# Bell Super 3R fit. How is it compared to the 2R?



## Innota (Feb 22, 2012)

I see that Bell states that the Super 3R has an improved fit from the 2R. The 2R never fit my head quite right since I have more of a oval-shaped dome, rather than a round one. Does anyone know what kind of head shapes the 3R will fit?


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## ghoti (Mar 23, 2011)

Still fits like the 2r. And Bell is supposed to fit more oval shaped heads, no?


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## burndtjamb (Oct 14, 2004)

Innota said:


> I see that Bell states that the Super 3R has an improved fit from the 2R. The 2R never fit my head quite right since I have more of a oval-shaped dome, rather than a round one. Does anyone know what kind of head shapes the 3R will fit?


My head is on the bigger side of Bell's Medium but I experienced major hot spots near the temple with the Super 2R Medium. I ended up buying a Large, which fixed the hot spot issue but was otherwise too big and looked wonky.

I sold it on eBay and got a Super 3R Medium and am happy to report that it fits perfectly without any hot spots. I think my head shape is closer to oval than round.


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## TraxFactory (Sep 10, 1999)

Seems similar to me, they definitely run big.


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## smokeater30 (May 31, 2016)

I hope the large I ordered isn't too big then, I guess I will find out on Wed when it gets here. haha


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## 661lee (Apr 11, 2007)

In my opinion, the 3R fits way better than the 2R. I could not get the Medium 2R on my head, but the medium 3R fits great.


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## smokeater30 (May 31, 2016)

Well the helmet arrived yesterday and after some toying around with it I feel I made the right choice going with a large. There is a tiny bit of play over my temples but not much but the harness system itself has no play in it so it may just be the helmet shape. My head is 23" and kinda oblong so that has always been the case for me sadly. Even my hockey helmets have had this small gap at the temples due to my head shape haha. Other than that small detail the large fits nice and snug, no movement at all when I do a shake test even without the chin bar. Having the chin bar is going to take some time getting used to though.


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## oaklandish (May 7, 2011)

The fit is definitely different than the 2R. YMMV. I had to remove the dense rubber pads in the 2R and couldn't even touch the 2R MIPS version (fit was horrible for me). When I crashed and killed the 2R I replaced it with a 3 MIPS and the fit is perfect without any of the tightness behind and above the ears. I am reusing my old chin bar since it wasn't on the old helmet when I crashed.


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## agreenbike (Jul 6, 2017)

As a bump to this thread, I tried a bell super 2 in store and ended up buying a super 3 mips online since the super 2 had obvious foam damage and no other helmets in the store had fit me. I am talking about the regular, non-r versions but I assume they should be similar or the same in fit. The small super 2 fit like a glove but I got a small super 3 mips and even at its loosest fit it was too tight, I then ordered a medium and got it today and it fits much better. It is weird as bell's website shows the smalls in the super 2 fits the same size head as the small super 3. I wore it for a few around the house and it does seem like there may be some pressure from it, but I also was messing with the tightness alot and had it adjusted too tight for a little while, so I will have to see.

This was just weird though, I am guessing the 2 fit different because the padding was worn out or something, the helmet was made early 2015 and was on blowout and it looked like it had been tried on a lot, so maybe the fit changes when padding wears down.

I'm not sure how tight a helmet is supposed to fit but the super 3 mips fits great everywhere except for it is a little loose near the top of my head, still it seems like it fits better than the fox helmet I loved that I crashed in. With the helmet at a comfortable adjustment, it only moves to the side a teeny tiny bit when I try to push it around my head. Anyone know if a helmet is supposed to not move at all when pushed around your head? If not then I should be great with this helmet, but if a helmet is supposed to somehow 100% fit your head with no movement at all then I guess I need to look for another helmet.

The helmet buying was totally unplanned since I crashed my fox one pretty hard and needed to replace it right away so I could ride again, so unfortunately I did not have much time to research and try other helmets. I thought about just buying another fox helmet but since the bells fit better than the new fox ones at the store (which seemed to fix exactly like my old helmet) I went for the bell, plus a sharp edge one of the padding pieces inside of the fox helmet put a scar on my head which I hope will fade over time, but the bell didn't have any such edges in its padding so I hope to avoid that if I hit my head again.


edit: With a little research it looks like I had an older (2014?) model fox flux as that's what I found in google images. If the bell proves to not be comfortable I may just order a new model flux as it is pretty much the same helmet just with a different strap adjustment control and different graphics, I was always happy with the fit of that old helmet even though it too was not 100% perfect but it did not surf around my head at all or anything when riding so it was still good.


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## 661lee (Apr 11, 2007)

Did you try adjusting the height of the retention assembly? There are 3 positions at the back of the helmet. You may be able to get a better fit experimenting with that adjustment. I prefer mine on the setting that puts it closest to the inside of the helmet.


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## agreenbike (Jul 6, 2017)

661lee said:


> Did you try adjusting the height of the retention assembly? There are 3 positions at the back of the helmet. You may be able to get a better fit experimenting with that adjustment. I prefer mine on the setting that puts it closest to the inside of the helmet.


Nope, so far only played with the wheel adjuster on the helmet, all the other stuff is like alien technology compared to the very basic adjustment on the old fox, I didn't know I could do that honestly. As I said it fits almost perfect with maybe a tiny bit of movement sideways if I was to hit my head in a crash, and it fits better than the old fox helmet, but if its supposed to not move at all then there is an issue. I will have to try that along with just wearing it more to be sure I don't feel like there is pressure on my head.

It does seem like this helmet is quite hot from just wearing it a little while, hope that this is not the case and ventilation is okay out on the trail.


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## agreenbike (Jul 6, 2017)

Bump again, I have worn the medium size super 3 for awhile around the house, something with the fit just bugs me, I feel like the padding is squeezing/putting pressure on my head even when the helmet is set looser. The padding is definitely thicker and tougher than the padding on my old helmet. It may break in, but I think I'll just get another fox flux as they have remained pretty much unchanged since I got mine and I know they fit my head well. If it wasn't for the squeezing, i'd say the bell actually fit better than the old helmet and quite good but I never remember being annoyed with the fit of the old fox at all unlike this one.


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## discohospital (Sep 23, 2008)

I am just on the verge of ordering a Bell Super 3, but I would really appreciate some input regarding the size. Since I have nowhere to try it, it will be a blind purchase.

I just measured my head and it turned out to be 56cm. Now, the Bell sizing goes 52-56 for small and 55-59 for medium. Therefore, I'd really appreciate some input - do they run smaller or bigger? I don't want the helmet to squeeze my head excessively, but I don't want a loose fit, either.


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## TraxFactory (Sep 10, 1999)

discohospital said:


> I am just on the verge of ordering a Bell Super 3, but I would really appreciate some input regarding the size. Since I have nowhere to try it, it will be a blind purchase.
> 
> I just measured my head and it turned out to be 56cm. Now, the Bell sizing goes 52-56 for small and 55-59 for medium. Therefore, I'd really appreciate some input - do they run smaller or bigger? I don't want the helmet to squeeze my head excessively, but I don't want a loose fit, either.


They seem to run bigger...in my experience.


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