No matter if you are skydiving or bicycling, safety is the first important factor that we need to pay attention to since apparently nobody loves being injured. For those road riders as well, make sure to wear a reliable helmet like Giro Atmos Vs Atmos II so we can keep the head safe when slipped off without making the ride becomes dull. Before deciding your option, make sure to check which model will be the better option below so we can choose quickly.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
– Do you really need a Bike Helmet
– Why Bike Helmet is Necessary
– What are Giro Atmos and Atmos II
– What Giro Atmos and Atmos II Look like
– How are the Build of Giro Atmos and Atmos II
– How are the Retention System in Giro Atmos and Atmos II
– Are Giro Atmos and Atmos II Comfortable
– How many Vents in Giro Atmos and Atmos II
– Giro Atmos Vs Atmos II
Bike Helmet Importance
Bicycle has become a trend in many developed countries all around the world because it is the solution for many of our today’s problem from the road over capacity and pollutant being released into our atmosphere. Car that used to be the most looked up transportation now is seen as the prominent cause of our traffic which not only waste fuel but also the money to buy them. Bicycle on the other hand is friendlier with our earth as well as for our body.
Many of us love riding bicycles since early days where our parents are teaching us with support wheel and even today, this activity is still one of the most fun exercises we can do almost anywhere as long as there is a safe place to ride the bike in your city. When talking about bicycling, another important thing to notice is helmet because we have been taught that it is a proper protection to cover our head against possible contact with solid matter when there is an accident.
However, it is also true that not all riders are fond of bike helmet due to various reasons; some are just not into how they look on top of the head and some doesn’t see a prominent benefit when wearing one. This is probably because bike helmet is not made to fully protect the head like motorcycle helmet since it is polystyrene blocks and not force fields. In road application, the helmet will only help for slow speed crushes but those made for MTB will definitely have higher protection.
Bike Helmet Benefit
Of course riders are free to choose whether to use a helmet while pedaling to commute or just around the neighborhood but it doesn’t diminish the benefit of wearing a bike helmet as well especially if you have no issue with the small effort to put one. When wearing a helmet, at least there is a protection covering our heads on top of our head to be specific and while it seems lacking, the application can be very helpful when rider accidentally slipped.
Taken from New York Times, American Association of Neurological Surgeons found that cycling accident is playing a role of about 86k of the 447k sports-related head injuries that have been treated in emergency rooms back then in 2009. This number is even higher than those happening in American Football so, while some riders still prefer to wear no helmet, in our opinion it is still wiser to wear one to avoid further risk of life-threatening injury, moreover it is not a complicated process to do.
About Giro Atmos and Atmos II
If you don’t mind putting the helmet on while riding the bike, it is good to start seeing what the market has to offer because apparently we have so many of them out there and it may take some time before we can make our decision. For road riders, bike helmet don’t have to be expensive because there are many great options that comes with friendlier price tag and one of them is Giro which is also the favorite of many riders.
For those who have been riding the bike for some time, we are sure this brand will rings a bell because it is one of the most popular bike peripheral manufacturers out there and we do like them because it seems that they always have the option for every budget so we are free to choose the one matching with our capability. They also have quite the option to offer and one of the most well-known is Atmos road helmet.
This helmet has been the favorite of many riders and have been in the market for quite some time even today but, like many other companies, Giro also often upgrade their products to be better and Atmos is included in the list with the release of Atmos II. Both of these helmets are almost identical so it can be hard to decide which is the newer and which is the original model but it doesn’t mean that there is nothing different about them.
Overall, both of Giro Atmos and Atmos II are the replica of an older helmet Lance Arsmstrong that we used to see in the past. Since it is designed for road riding, these models are optimized on the vents to help the user feels more comfortable when riding even at summer and in details, there is almost no difference between the two versions. However, Giro claimed that the upgrade they made is to lower the cost of production so more people can afford the unit.
Giro Atmos and Atmos II Design
As you can see on the sample picture above, both of them are very similar or more like identical because there is no re-designing happening here and if you ever use the original helmet, the build stay the same as well. The shape of Giro Atmos and Atmos II may not be the most stylish we have seen out there but it is all about taste and in our opinion, it is not very thick at the top that makes some of our head look like a mushroom.
The original model used to have quite limited option in terms of fashion or color collection but with the release of Atmos II, Giro decided to put more shades for this helmet. The older model is actually already a lightweight helmet but due to the minor difference used to make the new helmet, it will be even lighter than 256 grams. There are also many vents covering all over the cap to promote better air circulation.
Giro Atmos and Atmos II Build
The first thing you may want to check when looking for any helmet is probably the material or build because they should keep our head safe and like many other bike helmets out there, Atmos is built with reinforced polystyrene house with carbon bits creating a frame around the house and creating seamless polystyrene where the micro-shell in-mould body is added. What has been changed in Atmos II is the aforementioned carbon or composite on the internal reinforcement, since it is replaced with polycarbonate reinforcement.
This replacement is meant to lower the retail price compared to the original Atmos and what’s more important, the helmet weight also becomes lighter so those who get fatigue of wearing heavy helmet can be more comfortable with the new version.
Giro Atmos and Atmos II Retention System
Coming into the adjustment side, Giro Atmos and Atmos II will have the same adjustment system featured with chin strap length, fore yoke adjustment, retention band circumference, and band height. They also use the popular RocLoc5 retention system just like Savant in our Giro Savant Vs Atmos. This system has been the favorite of many people since it was introduced back then with Xar because of the click wheel which is used to adjust the circumference of the retention band.
This small wheel may appear to be in size of some of our jacket buttons but it is easy to locate for our hand and allow precise tightening as well as loosening. As for the height, RocLoc5’s band can be adjusted to 3 positions to match with your occipital lobe through simple sliding mechanism but this adjustment often done once and we won’t need it again later after finding the perfect position.
Giro Atmos and Atmos II Comfort
Talking about comfort, the lightweight Giro Atmos and Atmos II are two of the most affordable road helmet out there because as long as we can find the correct sizing, these helmet will just sit and snug on top of our head. If you ever use Aeon helmet from the same brand, the comfort level will be very similar. This is probably because there is not much padding inside that often make the interior too tight for many so we are free from pressure points.
Giro Atmos and Atmos II Vents
For those who often find their head gets hot and uncomfortable while pedaling, especially during the summer, you will love to find that these models are featured with 26 vents, just slightly above Savant counting at 25 vents. There are 3 air intake scoops in the brow area and it will be channeled through the helmet. The result of this many vents is a very cool riding experience because our head feels at breeze even after some moment pedaling in good weather.
Comparison
Giro Atmos and Atmos II are a good options to accompany your daily commuting or road riding so we can avoid more serious risks that actually can be avoided with helmet, moreover they are very affordable as well. There is no significant difference between the two and as you may already know, Giro only change the carbon with polycarbonate reinforcement. Other than that the new helmet still rocks the same design, same retention system, and same amount of vents.
Giro Atmos vs Atmos Ii
Conclusion
At this point we are sure many riders can decide to go with which helmet because they are actually the same. However, we do prefer Atmos II which is slightly lighter and more affordable compared to the original Atmos.