Giro Air Attack helmet

The Giro Air Attack has a similar overall profile to a standard road helmet but it's designed to be more aerodynamic to help you save time whether you're road riding, time trialling, or racing a triathlon.

The Air Attack fits like a standard road helmet using Giro's Roc Loc Air System. The flexible plastic cradle attaches to the helmet shell at your temples so the helmet will fit the vast majority of people well. Giro reckon their system works for 98% of the population.

You get the choice of three height adjustment positions at the back and you control tightness with a clicky wheel. Winding it up and letting out the slack are equally easily sorted with one hand. What's different from Giro's standard Roc Loc System is that there's an inner cradle over your forehead and the top of your head as well, keeping the shell slightly raised to allow air to flow inside.

As you'll have noticed, there are far fewer vents here than you find on most road helmets. I started using the Air Attack a few weeks ago when the weather was quite a lot hotter than it is now – in the mid-20s – and conditions inside the helmet were a bit warmer and more humid than usual, but not nearly to the degree that I'd expected. I didn't find it uncomfortably hot and sweaty, just a little more so than normal.

Giro reckon that with its deep internal channelling the Air Attack has 97% of the cooling efficiency of their lightweight and well-vented Aeon helmet. My perception wasn't quite that, but it wasn't a million miles off. You certainly don't feel like you're burning up in there. Or, at least, I didn't; I know that other people are more sensitive on that front. I've used a lot of different long-tailed time trial helmets for triathlon in the past and the Air Attack is better ventilated than any of them, and a lot more airy than anything that covers your ears.

Removable X-Static antibacterial padding inside adds to the comfort, as do the soft and lightweight webbing straps. Oh, and while we're mentioning weight, the Air Attack hit the road.cc Scales of Truth at 275g, which is pretty light seeing as a helmet with more holes than a Swiss cheese is doing well to get down to about 200g.

The main reason for buying the Air Attack is for the aerodynamic benefit but we simply have no way of measuring how it compares to the opposition on that front. We can only report Giro's claims and they say that the Air Attack has 11% less wind averaged aerodynamic drag that their Aeon. They also say that if you rode in the Aeon for an hour at 25mph, then switched to the Aeon and rode for at the same power, you'd cover the same ground 17secs quicker. It's not a massive saving but, hey, it all counts. Ask Dave Brailsford.

In terms of looks, well, you can make your own mind up. It's certainly designed with performance rather than aesthetics in mind, but if you spend half your life clad in Lycra, a pisspot helmet is probably the least of your worries. Admittedly, you'll be doing well if you manage to look cool in this lid, but that really isn't the point.

One other thing that didn't even cross my mind before using the Air Attack is that the fewer vents result in less noise when you're riding fast. It's noticeable.

The Shield version of the Air Attack (£179.99) comes with a removable eye shield that's held in place with magnets.

Verdict

Aero helmet that's comfortable and much better ventilated than you'd expect.