Submitted by
Doc
a Weekend Warrior
from Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Date Reviewed: February 4, 2009
Strengths: Great fit and comfort.
Weaknesses: I was swabbing out the interior and the RocLoc assembly broke on both sides rendering the helmet useless. I'm having trouble finding replacement parts for my 2000 model.
Bottom Line:
best helmet I've owned. Need to replace the RocLoc assembly or find a new favorite.
Bike Setup: TREK: I break parts so often I don't remember what's on it now. A true mutt!
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
ho mo
a Cross Country Rider
from greensboro
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2003
Strengths: Customer service, fit quality, weight, value
Weaknesses: colors...but thatsa-personal thing right...? Really a great lid for the price, maybe best one ever value-wise.
Bottom Line:
Helmets are a personal thing...what fits you doesnt fit me but what is as or more important is the company behind the product. These crazy Giro people sent me a new visor for my helmet after I got one used on without the visor.....now is that not awesome...for free direct from I-ta-ly....I will certainly always stick with giro from now on...some companies are worth allegencies ya know? Oh, and the helmet is a great fit and lite-ish for da dough.
I replaced my cheap Schwinn helmet with this Giro supposedly worth $70 retail. I bought the white one. While I love the fit, looks, and comfort of the Gila, the ventilation stinks for a helmet in that price range. It is a very warm helmet, and the pads are placed so sweat drips into my eyes. So while it is overall proabably a better helmet than my old Schwinn, it is just too hot to wear on warm days. In fact, it has proven to be warm on 65 degree days. My head roasts while the rest of me is chilly! I think it's not so much the amount or size of vents as it is the poor placement of them. Inexcusable for a $70 lid, luckily I got mine on closeout for much less. For a recreational rider it should be fine. But if you ride hard, look elsewhere.
Weaknesses: The velcro straps, on the '02 model the rocloc uses velcro, this was fixed on the '03 model.
Bottom Line:
The helmet is great for anyone who wants a cool helmet and yet doesn't want to pay an arm an a leg for it. The only draw back of the '02 model is that the rocloc system use velcro for retention, and the glue on the velcro come off the helmet, this becomes an even bigger problem in the summer, but I found that a little supper glue fixed my problem. The '03 model uses a push button style of retention, I haven't tryied it yet but we'll see in the future. Anyways other than that it is a great helmet.
I like the way it looks with the graphics, and I also like the inmold shell, I will never buy a taped on shell ever again. Also the rocloc system works great on pony tails. My finace has the same helmet and she loves the fact that her pony tail can be put trough the rocloc.
Similar Products Used: Just my hair - doesn't work os well.
Bike Setup: Kona Caldera, wellgo pedals, Bontrager Race FS+10 saddle, Kore chain reactor, Oury grips, Cane Creek ergo control barends, Cateye enduro 2 comp
Strengths: A good looking, well ventilated helmet for relatively little cash.
Weaknesses: The visor can get twisted out of shape and looks a little cheap. A bit more strap adjustability would help.
Bottom Line:
Two days ago this helmet saved my life. The side of my head hit the road too hard to keep brains in my skull and though the helmet has gone to the big MTB graveyard in the sky with a huge crack, I didn't follow.
As the car driver who mowed me down paid for a new helmet I upgraded to an Exedus, but if it was my own money, I would have bought the same.
Submitted by
Chris Westall
a Weekend Warrior
from Asheboro, NC
Date Reviewed: September 14, 2002
Strengths: Great look, excellent fit and sufficient ventilation. Removable pads make for easy cleaning after each ride
Weaknesses: The fabric on the removable pads comes apart rather easy
Bottom Line:
I haven't gone down yet hard enough to wear my melon has taken a blow, but I feel more than confident that this helmet will do it's job when that moment comes (and it will). Everything else I mentioned above makes this a great buy.
Submitted by
Rob Leibold
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto, Ontario
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2002
Strengths: Nice and light, looks cool, Roc Loc system, fits like a dream, sweat pads are nice too
Weaknesses: a bit hot (but my own fault for buying a black helmet!)
Bottom Line:
Great helmet! I got mine off ebay from eDiscountBike.com for $20.00!!!! I have had trouble with helmets fitting on my head (cause I have an abnormally small head) but this helmet fit right out of the box with no adjustments!!! A word of wisdom though, don't buy black helmets! They may look cool but they get way to hot in the sun!
Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Ringwood, NJ
Date Reviewed: July 29, 2002
Strengths: Looks, Price, Protection , Roc Loc
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
I had this helmet for just about a year. Besides being one of the better looking helmets, it feels very comfortable. The RocLoc feature keeps the helmet snug. And its very cool with lots of air flow.
I had an incident that wasn’t directly related to product defect where I had to send the helmet in for repair. Not only did they send me out a new helmet, it was delivered to me within a week of sending it out. That is customer service that you don’t get much anymore. If I could give it more then five flames, I would.
This is a great helmet particularly for the price. The helmet has plenty of vents to keep your head cool and the coolmax pads don't get too hot and are extremely comfortable. The helmet looks fantastic and it's only about 1 oz. heavier than Giro's best models, not much of a noticeable difference for most of us.
There may be better helmets out there but none come close without spending at least three or four times what I paid on Pricepoint.com. This helmet is a best buy for everyone.
