![]() ![]() Padding and fit are impressive, although there’s no chinstrap. All that combines to make ventilation impressive, not least for an aero helmet. There are also deep channels within the helmet to draw air through, and generously sized exhaust ports at the rear. The Eclipse’s compact design features six main vents at the front, concentrated on the left and right sides, with a smooth central strip. It’s worth noting, though, that the straps aren’t removable for washing, as on the Scott Centric Plus for example, and a chinstrap isn’t provided. The padding also has a luxurious feel to it and sits in the optimum place on the forehead, providing plenty of comfort and mopping up sweat. The cradle slides up and down to fine-tune the fit and the grippy dial provides simple adjustment. The Roc Loc 5 Air system’s slick retention dial and internal fitting mechanism swiftly secures an ideal fit, akin to my regular Giro lid, the Agilis MIPS. Once the excess strap had been trimmed, my time with the Eclipse Spherical was all positive. However, there is the argument – put forward by aerodynamicist Dan Bigham and others – that aerodynamics matter to slower cyclists at lower speeds even more, due to the extended duration out on the asphalt. We’re unable to verify Giro’s claims, but 25mph is nearly twice as fast as I’d ride 160km. Ventilation is aided further by generous rear exhaust ports. That’s wind-averaged drag, with 80 per cent of the time in a typical riding position and 20 per cent in a head-down riding position. With the new Eclipse Spherical, Giro claims the helmet beats the (undisclosed) ‘closest aero road helmet competitor’ by 14 seconds over 100 miles (160km), riding at 25mph, and is a full 60 seconds faster than the Vanquish. The Vanquish MIPS, with the shield visor in place, scored very highly in our own independent wind-tunnel testing in 2019, consistently up there with the Specialized Evade 2 across a range of yaw angles and speeds. There are 17 ventilation channels (confusingly, Giro lists 14 total vents) for aeration.Īs well as the helmet’s aero claims, Giro’s own cooling efficiency testing places the Eclipse at 89.25 per cent, half a percentage point behind the 21 vents of the more climbing-focused Aether, and ahead of its own Helios (87.68 per cent) and Vanquish (85.13 per cent) helmets. The 17 ventilation channels should help keep your head cool. ![]()
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