Dear Giro - Um, in what decade did you design the Prolight?
OK, so everyone heard the hype that Giro was going to unveil a new skid lid at this years Tour. They have a record of doing this having unveiled truly bleeding edge helmets like the Boreas and the Pneumo and later the Atmos and now the sexy Ionos in Tours past. Rabobank and Postal would give the public first-looks with these plastic and styrofoam works of art. Those helmets were like looking at the future. Super ventilated, unbelievably light for their time.
So back to this announcement.
WTF Giro? Truth: Whoever gave the thumbs up to release this thing needs their aesthetic licensce snatched from their wallet and shred...post haste. Please tell me: What is the difference visually between this helmet worn days ago (and yes, this is 2009)...
Photo from http://redkite.giro.com/
...to this helmet...released, oh I suspect 1996. Maybe 1997 (actually it's a new member of their line, the Stylus, at the lower end of the price spectrum):
I just don't get it. The sick 175g light weight of this helmet notwithstanding (compare it to Specialized's 225g for the S Works), the helmet is a giant step backwards in aesthetic design. What happened?
Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 8:13PM
Reader Comments (4)
Hey so uh...you might have missed the point. (225g specialED) - (175g giro) = 50g difference.
And uh, well...if you're a rider in the Tour I think you'd be happy to sacrifice almost any type "aesthetic design" for 50 grams. It's not so much about looking good, not so much about vanity, and more about functionality.
Did you actually just say that, B. It's all about the look. Ha! But yeah, I made reference to the weight differential and it's huge. I just can;t believe the design is literally stagnant. Completely stuck in an era gone by.
I'm so glad some one else saw this. I turned the tour on and was like what the.... New helmet? Perhaps a helmet thief in the night? Took all the Ionos and left Stylus's. I bet Giro does a re-vamp of this one. Thanks for the words.
I'm intrigued by it, and actually think it's kind of cool. Style is certainly a personal thing, and I think we can all find something "retro" that we simply feel is better than "new".
Having said that, it seems like the 100 gram savings of the Pro Light is simply an option, or a trade-off. You can have ultra light weight, or more ventilation. You can't have both apparently, since helmet design has reached a plateau in materials and standards.
Since riders can't take more weight out of the bike, it seems the next progression is in other equipment if you want to lighten the load...