Review: Review: Giro Air Attack Helmet

If the claims are right then it will save you valuable seconds on a demanding race, if they are not then you are left with a supremely comfortable helmet with unique looks. But you can fit a GoPro to it!

Performance 9/10 Looks 7/10 Value 8/10 Overall 8/10

Compared to virtually every other helmet on the market place the Giro Air Attack  comes with some unique looks

I’ve been riding the Air Attack for a couple of months now, and in that time I’ve managed to experience the majority of British weather conditions – from -5 and snowing to +25 and glorious, and the Air Attack has coped admirably with each and every one.

The first thing you notice when putting on the Air Attack is its comfort – absolutely superb!

With Giro’s Roc Loc Air system the Air Attack is super comfy, with the helmet sitting just off of the skull itself.  Very easy to adjust thanks to the rear dial, and moveable up and down as well, it really won’t take long to get a fit for your head.

Giro bill the Air Attack as giving a dose of ‘free speed’ due to its wind-tunnel tested aerodynamics – claiming that  the Air Attack is 17 seconds faster over 40km at a constant 40kph than the Aeon model.
http://youtu.be/QF872cw4Nw0

Did I notice a 17 second difference over 40km? Sadly not – mainly due I think to the lack of riding in a wind-tunnel as part of the test, instead I had to make do with fast riding on roads, with their differences in speed, so the marginal gains that it could have offered would have possibly been negated.

Mr Giro that I spoke with recently said that the aero benefits really only start to kick in when you approach 17-18mph, if you are doing less than that then you are no better off with this helmet at all!

So, aero-aside, how does the Air Attack work out on the road?

It sits just off the head itself allowing for the movement of air to cool you down via the venturi effect  – but you are always left wondering whether those tiny vents are providing enough air to the scalp!

I took myself out in +25 degree heat to give the helmet a good work up and couldn’t find fault with the cooling side of things, not noticing an overheating of the head, even on the slower climbs.

Make no mistake about it, the Air Attack works best in faster flowing air, but for the majority of British summer even on the slower climbs it still manages to keep things respectable.

That leaves just 2 things left to test – its ability to protect your head in an impact and its looks…..

I didn’t crash at any point so no real first hand experience of this, but obviously it carries the appropriate stickers for strength and security of you knock your head.

So styling it is then… Ok, I am going to be honest here, I’m still not sure I like the look of it.

In black and the darker colours I think it works (black being slimming an all that) but in the white that I am using, I think it makes my head look big – sadly no pics of this effect 😉 

The solid nature of it means that it just looks bigger than a normal vented helmet – it might not actually BE bigger, but perception counts for a lot in these things!

The Pro’s will say that its a marvel of a helmet, but I guess when you are paid to say such things it’s easy to trot out the company line – aero is definitely the next place the manufacturers will be aiming to explore and with other companies bringing out their aero helmets you can expect to see more and more of them in the peloton.

Do we really need aero helmets on the leafy lanes?

I would say that if you are at ‘that’ stage where  a few watts makes all the difference then by all means go and give ti a try, but for the normal rider it’s probably not the right reason to be buying it.

Comfort, yes. Styling, if it’s your thing. Being able to fit a GoPro mount to it, YES and yes!

At around the £130 mark its certainly not an extravagant purchase for a helmet and I don’t think you will feel hard done by with it, but do check the colours out – they make a difference!

Would I buy it? Yeah I think I would, but I wouldn’t choose the white version!

Available at all Giro stockists or if you prefer – check it out on Amazon