Interbike 2009 – Giro 200g ProLight and Jimbo Philips Graphic’d Xen, Remedy

INTERBIKE 2009 – Giro had some pretty artsy helmets on display with custom graphics by famed illustrator Jimbo Phillips.  They also had some color/graphics matched helmets that ran the same colors and patterns across multiple helmets and into their similarly named gloves.  But at the front of their booth was the 200g ProLight helmet that was tested on the domes of some of the world’s finest racers this year at the Grand Tours…and now it can adorn your dome, too.

Hit ‘more’ to see what happens when you crash the visor off the Remedy helmet above (and check out the the rest of the Giro goodies)…

Wreck hard enough and you’re rewarded with the reveal of Phillip’s Zombie getting his hand ripped off.  Hopefully, you don’t suffer the same fate.  Regardless, your head should fare better.  The Remedy starts at $130 and has a fiberglass shell, a washable interior liner and no-tool visor adjust.

The Xen and Remedy helmets now come with matching graphics that are carried over to the Xen and Remedy gloves, too.  This version of the Remedy is the CF (Carbon Fiber) and starts at $270 (but it’s up to 30% lighter). Both models are optimized to work with Giro’s goggles.  The Xen is $130.

Giro’s cycling gloves have a range of patterns to match different helmets (or just so you have something colorful). For a full rundown of their 2010 gloves, check out this post.

Before we get to the super light helmet, we have the super dope helmets.  The Section helmets are a new design for 2010.  They have an inmold shell (meaning the shell is fused to the EPS body) like the higher end helmets so it’s lighter and stronger than similarly styled BMX/jump/street helmets.  And, it comes in way cool colors and options, like the retro Leather (fake) football helmet style above…

…and the Clear Pearl version here.  It has a clear inmolded shell that you can barely see, but it’s tinted with a pearlescent sheen that gives it the ever-so-slight rainbow like the paint job on pearl white Audis.

Like most of Giro’s helmets, the Section is made to fit well with their shades and goggles.  MSRP is just $45.

Now for the main event: The 200g ProLight helmet.  When we first broke this (story, not the helmet), Giro was resurrecting the ProLight name after it had been collecting dust for years.  Astana, Garmin-Slipstream and others rode it during the 2009 Tour de France as a final proving ground, and now it’s here.

It gets some of its weight savings from non-adjustable straps and the Roc Loc SL, an elastic rear “adjustment” that simple stretches to fit the head rather than having a larger-than-necessary ratchet or slide system that shrinks to fit.  The straps are woven Italian thread and are very soft, thin and light.  Since the junction point of the straps isn’t adjustable, Giro added a three-position fore/aft adjustment to the front of the black straps running from the elastic band to the front of the helmet.  You simply pop it out and snap it into one of three holes to adjust the positioning on your head.

The Giro ProLight has 25 “Windtunnel” vents with deep internal channeling to move the air over your head to keep it cool.

In-mold construction fuses the shell to the body, essentially creating a rigid exoskeleton that serves as a structural element to strengthen the helmet.  The pads inside the helmet are removable and washable, and they’re infused with XStatic to provide anti-microbial properties to keep the funk at bay.

The ProLight will be available in January with an MSRP of $200, which is less than Giro’s top-of-the-line (but slightly heavier) Ionos.  It will come in S, M and L sizes.