Realistically, what can we do to improve on bicycle helmets in this day and age? Have we reached the pinnacle of light weight, aerodynamics, comfort, and safety? At least for me, I have generally assumed so in the last half decade (give or take). That said, I’ve also kept an eye on the growing awareness about head injuries and CTE, which are all over the news with regard to sports such as football, boxing, and mixed martial arts. We’ve seen new football helmets come out. Some use accelerometers and sensors to measure impact severity, providing better data about how many games a player should sit out after a significant impact.

One interesting technology that has emerged is called MIPS, which stands for Multi-directional Impact Protection System. This began in 1996 as a collaboration between a neurosurgeon and two biomechanical engineers in Sweden. The key goal of the technology is to reduce rotational forces on the head during impact. According to MIPS, the brain is more sensitive to rotational energy than linear energy, and traditional helmets do not do a good job of addressing these more damaging forces (resulting in brain injuries, even when riders are wearing helmets). MIPS technology is available for helmets in a variety of sports, but the cycling world is embracing the technology quickly with over 60 brands producing MIPS-equipped helmets by 2017.

There are several ways to implement MIPS technology, but most current products are using some sort of separate liner inside the helmet, which allows for a measure of free rotational movement during impact (see B or C-Series below).

Giro is one of the largest helmet manufacturers today and uses MIPS technology in several of their helmets. In fact, Giro has a goal of using MIPS in their entire helmet line by 2020 (including kids helmets, aero helmets, etc.).

So then, what’s the big story? A lighter MIPS helmet? A MIPS-equipped aero helmet? Not quite. While research appears to clearly indicate that MIPS works, it suffers from an issue with the application. It can be clunky. It adds weight. It makes it harder to create a sleek-looking helmet. And let’s be honest, a certain portion of our sport’s participants are always concerned with appearances.

Giro worked with MIPS to create a cleaner, more integrated type of MIPS, called MIPS Spherical. In simple terms, that means that their new helmet looks and feels like your favorite pre-MIPS helmet, but with all of the added protection of MIPS.

The new helmet, debuting today, is called the Giro Aether MIPS. And before you ask, it’s pronounced “ether”.

MIPS Spherical works almost like having two separate helmets that have some allowance for independent movement between the two. This is in comparison to traditional MIPS, which adds an inner liner to a traditional helmet.

If you look inside, it looks just like a regular helmet.

Giro has their own in-house testing lab, and assured us that it exceeds all current safety standards for worldwide competition.

As for the rest of the “standard” technology story, the Aether MIPS does everything you’d expect in a helmet at this price ($325 USD). It weighs only 250 grams (size medium). It has plenty of vents, and Giro says it is among their coolest helmets. It’s even available in 9 colors, for you folks that need one to match every outfit.

Shortly before releasing this article, Giro representatives also released some aerodynamic information to us. We’ll pass this information along to you as a matter of reporting, but for now I’ll decline to comment further, interpret the data, or compare it to claims from other manufacturers. The test was done in Giro’s own facility (count me among those who didn’t know that they invested in their own wind tunnel). I certainly have no reason to distrust their claims, I’ve just learned over the years that independent 3rd-party tests done by experts with no financial interest in the product are valuable tools for validating or refuting these claims.

Also, I don’t think that aero is the whole story here. The vast majority of you probably do 99% of your training rides in a regular, non-aero helmet.

The real story is taking a legitimate safety technology and applying it in a way that looks and feels friendlier, and hopefully creates pressure on other manufacturers to use and improve upon MIPS and other safety technologies. I’d be shocked if Giro releases another high-end road or aero helmet that doesn’t have the new MIPS Spherical technology. Surely it’s coming, and perhaps at this time next year we’ll be talking about a new aero lid.

Giro Aether MIPS Specs:
-MIPS® Spherical
-Progressive Layering
-AURA Reinforcing Arch
-Dual-density Nanobead™ EPS foam
-Eyewear docking ports
-CoolFit™ Anti-Microbial padding
-250g CE medium
-3 SuperFit sizes
-9 colors including 3 limited editions
-$325/ €299/ AU $429
-Available August 1


All images © Giro