Bell Falcon XR LED MIPS helmet review

When new road helmets are launched, we often see claims around weight, aerodynamics and cooling. Bell’s new Falcon XR is refreshingly free of any such claims.

Instead, Bell has concentrated on making the Falcon, which sits one level below its flagship XR Spherical Road Helmet, very user-friendly. It's packed with tech you might need, along with some stuff you probably won’t.

The result is a competitively performing helmet that can hold a candle to many of the best road bike helmets when it comes to features.

Bell Falcon XR LED MIPS helmet specifications

The Falcon XR features Bell’s ‘Deep Road’ fit, which offers more than 3cm of vertical adjustment to the cranial ‘Float’ cradle.

The included MIPS liner brings claimed benefits to impact protection, but Bell has used a heavily cut-away format of it so as not to impede airflow through the vents.

Inside, the Ionic+ padding is generous, soft and – most importantly – very quick to dry. An odour-resisting silver yarn is also woven into the pads.

Textured inserts on the front of the helmet are included to provide a tenacious grip for your cycling sunglasses.

The soft, silky straps offer a wide range of adjustability, and a magnetic Fidlock clasp is included.

At the rear, there's a clip-in Blackburn Grid COB light, offering a 30-lumen output.

You can select from static, pulsing and strobe light patterns, via a button mounted on top of the light. It charges via a USB-C port (cable included).

In terms of pricing, the Bell Falcon XR is up against the Rudy Project Nytron and Met Rivale MIPS, both of which score highly, though both are more expensive than the Falcon, at £153 and £140, respectively.

Bell also offers a discounted crash-replacement scheme, should the worst happen and the helmet gets damaged in a crash.

Bell Falcon XR LED MIPS helmet performance

Wearing the Falcon XR is a very pleasant experience.

The six forward-facing vents provide plenty of cooling airflow. The large vents across the crown and the four exhaust ports (five, if you remove the light) help to pull excess heat away from the head very well.

In fact, the Falcon feels as airy as some top-level helmets.

I have a relatively large head, but the ‘Deep Road’ fit is excellent if you need that extra adjustability to get a good fit over the base of the cranium.

The shell covers all of the EPS foam core, which effectively protects it against accidental damage when you put it down.

Arguably, this contributes to the 381g bulk (the light adds another 29g) in a size large. As a point of comparison, the £65 Cannondale Junction in a size L/XL, also featuring MIPS protection tech, weighs in at 320g.

There are plenty of other lighter options for similar or less money too, but the saving grace is the Falcon XR doesn’t look bulky.

Although I’d hope for this in any helmet, the Falcon XR feels very well manufactured and solidly put together.

The magnetic Fidlock clasp design is brilliantly easy to use and can be operated one-handed, even while wearing thick winter gloves.

Given some of my testing was done in early spring, I had good reason to use the included LED light.

The sprung click-in fitment is excellent, helping it to stay put even on the bumpiest of rides.

On the static mode, I saw 1 hour 40 minutes of run time, while Blackburn claims you can get up to 15 hours from the more economic flashing modes.

That should be more than enough for most users, especially if you value a little extra visibility when riding at night, for example.

Bell Falcon XR LED MIPS helmet bottom line

Overall, the Falcon is a great helmet to use for pretty much any road (or gravel) riding.

It’s tough, very well made, has a good suite of features and its modern low-volume design looks very premium. It is a little weighty, though.

However, factor in the price, along with excellent features in the shape of MIPS, the brilliant Fidlock buckle and a powerful rechargeable light and the weight is more than justified.