Giro Vanquish MIPS Cycling Helmet - Men's

This is an excellent helmet we received today. It was obviously purchased before and just crammed back in the box without even putting the plastic on it. Helmet had smudges and finger prints all over it as well as the visor having finger prints all over it. I cleaned it up and my wife tried it on, it was just too large. We are returning it looking better than we received it. Shame on the shipper for not even opening the box and cleaning this $300 helmet up before re-selling it.

I tried this on a 40 minute ride immediately with my normal prescription lenses under the visor. I was so excited at the field of vision (except for the annoying logo on the lens that overlaps with the field of vision with my bike computer). I had been stung by a bee between the eyes on a 50 kph descent in traffic a week ago prompting some better protection. This definitely provides that. But...I noticed right away that the ventilation vents in the lenses are positioned exactly in my field of vision in a normal, hands-on-pads position. This was super annoying.Then I noticed that the incredible fit and comfort and the helmet made it center about 5 mm to the left. I guess my skull is not anatomically balanced. The effect was that the bridge of the visor (and the vents) are always slightly off. Eventually I got used to it, but so annoying. Also, the bridge of the visor makes practically zero actual contact with my nose at all, which was glorious since another thing not annoying me on my nose to deal with.But, after a climb and later on the descent I discovered the no-joy reason that I immediately returned the helmet: ventilation caused my eyes to tear up, not even the cheap $10 sunglasses that go over glasses that old people wear do that. One of the reasons I got them was to keep pollen and dust out of my eyes. My 80s Oakleys did a far better job (as I imagine the prescription Rudy's I am ordering will as well). But despite all that air blowing around in my eyes, the lack of ventilation on the forehead (which I had gotten used to with the Aether) causes sweat to start dripping into my eyes during the descent. That has *never* happened with my Aether. I'm sure I could wear a head band to manage the sweat like most baldies like me do, but I never had to with the Aether. Sure I was more aero, but I couldn't see out my right eye. The worst part was that I also couldn't stick my hand up their to manage the sweat drops because I knew if I did the magnets would pop loose and I'd lose the entire visor on the ground. I had just watched a pro hill climb and noticed how many of them had glasses in their helmets on the climb probably to manage the sweat during the ascents. They advertise that you can flip the visor and accomplish the same thing with this helmet, but I would never risk it. The magnets are not nearly as strong when inverted for storage and one look back at the person sucking on my wheel and that visor would catch the wind like a sail and be gone completely.Bottom line: the helmet feels amazing and is probably a good aero option, but the visor is a wasteful gimmick that should just be completely ignored. I ended up buying the case and the other two replacement visors (from Giro, they do make replacements contrary to other reviews).I look forward to a good pair of prescription, wide-angle eye shades that have a proper seal and are closer to my eyes giving better protection.

For the past year my primary cycling helmet has been a Giro Aeon. That is the basis for the following review & comparison. I only bought this helmet for the visor and therefore have not worn it on any rides without the visor. I've taken it out on 4 rides, for 100+ miles, one of which included a 889' climb with 4% decent. I've been an avid cyclist for over 20 years and can be a little critical when it comes to my cycling gear. Overall I give this helmet 4 out of 5 stars because it's not perfect right out of the box.Aerodynamics (5 of 5): Winds in my area have been 5-10 mph this summer hence the desire to purchase an aero helmet. My first ride with this helmet was on a day with 10-15 mp winds. About two miles into my ride it occurred to me there was a noticeable reduction in drag compared to the Giro Aeon. I reach 41 mph at a full sprint riding on a road with a 45 mph speed limit in between my house and my favorite cycling trail. As this is my first aero helmet, I am very pleased with reduction in air resistance.Airflow (3.5 of 5): The videos on the Giro website presented some interesting airflow and wind tunnel tests that had me very optimistic about the cooling effects. In reality, the Giro Aeon is noticeably cooler and will remain my go to helmet on hot days when there is no forecasted wind. During the months of July and August, it is typically 85-100 degrees with 75%+ humidity. Very miserable cycling conditions. The visors deflection of the wind also blocks some of the air flow that would come up from underneath the helmet. When riding with the visor you are solely depending on the four vents to bring in air. I've discovered I have to hold my head at a very specific angle to maximize the airflow. During the Fall, Winter and Spring, this is not going to be a concern. I anticipate loving this helmet fall through spring. Unless there is snow or ice on the road/trail, I continue to ride down to 20 degrees. Reduced airflow is going to be a blessing.Style (3 of 5): Giro typically makes their helmets with some pretty nice color schemes. For a $275 helmet, the designers could have put a little more effort into the appearance. I had a very hard time picking a color. I didn't like the black for safety reasons. I prefer helmets that provide something that helps vehicle drivers spot me on the road. The white was very plain. I settled for the white and spent a couple days airbrushing some metallic silver strikes with a translucent black fade. I'm not the best at airbrushing so it's not perfect and might not withstand the test of time, but it looks a lot better in the meantime.Lens (4 of 5): Overall I am okay with the lens. I've not yet experienced any issues with fogging. So far the magnetic locks seem to be working quite well. The visor has a good field of view and does not overly interfere with my peripheral, vision which was a major concern. I would prefer a polarized lens but the glare off the road and trail surfaces hasn't been too bad so far with the lens that came with it. I wanted to order a clear lens so I could wear my polarized photochromic cycling glasses underneath, but replacement lenses are not cheap and hard to find. Buyer Beware: Giro does not sell replacement lenses. When I contacted Giro to ask about replacements I was sent the link to a separate website (Amazon won't let me post the website). Replacement lenses are $59.99, plus $5.00 handling fee for orders under $100. It would have been nice if the helmet could have been ordered directly from Giro with a choice of which lens you want with the helmet. In dark and low conditions, particularly in the winter, I will not want the lens that came with the helmet. I will have to order the clear lens so I can wear my polarized photochromic cycling glasses. It will be the winter that puts the anti-fogging to the test. I wear a balaclava under my helmet. Cycling glasses fog immediately when stopping from my breath. I'm hopeful the lens is far enough away to prevent that from happening.

Love the helmet. Shout out to Michael at Bicycle Addiction for arranging a replacement for the scrathed lens...responded to my inquiry within minutes.

Muy buen producto