Competitive Cyclists Can Have Their Cake and Eat It Too With New Bell Star Pro Helmet

The Bell Star Pro can switch from streamlined to ventilated in one click.

Everybody wants to wear what the pros are wearing, right? Well, when it comes to the cycling world, nothing is more professional than the Tour de France. And in this year's tour, the Belkin Pro Cycling Team will be debuting Bell's newest helmet, the Star Pro, and the company's new Active Aero technology. 

Active Aero is similar to the type of active aerodynamics you'd find on some cars. There are shutters on the helmet that can be open or shut, in order to maximize the aero efficiency or to cool you down when you need it. The biggest difference is that on cars, this feature is often automatic (cooling a car is obviously different from cooling a head), controlled by computers that determine when the use of the tech is best (and you're not creating downforce with this helmet). With this Star Pro helmet, the rider can determine when to use the aero or when to cool down, opening or closing the helmet with the flick of a sliding switch in the rear. 

In the video below, Bell Senior Mechanical Engineer Gregg Jacobsen breaks down the design process and how the creation came about. He explains that the helmet was built from the inside out, and that the exterior was inspired by the helmets Bell already was using in powersports. 

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