Submitted by
dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Sale, Vic, Australia
Date Reviewed: September 24, 2002
Strengths: Its light, well ventilated.
Bottom Line:
My helmet has been fantastic, it fits well, i don't get too hot with it on a big thing in hot summers. A mate of mine just crashed a 60kph and didn't even know he hit his head untill we got back to the car, long walk (broke his forks). My ventoux is pre rock loc. and ready to be retired for no other reason but i have more hair now and it doesn't fit any more.
Strengths: style; ventilation; saved my head once.
Weaknesses: pricier than a plastic-wrapped piece of styrofoam should be. Once I landed on my chin; helmet didn't help.
Bottom Line:
Wear your helmet. I never found this helmet uncomfortable, even on the hottest days. It served me well for three years and three months, until a 16 year old driver head-oned me in Portland, Maine. I landed on my back and never knew my head had touched the ground until the paramedics told me (and strapped my neck into a cervical collar, where it remained for the next two hours). Helmet was split wide open in back, and I didn't even feel it. Making it the best 99 dollars I ever spent.
Just outside the crash warranty, alas--the kid's insurance paid for a new Boreas. The newer ones don't seem to fit as well. I think Giro reduced the number of size options by one, if memory serves. (If not, blame the former helmet...)
(NB Giro's road models are vented for optimal airflow at higher speeds, their MTB models for lower speeds.)
Submitted by
Ryan Norman
a Weekend Warrior
from Tulsa, OK
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2000
Strengths: This helmet is lite with adequate ventilation. The fit is most important and with the Roc Loc system, Giros have always fit me well. Since Giro doesn't make these anymore, if you can still find one, it should be cheap and well worth the price. Great for both road and MTB.
Weaknesses: Can anybody make removable straps? Unless you crash a lot, the chin straps will rot before the helmet needs replaced. Regardless, 4 years is plenty long for any helmet, so I'm getting a new Eclipse. It hasn't been reviewed yet, so I hope to be one of the first.
Bottom Line:
Giro puts more safety and air flow engineering into their helmets than any other company. Despite a slightly restrictive size range (you melon-heads may be out of luck), they fit the best of any helmets around. The Ventoux was a landmark in temperature control, which has now been surpassed, but I bet Bell never would have figured it out.
Strengths: Lightweight with decent but not great ventilation.
Weaknesses: Fit is only okay as my model is pre Roc Loc. Cost if you pay list but who does for helmets? Cushion pads come loose after a few years but that's fairly common in my experience.
Bottom Line:
Fit was not great as it was pre Roc Loc and the Roc Loc kit requires an experienced basket weaver to retro-fit. I did not qualify. Straps needs to be adjusted about every 2 months or so as they lose their adjustment. However its light and functional. A pedestrian stepped off the curb, against the light, this weekend and my brake lever caught his shoulder bag strap. I went from 25mph to 0 in about 3 feet. My hip and ankle caught most of the crash and the side of my head snapped onto the road. The helmet did its job as it split. Guess I'll be getting the Roc Loc or its equivalent after all.
Similar Products Used: Various Bell helmets going back to their first in 1974.
Bike Setup: Litespeed road
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tim
a cross-country rider
from Denver
Date Reviewed: August 8, 1998
Bottom Line:
I have owned one of these for around three years now and it has been, and still is, a good helmet. It fits me well and is lightweight and well ventilated. My only beef is that I left it in the car for a few days in the summer and the interior pads began falling off due to the heat. I glued them back on with silicon gel and they have not given me a problem since.
Submitted by
Ken
a weekend warrior
from Tokyo, Japan
Date Reviewed: January 10, 1998
Bottom Line:
Good vent, nice design, good looks, great fit Hard to strap snugly, other companies have caught up with the fitting mechanismThis helmet is no longer the cutting edge, but still offers an affordable alternative. Used to be a 4-chili, now 3. Still, I don't see any reason for regretting buying this helmet, unless you do extensive downhilling.
Submitted by
Maynard Lowry
a cross-country rider
from Riverside, CA USA
Date Reviewed: November 26, 1997
Bottom Line:
One hopes never to need a helmet, but wears one faithfully--just in case. I have ridden 6000 miles in the last year and a half and the all the helmet did was shield my head from some overhanging stuff in my garage as I was getting my bike out to ride. Then...I was riding mountain bikes with my son. We had concluded (nearly) our ride. Something caught his attention, he stopped abruptly in front of me. I caught his rear tire and went flying on the pavement. My first thought was that I had hit my head, but it wasn't hurting. My son said, Are you all right? I guess you'll need a new helmet now. I had broken off a piece of the helmet just behind the right ear. My Giro Airblast did it job. Of course it will now cost me thirty dollars to replace it.
Wilma now Hors Categorie, the mont Ventoux of Hurricanes, CANCUN can't, next hurrican will have to use a Greek letter, starting with Alpha.
link:[URL=http://breakingnews.iol.ie/ Read More »
Ok, it's got a reynolds 501 frame and fork, all the components are white! Stronglight crank is white, Huret derailleurs etc etc.
Anyways, it has a few places where the paint go Read More »
I have enjoyed riding my 89-90 lemond ventoux 9 miles or more to work for a while, but now the bb is in need of replacement. anyone know where I can find info on the size I need? c Read More »
