so have been looking at lids.
am at the point where I think I won’t be able to beat the £25 on-one lid for little adventures in the country. I did consider a montaro given all the good reviews, anyone have any thoughts? any cheap amazing deals? I know people say go with one that fits well but I think 10 mins in a shop isn’t the way, iwon’t know until I’ve had it on for an hour or two.

they are reduced at many places for good reason…. have a google or search on here – many people have had the pads fail after one or 2 rides. Onzadog is on, I think, his 7th or 8th warranty lid. I returned 2, plus 8 sets of pads.

see my problem is on my other thread on mips people said protection is all the same basically but you pay more for vents, weight and the like…
but then people say tdp is too hot, the montaro has pad issues so I don’t get why these lids are so jolly expensive!

there are lots of alternatives to the Montaro, with and without MIPS. Fit is the most important, so best if you can try on a load and pick the one that fits you and is within budget. Some people have had no problems with their Montaro’s and it is a great feeling lid if it fits your head shape.

They are all made to the same safety standards anyway.

10 minutes in the shop is all you’re going to get. You won’t be able to send it back if you’ve had it on for a few hours riding.

Pick one that fits, both your head and your wallet.

It was at least 7 or 8, possibly more. That’s how much I wanted the helmet to work. Giro claim it’s a batch problem but don’t seem to be able to pinpoint the batch!

I’ve finally given up. I’ll be trying the Fox metah and Tld a2 later in the week.

First set of Montaro pads lasted 10months (ride 4-5 times a week), second set are fine after a month. Will be buying another Montaro to replace this one.

Onzadog – Member

It was at least 7 or 8, possibly more. That’s how much I wanted the helmet to work. Giro claim it’s a batch problem but don’t seem to be able to pinpoint the batch!

I’ve finally given up. I’ll be trying the Fox metah and Tld a2 later in the week.

why particularly those lids? why not the other giro? the cheaper one that’s not pad dogged? just out of interest

I have the cheaper Giro Chronicle.

It’s ace!

Ribble are still doing the 20% off all helmets deal.
I got a Kask which fits my (usually Giro shaped) head perfectly.

What pad problem? My Montaro pads are going strong after 9 months.

DezB – Member
Ribble are still doing the 20% off all helmets deal.
I got a Kask which fits my (usually Giro shaped) head perfectly.

I recently bought a Kask Rex and can honestly say it’s the best fitting/most comfortable helmet I’ve had. I’ve a pretty agnostic head so Giro, Met and Specialized have all been fine in the past.

Specialized Ambush for £40 and Giro Montaro for £75 at Rutland Cycling

Nonsense – Member

Specialized Ambush for £40 and Giro Montaro for £75 at Rutland Cycling

thank you! that’s really good price

the giro montaro is the best lid ive ever used .
yes the pads at the frt are crap but unlike every one above returning a perfectly good helmet for just the pads failing , I just bought some other brands for a tenner and they fit fine
catlike leaf fyi

hardly rocket science mind to figure that out

I just bought a Mavic Crossride helmet from JEJames for £41.

the pads at the frt are crap but unlike every one above returning a perfectly good helmet for just the pads failing

perfectly good ?…… 8)

the shell is good, the lining is good, the pads fail. Doesn’t meet the definition of ‘perfectly good’ for me when spending best part of £100.

new colour lines around now, with purple pads – wonder if they are the new sorted versions……

Interesting. I’m still making do with my old Athlon at the moment. Would love to get a montaro that works.

Where did you see them?

^^^ Onzadog – I was looking at them on CRC at the weekend and ordered one to see – it is sitting on my desk here at work as of 20 mins ago. Vermillion with purple trim and purple pads and clips (the old ones I had were all grey inside).

I am tempted to try it….. (and hang onto the Spesh Ambush, unused, for now..)

I’ve also had no issue with the pads on my Montaro

^^^ nick, may I ask, how long have you had it ? Giro advised me they were changing the pads but couldn’t give me a manufacture date that would ensure new versions.

All the 2016 ones I’ve had failed within hours. I had one from early 2017 that lasted weeks.

I’ve had the grey shell with orange pads and the green shell with olive pads and replacement black pads. All have died. I’d love it if they’ve fixed it now though.

hmmmmm, this one has purple pads and purple clips, and is dated 11/16. Previous failed ones had either grey or black pads, and I think, black or grey clips.

I’ll be interested to see what happens with that one.

^^^^ yeah, me too 🙂

Will give it a go tomorrow I think, will report back !

Green pads here for about 18months and no problems.

It’s clear that some people don’t have issues with the pads and some do. It’s something in the sweat particular to those people. What would be really useful would be to hear from anyone who has destroyed pads in the past but has had new pads or a new helmet where this no longer happens.

Interesting read,I quite fancied the Montaro but might just go with the Bontager Rally,Plus it gives free replacement if crashed in the first year

Update : 2 hr ride this evening, warm and sweaty. At end of ride pads are delaminated and in tatters. Drying them off now and have printed warranty refund paperwork to send helmet back to CRC tomorrow. Specialised Ambush was bought last week in case and wil now come out the box, no more Montaro attempts here, with this being the third lid and I think 9th set of pads to fail.

I had a reply from giro in the US tonight. They say they thought they’d solved it but my email suggests they hadn’t. (can’t believe I’m the first), Said someone in technical would get back to me tomorrow. I’ll post what I find. It might help someone else.

I might have to start riding without a helmet. The chronical and a2 are too round and the metah sits too low on my head. Best I’ve seen around for me is an old Xara.

Onzadog, here’s what they told me in November :

Iain:

Thank you for your email. The pads were changed on the Montaro helmet. However, this was a running change. I cannot guarantee that the next helmet would have the newer version of the padding.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Amy J. Couture

Consumer Services/Action Sports/Outdoor Products

Vista Outdoor

(800) 456-2355

http://vistaoutdoor.com

Update : 2 hr ride this evening, warm and sweaty. At end of ride pads are delaminated and in tatters.

What’s in your sweat?!!!!

Never had problems with pads on any helmet personally – it seems a basic thing for a helmet supplier to get right!

I’ve had helmets from various companies over the years – for me fit is the most important thing as long as they comply to the relevant guidelines.

In recent years I’ve had a specialised mtb lid which was ok, a Uvex road lid which is pretty good and my current mtb lid is actually a b twin one from Decathlon. Think it was about £20 and has the best adjustment mechanism out of any helmet I’ve had. Basically a roller wheel in the back that tightens the plastic inner straps so it sits nice and snug.

Am doing more adventurous riding than when I got it a couple of years ago though, so I’m considering getting one of the more enduro type lids which cover further down the back of your head. If getting a new helmet I think I’d go for one with mips – anything to improve safety seems worth going for. Not tried any lids on yet though so far.

IainC I salute your dedication to making the Montaro work for you. I’ll be honest I’ve put off getting a new lid, I was hoping to hear a positive outcome, sounds like I will be looking elsewhere. I’ve looked the Giro fit in the past had E2s, Xens (best one yet) and currently a Xar.

Shopping list consists of Smith Forefront, POC Tectal, Troy Lee A2, may look at the Chronicle but worried about the pads in current Giros full stop now.

^^^^^ 🙂

It’s a great fitting lid and I have always been a Giro fan. My road lid is a Synthe MIPS and it is perfect. The Montaro issue is really disappointing, you’d think a company of Giro’s size and reputation would act swiftly to sort this, instead they must have hundreds of let down customers across the world, all losing faith in their products. To be honest, I had given up on the Montaro six months ago, after getting 2 of them, plus 9 sets of pads warrantied. I moved to a a POC Tectal which fitted well, but the adjustment mechanism was weak and failed a few times, so it went back, with POC acknowledging that it is a known problem that their tech guys are ‘working on’ (this was just 2 weeks ago, by mail).

I bought a Specialized Ambush the other week, which fits well, but I was keen to give the Giro one last try….

It’s a testament to how nice the Montaro really is that we keep trying to make it work, it’s just those bloody brow pads.

Let’s see what they say tonight.

any update Onzadog ?

Yes and no. Chap I spoke to did come back to me, but only to tell me that the chap with the answers wasn’t in yesterday. Maybe tonight then.