Giro Air Attack Shield Review

I was excited when I heard about the Giro Air Attack.  Not because it's more "aero" than a standard helmet, but because I could stop wearing those huge over-the-prescription Solar Shield sunglasses (left).

Since the first thing I did when I got the helmet was practice removing and mounting the lens, I'll start this review off with a little how-to.


HOW TO TAKE THE LENS OFF (WITHOUT SMUDGING THE LENS!)
In order to remove the lens without smudging, place a thumb on the nosepiece and hold the top edge with a finger, then push upwards (vertically) with the thumb to free the center magnet, then pull the lens to free the rest of the magnets.  Don't shift the lens down or else it will hit your cheek.

Push up with the thumb to release the lens.

HOW TO PUT THE LENS ON
This part can be sort of difficult at first, but if you use this method to get the lens on, it will be a piece of cake!  By using the three ventilation holes as a marker, center the holes right below the border of the helmet.  You really don't have to "look" for the magnets because once the ventilation holes are centered at the right position, the magnets should pop right in.

Align the ventilation slits in the center of the helmet
to snap the lens onto the mounting magnets

A FEW WORDS ABOUT STYLE
I don't know if people are just trying to be nice, but I have been getting a lot of positive comments about the helmet.  This was surprising to me, especially after reading all of the negative comments scattered around the web.

I tend to pick up on non-verbal cues better.  The best way I can describe people's reaction to this helmet is that they have a "neutral awe."  Sometimes the look lasts a few seconds and sometimes it lasts long enough to be awkward.  It's hard to tell whether this is a negative or positive thing, but as long as I don't get the "ugly" look (which was the case in my Solar Shields), then I'm happy!

VENTILATION: VISOR ON VS. VISOR OFF
Compared to my previous helmet which had 20 vents, my head felt surprisingly cooler in the Air Attack!  It didn't matter whether the visor was on or off.  By taking the visor off, the only perceptible difference I noticed was that more air would hit my face.

The Air Attack seems to keep my head cooler not through ventilation, but through greater UV protection.  In my previous helmet, the top of my head would always feel dry and hot to the touch after a ride.  My experience with the Air Attack has been the total opposite- wet and cool.  I'll be able to put the helmet to the ultimate test once it gets up to 100+ degrees.

The hottest ride I've done so far was an 81 degree group ride lasting one hour and 26 minutes- this included a 10+ mile breakaway.  Check out the ride below.  For the entire duration of the ride, I left the visor on and never felt like my head was getting too hot.  In fact, I only felt the need to drink a little less than 3/4 of my 25oz. insulated Camelbak water bottle!  I did have an extra advantage though.  I wore a Skin Cooler Helmet Beanie and a Leg Cooler from my sponsor, De Soto Sport.  The combination of the De Soto Helmet Beanie and the Air Attack is a system that keeps my head very, very cool.



COOL FEATURE DESIGNED BY ACCIDENT?
During the group ride above, I noticed something that would later prove to be extremely useful.  By changing the tilt of my head from slightly up to parallel to the ground, I could significantly reduce the air flow going into my eyes by "sealing" the ventilation holes at the top of the lens.  It didn't seem to affect the ventilation going into the top of my head, but it definitely created a dead space around my face.  This feature was especially helpful when a car passed ahead and kicked up sand.  All I needed to do was tilt my head down to protect my eyes from the sand.

IN THE RAIN... 
Today, I rode in the rain and actually enjoyed it!  I could see much better with the integrated lens than my sunglasses because I had a greater field of vision to work with.  Riding in the rain also gave me a new idea to make this helmet even better... Rain-X or Car Wax!


WEIGHT
While I haven't weighed this helmet on my kitchen scale yet, it's noticeably heavier than my previous helmet (Giro Indicator).  Although it's a little heavier than my previous helmet, it would be embarrassing to consider the weight as a disadvantage.  Just to put a number out there, the claimed weight of the two helmets are 290g (Air Attack Shield) vs 290g (Indicator w/ Visor).  Small actual difference.


COST
Before I purchased this helmet, it was hard for me to justify spending so much, but after adding up the cost of all the sunglasses I've lost, it didn't hurt as much on the wallet.  Since the lens is almost always connected, I HOPE I won't lose it!

IMPROVES BODY AWARENESS
While the aerodynamic savings are difficult to measure, the shield has improved my body awareness by muting the feeling of the wind smashing into my face, especially whenever my head is tilted closer to parallel.  There's something about feeling less wind on my head that makes it easier to focus on my efforts and form.  The helmet is especially useful in headwinds because I can't feel the resistance on my head as much as I used to.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
While I've only covered things that I've experienced so far, feel free to leave a comment below to ask additional questions about this helmet.  I'll expand this review as the comments come in.

Eagle Creek Park Cycling Grand Prix v2.0 - FIRST PLACE & FIRST PODIUM FINISH!

I can't even begin to describe how awesome it felt to have two dreams come true at once!  I always wondered what it would be like to be on the podium, but I never thought I had a chance at first place!

THE COURSE

Below is a map of the course highlighted in blue.  It ran counterclockwise.  There were a few corners that stuck out to me.
Bottom right (corner #1):  This wasn't a very sharp corner, but the trees and brush made it difficult to see around it, so the group had a tendency to slow down and merge into a single line here.
Top right (corner #2):  This corner was very sharp, so oftentimes the group would merge into one or two pacelines, especially at higher speeds.
Top left (corner #3):  The inside half of this corner was covered by loose asphalt, so it wasn't an ideal or safe place to pass.  Pretty much everyone had to take a very awkward, wide line.  We could only fit about three abreast in this corner.
Bottom left (corner #4):  This was a very fast corner that led straight into a short ~4% climb which tapered into a flat road towards the finish line.

THE LAST LAP

We lifted the pace significantly in the final lap and I was about four wheels back by the time we entered the bottom right corner.  As we were approaching corner two, I accelerated to hold my position near the front to avoid getting pushed back by traffic within the group.  After exiting corner two, I glanced back and noticed that the group strung out due to the sharpness of the corner, so I relaxed and held my position to recover until they bridged all of the mini gaps.  One by one, two of the riders at the front of our lead group shifted off the paceline to force everyone to work harder.  By the time the group caught up, it was time to prepare for corner three- a corner where it was almost impossible to pass safely.  After corner three, only one rider remained.

The last rider was very powerful and I knew the downhill leading into corner four was his forte, so I waited until after corner four to make my move.  As soon as the rider I was drafting began to lose speed quickly, I broke off his wheel and sprinted for dear life!  Before I reached the summit, every rider fell out of my peripheral vision rather quickly.  Since I had a feeling that the larger and more powerful riders would try to pass me after the climb tapered into a flat, I summoned everything I had to sprint even harder in an effort to hit my top speed first.  The plan was to hit a speed that no one else could exceed.  As I approached the finish line, all I could think about was "am I really going to win?"  I couldn't believe it at first, but from the climb to the finish line, I never saw a rider in my peripheral vision, so it was clear that I won.

After talking to my parents and my friend's wife who came to cheer me on, I learned that a rider tried to draft my wheel and slingshot ahead.  Luckily, as soon as he left my draft, he was only able to speed-match me.  I ended up taking first by about a bike length!

EMBARRASSING!

I don't know why this happened, but at around three laps to go, I started to feel a draft on my leg.  I later looked down at my legs and noticed that my shorts started rolling up my thigh!  It eventually rolled up high enough to expose a large section of skin between my shorts and my leg warmers, so it looked like I was wearing stockings!  I hope the photographer Photoshopped my clothes back together!

THE FINAL SPRINT ANALYSIS

Here is a screenshot of the final sprint from my Strava page.  Thank you Strava for exaggerating the power of my uphill sprint! :)

Below is a screenshot from my Polar ProTrainer 5 software.  The spreadsheet below shows second by second data for speed, cadence, heart rate and elevation.  The sprint started at 1:15:22 and ended at 1:15:32.  Apparently, I accelerated from 26.5 mph to 28 mph in the uphill sprint.  I reached a top speed of 29.7 mph and progressively lost speed as I approached the finish line.  I crossed the finish line at 29.3 mph.

POLAR CS600X HEART RATE ANALYSIS

I'm not the type to hide my data, especially since these numbers vary from person to person, so here it is!  This is what each colored bar represents:

• RED:  Pure anaerobic- Sprints and hard accelerations
• GOLD:  Lactic Threshold- Long, sustained accelerations or quick changes in power/ effort (climbs)
• GREEN:  VO2max- The highest intensity that my aerobic system can operate before switching to the anaerobic system.
• BLUE:  Submaximal Aerobic- An intensity that can be sustained for hours because it is dominantly aerobic.  Low intensity.

Heart rate zone summary

Heart rate zone summary:  This chart shows how long I remained in each zone out of a total duration of 42 minutes 21 seconds (100%).  For 33 seconds (1.3%), I was able to reach an intensity well below my VO2max.  I likely reached this zone between corner two and three because this long section of road was mostly downhill, so I was able to coast more often, especially within the pack.  For 17 minutes and 57 seconds (42.4%), I was working close to my VO2max.  In training, I can hold a steady state VO2max effort for about 1.5 hours without losing power.  In order to reach this zone during the race, I tried to underestimate how hard I needed to pedal to maintain my speed.  Anytime the pace lifted, I tried to accelerate as slowly as possible to remain in the aerobic zone.  For 19 minutes and 46 seconds (46.7%), I was working at or close to my lactic threshold.  This likely occurred in the climbs and the accelerations after each corner.  I was in the pure anaerobic zone for 4 minutes and 5 seconds or 9.6 percent of the time.  I hit this zone when I attempted a breakaway 20 minutes into the race and in the last minute of the race leading to the final sprint.

Heart rate zone distribution

Heart rate zone distribution:  The chart above shows what energy system was dominantly used during the race.  My goal was to use my aerobic system more than my anaerobic system by trying to race less aggressively and conserve energy.  Although most of my time was spent right at the threshold between my aerobic and anaerobic system, this chart shows that I spent four percent more time aerobic than at or above my lactic threshold.

Curve view (HR, cadence, speed, elevation, temperature):  Anytime the red line (heart rate) was in the yellow zone, you could pretty much guarantee that I was suffering a lot.  In the final sprint, my entire body was screaming!

THE EQUIPMENT

I've been holding off on a nice set of wheels because my friends and I have always wanted to compete at a "disadvantage."  This mainly meant no high-end wheels.  Although after today, I'm seriously considering to get a nice set of wheels.  Maybe the new Karbon Speed XA.  Shhh! :)

Bike:  2011 Kestrel Talon Road Bike
Computer:  Polar CS600X w/ speed, cadence and heart rate
Saddle:  Selle SMP Evolution
Pedals:  Look Keo 2 Max
Tires: Continental GP4000S
Tubes:  Michelin AirComp Ultra Light
Front Wheel:  Forte Titan ($64)
Rear Wheel:  Shimano RS80 C24

THE PODIUM PICTURE

You can tell how new the riders are to podium finishes by the number of shots it takes to get the right picture. :)

Looks like we're doing the wave?

Something's still off...

Nice!

First place prize money.
I'm not going to spend it for good luck!

FROM DNF'S TO TOP FINISHES
This season has been a complete 360 with regards to performance.  Last year, I was always in fear of getting dropped and pulled out of the races.  I remember racing this same course a year ago- it took everything I had to keep up with the peloton.  It marked the first time I finished with the pack.  It felt like a huge accomplishment just to have my name on the list without the letters "DNF" next to it.  Prior to this personal achievement, I was pulled out of every race that I signed up for because I wasn't able to keep up (about seven races).  The thought of giving up crossed my mind many times, but I always fought through it.  I still remember those feelings as if it were yesterday, and I'm glad I was able to overcome those barriers because today's victory was well worth the struggle!

SPONSORS

Big thanks to WeightVest.com, Polar USA and De Soto Sport for taking the chance to sponsor me.  The Polar CS600X has been very useful in training specific energy systems more accurately.  Although I never got a chance to test the De Soto Sport leg coolers since the temperatures were too low, I wore the head beanie during the race and loved it!  Since I wore it dry, it kept my head warm all day.  It gripped my head really well and also helped hold my prescription glasses and helmet in place during the race.

Special thanks to WeightVest.com because they supported me during the time where I consistently got dropped and pulled out of every race.  It would be an understatement to say that their 150 lbs weighted vest contributed hugely to my progress.  My cycling technique, posture, explosiveness and overall power on the bike wouldn't have been the same without their support.