Bell XR Spherical MIPS helmet review – comfortable do-everything helmet that promises durability

Bell brings Spherical MIPS tech to a helmet that’s aimed at gravel and serious recreational riders who want a lid to last more than one season

Image shows the Bell XR Spherical MIPS helmet.
(Image credit: John Stevenson)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

An excellent helmet for everything except possibly road racing, with great looks and ventilation, and a range of features that make it very easy to live with.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Very comfortable

  • +

    Very well ventilated

  • +

    MIPS feature may improve protection

  • +

    Lots of clever, useful features

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Expensive

  • -

    On the heavy side

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Bell has played a blinder with the XR Spherical, a helmet that combines great looks and practicality with the marque’s most advanced head protection technology. Combine that with an easily-adjusted cradle, one-handed magnetic buckle and a host of other user-friendly tweaks and you might just have the best helmet on the market for all-rounders who mix up road, gravel and trail riding. 

Bell XR Spherical MIPS helmet: construction

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