Roland Sands and Bell helmetsl we’ve teamed up again to make another rad motorcycle helmet that’s as stylish as it is functional. The storied American helmet company and Design by Roland Sands are now celebrating the release of the RSD Bullitt Carbon Mulholland. This is their latest collaborative cover that comes with a classic look that belies the cutting edge technology and materials inside.
The Bell RSD Bullitt Carbon Mulholland follows the release of MX-9 Mips rally. With this second effort, Bell and Roland Sands updated the vintage-inspired design of the Bullitt a helmet with refined materials such as leather and carbon fiber. The Bullitt has always been a stylish callback to Bell’s original Star helmets of the 60s and 70s, but now with a modern (read: safer) construction.
Roland Sands personally designed the helmet, which is admittedly not a complicated design. I’m a fan of simplicity though, so I can understand that.
The colorful one the graphics are only broken up by logos from long-term partners RSD, Dunlop, K&N and Motul, but the way they’re laid out, the design doesn’t they seem too busy or hard to read. The bright, bold finish complements the carbon fiber fabric and when the helmet is landed custom Roland Sand Ducati Desmosedici D16RRdamn it’s just about the perfect cherry on top.
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But a good helmet it should do more than look good. I hope riders won’t actually be wearing a 1960s helmet with polyurethane lining, because that stuff breaks down even without exposure to impact. Modern EPS liners have a shelf life of about five years and any helmet that has been involved in a crash must be replaced.
Something of a modern Bell Bullitt is next-the best thing to wear a vintage cover without risking your bottom. It’s also a pretty good alternative for riders who prefer openface helmets but want the safety of the chin. Bullitt has a huge one eye hole — not a bug’s eye, although it is a exchange of shields away.
The large eye opening reduces weight a bit as it requires less material. And this latest RSD Bullitt Carbon loses even more thanks its carbon fiber construction, with a total weight of about 2.8 pounds in size Medium. For reference a traditional fiber helmetthe glass shell can weigh between three and four kilograms or more.
The only thing the RSD Bullitt Carbon lacks is cool Mips technology. The name stands for Multi-Directional Impact Protection System and is actually an extra layer of protection inside the helmet that allows your head to slide inside the helmet enough to dissipate the forces of the impact even in an accident. Almost like a floating layer that allows the rider’s head to rotate a bit, thus displacing some of the energy of a blunt impact and helping to prevent serious neck or spinal cord injuries.
It’s a great system, Bell says it mimics the way our skulls protect our brains, with a kind of suspension. Helmet manufacturers have their own tricks when it comes to protecting our heads. For example, Aray has its specific R75 shape which it claims allows impact forces to be reflected and reduces rotational energy transferred to the brain. But Mips is one of the coolest safety features of the last few years. I wish the new RSD Bullitt Carbon came with it too, on top of its DOT and ECE rating.
Especially considering the price which is $669.95. That’s not a bad deal for a full CF helmet, but it’s still quite a bit. At least the RSD Bullitt Carbon comes with genuine leather lining and two face shields: one clear, one tinted.
