Giro have unveiled the Synthe – a road helmet said to improve aerodynamic performance without sacrificing ventilation.
Giro already have an aero road helmet in their range, the Air Attack, while the Aeon is the firm’s super-light, heavily-vented lid, but the Synthe is said to outperform both when it comes to aerodynamics and cooling.
Giro say the Synthe is the most aerodynamic helmet they have ever produced when calculating Wind Averaged Drag, a formula that takes into account 72 different yaw (wind) angles and calculates a single drag measurement for a standard head angle of 30 degree and speed of 25mph.
Aerodynamic prowess normally comes at a cost, in the case of a road helmet that’s often ventilation, but Giro say the Synthe is also it’s ‘coolest’ to date thanks to fewer but bigger vents on the front and rear of the helmet, which reportedly help air pass through the lid. The centre of the helmet’s surface is largely smooth as this, Giro say, is the area normally in direct contact with the wind.
It’s light, too, at a claimed 250g for a size medium, which is lighter than the Air Attack, though not as light as the 190g (claimed weight) Aeon. The helmet uses the same Roc Loc Air fit system as the Air Attack, with an adjustment dial at the rear of the helmet, and a cradle which has three possible height positions. The cradle also suspends the helmet slightly above the head and that’s said to create an path for air to flow past – and cool – the head.
The Synthe will be available in the UK from January 2015 for £199.99 but you’ll see it on the heads of riders from Giro’s three sponsored teams – BMC Racing, Katusha and IAM Cycling – at the Tour de France, which starts in Yorkshire next Saturday (July 5).
