Bilt Adventure Helmet Report

[KG6BWS]

Originally Posted by Irish John

I bought one of the Bilt ADV helmets when they first came out. Actually I stopped by my local Cycle Gear to pick up something else and they were just unpacking these. Sort of an impulse buy but I have been very happy with mine. The quality is much better than the usual Bilt helmet build. Fit was very good. I did notice some buffeting in cross winds due to the bill. Even with the air channels, it seems to catch the cross winds.

About 2 weeks later, it did it's job when I high sided my Vstorm after hitting glass beads left on the road by KDOT. Gave the helmet to my grand nephews to play "Star Wars" with but kept the bill. Bought a second Bilt ADV. I Dremeled a series of additional holes/slots in the bill and installed it on the new helmet. This really seems to have helped the cross wind buffeting. For the money, this is a good value.

Pics??

Im going to pick one up today. Although the website says $199, the instore prices are still $69 and $99 respectively. The large seems to fit ok on me, could maybe be a hair tighter, but the medium is WAY too small. But hell, for $69, Ill try it out. Worst case scenario I give it to my niece to head butt my sister with.

[KG6BWS]

Well, I went and bought one. I actually ended up going with a medium. This time when I tried it on, I paid a little more attention to the pressure points and where it was an issue. As it turns out, a piece of sand paper taken to the vent channels seems to have helped. This medium actually felt better then the last one i tried on, leading me to believe its a difference in the mold, rather than the helmet being too small. I may have to customize it a little bit more, round off the ridges slightly, but Im about to go for a ride and see how it feels. Screw it, for $70.....

And the sale is now over. Theyre back up to their normal prices of $150 and $200 respectively. They (at least my local store) are still honoring the sale prices for the time being due to the popularity and the fact that they couldnt meet the demand. How long that lasts, I dont know.

[n1tr0]

I emailed the manufacturer (mhrhelmet.com) to ask about visors (face shields) and such.

Welcome to use BiLT Adventure MX455 double visor model!

Cyclegear already purchased some visor parts from our factory, I think you can find dark smake/light smoke/clear visor in their shop, also the tinted inner visor

We also can make other colors visor such as Gold,Silver, Blue.etc, I think Cyclegear can purchase in the futher order.
If you want to know more BiLT products information about BiLT, I think Mrs Julie from Cyclegear can give you valued advice

Anyone have an email address for this Mrs. Julie ?

I haven't figured out how to pop the interior visor out to see if it can be modded to sit a bit lower or replaced with another model. Has anyone removed theirs ?

[brailman133]

ordered the discovery in matte black.... does anyone have an inside on tinted screens?

[n1tr0]

Apparently CG has ordered them, so they should be available in the next couple weeks. I believe the tinted face shields for the Speed and Strength SS2500 model should fit as well. The CG replacements are supposed to be only $15 each 'tho, so it may be worth waiting.

[brailman133]

That's good news... Yes I will wait for a specific one in tint.


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[Bazgab]

Tried one on when I stopped in at a local CG. Like the look of it and for the price it seems to have pretty sold construction. Fit and finish seemed a step above the other Bilt offerings.

But now the bad...
-Fit is very strange. I have a 60cm head, can fit in large in some helmets and XL in others, but usually wear a L. Put on an XL for the Bilt as I didn't see a Large on the rack and it went on but was extremely tight in the front and back of the head. I figure this is due to the helmet shape, which seems to me to be a very round internal shape. This doesn't jive with my intermediate oval/slightly narrow head.

-What is up with the drop down visor mechanism? I don't like it at all, seems like it would be prone to breaking.

-Opening and closing the visor is a chore as there is very little to hold onto. Would be difficult to operate with anything but really thin gloves.

It would still be a tempting budget helmet for me if it actually fit my head correctly.

[BaileyAZ]

I bought the Explorer ($69) yesterday in Matte Black size large. The fit was good for me. I took my bike out for a ride today and really enjoyed having the shield instead of goggles on the road. I also did some off road and the distortion from the shield was a little too much for my liking. I will bring goggles the next time I plan on taking the bike off road. The wind noise was cut down compared to wearing MX helmet and goggles, but still fairly noisy at 65 mph. All in all, so far I like the helmet especially for the price. On a side note, in another post I did say the I would not purchase this helmet...but here we are!

[LexTalionis]

I purchased one of these helmets, good value for the money. However, got home, took off the sticker on the flip-down shield, and found too much optical distortion just off the right of center. Took the helmet back, asked the cashier if all the visors were defective or if I should try to find one on another helmet that was OK. Cashier said they are ALL optically defective!

Too bad, I liked the helmet otherwise.

Lex

[G19Tony]

Originally Posted by LexTalionis

I purchased one of these helmets, good value for the money. However, got home, took off the sticker on the flip-down shield, and found too much optical distortion just off the right of center. Took the helmet back, asked the cashier if all the visors were defective or if I should try to find one on another helmet that was OK. Cashier said they are ALL optically defective!

Too bad, I liked the helmet otherwise.

Lex

That's odd. I bought one when they first came out and it's optically very good.

[KG6BWS]

Originally Posted by G19Tony

That's odd. I bought one when they first came out and it's optically very good.

Mine isnt. Horrible distortion. I just live with it because of the price.

[n1tr0]

Originally Posted by LexTalionis

I purchased one of these helmets, good value for the money. However, got home, took off the sticker on the flip-down shield, and found too much optical distortion just off the right of center. Took the helmet back, asked the cashier if all the visors were defective or if I should try to find one on another helmet that was OK. Cashier said they are ALL optically defective!

Too bad, I liked the helmet otherwise.

I did pretty much the same. I love the concept. the helmet looks great and the flip down sun shield is the perfect addition for a dual sport helmet.

I normally wear a L, but had to go up to a 2XL and it still fit a bit tight front to back. Add to that the horrible distortion with the internal shades and that they stopped half way in my field of vision.

I ended up ordering the speed and strength SS2500. It's pretty much the same helmet with a better fit and the shell is a composite vs. plastic. I'm also a big fan of the "speed strap" (velcro and ratchet) after having a similar strap on my AFX FX-39DS.

Hopefully other brands will bring us a higher quality, better fitting, version of the Adventure helmet, like the Nolan X-lite 551 (unfortunately it's not for sale in the US).

[lucas123]

Is there any optical distortion in the clear visor of this helmet?

The Explorer, not the Discovery.

[n1tr0]

Has anyone found a chin curtain, chin skirt, that can be made to work with this helmet ?

[KG6BWS]

Originally Posted by lucas123

Is there any optical distortion in the clear visor of this helmet?

The Explorer, not the Discovery.

THats the helmet I have. I didnt get the one with the sun shade. Like the helmet, hate the shield.