Buffalo Buff

I've been biking for over three decades and I've never owned a bike helmet.

Recently I've been thinking about changing that.

I like the looks of the Giro Air Attack Shield, and I feel like the visor would be more comfortable than using sunglasses or safety glasses.

One concern I have is how well the visor blocks wind. I need whatever visor / glasses I'm using to block the wind or my eyes water really bad. I'd love to hear from people who own this helmet how much wind the visor lets in.

Do you have any other recommendations? Since converting to a road bike and going on a few 40-50mph descents, I've begun feeling like I should wear a helmet, just in case. That'd be a nasty fall even with one on, much less without.

GlennR

Get a Giro Synthe, its more aero, lighter ndjustnuse your existing glasses.

Buffalo Buff

Why does it cost 250$?

dcsix

Hey, try making it!
Seriously though, the Synthe/MIPS is the latest greatest, you might want to read up on it here, as they say it debuted at The Tour last year. There's a whole bunch of helmets that are better than nothing at all, of course, I like the concept of MIPS and will be looking into one myself. Good idea to get something on your noggin!

Giro? Official Site

eric1971

Generally speaking, you are going to pay extra for the latest and greatest of something. That being said, I really like my Synthe. It is the most comfortable helmet I have ever worn. That in itself makes it worth the 250 to me.

MRT2

Plenty of helmets that are reasonably light and comfortable for $100 of less. I bought my wife a Bell on sale for $17 with free shipping from Amazon and she loves it. It isn't a road helmet, but it has a lot of vents, and fits well. I think I paid maybe $60 for my road helmet, a Cannondale, bought on sale at a LBS. Probably not the lightest or most aero, but it isn't bad. And in the scheme of things, how much faster will an aero helmet really make you? That said, if you want an aero helmet retailing for $250, it is your money.

Sy Reene

The more holes they cut out of the foam protection, the more expensive the helmet is. Quite easy to understand.

cruiserhead

marketing and name brand, mostly.

But you are considering the Air Attack and that's not exactly a cheap helmet.

You can also look at the Dux Helm helmet with flip down visor.

79pmooney

Visors make life on the bike better. Only real drawbacks: vision and neck issues if you ride with your back very horizontal and visors flunk peer review aka peer pressure. I rode visorless for about 15 years, then went to a visor after I started using a mirror. Not only does it provide an optimum place to mount the mirror* but it also blocks the sun and greatly reduces rain on my glasses. I can often also block very bright lights just tipping my head. Better than any head gear I ever used in my racing days (including none).

Ben

*but I do have to make my own brackets as the helmet folk and mirror folk cannot get together to make a really good universal system

bbbean 

Because it's worth it for those of us who want a very light, very aero, very well ventilated, and very comfortable helmet. If you find a less expensive one that does it for you, go for it.

BB

RPK79

I use cycling caps with visors. As a bonus they flip up for when I go into the drops. I have not attached a mirror though since I still have full use of my neck.

79pmooney

Seriously consider MIPS. It will cost. It will limit your choices. The good news is that it is taking off, so there are first class helmets that use it. I bought the first helmet with it that had a visor, was a visible color (I do a lot of night and rain riding) and fit. The POC Trabec. A little heavy. A little dorky. Not a road helmet. But ... very comfortable, very well made. Best helmet I have ever owned by a lot (and that's before crash testing it. I have established a good baseline with several Bell models. If fuirther testing is done, I will report back. Hopefully.)

Ben

bbbean 

Not to mention the fact that when you take off the helmet, a hat advertises your awesomeness.

dksix

I have a helmet with the shield (a China made from eBay) and I really like it. The first thing I noticed is that the with shield instead of sunglasses I have to bend my neck less to see out in front of me when I'm low on the bike. Not something I thought of when buying the helmet. The next thing was that it kept gnats out of my eyes better than my glasses, once again not something I had considered. I was buying my first helmet and actually likes the profile of this helmet better than others until I got into the 3X price range and hadn't planned to use the drop down lens.

After having my China helmet with the drop down shield I can say I would want it when I upgrade my helmet.

OnyxTiger

I purchased my Air Attack Shield on Amazon and was all-in at $96. Steal of a price for the model.

Ventilation is surprisingly plenty on this lid, and I agree on the wind getting in the eyes from the slots in the visor. Not sure what the function of that design was, perhaps extra ventilation. Hasn't been too much to warrant putting some electric tape on the inside to seal it, but there's an option. Someone mentioned just getting a normal helmet and wearing glasses with it, but my experience with shades is they're sub-optimal on descents when you're tucked in with your head at an angle... looking over the rim of the glasses is both inconvenient and potentially unsafe. The visor on the AAS is incredible for that purpose.

Mostly though, I just wanted to say, if you've done 40 - 50 mph descents without a helmet, you are INSANE. In my opinion, of course.

RPK79

Damn straight.

Buffalo Buff

Thanks for the replies. Going to read up on MIPS when I get done at the gym.

GuitarBob

If you can live w/ last year's colors, you can find a Synthe for less. A random search brought up an example for $170, you might be able to better elsewhere:

Giro Synthe Aero Road Helmet Closeout 2015

dksix

Weren't you specifically wanting one with a shield?

Buffalo Buff

I would like that feature but it isn't mandatory. Do you know of any others with visors besides the giro I should consider?

StanSeven

It's more than last years colors - it's non MIPS

GuitarBob

Right. They still manufacture and sell the non-MIPS versions of the Synthe.

milkbaby

Both the Air Attack and Synthe can be found online for $100. You may not like the available colors at that price tho.

e30jean

How well does the Giro Attack Shield helmet work in hot climates? Doesn't look like it's got a lot of ventilation compared to say Bell Alchera.

GlennR

I purchased my original Synthe MIPS in all black at my LBS for $170 during a end of season sale which had EVERYTHING at 30% off.

Giro gave me 30% as a crash replacement and the LBS gave me another 20%, so I paid $135 for my new one, also all black.