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TECH NEWS

Tour Tech 2016: Giant introduces new Pursuit helmet

Sub 250g lid designed to offer aero efficiency along with light weight and plenty of ventilation

Giant has revealed a new helmet called the Pursuit in the build up to the Tour de France. It has been designed to blend aerodynamics with ventilation and a precise fit, and it has a claimed weight of under 250g.

We’ve been dropped behind enemy lines out in Normandy ahead of the start of the Tour in order to check out the latest tech, surviving on nothing more than coffee and pastries, and one of the first new products we spotted was the new Pursuit. It’s designed to combine the aerodynamics of a time trial helmet with the ventilation of a top-level road helmet.

Giant Pursuit helmet  - 1.jpg

“Working with Team Giant-Alpecin riders and Aero Concept Engineering (ACE) in France, Giant has created a helmet that offers an aerodynamic advantage without any compromises in weight, ventilation or fit,” says Giant.

“The Pursuit was designed, developed and tested using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis, with a goal of meeting precise performance goals outlined by a development team of engineers and pro riders. 

“Once the overall design and technologies were established, the Pursuit was refined through further field-testing and feedback with riders like Tom Dumoulin and Warren Barguil.”

This (below) is actually Laurens ten Dam's helmet, hence the sticker on the back.

Giant Pursuit helmet  - 3.jpg

The Pursuit features two large dimples to channel airflow from the crown of the helmet towards the rear. Giant says that CFD simulations and wind tunnel tests show that the dimples optimise aero performance in various rider positions and wind directions, minimising drag in real-world conditions. 

It also boasts what Giant calls AeroVent technology. This consists of openings in the front that act as “drag-neutral” intake ports that are said to pull air through the helmet and stream it via deep, wide internal channels from front to back for cooling. The air is then pushed out of rear exhaust ports.

Giant Pursuit helmet  - 4.jpg

“The Pursuit also features a cutting-edge impact protection design,” says Giant. “The helmet is constructed with multi-density foam materials. The low-density foam absorbs energy from low-speed impacts, while high-density foam protects riders in higher speed impacts.”

The helmet is available in both Giant’s Western (narrower in width, longer front to back) and Asian (rounder) fits, although we don’t yet have a UK price. 

www.giant-bicycles.com

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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