Bell electrifies with new Volt helmet
By Ben Atkins | Friday, Jul 11, 2008 9.00am
All new for this year's Tour de France is the Bell Volt helmet, worn by CSC-Saxo Bank and Crédit Agricole (Ben Atkins)
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Bell supplied the riders of CSC-Saxo Bank and Crédit Agricole with a brand-new Volt helmet just in time
for this year’s Tour de France. The new
helmet builds on the company’s previously range-topping Sweep R and clearly shares
some technology with sister company Giro and its flagship Ionos.
Like many of its competitors,
Bell has
introduced a new (and partially visible) composite internal reinforcement
structure for strength (and looks).
Eleven frontal vents suck in cooling air while internal channels direct
it towards the rear-facing exhaust ports.
Like the Giro Ionos, the Volt uses antibacterial X-Static fabric on the
sweat wicking pads to help keep them fresh.
Bell has also improved fit and comfort with the Volt with
its next-generation retention system called Twin Axis Gear. The new setup adjusts the helmet
circumference via a handy dial like the old GPS system, but is now adjustable
vertically, too. The Volt will also come
with a detachable visor for off-road use (we also like visors for riding on the
road in the rain) and plugs are included to seal up the mounting holes to
maintain the helmet’s clean lines. The
medium-sized CSC-Saxo Bank version that we inspected weighed 302g.
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