Giro

Giro is one of the most established names in cycling and snow helmets, and riders generally rate its lineup well across price points. The premium models earn praise for ventilation, low weight and comfort, while the entry-level helmets carry many of the same safety features for less. If a Giro fits your head well, it's an easy recommendation.

It often comes down to head shape, and there's a neat family link here: Giro is owned by Bell Sports, which acquired it in 1996. Riders frequently find Giro suits rounder heads while Bell suits more oval ones, and Giro models tend to run light with large vents. Try both and let fit decide rather than the badge.

More than just bike helmets. Giro is an American manufacturer of snow and cycling helmets; snow and mountain-biking goggles; cycling and mountain-bike apparel and shoes; and softgoods for cycling, skiing and snowboarding. That breadth means you can kit out both summer rides and winter days from one brand.

A helmet is the obvious starting point, since that's the product Giro is best known for and the one most worth getting right. Once you've found a model that fits, the brand's goggles, shoes and apparel make it easy to build a coordinated cycling or snow setup around it.

Giro was founded in 1985 by Jim Gentes and was headquartered in Scotts Valley, California. It grew from a Californian start-up into a major name in cycling and snow gear over the following decades.

Giro is now part of Revelyst and based at Revelyst's offices in Irvine, California. Giro and Bell Sports were previously owned by Vista Outdoor, which had purchased them along with other brands for $400 million in 2016, before the later reorganisation.

No longer. Giro was originally headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, but in 2023 Vista Outdoor announced that the Scotts Valley facility serving as Giro's base would close, with relevant employees laid off as part of a move to integrate Giro into Fox Racing. The brand is now based at Revelyst's offices in Irvine.

Yes, both are core to the brand. Giro makes snow helmets and snow goggles alongside its cycling helmets and mountain-biking goggles, plus softgoods for skiing and snowboarding. It's genuinely a four-season brand rather than a summer-only cycling label.

Fit is the single most important factor in a helmet, and Giro is often described as favouring rounder head shapes. Measure the circumference of your head just above the eyebrows, match it to the model's size range, and check that the helmet sits level and snug with the retention dial barely tightened. If you have a very oval head, try the helmet on before committing.

It sits among the leading mainstream names, closely tied to its parent Bell. Because the two share ownership under Bell Sports, you'll often see them compared directly, and Giro's reputation rests on light, well-ventilated helmets across road, mountain and snow. For most riders it's a safe, widely available default worth trying alongside its siblings.