Table Of Contents

Giro Foray MIPS Review: The Best Road Bike Helmets of 2021 – Cycling Helmet Review

Best Road Bike Helmet for Cyclists on a Budget

  • Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability 80% 80%
  • Weight 60% 60%
  • Ventilation 70% 70%
  • Aerodynamics 80% 80%
  • Safety Tech and Additional Features 80% 80%

Price: $84.95 

Weight: 298g

Vents: 21

Fit System: Roc Loc 5

Safety Tech: MIPS

What We Like: Premium Features at a Budget Price

What We Don’t: Doesn’t Vent or Fit Quite Like the Giro Synthe

Not so long ago, things like fancy retention systems and top of the line safety features were reserved for premium helmets that sported premium price tags. However, more and more of that high-end technology has trickled down, and now you can get a helmet that incorporates most, if not all, of the same features as some top of the line helmets for only a fraction of a price. There might be no better example of that than the Giro Foray MIPS road bike helmet, which is our top pick for the best road bike helmet for riders on a budget.

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Compare to Similar Products

See Our The Best Road Bike Helmets of 2021: Cycling Helmet Review!

POC Ventral SPIN

  • Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability 100% 100%
  • Weight 70% 70%
  • Ventilation 90% 90%
  • Aerodynamics 100% 100%
  • Safety Tech and Additional Features 100% 100%

Pros

Unparalleled Combination of Weight

Safety

Ventilation

Cons

Price

Weight: 280g

Vents: 14

Fit System: Proprietary 360 Degree Retention System

Safety Tech: SPIN

Giro Synthe MIPS

  • Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability 100% 100%
  • Weight 70% 70%
  • Ventilation 80% 80%
  • Aerodynamics 90% 90%
  • Safety Tech and Additional Features 90% 90%

Pros

Highly Adjustable

Well Ventilated

Aerodynamic

Great Sale Prices

Cons

MSRP is Nearly as Expensive as the POC Ventral Spin

Weight: 268g

Vents: 26

Fit System: Roc Loc 5 Air

Safety Tech: MIPS

Lazer Z-1 MIPS

  • Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability 90% 90%
  • Weight 60% 60%
  • Ventilation 100% 100%
  • Aerodynamics 60% 60%
  • Safety Tech and Additional Features 90% 90%

Pros

MIPS

T Pro

Highly Adjustable

Magneto Eyewear Doc

Cons

Heavy

High MSRP

Weight: 284g

Vents: 31

Fit System: ARS Advanced Rollsys System

Safety Tech: MIPS, T Pro

Giro Aether MIPS

  • Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability 100% 100%
  • Weight 70% 70%
  • Ventilation 80% 80%
  • Aerodynamics 90% 90%
  • Safety Tech and Additional Features 100% 100%

Pros

MIPS Spherical

Roc Loc 5+ Air Fit Retention System

Cons

Staggering Price Tag

Weight: 267g

Vents: 11

Fit System: Roc Loc 5+ Air

Safety Tech: MIPS Spherical

Smith Trace MIPS

  • Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability 90% 90%
  • Weight 70% 70%
  • Ventilation 60% 60%
  • Aerodynamics 90% 90%
  • Safety Tech and Additional Features 100% 100%

Pros

Top of the Line Safety Features

Improved Ventilation Over Smith Overtake

Cons

Still Not the Best Ventilation

Price

Weight: 280g

Vents: 18

Fit System: VaporFit

Safety Tech: MIPS, Koroyd

Giro Foray MIPS

  • Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability 80% 80%
  • Weight 60% 60%
  • Ventilation 70% 70%
  • Aerodynamics 80% 80%
  • Safety Tech and Additional Features 80% 80%

Pros

Premium Features at a Budget Price

Cons

Doesn’t Vent or Fit Quite Like the Giro Synthe

Weight: 298g

Vents: 21

Fit System: Roc Loc 5

Safety Tech: MIPS

Bell Stratus MIPS

  • Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability 80% 80%
  • Weight 60% 60%
  • Ventilation 70% 70%
  • Aerodynamics 70% 70%
  • Safety Tech and Additional Features 70% 70%

Pros

Premium Features in a Mid Priced Helmet

Cons

Lacks Some of the Safety Features of the Bell Z20 MIPS

Weight: 296g

Vents: 18

Fit System: Float Fit

Safety Tech: MIPS

Kask Valegro

  • Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability 80% 80%
  • Weight 90% 90%
  • Ventilation 100% 100%
  • Aerodynamics 70% 70%
  • Safety Tech and Additional Features 50% 50%

Pros

Lightweight

Great Ventilation

Cons

No MIPS

Issues With Octo Fit Retention System

Weight: 234g

Vents: 37

Fit System: Octo Fit

Safety Tech: In Molding, MIT

Kask Protone

  • Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability 80% 80%
  • Weight 80% 80%
  • Ventilation 70% 70%
  • Aerodynamics 90% 90%
  • Safety Tech and Additional Features 50% 50%

Pros

Highly Adjustable

Aerodynamic

Cons

No MIPS

Falls Short of the Giro Synthe’s Adjustability and Ventilation

Weight: 248g

Vents: 20

Fit System: Octo Fit

Safety Tech: In Molding, MIT

Bell Z20 MIPS

  • Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability 90% 90%
  • Weight 50% 50%
  • Ventilation 80% 80%
  • Aerodynamics 70% 70%
  • Safety Tech and Additional Features 80% 80%

Pros

Float Fit Race Retention System

Ventilation

Cons

Weight

Nowhere to Stash Sunglasses

Weight: 305g

Vents: 18

Fit System: Float Fit Race 

Safety Tech: MIPS

Kask Mojito X

  • Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability 70% 70%
  • Weight 100% 100%
  • Ventilation 60% 60%
  • Aerodynamics 60% 60%
  • Safety Tech and Additional Features 50% 50%

Pros

Solid Performer in Every Category

Cons

Doesn’t Vent or Fit Quite Like the Giro Synthe

Weight: 220g

Vents: 26

Fit System: Up & Down Fit System

Safety Tech: MIT, In Molding

Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability

The Giro Foray MIPS uses a Roc Loc 5 retention system, which is quite similar to the Roc Loc Air retention system that helped make the Giro Synthe, which was our top pick for the best overall road bike helmet of 2021. While the Giro Foray MIPS’ Roc Loc 5 system does attach to the temples in the front, it remains free floating and easily adjustable in the rear, with the circumferential adjustment coming from the dial and vertical adjustment from simply pushing up or pulling down on the harness. This makes for a highly adjustable helmet that is quite comfortable for most head shapes, if not quite as adjustable or comfortable as a helmet at three times its price point.

There is nothing terribly special about the Y shaped, adjustable ear straps, or the chin strap of the Giro Foray MIPS, but they both do their job. 

Weight

Weighing in just shy of 300g, the Giro Foray MIPS is not ultralight, but around 30g of its weight comes from the MIPS insert, which we are more than happy to carry around on our heads and hope that we never need it. After all, if the objective were simply to be as lightweight as possible, we would skip out on helmets altogether.

Ventilation

While the Giro Foray MIPS’ Roc Loc 5 retention system does not keep the helmet fully suspended away from your head quite like the Roc Loc Air system of the Giro Synthe, the helmet itself is modeled very closely on the Giro Synthe, and its 21 vents and five internal air channels make for a helmet that is well ventilated, if not quite on par with the helmets that promote the most airflow.

Safety Tech and Additional Features

The big kicker for the Giro Foray MIPS is that you get a helmet with an in-mold design and MIPS liner for less than $90. Throw in the Roc Loc 5 retention system and you have the same features that would have cost you over $200 only a few years ago.

Aerodynamics

As with its ventilation, the Giro Foray MIPS is modeled off of the Giro Synthe, which is about as aerodynamic as a road bike helmet can be without beginning to make sacrifices in other areas. If you put both helmets in a wind tunnel, the Synthe would likely come out ahead, but you would be hard pressed to tell a difference on the road.

The Bottom Line

The Giro Foray MIPS represents an incredible value in an industry where returns for your investment tend to become minuscule as you go higher up the price ladder. While those with unusual head shapes or sizes might find that the Roc Loc Air retention system justifies the price increase for the Giro Synthe, for everyone else the Giro Foray MIPS packs just about everything that made the Synthe our pick for best road bike helmet, but it does it at around a third of the price. For cyclists on a budget, you can’t beat the Giro Foray MIPS, and we named it our top pick for best budget road bike helmet of 2021.

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We participate in affiliate programs to help us fund Gear Hacker. Some of the links in this website are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product using our link, we will earn a small commission. Don’t worry! This comes at no additional cost to you, and we will never base our reviews on whether or not we earn a commission off of a product. With that said, if you find our review helpful and decide to purchase an item we review, we would be very appreciative if you use our links to do so. It will help us bring you more awesome content in the future!