Touring - Bell Metro Helmet

Has anyone used one of these? (http://shopping.discovery.com/product-58460.html?jzid=40588096-1-0)

It seems as if it has all the features I want in a helmet. The price is a bit high and the accessories (cover, light and mirror) are all extra. Not very many places stock them and Bell have a $25. shipping fee to Canada.

Is it worth it for a bad weather tourer and year 'round bike commuter?

complete waste of money it seems.
By a decent certified helmet w/ visor for ~25$ CDN.
For winter use: packing tape over vent holes; works very well (helmet is basically 1" of solid foam insulation); and wear a thin balaclava for ears etc.

It's the nicest looking one for a person who doesn't want to look shot out of a Phaser. I don't use a helmet so I haven't had to face the issue. I still have an old Bell from back when they had serious shells on them, though I use it sparingly.

I think Nashbar sells them, I don't know what their postage is, but you might be able to bring in other items at the same time to reduce your item specific cost.

In fact has any Canadian used Nashbar recently. So many US shops are no longer shipping to Canada...

Has anyone used one of these? (http://shopping.discovery.com/product-58460.html?jzid=40588096-1-0)

It seems as if it has all the features I want in a helmet. The price is a bit high and the accessories (cover, light and mirror) are all extra. Not very many places stock them and Bell have a $25. shipping fee to Canada.

Is it worth it for a bad weather tourer and year 'round bike commuter?

- don't all helmets have to adhere to certain standards?

- even though the discovery store price seems high ... nashbar has em for $39.95 here (http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=&subcategory=&sku=12584&brand=) , there are a number of goodies included through the Discovery page... but if you don't need 'em...

p.s. only Small size in stock at Discovery as i post...

L like mine as a year round commuter helmet, the rain cover and the winter insulation kit are really nice. I just took a blinkie light I had lying around and put it on the light mount, no need to buy the Bell light.

I like mine. In my opinion, the mirror is crap. It breaks easily and looks like it was designed to do eye surgery in a crash. The winter kit is really warm. The visor works well. All of that being said, it was too much money compared to the "city". But for my head, it fit quite a bit better than the cheaper options. Still....too much money.

As a year round commuter (using that very helmet for six months now) I'll say it's a great helmet and my first choice for touring. It's not perfect and it is spendy, but it does the job very well.

Has anyone used one of these? (http://shopping.discovery.com/product-58460.html?jzid=40588096-1-0)

It seems as if it has all the features I want in a helmet. The price is a bit high and the accessories (cover, light and mirror) are all extra. Not very many places stock them and Bell have a $25. shipping fee to Canada.

Is it worth it for a bad weather tourer and year 'round bike commuter?

I've had one for 2 years now. It's a good winter helmet, much better than the higher end Bell that I use for summer riding. It's a little too hot for my taste in the summer however. Once the temperature gets past 75F, I switch to my other helmet. It's not super bad, mind, it's about as cool as the helmets we wore back in the stone age, but it's not as comfortable as some of the racier helmets. The tab on the back for a blinkie is very nice. It's one more place to put a rear light.

My only beef with mine is that the straps have never lain right over my ears. The strap has a twist in it that bugs me constantly and I can't seem to get it right.

I've taken to getting the last year's model of the Bell Ukon. Got one for myself a few years back, then got one for my son last year. I see they are less than $20 (US) at Nashbar. That is if the $ bothers you like it does me.

i have the bell city. same shape as metro, same strap, visor. i use a zip tie to hang a taillight. i have a headlamp duct taped on as well. use a cycleaware reflex mirror, much better that the crappy one on the metro. i got the citi for ~35.

funny thing is, straps on my 5 year old bell are better. the front strap attachement point is further forward than the city/metro, giving more secure fit. less likely to flip up and rip off your head.

big safety feature of the metro/city is supposed the lack of aero pointy design on rear. the rounded, more form fitting shape supposedly works better in a fall (go to the helmet tester org site, cant remember acronym, they had a little comment on the metro/city).

dont know what that round rear means on a practical level, because it still feels the same when your noggin hits the road. guess you gotta hit it with more energy than i normally carry.

and there are fewer vents, so its gonna be hotter.

i dont think any helmet is worth more than 30-40 bucks. probably those 18 dollar walmart bells are the best deal (none in my size when i bought last one, mostly kiddie size).

http://www.helmets.org/helmet06.htm

I got one, it's a rugged sucker.

It's good helmet; I use one and like it. That price is a bit ridiculous; I know I didn't pay that. I also use it without the cloth cover or blinkie. The blinkie looks heavy. You could get one of those magnet switched lights if you wanted a blinkie on your helmet. They are much smaller.

I have, and like, the Metro. I haven't tried using it in winter, though. I find that the visor blocks vision a bit when in the drops -- that's my only objection (and you can always pull off the visor).

I see that it's discounted to $39.99USD at Nashbar at the moment, and a $99 version with the mirror, winter kit and rainshield, which, if you were going to get all 3 anyway is a savings.

http://69.16.211.161/showthread.php?t=165639

Here are some pics of mine. I love it for the most part. Mirror sucks so I put on two Talk-a-Look mirrors.

I used to have a Bell Impulse, which I bought from Nashbar for $15 last February; it looks a lot like the Metro, but was "one size fits all" and has a visibly-cheap adjustment mechanism at the back, which broke about three weeks ago. In between the Metro and the Impulse, there's the Citi -- same look, "one size fits all", a different adjustment mechanism from either of the others, list price US$45.

When the Impulse decided to retire, I went to my LBS and ended up choosing between a fully-loaded Metro and a Bell Furio. I went with the Furio, partly because it was cheaper, and partly because I'd found the Impulse a little warm in the summer and wanted more vents. I figured that it would be easier to add warmth than coolness to a helmet. The weather hasn't been as cold as the worst I rode in with the Impulse, but I've been fine with the Furio and a cap in the temperatures I have ridden in so far. With that said, if the store had a Citi in stock, I probably would have bought it instead.

I actually found a helmet and all the accessories at Urbane Cyclist in Toronto. I find the fit and finish to be a bit better than my old Bell. The straps are thicker and less likely to twist. I used the winter liner and the ear covers for one day only, but they seem to work well. It took a bit of getting used to, but now I've adjusted the mirror correctly I can use it without one-eyed squinting under my glasses.

It's not great value for the money but it is convenient and it comes in this really cool silver-blue...