I tried using the Bell crash replacement program. I sent my old crash helmet to the distributor in Germany and paid by bank transfer as instructed. But the replacement helmet they sent me has a crack in the foam at the MIPS attachment point, which actually looks worse than the crack in my original helmet.

I sent them photos by email, and they asked me to return it. Now they’re saying they don’t see any crack and are going to send the same helmet back to me.





At this point I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. There's no way to dispute a bank transfer to get my money back. The whole process has already taken two weeks. I had planned to restart my long-term bike tour early next week after pausing it, but now I have to delay until at least the end of the week because I don’t have a helmet. I don't want a defective helmet, nor do I want to ride wearing it.

This helmet model is the only one that fits me comfortably out of 10 models I had tried, so I'd like the same one. I have a very oval head and other helmets are painful to wear. My previous helmets were also discontinued Bell models. If I’d known the crash replacement would be this difficult, I would have have just bought at the full price at the retailer with more reliable customer service, and would have also been able to keep my old crash helmet too in case of a similar problem.

Really frustrating.