Harvey wrote:
I'm not sure what "its type" means to Ken, but the Bell V1 Pro was not
the first hard-shell with real foam and a good release system. But, in
1973 or 1974 I had a prototype of the MSR bike helmet, which came out
within a year or so after that. I believe MSR was the first, although
it used a wire suspension system and a perimeter foam band instead of a
pure foam system. We also used the Australian Bailen helmets, which
were full foam, before the Bell was introduced. In fact, the V1-Pro was
not the first Bell to get wide use, that was the Bell Biker. I still
have one, and actually took the risk of riding with it for Shawn
Downing's wonderful Baltimore retro ride yesterday. As always for
helmet questions, the best resource is bhsi.org. For history, it's
http://www.helmets.org/
Yeah, Harvey, you know your history, probably better than the guy who wrote the LeCycle piece. I was just culling some of the highlights from the article to make Dale's case. And I had a Bell Biker as well as a V1Pro and rode with guys with the MSR. Glorified buckets back in the day. Heavy, too! I think the CCM and JOFA hocket models were lighter and more comfy, safety... who knows.
Ken Wehrenberg, Hermann, MO