This is Lance's helmet. Enough said.
Written: Jul 30 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lightweight. Great Ventilation. Great Fit. Handsome looks.
Cons: Uh, there aren't any.
The Bottom Line: The Giro Pneumo offers great protection, excellent style, and maximum cooling effect.
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| andylibby's Full Review: Giro Pneumo |
As a ten year vet of road cycling and racing I have been through more helmets that I care to remember. I have also seen tremendous progress in helmet design and technology in the past decade.
When I first started riding mountain bikes back in the 80s, cycling helmets were heavy, clunky, hot and ugly things that we wore because we weren't good enough to keep the rubber side down (that means we crashed a lot). Many a time I put major gouges into a helmet that would have been my noggin if I had gone without a brain bucket. Fortunately, helmet manufacturers have fine-tuned their art and offered a steadily improving selection of ever lighter, ever more attractive, and ever more ventilated helmets all the while improving their safety performance. The Giro Pneumo represents the state of that art at this writing.
The Giro Pneumo is light at 284 grams (10 ounces) and has 19 huge vents to allow air to flow through the helmet. The Pneumo's vents were actually wind-tunnel designed to "channel" air to the rider's head to allow maximum cooling. The padding inside the Pneumo is made of moisture-wicking Coolmax material to further aid in the evaporation of sweat and to better aid in cooling. (A cool head is very important in the dog days of summer here in Texas.) The Pneumo is light enough and cool enough that wearing it becomes easily forgotten about. The strap system of the Pneumo features the patented RocLoc 4 helmet retention system which is designed to keep the helmet sitting level on the head and to insure it stays in place during a spill. Proper strap adjustment is quick and simple and the chin buckle is easy to use and has a "no-pinch" feature. For those who wish it, the Pneumo comes with an optional visor that can be easily snapped on or taken off.
Technology wise, the Pneumo is made with a new process that was developed by Giro called "In mold" construction in which the energy-absorbing styrofoam is molded directly to the hard plastic shell instead of having the shell being an extra piece that is taped or glued on. This makes for a stronger helmet without adding weight and also makes for a more durable helmet longterm.
In addition to the practical aspects and features of the Pneumo, plenty of attention was paid to its styling. The Pneumo is one of the best looking cycling helmets around and it makes the rider look fast just sitting on his or her head (in my opinion). The reality is that many cycling helmets are kind of dorky looking in the box and look even worse on the head. The Pneumo looks great sitting still and even better in action.
My Pneumo is a L in the Orange, Red, and White color. (It matches my team jersey exactly.) The colors of the Giro helmets are molded into the shells instead of painted on so even if it gets scratched, it won't show any blemish.
I've tried a lot of brands of helmets and Giros tend to fit my head better and are much more comfortable than other brands. I must not be the only one, because there are a bunch of people wearing Giro these days including a cyclist from Austin, Texas named Lance Armstrong.
I'm sure that Giro will come up with another helmet that will top the Pneumo in the future. When they do, I will buy one. For now, the Pneumo is the top of the heap as far as I'm concerned.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
andylibby
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Location: Keller, Texas
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Husband, GrandDad, Bicyclist, Vegetarian, Republican Activist, Marketing Rep
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