Giro Agilis MIPS helmet review

Giro's Agilis helmet aims to bridge the gap between a standard road helmet, and a deeper mountain bike lid. The brand say it's been designed for 'road and multi-surface' riding; the former speaks for itself whilst the latter can mean anything from light gravel paths to fairly technical trails depending upon where you live and how much you're prepared to tackle.

The brand has merged the round front end you'd find on the likes of the Synthe road helmet, with a lower rear profile normally seen on mountain bike models such as the Radix.

This extended back section provides greater coverage, which you might be thankful for if a crash finds you landing on a root or rock strewn surface, but you've still got the road going aesthetic and aerodynamic advantages of a model designed for tarmac.

I'm a long term fan of  the Synthe, which won an Editor's Choice award in 2017 and has continued to impress Cycling Weekly's tech team, so I like the front profile of the Angilis too.

The outer hardshell is constructed from a tough polycaronate, that's been fused to the EPS foam liner, and Giro - as per all of its helmets - has fitted a MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) layer which aims to protect against injury from rotational forces.

At the rear, this lid uses a Roc Loc 5.5 MIPS system which can be tightened or loosened in small increments to help the rider find the perfect fit. This was easy and simple to adjust, though I did find it left little room for a ponytail to slip through - which isn't ideal for long haired riders.

Ventilation comes via 32 vents - that's a big increase on the 26 you'd find on the Synthe. It was, therefore surprising to me, that I found my head overheating when riding in this helmet, expecially when upping the pace.

I'm not typically a 'hot headed' rider, so this was quite a new sensation to me - and I'd put it down to the increased coverage, and fairly heavy duty internal padding. Personally, I found the bulk of this helmet just too much for me; it might be less of an issue for very relaxed gravel rides, but that's entering quite a niche (albeit growing) market. Certainly in the UK, most off-road rides are going to feature segments when you'll be pushing on a bit, and heating up as a result.

Giro has used its 'featherweight webbing with Slimline buckle' to complete the system, and the helmet straps felt premium for the price tag - which at £89.99 is far below the lofty £249 RRP of something like the Synthe.

In a size small, my Angilis MIPS weight in at 271g. That's heavier than competition at a similar price (as an example, the Bell Draft Mips Road Helmet costs £64.99 and weighs a claimed 259g). However, that's to be expected with the extra coverage provided by the gravel ready shape.