Interbike: Giro creates Havik again

New Havik 2, as used by Contador

Published: September 25, 2009 at 11:20 am

Giro’s new Havik 2 sunglasses represent a discreet facelift for 2010 of their popular predecessors. Upon first glance, it may look like nothing has changed, but they’ve been tweaked for next season so that they’re more comfortable and fit a greater range of head sizes. Oh, and did we mention that Alberto Contador wore these new Havik 2s to victory at this year’s Tour de France?

“Alberto’s a pretty small guy, and has quite a small head, but he has had no issues whatsoever with the new model in terms of them slipping or the fit,” Giro’s Eric Richter explained to us. “So it’s an identical-looking frame, but it’s just now a lot more comfortable for a lot more people.”

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Giro has re-engineered the frame so that there's around 33 per cent less pressure at the temples, as well as reducing the amount of material used at the brow to decrease the chance of fogging.

“Contador was the first rider we signed to use the eyewear,” Richter reminded us, with the Spaniard wearing the original Haviks to victory at the 2007 Tour. “But thanks to rider feedback, all our pro riders have been wearing prototypes of the Havik 2 since December: Alberto, Christian Vande Velde, Tyler Farrar, Dave Zabriskie, the Rabobank team…”

dd:

The introduction of the new Havik 2 also brings with it a number of new frame colours and Zeiss lens tints, while the choice of either a Compact or Full lens remains.

There are also a couple of new additions to the California-based company’s lifestyle range of eyewear: the unisex Tone comes in a range of frame colours with the option of a polarised lens, and the Coy is a women-specific model. Like the rest of the Giro eyewear range, both new models use Zeiss lenses.

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