Viiala, the ultra-premium electric bicycle brand co-founded by Tomi Viiala and François-Henri Bennahmias, announces a landmark partnership with UNIT 1, the world’s leading developer of Smart Helmets for cycling. Together, the two companies will co-create an exclusive helmet engineered from the ground up to interface seamlessly with the Viiala e-bike and to deliver a riding experience defined, above all else, by safety.

At Viiala, safety is not a specification it is a design philosophy. Building the world’s most advanced electric bicycle demands an equally uncompromising approach to rider protection. Every element of the Viiala experience has been conceived around a simple truth: there are precisely four points where a rider makes contact with their machine. Four interfaces between human and bicycle. Grip, saddle, pedals and helmet.

HELMET —   The most critical interface. Now, reimagined.

The helmet is the singular touchpoint that can determine whether a rider walks away from an incident. For Viiala, ‘good enough’ protection was never an option. This is why the partnership with UNIT 1 was not a choice it was an inevitability. The helmet co-developed exclusively for Viiala will be built to the most demanding protection standards in the world, while introducing a suite of connected technology that transforms it into an active extension of the bike itself.

ACTIVE SAFETY: BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER

UNIT 1 was founded on a radical premise: that a helmet should not merely protect a rider after a crash it should work to prevent one from happening in the first place, and continue working even after impact. Their approach, which they call Active Safety, operates across three phases of every ride:

Before a crash: High-intensity lights positioned at eye-level make the rider visible to drivers. Integrated turn signals and brake lights communicate intent making the rider not only seen, but predictable.

During a crash: UNIT 1 helmets carry a 5-star Virginia Tech safety rating with MIPS system and NTA e-bike certification best-in-class impact protection at the moment it matters most.

After a crash: Crash Alert technology detects an impact and automatically sends an SOS text with the rider’s precise location to an emergency contact. First responders can scan the helmet to access the rider’s medical ID and critical health information immediately.

The Viiala-exclusive helmet will go further still, featuring a dedicated technology suite designed to interface directly with the bike delivering critical riding data to the rider without requiring them to look down or break concentration. It is the ultimate interface for the ultimate electric bicycle.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

“At Viiala, we believe the most important question in electric cycling is not what a bike can do  it is what happens to the rider. Four contact points connect a human being to our VIIALA that can travel at 45 km/h or more. We are obsessed with making each of those four points as safe, as precise, and as intelligent as possible. UNIT 1 shares that obsession. This partnership is not a commercial arrangement it is a shared conviction.”

— Tomi Viiala, Co-Founder, Viiala

“When I heard Tomi was building something new after his days at Stromer, I knew UNIT 1 had to be part of it  before I even knew what it was. We had pioneered the helmet-to-bike connection together. Now, working with Viiala feels like the natural evolution of that same original idea: what can a Smart Helmet do when connected to the most advanced electric bicycle ever built? When Tomi reached out, we jumped aboard in a second.”

— Juan Garcia Mansilla, Co-founder, UNIT 1

A PARTNERSHIP FORGED IN HISTORY

This is not the first time Viiala’s Co-Founder has worked alongside UNIT 1. As Co-CEO of Stromer — the Swiss manufacturer that established the S-Pedelec category as a global premium benchmark — Tomi Viiala and the UNIT 1 team pioneered the world’s first helmet-toe-bike integration, introducing a connected, safer riding experience the industry had never encountered.

The Viiala partnership represents the next chapter of that shared mission — elevated to match the ambition of an ultra-premium electric bicycle that is redefining what the category can mean. Since 2021, UNIT 1 has reached over 60,000 riders globally. Their technology has demonstrably saved lives. For Viiala — a brand that will not compromise on any dimension of the ride — there was only one choice for the helmet.

This is not a co-branded accessory. It is a system component  conceived and engineered as part of the Viiala experience from the ground up, held to the same standards of precision and intention as every other element of the machine.

THE COMMITMENT

Every rider who swings a leg over a Viiala is placing an extraordinary amount of trust in the people who built it. That is not a transaction. It is something closer to a promise one that travels with them on every ride, whether they are conscious of it or not.

Viiala was not built to impress. It was built to be worthy of that trust. The kind of worthy that shows up quietly, in decisions made long before the rider ever touches the bike. In the choice of partners. In what you refuse to compromise. In the belief that the person on the bike  their safety, their confidence, their ability to come home  matters more than anything else.

That is what UNIT 1 means to Viiala. Not a feature. A promise kept

ABOUT VIIALA

Unveiled in 2025 as part of the Honourable Merchants Group and launching its inaugural bikes in 2028, Viialaʼs first model enters a new, untapped technological and innovation-led market in the segment. More than an e-bike, it is a statement of possibility where engineering, aesthetics, and purpose converge to create the ultimate riding experience for the cities of today and the roads of tomorrow.

Learn more: www.viiala.com. / https://thehonourablemerchantsgroup.com/

ABOUT UNIT1

UNIT 1 develops Smart Helmets for cycling, using technology to make rides safe beyond the confines of traditional impact protection. Using lights, turn signals, brake lights and an advanced sensor suite, UNIT 1 has created the only two Smart Helmets in the world with a 5star Virginia Tech safety ranking. Since 2023, UNIT 1 has pioneered the integration between helmets and e-bikes — originally with Stromer and now expanded across brands — making it the leading authority in connected e-bike helmets. Today, more than 60,000 riders trust UNIT 1 gear on every ride. www.unit1gear.com