Why do current designs suck?

I wonder if it helped Pedrosa and Crutchlow stay on the bike in COTA. Hahahah. A shame really, but it was good to see Rossi on a third straight podium and take lead in the standings.


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So that time came. I went to my friendly and opinionated accessories salesperson...he has lotsa helmets. Back and forth with the Bell Race Star and Shoei X-14. I was there for four hours...
In the end, I had to consider my usage. That was the deciding factor.
If I were racing, I woulda went with the Bell...I wouldn't be wearing it all day. Since I'm not racing, and I'm with my helmet all day, the more plush liner of the Shoei won out.


The Bell really did strike me as innovative, from a safety perspective. I thought I could feel how the Flex system liner might work and, since crashing is a part of racing, I woulda went with it for this safety attribute...even without crash reports verifying or vilifying the system. The issue with it for me was, I couldn't wear that thing all day. The difference between the feel of the two helmets, not the fit, was that of a canvas liner vs a velvet liner.

 

That sounds weird. I wonder if Bell completely changed the inside of their helmets with the new/latest design.

While I'm sponsored by Bell now, I originally bought the first one because it was 10x more comfortable (and had better ventilation) than the SHOEI I was wearing then. I believe back then it was the X-11 (or it might have been the X-12).

To me, putting the Bell on after the SHOEI felt like sitting in a soft, plush lazy-boy, vs sitting in a plastic patio chair. The Bell was alot more comfortable on the inside.

When I get new helmets each year, I wear the previous ones on the street. I've taken numerous cross-country trips in Bells and they were great (12-14hrs riding time per day).

 

The Flex system, only available in the Race Star and Pro Star, is like no other liner. I can only describe how it might feel by asking you to think about turning this inside out and slippin' it over your head. (Imagine it's not shaped like a foot.)

 

Wow.

 

You like that analogy?

Another thing about the Bells, the advertised weight isn't realistic. Their lightest helmet, the Pro Star is maybe 3 3/4 lbs, the Race Star is about 4 lbs and the Star is near 4 1/4 lbs.

I'm not knockin' 'em, just puttin' it out there for those lookin' for the lightest helmets to choose from. There are lighter helmets, but that doesn't necessarily mean better.

 

I couldn't get past how far my chin was hanging out of the Bell. Seems like you need a short face to make that helmet work.

 

I would like to think I have a normal face