Since the days of us all wearing xen and hex giro helmets has anyone tried their recent offerings? Specifically the giro montaro? In the market for a new helmet as my current Tld is over three years old and sustained a mild concussion on Sunday. Might as well go MIPs and no real budget as I don’t think can put a price on helmet. I’d go Troy lee again but the current colours don’t appeal. Have also seen the sweet protection on leisure lakes.

Montaro is great, but there have been issues, apparently now sorted, if you get a new stock one…

previous thread

there are quite a few other threads around same issues if you have a search

What Iainc said.

Happy with my feature. Poor man’s Montaro!

Ahh that’s annoying I’d be getting the women’s one so I bet they’re not even through first batch yet.

the Feature has been replaced now by the Chronicle, as the one below the Montaro

My experience is a large montaro doesn’t fit the same as a large Zen or hex.

^^^^ agreed, they are definitely slightly smaller due the MIPS insert. I was in middle of range on a medium old one and have medium Montaro, close to max on the adjuster. I tried the large also but it was HUUUge

My feature has been great in all respects except the padding, which is so minimal that sweat – dripping down inside my glasses – is an issue. Giro are my go-to for helmets for fit reasons, so I’m thinking about trying one of their newer offerings at some point.

Picked up a Montaro in the Evans sale, was tempted to go for the Chroicle MIPS as it’s new, bt it was more expensive.

Have to say current TLD is best fitting helmet I’ve ever tried, I’ve read giro are far more perched but can’t remember from the xen days.

Montaro is a great helmet, pads do a fantastic job of managing sweat. I’ve been lucky that mine didn’t fall apart though.

got TLD A1 and montaro, TLD warm & very comfy, montaro is much better vented and also absorbs any sweat, its not quite as comfortable and bit narrower.

Use TLD in winter, montaro summer.

The Montaro ticks every box but sadly has some slightly different sizing to previous Giro models. I have always found previous Giro helmets to be perfect in a medium, Hex, Xen, Feature but the Montaro in a medium has some weird thing going on where the side of the helmet dig into the temples. The large Montaro is too……….large. So I stuck with the really simple, comfortable and reasonably priced Feature I already have which has mips and lots of protection.

whats the solution now with the pads then??? can I buy some of these said pads anywhere at all?

mines after about 5 months has sort of lost its stickiness Velcro wise, and the pads is pretty much knackered too

still absorbs sweat mind, but its falling apart rapidly now

i’ve got/had 3 features, all have been great. was thinking about montaro once i need to replace the current one, but the sizing issues concern me as i’m more or less at the top end of a medium in the feature.

anyone got one of the new switchblades yet, with the removable chin guard?

I have to say I manage all year round with the warmth of the TLD A1 even though I know they’re supposed to be warmer than most. Only thing that annoys me is that helmet light mounting annoys me but it annoys me on most helmets as it always seems a compromise.

The one winning feature of the Montaro over the feature etc is the colour schemes available otherwise I probably would look to get a feature etc.

big fan of giro helmets..miss my feature…was a sad day when i accidentally reversed over it…also had a hex at the same time but that got damaged when the wife shut the cupboard door on it and put a dent in it
replaced it with a troy lee a1 drone which is a great helmet but feels very sweaty compared to the giro helmets.
when its due for replacement i’ll be going back to giro…possibly a switchblade

Oscillate Wildly – Member
whats the solution now with the pads then??? can I buy some of these said pads anywhere at all?

mines after about 5 months has sort of lost its stickiness Velcro wise, and the pads is pretty much knackered too

still absorbs sweat mind, but its falling apart rapidly now

I contacted Giro in the US as per my previous thread. They were eventually quite helpful and their European distributor (based in Ireland is sending me a set of the updated pads FOC. They said any ongoing matters contact Zyro in the UK. I also bought a set from Rosebikes previously, but haven’t used them yet. Interestingly they were black , whereas originals are grey, so hoping the black ones are the updated. Will post up once the ones arrive from Giro. Cheers

ah nice one ianc, appreciate the info, sounds good on a updated version, as the pad works wonders for a sweaty forehead!

let us know/pics if its any different to the rosebikes one when it turns up as ill order one from there if need be, don’t suppose you ordered a few did you that you want to sell?

^^^^^ I actually ordered 2 sets from Rosebikes, on basis I ‘might’ need a spare set, so will hang onto them for now 🙂

ah right no worries, just wondering whether to hang fire in case they are the same as the ones ive got

do the ones from rose look different to the one on your helmet from factory other than colour?

tried on the new Chronicle MIPS in Evans. Very good fit. Have not enjoyed the fit of some of their previous mtb helmets since the excellent Zen.

do the ones from rose look different to the one on your helmet from factory other than colour?

they look the same, feel the same. The proof will be in the use (haven’t tried them yet, currently only road riding due injury) and a comparison with the ones that come from Giro.

thanks ian, if you get some sent from Ireland and there different let me know bud, ill keep using this till then, cheers

Big giro fan,xen was just awesome.got a montaro earlier this year.yellow pads failed after one ride,zyro sent me a new set but said they only had black,back then they said they weren,t aware of any issues.
Then 2 rides late the black ones failed ,another set sent but was harder to coax them out of zyro,they failed after one ride and again in black.
The pads also don,t stick to the velcro anymore.
They fail to a point and don,t then really get any worse.
Its dissapointing for a premium lid that they have this issue.
Whilst the mips cradle is apealing for saferty they had to shape the helmet in such a way i would reccomend trying it on firsteven if you a current happy gyro wearer.
Luckily its a good fit for me.
All in pretty dissapointed but just seems to me people are squezed so much that corners are cut in production and quality materials ,as from the factory in china to giro then the distributor then to the retailor everyone is taking a slice of the cake.
So when the factory is producing the helmet to a price so everyone can make x amount without the retail price being ridiculous rhey will save money were they can.

I’ve recently purchased a ‘Montaro’ and for me it’s the most comfortable best fitting helmet I’ve ever had (and I’ve been cycling for 40 years). Maybe there is something to be said for the design technology nowadays. I read about the pads issue before buying but it was far and away the most comfortabe helmet of the ones I’d tried so just bought a replacement set of pads for the future (which is something I’ve done in the past with MET and Bell helmets). I guess if the pads do disintegrate in next to no time then it is pretty shoddy and and smacks of cost cutting to a price point as mentioned above. For the years of experience Giro have in making cycle helmets they should know by now what works and what doesn’t in every aspect of the design.

possibly a switchblade

£225…WHAT THE F***?!?!? 😯

some of us haven’t had any issues with the pads. 6 months on the original set and no issues.

maybe is a caustic sweat thing making them fall apart…

^^^^ Given that Giro have said there was a problem and as a result they have now changed the pads, maybe it isn’t ….

sometimes you just have to say what the customer wants to hear 😉

Tried a feature mips the other day, it was really comfy and I was pretty much sold. Then I did the straps up and found that only the piece with the buckle is adjustable, the front and rear straps that form the v under your ear are a fixed length and stitched together. It left a big loop of loose strap behind my ear and the helmet would just fall backwards off my head.
Just something to be aware of, I haven’t seen it mentioned in any review since it was released. It seems some other manufacturers are also doing this on their sub-top-end helmets. Montaro was better, personally I’m not convinced by mips though.
I should probably point out that my head is an unusual shape. MET parabellum fit reallly nicely.

jam bo – Member
sometimes you just have to say what the customer wants to hear

hmmm, maybe, but this one I believe…

iainc – Member
this just in on email from Giro :

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.
POSTED 1 MONTH AGO #

Then I did the straps up and found that only the piece with the buckle is adjustable, the front and rear straps that form the v under your ear are a fixed length and stitched together. It left a big loop of loose strap behind my ear and the helmet would just fall backwards off my head.

I returned a Kask Rex and a Specialzed one for same reason….

The helmets have a sticker with a serial number in them, finding out which pads it has shouldn’t be difficult. Perhaps just too much bother.

^^^^ yeah, seemed too hard for them. As you know I got my original one refunded from Wiggle. I bought a new one the other week, from local Evans, so easier to deal with if the pads fail. The Evans one has an April 16 manufacture date on it…

New pads arrived direct from Giro this morning, 2 sets, free, good customer service. They are black and identical to the ones I got a couple of weeks ago from Rosebikes which I haven’t tried yet.

I have always had Giro helmets and they have always been great, My first Montaro pads lasted about three months so have been replaced, however what I find more irritating is that when riding with a helmet light or using the camera mount the helmet moves around an awful lot unless you have it so tight you cant breathe. Not sure if this has anything do with MIPS or not, anyone else experience this?

I have worn mine a few times with Joystick mounted and haven’t noticed it moving. I also have a new Foray road one with MIPS which I used a lot in last few months albeit with no light etc atop, but it feels really secure.

Remember they are supposed to be tight enough that you can undo chin strap, tilt head forward towards your knees and shake head without it falling off (into your hands to save it smacking the floor 😀 )

Out of interest, where did you get the replacement pads, and are they grey or black