How many of you rode "leather hairnets"?
I never did, and never had any wish to do so. I never saw the point of them.
Now, how many of you rode this helmet?:
If you did, you remember that it was the original Bell "Tortoise Shell." Actually, I'm not sure that was the actual model name, but that's what everybody (at least, everybody I knew) called it.
When it was introduced in 1975, it was as much an advance over the leather hairnet as a Commodore computer was over an abacus or a slide rule. I finally started riding with a Bell about seven or eight years after it was first introduced. My mother gave it to me.
A few years later, I replaced it with another Bell. By then, the "Tortoiseshell" seemed like a dinosaur: My new Bell had more ventilation, was lighter in weight and offered even more protection than my old helmet.
And, most important ;-), it came in a dazzling array of colors: black, yellow, red, blue and white. The original Bell was the photograph negative of the Model T: You could have it in any color you wanted, as long as it was white.
Believe it or not, every once in a while I see someone riding an original Bell. They were indeed well-made. The thing is, I get sweaty. Plus, if I'm going to ride more than a couple of hours, the weight of the helmet matters.
Still, the original Bell helmet is one of bicycling's evolutionary "leaps," along with Mavic's hook-bead rims, the slant-parallelogram derailleur and sealed bearings.
I never did, and never had any wish to do so. I never saw the point of them.
Now, how many of you rode this helmet?:
If you did, you remember that it was the original Bell "Tortoise Shell." Actually, I'm not sure that was the actual model name, but that's what everybody (at least, everybody I knew) called it.
When it was introduced in 1975, it was as much an advance over the leather hairnet as a Commodore computer was over an abacus or a slide rule. I finally started riding with a Bell about seven or eight years after it was first introduced. My mother gave it to me.
A few years later, I replaced it with another Bell. By then, the "Tortoiseshell" seemed like a dinosaur: My new Bell had more ventilation, was lighter in weight and offered even more protection than my old helmet.
And, most important ;-), it came in a dazzling array of colors: black, yellow, red, blue and white. The original Bell was the photograph negative of the Model T: You could have it in any color you wanted, as long as it was white.
Believe it or not, every once in a while I see someone riding an original Bell. They were indeed well-made. The thing is, I get sweaty. Plus, if I'm going to ride more than a couple of hours, the weight of the helmet matters.
Still, the original Bell helmet is one of bicycling's evolutionary "leaps," along with Mavic's hook-bead rims, the slant-parallelogram derailleur and sealed bearings.
I had a hairnet. I don't recall ever thinking it had any safety value. Had one of those white jobs, too.
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