Bell Gage Helmet

The Bell Gage manages to combine a high level of comfort with plenty of ventilation and a light weight.

This new helmet takes over from the Volt at the head (thank you very much) of the Bell range – it's the one that Bell's sponsored riders are now using. It's considerably lighter than the Volt, our medium model weighing in at 235g. There are lighter helmets on offer – the Aeon we reviewed from Bell's stablemate Giro hit the scales at just 189g, for example – but the Gage is a highly reasonable weight for a race helmet.

Bell keep the grams down by using lightweight reinforcement within the EPS (expanded polystyrene) structure. You can see the skeleton running through some of the vents up front. This allows them to increase the size of the vents without affecting safety.

Like most – but not all – high-end helmets, the Gage is in-moulded. This means that rather than being created separately and then stuck together, the EPS foam is forced into the microshell cap while it's in the mould so that they're structurally integrated, benefiting durability.

Fit is handled by Bell's Twin Axis Gear (TAG) system. That allows you to move the whole of the rear part of the cradle up and down really easily. You can choose from three different positions according to the size and shape of your head. Then a simple dial allows you to adjust the tightness of the fit. It's easy to move one handed if you want to fine tune things on the go.

Some helmet brands will fit your head better than others and there's no substitute for trying one on before you part with your cash. That said, the Gage's fit is adjustable enough that it'll suit a whole range of different head shapes comfortably.

The straps are a very lightweight webbing which looks a whole lot like the fabric Giro use in their Aeon lid. If it's not the same stuff, it's very closely related. You just cut it to length and melt the ends so they don't fray, as you would with any other straps. Cam-lock guides make sorting the straps super-easy and they've stayed in place perfectly once set.

If you're a vent counter, you get 26 here. More significant is the fact that they take a whole lot of cool air inside. The ports at the front are large and internal channels allow the air to pass over your head before exiting out the back. That's the theory, anyway, and I never suffered from a hot head during testing so I'm saying it works. I do reckon my head stays slightly cooler in a Giro Aeon, but just a smidge and that helmet is £40 more expensive.

The padding inside is Antimicrobial X-Static so it inhibits the growth of bacteria which, in turn, reduces the chance of odour building up. A quick test – sniff, sniff – says it's doing well so far. Those pads are really easy to take out and wash when they become hard to live with.

Equally good, one of the pads extends right across your forehead to reduce the possibility of sweat dripping down into your eyes. Well, it works until you've sweated so much that it becomes saturated.

The one thing we don't test helmets for is the one thing they're princiapally designed to do: keep your head safe in the event of a crash. The safety authorities are better placed than us to comment on that and the Gage, of course, meets the necessary safety standard (CE EN178).

Verdict

Performance helmet with an excellent combination of comfort and ventilation at a light weight