It should be announced soon, but the design is radical enough to make us cautious about its effectiveness. Since CPSC-certified helmets now beginning to arrive in the stores are as good as what's on the horizon in 1999, we don't think there is any reason to delay a purchase waiting for new models. But we do recommend looking for the CPSC sticker rather than taking an old ASTM model unless price is your most important consideration. On our Web site you will find a full writeup that covers all the manufacturers and helmets. If you don't have Web access and need the details, please let us know and we will mail you a copy on paper.
Most people can turn it sideways.
It meets the need of a small but desperate group of riders with very large heads who had found it difficult to ride on club events and had even been riding unlawfully in some jurisdictions because they could not find a helmet large enough. We salute Bell for producing this model as a service, knowing that it will not make money due to the very small market. It is a fine helmet, with the smoothly-rounded exterior we consider optimal. We do not know if Bell has a Kinghead certified to the new CPSC standard or not, which could affect its availability later this year. So earlier helmets will be in the stores for months, and in some cases years, that cannot quite meet the new standard, and in isolated cases may even meet only to the old ANSI 1984 standard.