprint races, so we need to make the helmet as safe as possible. But it also has to be lightweight.”

Inside you’ll find eight pieces of EPS material in six different densities, as well as a low-friction coating that mitigates rotational impact forces.

A 3K high-density carbon outer layer is the star of the show, but beneath that you’ll find a unidirectional carbon composite layer and a layer of aramid fiber and fiberglass. There are four shell sizes across the lineup.

The result is a helmet that’s homologated to ECE 22.06, DOT, and FIM standards. And yet there’s more to the story, as Alpinestars claims the impact performance is 37 percent below the standard 22.06 ECE requirements for linear impacts and 65 percent below the standard requirements for oblique impacts.

Four shells are used across the platform; XS and S sizes share the same shell, as do XL and XXL.

We were lucky to not test the structural integrity of the S-R10. What we can say is that the helmet is indeed very lightweight. Our size medium weighs in at just 3.4 pounds and fits exceptionally well right out of the box. Compared to competitive products from Shoei and Arai, the helmet is more snug around the cheek area, but has a little more room in the crown. We’ve in the past struggled with headaches from extended periods of time in a helmet with a tight crown, and were happy to not have the S-R10 pinching the top of our dome. This is a helmet that fits well without being too restrictive.

All available visors for the S-R10 have turbulators. This design helps control the air moving around the top part of the visor and limits any “whistling” that might happen around the rider’s ear.

Aerodynamics
While protection is Alpinestars’ main focus, it admits that aerodynamics play an equally  important role in modern helmet design. Proper air management contributes to less strain on a rider’s neck and enables them to feel better, longer. Developing the helmet in a full-scale wind tunnel helped, and in just one look at the S-R10 you’ll notice how dedicated Alpinestars was to making this helmet as aerodynamic as possible. But the catch here is that the helmet wasn’t just designed to work in a full tuck.

“Anything can be aerodynamic in a tuck position, but when you’re off the bike, looking through a turn, the wind is coming from different angles,” Cofran says. “What we learned is by controlling the aerodynamics of the helmet off the bike, there’s less stress on the rider’s neck and more control. The helmet is not pulling.”

Alpinestars’ solution was to not only develop a compact, aggressively shaped shell but to include winglets into the design and to offer two spoilers: a standard and longer race version, both of which can be removed via a patented release system (the winglets are attached via an adhesive, but all appendages are designed to pop off in the event of a crash). More advancements come in the form of “turbulators” on the visor, which calm the air flowing around the visor and are intended to eliminate the whistling noise that you might otherwise experience as dirty air moves around the visor and past your ear.

The result is as advertised, or at least we should say that this helmet remains undoubtedly stable at speed. And when we say speed, we mean it; the track we tested the S-R10 on had everything from a 140-plus mph front straight to 115-plus mph corners, and there was minimal drag regardless of head position. Even when sitting up to brake and exposing yourself to gusts of wind, there’s little to no wobble. It’s truly impressive how well this helmet cuts through the air.

The benefits aren’t limited to track riding, as proven by our multiple hourlong stints commuting to and from the Mugello Circuit on Italy’s A1 highway in mixed, windy conditions. Supreme stability and limited drag make the helmet feel even lighter than it is, which equates to superb long-range comfort.

Reserve you Alpinestars Supertech R10 Helmet now!