Bell Super 2R- Enduroing enduro helmet for enduroists

A new helmet from Bell. Strangely a lot of negative comments for it on Pinkbike. I think it looks relatively alright, certainly better than the Met Parachute and makes a lot more sense than carrying two lids…

An enduroist yesterday…

Pinkbike article

#moreendurothanyou

Looks good to me, in a “light full facer on the odd occasion I fancy one” kind of way. Especially as I already fancied a Super to replace my Xar.

think i prefer the parachute, though this bell one has a MIPS version too

waiting to hear what BC say to Steve Parr about UKGE next year

quite a lot of confusion over certifications etc

but I think this one doesnt have ATFM F1952 cert, while the Met does
although F1952 doesnt require a chinbar if present it must adhere to the standard

which technically means you could race any DH event in the Parachute, even though a full on DH lid is obviously a lot sturdier

I think one of the issues that folks were bringing up as a negative, is that it does not have the CE test mark of a full-face helmet when in that guise.

*Edit; as mentioned above just now..

Fair enough, but I think if I was racing, and helmets were compulsory on the climbs transfers, I’d take one of these any day over going over the bars and landing with my back on the helmet that’s in my backpack for sure.

Good new take on an old idea I thought…

kayak what is the CE test mark for a full face helmet?, is there a specific one?

i cant find any specific for a full face the Snell M2010 and DOT standards are for motorbike and mx helmets and they require a chinbar, the Troy Lee D3 for example doesnt have those certs, but does have ASTM F2040 which cover bmx racing and requires more ace protection but again only seems to test chinbars if present, its not a requirement

edit, yeah its quite confusing, I imagine the fold away nature of the Bell chin bar means that part is unlikely to meet the ASTM F1952

Don’t see the point of the removable chin guard. It’s not the area that gets hot when I’m wearing my FF helmet. Prefer the look of the parachute plus it has the chin bar certification pass. Just a shame it’s £150 which is far to expensive.

I don’t race but the idea of having a second helmet on my back strikes me as potentially more dangerous than the weaker chin bar certainly in comparison to no bar.

I remember many moons ago a school mates mum making him wear a helmet on the school run. As soon as he got round the corner from his house it came off and was shoved in his rucksack. Then one day he fell off and nearly broke his back landing on the lid…

I know there is a lot of discussion about helmets like this, but for me, I think something like this would be perfect.

The majority of my riding is natural XC with a trip to a trail centre about twice a month (South-West based, so FOD, BPW, CymCarn, Brecfa, Afan etc) where I enjoy riding the XC-based trails for 2/3 of the day with the last 1/3 of my day I am starting to practice and improve my DH skills on the DH routes.

I don’t have huge wedges of cash to throw around, so a one-helmet solution would be ideal for me.

Something where I won’t get overheated on the XC riding, but also something that will offer more protection than an open-face helmet when I’m practicing the DH runs, which come with the inevitable unplanned dismounts into the scenery.

Maybe it is a confidence thing as well. I think I’ll be more willing to try bigger, faster stuff and push myself harder with a chin guard rather than worrying about a face-tree interface and damaging the money-maker with my current open-face helmet?

I don’t want to carry a ‘proper’ full-face helmet in my backpack while I’m riding XC, nor can I afford 2 separate helmets really, so a removable chin-guard sounds perfect.

I can see the appeal for this sort of lid, I do wonder though if removable chin guards might become a bit like Leatt braces at DH races as a sort of odd “Bog seat round the neck” bit of jewelery worn between runs (along with goggles) as riders can’t be arsed to faff with their rucksack to stash the damn things…

I’d want some idea about the chin Bar’s crash performance and how it compares to a DH lid and a Parachutte before I bought one though…

And how many operations will those “Bindings” tolerate? 100? 1000?

Generally minimising mechanisms and component count in a crash protection structure seems like common sense IMO…

I also prefer the met parachute 2014, in fact I bought one last week.
The main issue with my previous xc full face type helmet was rebreathing due to the chinguard. On the new met the chinguard is low & quite a way back, so on a 2 1/2 hour ride over the weekend I had no issues, very comfortable. For this reason I see no need for a removable guard anymore.

I don’t want to carry a ‘proper’ full-face helmet in my backpack while I’m riding XC, nor can I afford 2 separate helmets really, so a removable chin-guard sounds perfect .

…spending a more than the cost of 2 decent helmets is clearly a sensible option…?

The main issue with my previous xc full face type helmet was rebreathing due to the chinguard. On the new met the chinguard is low & quite a way back

I think this is the main issue I have with riding xc with a full face lid. It’s not the heat, it’s your breath bouncing back at you.

As you say, the newer models are making the guard more minimal and lower, but I would have thought that this reduces their effectiveness at protecting you.

I crashed at Gethin(Bikepark Wales) before it was the bikepark many years ago, wearing a full faced dh helmet. I still smashed up my face as a rock pointed in between the chinguard and the visor.

These new lower-guarded helmets would only increase the likelihood of that I reckon.

I’d much rather have a removable guard that offered decent coverage personally.

^^
Good job we are both catered for then with a choice of helmets 🙂

Strangely a lot of negative comments for it on Pinkbike

Because it’s a full face helmet which has been proven to not offer any better protection than a standard open face, what’s the point?

IMO It’s worse than an open face as it gives the wearer an enhanced sense of security, but no greater protection.

what’s the point?

meeting the enduro race rules that say you have to wear a full face for timed stages and must also wear helmet on transitions.

Because it’s a full face helmet which has been proven to not offer any better protection than a standard open face, what’s the point

please show the proven evidence that shows the new parachute or this new bell don’t have any more protection?

It has all the safety rating as a open face helmet says it all for me.

And you look a dick on the trail with a full face no matter how you brand it.

only if you wear lycra and FF would you look like a dick

I like the idea of it for enduro’s, it’s a pain doing the transitions in a full face and seems a better idea than riding the stages with an open face strapped to your back.

It’s obviously not going to offer the same protection as a one piece full face, but I imagine you’ll come away better than you would with no face protection at all.

And you look a dick on the trail with a full face no matter how you brand it

You’ll look a bigger dick with no teeth eating your meals through a straw!!

I suppose the next question then is, how hard is it to make a helmet with a fixed chin bar comfortable for all day pedaling?

Anyone own an Urge Archi-Enduro or similar, and care to comment?

Because it’s a full face helmet which has been proven to not offer any better protection than a standard open face, what’s the point?

It hasn’t been proven either way, it’s all conjecture by ‘internet forum experts’ 😉

IMO It’s worse than an open face as it gives the wearer an enhanced sense of security, but no greater protection.

I can’t see how it can’t have greater protection. Even if it just deflects a bramble then that’s more than an open face would do.

You’ll look a bigger dick with no teeth eating your meals through a straw!!

I’ve been mountain biking for 25 years, and I’ve hurt my back, arms, legs and hands at various times. The one thing I’ve never done is hurt my face/jaw/teeth.

Of course this is only my opinion, based on personal experience and that of the people I ride with….but I do think that full face helmets, along with those daft neck braces, and to a lesser extent body armour give people a false sense of security.
Quite a few new riders jump on a full-suss bike, kit themselves out like a storm trooper and point it downwards.
Learning to fall off ‘properly’ is a useful skill that all new riders should develop. Stuff like don’t put out your arms, learn to tuck and roll, push the bike away, etc, etc.

Good to see a few more options coming in fort lightweight full face helmets, hopefully all the big brands will have some kind of offering soon so we can have a proper choice. Personally I would prefer it if they did a fully single moulded version rather than the detachable chin guard.

I had a specialized deviant carbon a few years ago, but didn’t get on with it at all, I am not convinced a normal cycling helmet type “skull cradle” is right for supporting a full face helmet.

Archi enduro owner here. Was perfect in the alps but mostly pointing down and it was pretty cold and wet. It’s still a FF really so still gets hot but really good breathing, with the more open front. I have smacked head into the dirt wearing it a few times and have been grateful I wasn’t wearing my trail lid. I still think they could do more with the internal padding to make them more heat friendly. If I had to grab one helmet it would be this one.

If bell bring out a cheaper version (like the stoker)with a fixed chinguard but pasrachute venting then it could sell very well

Learning to fall off ‘properly’ is a useful skill that all new riders should develop. Stuff like don’t put out your arms, learn to tuck and roll, push the bike away, etc, etc.

Depends how fast you ride.
This is what I did when I started mtbing. Managed to tuck and roll out of most my crashes. I’m riding harder and faster now, having improved my skills on the bike and what I’ve noticed is that I have no time to react at higher speeds. In a crash at higher speeds I just get flung off the bike and splat all over the trail. Had 2 very light face plants recently with my trail helmet on. So seeing more of these helmets on the market is a plus.

The Met Parachute chin piece looks a lot more sturdy than the Bell.

Learning to fall off ‘properly’ is a useful skill that all new riders should develop. Stuff like don’t put out your arms, learn to tuck and roll, push the bike away, etc, etc.

It’s all good until the big one….

and

meeting the enduro race rules that say you have to wear a full face for timed stages and must also wear helmet on transitions.

Is the main point, if you’re happy with an open face lid but the rules say you can’t then getting the lightest approved one is what you want.

And to the guy up to looking for something like this for the odd bit of DH/skills stuff get a cheap FF rather than replaces your XC lid then you have 2 lids easily. (otherwise you buy one lid to end up in the middle ground)

Singletrack Eurobike preview[/url]

Colours are gopping… 😯

cookeaa, I own an Archi-Enduro, too be fair I’ve not done many full day rides in it this summer, but it is fine for 2-3hour rides. I tend to grab it when I head for rockier terrain when I know I want to push on with my riding, have been using it for BMX all summer as well. When I have escaped for the day I tend to grab the Xar, but the riding on these days tends to be relaxed.

I’ve started putting both lids in the car so I can make a decision at the trail head, probably won’t ride with a lid in my backpack as the Archi-Enduro seems to be a capable lid. Notnoticed any overheating issues yet, however when the weather cools I suspect it’ll be my go to lid.

Will probably buy a more sturdy full face for BMX in the sales post Christmas, kicking myself for not getting one in CRCs last 20% off offer…

And to the guy up to looking for something like this for the odd bit of DH/skills stuff get a cheap FF rather than replaces your XC lid then you have 2 lids easily.

Dunno if you mean my comment, but I already own a cheap full face helmet. Which is fine if I’m off for some uplift fun or something. But flying with it as well as another helmet is a PITA, and that’s when having a bit more flexibility might come in handy.

There’s going to be loads of these around Cannock. FACT

The Airoh SE 101 war looks quite smart also, no price as yet though

But flying with it as well as another helmet is a PITA, and that’s when having a bit more flexibility might come in handy.

I tend to bite the bullet and box the FF in the bike bag these days and take the trail lid as hand luggage.

also http://www.bike-magazin.de/eurobike_2014/bike_parts_zubehoer_neuheiten/eurobike-neuheiten-2015-alpina-king-carapax-und-eye-5-halfrim/a21059.html

looks a bit gopping tbh

Pinkbike review the Super 2R