New - Giro Chronicle MIPS trail helmet - Dirt

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New – Giro Chronicle MIPS trail helmet

A new lid for 2017, packed with tech and up-to-date features

Trail riders are now demanding helmets with a deeper back for more protection yet without compromising on either weight or ventilation.

WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE NEW GIRO CHRONICLE MIPS JUST THROUGH THE DOOR HERE AT DIRT HQ. Does this new lid hit the spot?

At just shy of £100 this new Chronicle trail lid isn’t their cheapest option but looks better ventilated than our ‘old favourite’ the Giro Feature and therefore possibly a better all-rounder. If there was one criticism of the Feature it was its ventilation – which many riders who ‘run hot’ felt was lacking. Other than that we loved it… and this new Giro helmet may well be a great replacement. It looks like the Feature has now disappeared from Giro’s website and the Chronicle has stepped into its place. They have plenty of recent developments to their range – check out our recent ‘First Look’ of their new Switchblade enduro helmet HERE.

‘When your trail rides include technical descents and challenging climbs, the Chronicle™ MIPS provides all the protection and comfort you need in an affordable package.’ – GiroSport

The Chronicle helmet takes design cues from Giro’s top of the range Montaro mountainbike helmet, and offers many of the key technologies and features that this brand now offers. We’ve grown to love the quality construction, finish and detailing that has now become standard across much of Giro’s comprehensive range and the Chronicle doesn’t disappoint.

FIT

This helmet was designed with MIPS, which redirects impact energy to provide more protection in certain impacts and is becoming a technology we’re seeing at much lower price point. If you’re split between sizes we’ve noticed that on some helmets this MIPS tech can make the internal shell measurements feel a touch smaller – and this may point you towards the bigger of the two sizes. No bad thing, as this means the helmet may well sit deeper on your head offering you more protection. Try before you buy (as with all protection gear) is the message with helmets. It’s not just about the helmet’s numerical measurements but also the shape – and this can vary from model to model.

The adjustable peak has three positions and works well with goggles.

DESIGN DETAILS

The compact shape provides deep, confident coverage, and is well finished with an in-mold skin covering all the external shell. It doesn’t however extend to covering under the edges leaving this area at the risk to damage from wear and tear. This is where the pricier Montaro has the edge and it’s details like this that set the top of the range helmets apart from the lower priced models. Not that the Chronicle is cheap – at just below £100 it’s a tenner more expensive than the last generation Giro Feature with MIPS technology.

The Roc Loc 5 fit system allows you to easily dial-in both fit tension and adjust vertical position with a single hand. It works well with gloves on (as you would hope), has a precise feel, but has a small dial than some other brands’ chunkier units. It is low profile in design and sits tucked out of the way.

As goggle use with ‘open face’ helmets has now become more mainstream, helmet brands are now looking at how well they work together. The Chronicle is designed for goggle compatibility, and Giro’s ‘P.O.V. Plus’ visor/peak allows enough adjustment to place your goggles on the front of the helmet when climbing fire roads or off the bike resting. The Giro Montaro has impressed us with how well it syncs with goggles – especially Giro’s own Blok model – and the Chronicle carries on with this detail too. Even if you don’t run goggles with an ‘open face’ helmet, it’s good to be able to lift the visor out of your vision if weather conditions allow. It’s an easy to use ‘indexed’ visor with three clearly defined positions; there’s no dial to twist before adjusting, just push it into place and it stays there.

The lightweight straps were seen on the original Giro Feature and are standard on the Chronicle too.

PERFORMANCE and comfort

With 14 vents covering the helmet, ventilation is an improvement over the Feature and not far off the Montaro which sports 16 air ducts. It’s not just about the number of vents though… it’s about airflow and with trail riding there is often a lot of slow climbing under the cover of trees, with little wind. Here is where air circulation through the helmet is important and this is an area where Giro’s Montaro is noticeably superior to the Feature. We’ve not ridden this Chronicle in anger yet but we’re thinking it will be plenty cool enough for most riders.

It does without the odour-fighting X-Static pads of the Montaro but the Coolmax padding has great wicking properties and are an improvement over the basic liner that was standard in the Feature lid. They are extra plush to provide all-day comfort on the trail. The Chronicle has a comfortable and secure fit from the off.

Deep rear coverage with low profile RocLoc 5 adjustment.

MIPS TECHNOLOGY

MIPS stands for Multi-Directional Impact Protection System. There are three main components to a helmet equipped with this technology: the interior foam liner, the Low Friction Liner and an elastomeric attachment system between them. In an angled impact, the elastomeric attachment system stretches to allow the interior foam liner to rotate independently around the rider’s head and redirect energy. Although the system only moves a few millimetres, Giro’s testing shows that helmets equipped with this technology can reduce the amount of rotational force that may be transferred to the brain in certain impacts. It’s available on cheaper helmets now; a good move we think.

WHAT DO WE THINK?

With the Giro Feature being an established favourite here at Dirt, it always offered a comfortable, secure fit and felt like it was a proper mountain bike helmet – not a pumped up road helmet with a tougher skin. Times move on, MIPS technology has become an option (and at cheaper price points) and the competition have upped their game. If you baulk at the thought of a helmet costing well over the £100 mark but want to benefit from all the latest tech advances and design detail, then the new Giro Chronicle should be on your list…

SIZES: S 51-55cm, M 55-59cm, L 59-63cm

WEIGHT: 337g (Medium)

COLOURS: MATT BLACK/GLOSS BLACK, MATT BLUE, MATT GREY, MATT LIME/BLACK,                                        MATT OLIVE/BRONZE, MATT VERMILLION.

PRICE: £99.99

giro.com

zyrofisher.co.uk

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