Since 1985, Giro has manufactured a wide range of helmets for use in road cycling and mountain biking. Many professional cycling teams use Giro products worldwide. In 1989, Greg Lemond wore a Giro helmet to victory in the Tour de France. Since then, many great wins have been added to the list of Giro-sponsored victories, including recent Tour victories by Lance Armstrong.
Through continuous working and testing, engineers at Giro Sport Design have developed a new helmet, the Giro Pneumo. In addition to creating a great design, Giro has balanced light weight and strength.
The design allows for huge rear vents, which make a total of 19 on the helmet. The vents are effective. They are designed to allow cool air to flow through specifically designed channels and to allow hot air to flow out.
"Thanks to the wind tunnel vent system, my head never felt hot during a three-hour ride in 88-degree weather," says Roadcycling.com reviewer Dave Osborne. He continues, "After several years of wearing a Giro Boreas helmet, I didn't
think there could be anything better. That was until I tested the new Giro Pneumo!".
Some would expect the small, medium, and large size choices in the helmet to be too generic. Not so with Giro's Roc Loc fit system. The Pneumo has the new Roc Loc 4 system. A plastic band on each side of the helmet goes about halfway around the inside of the helmet. The front half of the helmet is padded. With a simple squeeze and pull, you can widen the adjustment band on the back, slip on the helmet, and then slide the adjustment band together until you get a snug fit. Both of our reviewers found this to be easy and quick. The rigid plastic side bands are an additional improvement over the elastic terry bands that were featured on previous helmet models.
During the rides, the helmet never slipped or moved, and the plastic bands were comfortable.
An additional feature is the new clip-on visor. There is a small, recessed hole on each side of the front of the helmet to snap in the visor. The Pneumo visor easily clips in, and it can be tilted up to 15 degrees. Tilting does not block any of the vents.
"The clip-on visor is of great use to me when I ride in rainy conditions. Just smack the visor on and you're prepared for anything - possibly even sky pumps," says Roadcycling.com reviewer Thomas Valentinsen.
What about the important issue of protection? The Pneumo complies with United States CPSC (Consumer Products Safety Commission) standards. You can stay cool and not get a concussion!
Once again, Giro has made a fashionable and racy looking helmet. It goes beyond good looks by fitting better with easy adjustments. We didn't find anything that could be improved. Giro will face an extremely difficult task when trying to develop an even better helmet for next year!
The Pneumo comes in a wide range of colors and is even available in a limited edition, which comes in a fancy Giro Helmet Pod case--a tough yet very lightweight first-class ticket for traveling helmets.
The Giro Pneumo is the perfect helmet. We recommend it wholeheartedly.
