"I use this helmet for everything- long road rides, year-round commuting, mountain biking, and leisurely rides around the neighbourhood.



I love the fit, it is very comfortable and highly adjustable. It looks nice and vents quite well. Very few helmets are as nice as this one with so many vents at this price-point.



The only downside is the absorbent pads. They are quite comfortable, but during long, hot rides sweat eventually collects in the pads and then dribbles out down my forehead and into my eyes when the speed picks up (i.e. descending).



Note: I just purchased my third Bell Alchera. I stopped using the first one when it got to be 4 years old (just for safety), and the second one I just tossed out because of a crash. I landed on my head and thankfully, my Alchera took the brunt of the fall and I had no lasting injuries. The helmet shows clear signs of absorbing the impact and did its job well! Always wear your helmet!"

"This helmet gave its life for me when I t-boned a raccoon and crashed on asphalt on 5/28/06. I ordered another Bell Alchera helmet the same day. In addition to the protection (I had a small bump from the inside of the helmet, and an upper-cheek scratch from my glasses which fell off & broke), this helmet fits snugly and comfortably down low compared to my previous helmets which rode high; also, the vents are so large that I can scratch my head through them while riding, which makes a big difference. The bike was undamaged; no rides missed on account of this crash."

"Last May, I was coming into a 4 way circular intersection at around 30mph. I was in the circle and a car, coming from my right, didn't slow down to allow me the right away. As I attempted to accelerate, to not catch the right front bumper of the car, the front end of my bike kicked out and down I went. My Left hip, shoulder and head all slammed into the asphalt. As I was going down, I was sure, the driver was going to run me over. As soon as I hit, I bounced off the pavement like a superball, ran after my tumbling bike and got out of the road, before I became roadkill (and gave the resident park squirrels something to laugh at)! The driver actually did stop in time and apologized. Told the driver I was fine, in a very colorful manner, and picked up my bruised pride and started back on my ride, after accessing my bike's vital stats (ignored my own). Had to cut the ride short because I was bleeding like I'd been hit by an I.E.D. End result, destroyed pants and jersey, pretty good sized chucks out of my should and hip (cool scars today), helmet completely absorded the hit, sparing me time on a headtrauma rehab unit! The Bell Alchera did an exceptional job of protecting me, can't say enough about it."

"I first bought this helmet because it had the basic features I was looking for and was affordable. I just trashed the helmet in a 38mph road race descent crash where I slapped my head against the road and broke my collar bone, however, I didn't sustain even a slight head injury. The helmet fits well, I especially like the dial in the rear to adjust the fit so that the helmet is snug on your mellon. I never felt over-heated due the vents. I don't know about the replacement policy, since I haven't looked into it, but at the price I'm all over buying this helmet again."

"Great looking helmet ,saved me from a nasty cut on the side of the head from landing on top edge of the metal guard rail T beam.Broke a thooth and the usual cuts and bruises.E R trip to fix my upper lip up.Helmet was split on one side.Got it replaced [...]. Was given a choice of any helmet I could pick.Picked a Gisellho. But a year to the day of the crash I crashed again and destroyed that one too. This time my head smacked hard on the road and really smashed the helmet no ER,bike was ok. I can say the Bell helmets did a great job in both crashes. Dead branches and vines were the reason for both my crashes.The Alchera looks good because of the price.I'm not claiming a replacement because I did not notified the cops this time. And they may not believe that I crashed on the same road on the same day a year apart.So keep your eyes on the road and the rubber down."

"This is a nicer helmet than all of my prevous Giro helmets. I've owned every high end Giro road helmet up to the Pneumo . I tried this lid because it was a cheap alternative to use for training. It turned out that I liked more than my fairly new Giro helmet which cost more than twice what I paid for the Alchera."

"I use this helmet 100mi a week. It has kept me cool and now has saved my life and taught my 8 and 10 year old why we wear helmets. I was cruisin about 18mph and they watched me go up and over my bars and then taking a lip skid across the road. As I lay there I thought to myself, "this is gonna hurt" and as i reached up to loosen my helmet I heard my 8 year old say it looks like you hit your head hard, I held up the helmet and said "see this(pointing to the damage), this is why we always wear helemts!""

"I bought this helmet last year and it had a major test this weekend when I went over my handlebars at 25mph on my road bike in Portland, OR. I had two contact points, my head and my right shoulder. The helmet is cracked in many places (along with my right collarbone). I thought I would have some sort of headache from the crash but nothing developed. This helmet is awesome and it saved my life. I would definitely go with this helmet from a protection point of view. Thanks to the designers at Bell helmets."

"Probably the best road helmet for the money. Great fit (I prefer the dial adjustment system that this helmet has over other styles), good looks & lots of holes for ventilation. I've never put my Alchera to the true test of a helmet's worth but I'm going to assume that with Bell's reputation that it will do its job if/when the time comes."

"I haven't had the opportunity to test the Alchera's crashworthiness, but I can speak for the excellent fit and ventilation. Bell seems to fit better than Giro on a more oval-shaped skull, and the Alchera sits where it needs to with no drama. I also like the style factor--it doesn't look like a mushroom growing out of the top of my head and I can get my size 7 3/8 dome into a medium, even when wearing a fleece beanie."