Giro unveils Synthe MIPS helmet at Tour de France
As top-of-the-line bike helmets go, Giro Sport Design's new Synthe MIPS already has most of the conventional bases covered. Now, there's the advanced design that will protect your head when you need it most.
As top-of-the-line bike helmets go, Giro Sport Design’s new Synthe MIPS already has most of the conventional bases covered: effective aerodynamics, feather-light weight and cooling power that might just make you forget you have the helmet on during the sweltering peak of a summer.
Now, there’s the advanced design that will protect your head when you need it most.
This model is outfitted with MIPS: Multi-Directional Impact Protection System. It provides greater protection especially when rotational forces are involved. MIPS’s three components are its interior foam liner, a low-friction liner and an elastometric attachment system that connects them. The effects of these elements, as Giro discovered during testing, are substantial.
Say, for example, you collide with an obstacle at an angle. In that event, the embedded elastometric attachment system stretches, permitting the interior foam liner to rotate independently around a rider’s head, redirecting the energy of the impact. It only moves a few millimetres, but in this case, a little goes a long way. Tests demonstrate that this type of design technology has the effect of reducing rotational force during an impact—energy that can be transferred to the brain with terrible results.
The aerodynamics, too, have been augmented from Giro’s acclaimed Air Attack model of helmet. The Synthe MIPS uses Wind Averaged Drag, a formula based on a physics package that factors in 72 yaw angles, averaging them with a single drag measurement that assumes a standard head angle of 30 degrees and a speed of 25 m.p.h. As a result, the Synthe MIPS boasts a more aerodynamically efficient performance than any of Giro’s other tried-and-tested road helmets. With its lightweight construction—the Synthe MIPS weighs only 260 g, a comparatively light design for a helmet with an adjustable fit system, strapping, and ports for affixing accessories such as sunglasses—that aerodynamic performance is further streamlined.
“The Synthe MIPS is a testament to the energy and resources that we put into helmet design,” said Giro’s marketing manager Amanda Schaper. “By combining our advanced research and design capabilities, as well as our close association with MIPS Technologies, we continue to pursue new ideas that can give riders what they demand.”
“We’ve taken our greatest lessons that we’ve learned in Giro’s 30 year history, wrapped up into one extraordinary helmet. And it is so rewarding to see it embraced by three different teams at the Tour de France.” At this year’s Tour, the BMC Racing Team, Katusha Racing Team, and IAM Cycling are all rolling out the stylish, sophisticated head gear as a high-profile, global preview.
For the cycling public, the Synthe MIPS will be available in August at Giro Authorized Dealers for US$270.
