The Fixture MIPS offers good safety, a very comfortable fit and pretty stylish looks for a very reasonable price. It even comes in 12 different colors if you're looking to really coordinate with your bike – you might wonder, in fact, why you really need to spend any more when the best mountain bike helmets under $100 are so good now.
Design
Beyond offering great performance for the money, the Fixture doesn't do anything unexpected. The shaping is sharp but ultimately conventional, and even though it features a MIPS system for damping rotational forces (common in bike crashes and a common cause of brain injury, according to MIPS' inventors), it doesn't shout about it. Beyond the small yellow logo on one side, you can't really tell it's there.
It certainly doesn't impact noticeably on the cooling, and the Fixture breathes well through its 18 vents. It helps that it feels pretty light as well as airy – at 282g ours was actually slightly lighter than claimed – and it's easy to forget it's there and just ride.
That said, it drops down a fair way at the back for good coverage of your skull, and feels reassuring when you do think about what's there. The Roc Loc Sport retention system holds it securely in place, too, and it's very easy to adjust – you get the usual dial at the back to tune the circumference, and a neat curved plastic chin clip that's easily ratcheted to the perfect tension.
Ultimately this is still built to a (pretty impressive) price, however, so it's no surprise the features basically end there. The removable peak is a good size and effective for blocking out low sun/your mate's expensive new bike/that hideous climb ahead, but it's not adjustable.
Luckily it's well-positioned to start with, and the secure fit and low mass of the whole lid means that's not prone to changing.
Also, though the Fixture is in-molded – a process which fuses the outer shell to the inner foam, making it much stronger than if the shell were glued on – that shell doesn't continue around beneath the brim. That leaves the foam there vulnerable to knocks when you're not wearing it, which may bother those who chuck lids around in the backs of cars or cupboards.
Personally I've never found it an issue, to be honest, and if you managed to damage this part in a crash you'd probably have bigger things to worry about.
There's also only one choice of shell size, which Giro calls 'Universal Adult' and rate for skulls of 54-61cm. It worked very well on my 57cm brainbox, but then it should really – I'm pretty much bang in the middle. It's only likely to become a factor if you're at either extreme, but if you are then other lids come in two, three or even – like the recently reviewed Specialized Camber – five sizes.
The build quality is impressive. The finish is neat and accurate everywhere, the straps are pleasingly thin and soft, and personally I really like the matt finish on ours – it looks more expensive than it is, and I've seen worse finishes around vent/shell edges on far spendier lids.
The range of colors is very impressive, too – if you don't like this 'Matte Ano Lime,' firstly... why not? And secondly, there are 11 other choices, evenly split between bright and dark hues. The color-coded adjustment wheel on each is another impressive touch.
Verdict
At just $70/£69.99 and packing a MIPS system under some generous coverage – and styled and built with winning attention to detail – the Giro Fixture is impressive.
Okay the peak is non-adjustable, the inner foam is not entirely protected and there's only one shell size, but if these aren't going to bother you then there's little else to dislike. It's well made, looks good and offers excellent protection... and for a price that won't mean you have to sit down all over again if you smash it in a crash.
