This article reprinted verbatim with permission from the April 2008 issue of 2 Wheel Tuner.
Brutally Honest : We tour Bell Sports’ facility to witness the classic brand’s renaissance
Bell never went anywhere, but to most riders, the brand isn’t even on the map anymore. A variety of factors conspired, both inside the company and out, to take Bell from its status as the premium helmet manufacturer to an also-ran.
Surprisingly, the crew of designers and engineers at Bell’s Santa Cruz, California, headquarters will be the first to tell you that Bell has fallen short of what they once were. And after more than three years of R&D, Bell is confident that they have a new helmet that will allow them to claim, “Yes, we’re back.”
If you like keeping your brain intact you are likely wearing a full-face helmet designed along several key points: a rigid outer shell with a chin bar and an impact-reducing liner made form EPS (expanded polystyrene). Bell invented the first helmet that used these technologies back in 1966. That first Bell Star is the lid Evil Knievel credits for saving his life when he famously failed to clear the Caesar’s Palace fountain jump. For a while, it seemed like every top racer wore a Bell. Then, as new brands came along and Bell restructured itself multiple times, Bell vanished from the forefront.
Fast forward to the last few years. Bell reacquired their product rights and began furious development on the new Bell Star. They focused all the resources they have to create a helmet to resurrect the brand image. They have a test center that can perform impact testing beyond what the SNELL Foundation calls for, and Bell utilized wind and water tunnels to develop their new ventilation system. They developed hundreds of prototypes for the shield and vent systems using rapid prototyping machines that “print” the part needed in real-time 3D. These guys even dressed corpses in helmets and smashed them to study the impact on the brain!
The end result is exactly what Bell claimed to would be. The 2008 Bell Star is super light, extremely well-ventilated helmet that blew my expectations. I’ll be honest, I am a helmet snob and I was prepared to be cynical at best. First off, the helmet looks great, with some sweet graphics and a really technical style with the vents and overall shape. The thing fits beautifully, as befits a company with this much experience making helmets. The liner is very plush and velvety, without the pillow effect that many cheaper helmets evoke. The helmet fits well because it was designed and shaped well, not simply because the liner is extra puffy. The attention to detail is obvious in the quality and ease of the shield mechanism and venting, which is top of the class. Wind noise is well damped, partially because of special pockets designed to insert audio equipment or noise-reducing padding, as desired. And at speed, the dynamic weight and stability of the helmet is excellent.
Brutally Honest : We tour Bell Sports’ facility to witness the classic brand’s renaissance
Bell never went anywhere, but to most riders, the brand isn’t even on the map anymore. A variety of factors conspired, both inside the company and out, to take Bell from its status as the premium helmet manufacturer to an also-ran.
Surprisingly, the crew of designers and engineers at Bell’s Santa Cruz, California, headquarters will be the first to tell you that Bell has fallen short of what they once were. And after more than three years of R&D, Bell is confident that they have a new helmet that will allow them to claim, “Yes, we’re back.”
If you like keeping your brain intact you are likely wearing a full-face helmet designed along several key points: a rigid outer shell with a chin bar and an impact-reducing liner made form EPS (expanded polystyrene). Bell invented the first helmet that used these technologies back in 1966. That first Bell Star is the lid Evil Knievel credits for saving his life when he famously failed to clear the Caesar’s Palace fountain jump. For a while, it seemed like every top racer wore a Bell. Then, as new brands came along and Bell restructured itself multiple times, Bell vanished from the forefront.
Fast forward to the last few years. Bell reacquired their product rights and began furious development on the new Bell Star. They focused all the resources they have to create a helmet to resurrect the brand image. They have a test center that can perform impact testing beyond what the SNELL Foundation calls for, and Bell utilized wind and water tunnels to develop their new ventilation system. They developed hundreds of prototypes for the shield and vent systems using rapid prototyping machines that “print” the part needed in real-time 3D. These guys even dressed corpses in helmets and smashed them to study the impact on the brain!
The end result is exactly what Bell claimed to would be. The 2008 Bell Star is super light, extremely well-ventilated helmet that blew my expectations. I’ll be honest, I am a helmet snob and I was prepared to be cynical at best. First off, the helmet looks great, with some sweet graphics and a really technical style with the vents and overall shape. The thing fits beautifully, as befits a company with this much experience making helmets. The liner is very plush and velvety, without the pillow effect that many cheaper helmets evoke. The helmet fits well because it was designed and shaped well, not simply because the liner is extra puffy. The attention to detail is obvious in the quality and ease of the shield mechanism and venting, which is top of the class. Wind noise is well damped, partially because of special pockets designed to insert audio equipment or noise-reducing padding, as desired. And at speed, the dynamic weight and stability of the helmet is excellent.
The only nitpick I can think of is a slight tendency to whistle when the venting is closed. Bell made it very clear that they want to be at the top of the game like they used to be and that this isn’t your father’s Bell. Bell is back, and ready for the top shelf again.
- Bruce Steever
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