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TECH NEWS

Updated with video: Giro launch new Xar helmet for 2011

...and a new fit system too

Helmet manufacturers Giro are launching a new all-mountain helmet called the Xar for 2011, but we reckon it’ll cut it just as well for urban cyclists who want something a bit different.

The in-molded Xar is an evolution of the ever-popular Xen, and it comes with an adjustable peak that both keeps the rain out of your eyes and increases airflow to your head. Although we’ve not tried it yet, Giro reckon the breathability of this helmet is incredible.

Like several other models in Giro’s range for next year, the Xar features an updated retention device. Whereas previously you adjusted the tension via two buttons at the rear, with the Roc Loc 5 you turn a micro dial back there. Several other manufacturers – Bell and Specialized, for example – use dial-adjustment.

Roc Loc 5 gives you a three-position vertical fit with up to 15mm of adjustment. In other words, you can move the cradle up or down on a three-position bracket – and you can do this without removing the helmet. The arms are designed to work without getting in the way of Giro eyewear, and the helmet straps fit through them so should always be in the right place.

Giro say this design is 40% lighter than Roc Loc 4 and, as well as the Xar, it’ll be used on high-end helmets like the Ionos and more affordable options like the Monza.

The Xar will cost £114.99, but you’ll have to wait a bit because the first delivery isn’t expected until February.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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6 comments

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dave atkinson | 13 years ago
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does now  3

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Tony Farrelly | 13 years ago
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Mind you, the link doesn't seem to work!

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Tony Farrelly | 13 years ago
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In the meantime, Giro have have just sent us a short demo vid… I've attached it as a link on the bottom of the story

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dave atkinson | 13 years ago
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We should be seeing the helmets in the flesh this week so we'll report back...

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STATO | 13 years ago
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any chance you could find out if the new system requires you to turn the dial to tighten it up like you do with the other brands or can you just squueze it together like roc loc 4? I have a Xen for commuting and have to adjust it open then tighten every time i put it on to get it comfy, its not a problem tho as its so easy to adjust, this new system could spell trouble if you got to fiddle with a tiny dial all the time tho. Giving the roc loc 4 a squeeze was so easy it meant you could leave the helmet a little slacker for road/xc and then nip it up with one hand as you turned off for a rough descent.

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bikeandy61 | 13 years ago
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Very nice. Still looks more like an E2 than a Xen to me. Very nice though. Could be the new helmet I need.

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