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TECH NEWS

Most interesting: Giro Aether MIPS helmet + video

Check out the new tech-packed lid that has just arrived for review

The Aether, Giro's new top end road helmet, has just landed at road.cc HQ for testing. The US brand makes big promises for this design which has just become available in the UK. 

What is it?

"From the elegant silhouette of the Aether’s industrial design to how this helmet manages impact energy, it’s unlike any helmet ever created and a testament to [our] dedication to leading head protection," says Giro.

Why is it interesting?

From a distance the Giro doesn't shout "tech" – at first glance it doesn't look all that different from a lid that costs a fraction of the price – but get up close and you'll see that there's a lot going on here.

First, the shell is made up of six separate pieces of polycarbonate. Then there's what's called an Aura reinforcing arch, which is the shatterproof, transparent piece that you can see running laterally across the front vents.

Giro Aether 2018 - 6.jpg

The Aura arch is tinted like sunglasses lenses. The idea is that it adds to the helmet's structural integrity, allowing for loads of ventilation without compromising safety.

The internal channelling is intricate, loads of indentations in the EPS (expanded polystyrene) foam liner designed to allow air to flow over your head.

The standout feature, though, is that there are two distinct layers of multi-density EPS foam that can move relative to one another. 

We've seen something vaguely similar before on the Bell Zephyr (Bell and Giro are both owned by the same parent company although their design teams work separately) but it's more obvious here. Put the Aether on your head and you can slide the outer layer of EPS well over a centimetre in certain directions while the inner layer stays motionless next to your head.

Giro Aether 2018 - 5.jpg

Why? It's MIPS, innit. As you probably know by now, MIPS stands for Multi-directional Impact Protection System. According to the company behind it, MIPS is "scientifically proven to reduce rotational motion by absorbing and redirecting rotational energies and forces transferred to the brain from angled impacts to the head."

Giro Aether 2018 - 4.jpg

That's the short version. I'm heading to Sweden in a couple of weeks to pay MIPS a visit so I'll give you full chapter and verse after that... whether you like it or not.

A MIPS system is usually added to the inside of a helmet as a liner but Giro reckons that its method of incorporation, called MIPS Spherical technology, "gives riders the benefits of MIPS without any obstruction to comfort or cooling power". 

Personally, I rarely get an uncomfortably hot head when cycling, but people who do sometimes say that a MIPS liner can exacerbate things by reducing airflow. Giro's approach is designed to avoid this.

Giro Aether 2018 - 7.jpg

One final thing worth mentioning is that you get little rubber grippers at the bottom of the front vents that are intended to help keep your eyewear in place when you stow them up there. It looks like a cool little feature.

How much?

Our Giro Aether hit the scales at 267g and the price is £259.99 — there's always a catch, isn't there? — so you're looking at about a quid a gram!

Giro Aether 2018 - 3.jpg

Right, we're going to get the Aether properly photographed (as opposed to these quick snaps) and get the test process started. Keep your eyes open for a review on road.cc in the next few weeks.

Get more info here. 

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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8 comments

Avatar
bobbinogs | 6 years ago
0 likes

^^ I sense 'twas tongue in cheek, with \ironic missed off somewhere  3

Avatar
Miller | 6 years ago
1 like

More plastic litter.

Avatar
vonhelmet replied to Miller | 6 years ago
0 likes

Miller wrote:

More plastic litter.

U wot m8.

Avatar
Biggie Smells | 6 years ago
1 like

There are seven colourways available for the Aether. Plenty to choose from.

 

But you must remember that buying Giro products means you’re putting guns into the hands of American children, so you’ll need to be prepared to take the wrath of the road.cc comment section heroes. They know who they are, although they’re probably out saving kittens and replanting rainforests so they’ll miss this excellent post.

Avatar
longassballs replied to Biggie Smells | 6 years ago
0 likes
See 59 wrote:

But you must remember that buying Giro products means you’re putting guns into the hands of American children, so you’ll need to be prepared to take the wrath of the road.cc comment section heroes. They know who they are, although they’re probably out saving kittens and replanting rainforests so they’ll miss this excellent post.

Vista Outdoor announced 6+ months ago their intention to sell their cycling and eyewear brands (Bell, Blackburn, Bolle, Giro, etc), but keep Camelbak. Whether they have or not I have no idea. So you and your kittens can probably buy this helmet and sleep safely at night

Avatar
JuanGrande replied to Biggie Smells | 6 years ago
1 like

See 59 wrote:

There are seven colourways available for the Aether. Plenty to choose from.

 

But you must remember that buying Giro products means you’re putting guns into the hands of American children, so you’ll need to be prepared to take the wrath of the road.cc comment section heroes. They know who they are, although they’re probably out saving kittens and replanting rainforests so they’ll miss this excellent post.

"Guns in the hands of American children" Stop with these blatant lies and nonsense. This is not even close to true and you're either a huge liar who will say anything to push a narrative to deceive people or you're so naive and gullible that life is going to be extremely hard for you. The only children in America who obtain a gun do so illegally. It's OK to have ideological differences but intellectual dishonesty is disgusting. Grow up.  

 

Avatar
don simon fbpe replied to JuanGrande | 6 years ago
1 like

JuanGrande wrote:

See 59 wrote:

There are seven colourways available for the Aether. Plenty to choose from.

 

But you must remember that buying Giro products means you’re putting guns into the hands of American children, so you’ll need to be prepared to take the wrath of the road.cc comment section heroes. They know who they are, although they’re probably out saving kittens and replanting rainforests so they’ll miss this excellent post.

"Guns in the hands of American children" Stop with these blatant lies and nonsense. This is not even close to true and you're either a huge liar who will say anything to push a narrative to deceive people or you're so naive and gullible that life is going to be extremely hard for you. The only children in America who obtain a gun do so illegally. It's OK to have ideological differences but intellectual dishonesty is disgusting. Grow up.  

 

You don't have to take what was said quite so literally to understand that easily accessed guns by Joe Public really isn't a good idea. We don't even have to mention the number of shooting victims who died at the hands of legally owned guns by the legally owned guns' owners in the good old US of A for the point to be demonstrated, do we?

 

Anyway, what's the helmet for?

Avatar
cdamian | 6 years ago
0 likes

I really want this one, but the price has to come down a bit.

It also isn't readily available, for example at Wiggle.

Not many colour choices either.

 

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