At tomorrow’s Tour of California Folsom ITT Giro is officially releasing its fastest ever helmets, the Giro Aerohead MIPS and the Aerohead Ultimate MIPS Time Trial / Triathlon helmets. The Giro Aerohead MIPS has an impressive launch having already set records with Rohan Dennis wearing a prototype on his way to winning the 2015 Tour de France prologue and the BMC Racing Team setting the fastest ever team time trial at this years Tirreno Adriatico.
There are two variations of the helmet, the Giro Aerohead MIPS has four external vents and a polycarbonate shell, the Giro Aerohead Ultimate MIPS has a TeXtreme™ carbon fiber shell and no external vents at all.
The advantage of using carbon fiber was not for weight as both helmets have the same weight of 450 grams, Giro explain that by using carbon fiber they were able to make the frontal area of the Aerohead Ultimate MIPS shell 2% smaller than the Aerohead MIPS which results in lower drag and a more aerodynamic helmet.
Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 9)The four cooling vents of the Giro Aerohead MIPS give it an 8% cooling advantage compared to the Aerohead Ultimate MIPS
Both models feature wrap around Roc Loc Zeiss eye shields in two lens colours and the lenses also lock in place when raised in the flipped up position.
Just how fast are the Giro Aerohead MIPS and Aerohead Ultimate MIPS?
Because of the smaller frontal area Giro is claiming the Aerohead Ultimate MIPS saves 47.4 seconds over 180km at 250 watts compared to a Giro Advantage aero helmet. The Aerohead MIPS is a claimed 42.4 seconds faster than the Giro Advantage. In the table below you can see the drag numbers and time savings compared to Giro Selector, Air Attack with shield and Advantage.
The standard Giro Aerohead MIPS has some impressive numbers in the chart and it’s worth stating now that it’s under half the price of the Aerohead Ultimate.
You can also see in the chart above that compared to a Giro Air Attack Shield the Aerohead MIPS is 14.3% warmer but over 1 percent cooller than a Giro Selector. The Aerohead Ultimate MIPS is 22.3% warmer than the Air Attack and 8% warmer than the standard Aerohead.
The Aerohead MIPS will be available during August in white/silver, matte black, matte white and black/vermilion and will retail at USD250.
The Aerohead Ultimate MIPS will be available later in the year at a cost of USD550 in carbon or white colours.
