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Through distributor ZyroFisher, Bell Helmets has experienced a number of significant successes in recent years, with top athletes such as Danny Hart and Rachel Atherton wearing its products on their way to becoming World Champions.
The brand’s 2017 helmet collection builds on its success in the MTB category with a range of Road helmets that feature a host of performance and safety innovations.
We sat down with Bell’s Sean Coffey who gave us an insight into Bell Helmets: “We are in a constant state of brainstorming and concept development. That’s why Bell has so many technology ‘firsts’ within the cycling helmet realm. The Bell Zephyr was a ground-up development with the goal of pushing the boundaries in terms of energy management, maximum ventilation and incredible fit and comfort. Concepts like Progressive Layering made sense to consider as it allows us to create an incredibly complex structure for absorbing a broad spectrum of impacts.”
The Progressive Layering in Bell’s Zephyr is more than just the use two different densities of EPS foam, it’s also the replacement of the internal nylon roll cage support structure with a second in-molded polycarbonate shell for the inner layer, essentially two helmets in one. This approach allowed Bell to meet their energy management goals while also incorporating some exceptionally aggressive vents.
Bell has also focussed on learning more about brain injury which has increased interest in helmet technology and energy management. Across the industry, features like MIPS and progressive layering construction are getting a lot more attention and becoming must-have features for many riders.
Coffey continues: “Integrated MIPS was borne out of an interest to simplify. Adding MIPS to helmets is something that we believe in with regards to energy management, but it does complicate construction and affect weight and fit. By integrating MIPS directly into the Fit System we could reduce the number of pieces involved in the structure overall and provide a hat-like fit, while retaining the rotational impact management features of MIPS.”
