Giro Tremor MIPS Kids Bike Helmet Review

Looking for a SAFE, comfortable, and “cool” helmet for your child? The Giro Tremor MIPS helmet fits the bill.

Thanks to MIPS technology and extended side and rear of the head coverage, parents can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that whatever mayhem their kiddo may create, they’ve done their best to protect that little noggin.

On the flip side, kids love this helmet thanks to the mountain-bike style design, wide variety of color choices, and and easy to operate buckle and fit dial. And since kids who like their helmet are more likely to WEAR their helmet, choosing a kid-approved lid is key.

Review in a Nutshell

Pros:

Nicer construction and features than other helmets at this price point
MIPS technology
Good side and rear of head coverage
Excellent ventilation
Large visor

Cons:

Chin strap loosens easily

Price & Where To Buy:

$70 List
Check Price at REI.com*
$39.94 at Amazon.com* (Last updated: 2023-03-08 at 02:41) – More info

Giro Tremor MIPS Detailed Review

MIPS Technology Offers Peace of Mind

While there’s still some debate about the safety/cost trade-off of adding MIPS technology on a bike helmet, most parents will choose to spend a few extra bucks to get ultimate peace of mind. Considering just how precious your child’s noggin’ is, and newer research suggesting that MIPS really is best, picking a helmet that offers MIPS is a no-brainer, in my opinion.

More Reading: MIPS in Kids Bike Helmets and Why MIPS is Best

Good Head Coverage

In terms of safety, another thing we look at when choosing a kids bike helmet is how much coverage it provides. The more of the skull that’s covered, the better the protection it offers.

That’s why we like mountain bike style helmets, like the Giro Tremor MIPS, for kids. Even if a child is mostly riding on road, there are very few kids out there that won’t spend time finding curbs to hop and grass to slide on. A helmet with extended coverage provides the safety that your wild child deserves.

The Giro Tremor MIPS, as you can see in the photos, offers good coverage both at the side and rear of the head.

Excellent Rear and Side of Head Coverage

Nice Big Dial Adjust

One of the things we love most about the Giro Tremor MIPS is the the nice big, rubberized fit dial at the rear of the helmet. For some reason, the Bell helmets (which we otherwise like) have awful small, plastic dials that are challenging for kids to operate.

My six year old is able to easily adjust the dial by himself, even with bike gloves on.

The rear fit dial on the Giro Tremor (left) is larger and easier to operate than the dial on the Bell Sidetrack or Bell Spark Jr (right)

Adjustment Free Side-Straps

Adjusting helmet straps for kids requires super-human patience and human-wrangling skills. Side straps around the ears are notorious for shifting and coming loose, and we’ve seen so many kids with improperly adjusted helmet straps. (Probably because the parents just gave up).

That’s why we appreciate the adjustment- free side straps on the Giro Tremor. They fit nicely around the ears, no tightening required, for a nice clean, safe fit.

Adjustment-free side strap makes life easy for parents

Retention Cage is a Bit Flimsy

While we mostly love the fit system on the Giro Tremor (great fit dial, awesome straps, nice buckle), the retention cage gives us pause.

Why? It’s kinda flimsy. Having broken more than one cage in my lifetime, I’m painfully aware of how easily these can break.

Kids, in particular, are rough on helmets. They yank helmets on and off, they drop them on the ground (tell them to stop that by the way). We haven’t snapped it yet, but I do worry about the durability of the cage.

Visor Offers Protection

Another reason we like mountain-bike style helmets for kids (even for kids riding primarily on pavement), are the nice big visors. Kids need sun protection! Visors are also good for added protection in the event of a face-plant. I, personally, have had a few crashes where I broke a visor but my face came out relatively unharmed.

The visor on the Giro Tremor is particularly large and beats out the helmets on several of our other favorite helmets including the Bell Sidetrack and the Woom helmet.

The only helmet that we’ve tested that has a better visor is the Bell Spark Jr. It’s larger and integrated into the helmet as opposed to the Giro Tremor visor. The Tremor’s visor snaps into the helmet via two side connectors and seems like it could get damaged easily.

The Giro Tremor (center) has a larger visor than the Bell Sidetrack (right) but a smaller visor than the Bell Spark Jr (left)

Plenty of Ventilation Keeps Little Heads Cool

The Giro Tremor MIPS offers plenty of ventilation, making it one of our top picks for warm-weather riding. The 22 sizeable vents are further aided by internal air channels that keep air flow moving.

For warm-weather riding, the ventilation on the Giro Tremor is FAR superior to that found on the cheaper or skate-style helmets that so many kids wear.

My son has a particularly sweaty head, and after a recent Sunday where he wore the Giro Tremor for THREE HOURS, he took it off and had dry hair.

High-Quality Padding

The ventilation system is further aided by the high-quality padding inside the helmet.

The pads have small holes in them that make them more breathable and better at wicking sweat. This is a feature that’s usually only found on more expensive helmets.

Basic, Easy to Use Buckle

No, the Giro Tremor doesn’t have a fancy magnetic buckle. In fact, it’s quite basic. But we’ll consider that a good thing.

Some kids helmets, like the Bell Sidetrack, have a pinch guard that make the helmet nearly impossible to buckle, especially for small hands.

The Giro Tremor has a good old-fashioned buckle that is easy to buckle and unbuckle, and kids can easily do it on their own. Because, let’s be serious, mom has enough to do.

The one thing that we have noticed, and are a bit bummed about, is that the chin strap seems to come loose easily. It seems like almost every ride, we have to re-tighten it. That doesn’t make mom’s life easier.

Respectable Weight

At a mere 306 grams the Giro Tremor is a LOT lighter than many kids bike helmets. This simply means that there’s less strain on your child’s neck and the helmet will FEEL more comfortable for them. Especially if you are doing rides longer than an hour or so.

Comes in a Bunch of Colors

Let’s admit it: most kids pick a product based on whether or not it comes in their favorite color.

Fortunately, the Giro Tremor comes in a wide variety of bright, fun colors, so no matter your child’s favorite color du jour, you should be able to find a style they like.

And since kids are more likely to actually wear their helmet if they like the way it looks, this is actually pretty important.

Sizing

The Giro Tremor MIPS comes in one size: youth. Thanks to the adjustable retention system, is does a good job of snugging down and fitting a wide variety of head sizes.

The best way to know if the Tremor will fit your child is to measure their head circumference. The Giro Tremor fits heads between 50 and 57 centimeters.

Comparison: The Giro Tremor vs the Bell Sidetrack and the Bell Spark Jr

The closest competitor to the Giro Tremor MIPS, both in terms of price and style, is the Bell Sidetrack MIPS. While we actually really like the Sidetrack, in a side to side comparison, the Giro Tremor is the winner.

Why? The Giro Tremor has larger vent holes, a larger visor, nicer padding, and easier-to-operate buckle. It’s retail price is also $5 less, so that’s a no-brainer.

If you are willing to spend a bit more money, the next step up would be the Bell Spark Jr MIPS. The Bell Spark Jr takes it up another notch in terms of ventilation, padding, and as we mentioned before, the visor is bigger/better.

That said, we actually prefer the side straps on the Tremor as well as the rear fit dial. Considering that, the extra $15 for the Spark Jr isn’t buying you that much, so if you want to save some coin, you can’t go wrong with the Giro Tremor.

Still not sure how they stack up against each other? This comparison chart should help. We also threw in the Troy Lee Designs A1. Although we haven’t done a full review of it yet, we have checked it out and it’s pretty darn nice. It’s pretty similar as these helmets in terms of mountain bike design and features.

Helmet	Style	MIPS?	Magnetic Buckle?	Weight	Head Circumference
Kali Chakra Youth*	MTB	No	No	245 g	52-57 cm
Giro Tremor MIPS*	MTB	Yes	No	306 g	50 - 57 cm
Troy Lee Designs A1*	MTB	Yes	No	346 g	48 to 53 cm (Youth) 50 to 54 cm (XS)
Melon*	Skate-style	No	Yes	280 g	52-58 cm (M/L)
Bern Nino*	Skate-style	No	No	360 g	52-55cm
Giro Hale MIPS*	Traditional / Road	Yes	No	247 g	50-57 cm
Bell Sidetrack MIPS*	MTB	Yes	No	340 g	47 – 54 cm (Child) 50 – 57 cm (Youth)
Bell Sidetrack (non-MIPS)*	MTB	No	No	310 g	47 – 54 cm (Child) 50 – 57 cm (Youth)
Bell Nomad Jr*	MTB	Yes	No	353 g	50-57 cm
Woom	MTB	No	Yes	270 g	53-56 cm (M)
POC POCito Omne SPIN*	Traditional / Road	No	No	326 g	51-56 cm (S)
Thousand Jr*	Skate-style	No	No	390 g	49-53 cm
Smith Wilder Jr	MTB	Yes	No	269 g	48-52 cm
Lazer Gekko*	Traditional / Road	Yes	No	310 g	50-56 cm
POC Pocito Crane*	Skate-style	Yes	No		51-54 cm (XS-S) 55-58 cm (M-L)
Nutcase Little Nutty*	Skate-style	Yes	Yes		48-52 cm (Child) 52-56 cm (Youth)
Bontrager Jet WaveCel	Skate-style	No	Yes	540 g	50-55 cm
Smith Zip Jr MIPS*	Traditional / Road	Yes	No	269 g	48-52 cm

Bottom-Line: One of the Best Kids Bike Helmets Around

The Giro Tremor MIPS offers everything you should be looking for in a kids bike helmet. It has MIPS technology, offers a good fit, provides extended rear of the read coverage, has a nice big visor, good airflow, and most importantly for your child: it LOOKS cool.

This is a helmet that checks the safety box for mom, and the cool box for kids. Everybody is a winner with the Giro Tremor MIPS.