The Bell Ventura is my first bike helmet, and I am delighted with it. It is comfortable, easy to adjust,and very reasonably priced.

The color even matches my mountain bike, and I'm so glad it has the detachable visor.

Though all of these bike helmets look rather strange, the ventilation keeps my head both protected and cool. I wear the Ventura every time I go out riding, and I wouldn't hop on my bike without it! 5 stars

A great helmet for the price and for a larger head. I tried on almost every helmet at the shop - they all either made my head look way bigger or had areas in the helmet that squeezed my head. The venture is nicely designed and spacious enough inside - for the people with smaller heads, it has a really easy and useful adjustable knob at the back. Haven't crashed yet but i have heard good things about bell. 4 stars

The helmet is extremely comfortable, allows a good amount of airflow, and adjusts easily. And hey, for a helmet, it doesn't look half bad. The best part is that I am not a hypocrite for my children. There's no excuse for them not to wear a helmet if Dad is too. 5 stars

As you can see from the customer product images, I purchased a Bell Venture helmet over two years ago. I'm back to buy another because I fell off the edge of a low "North Shore" ladder at a mountain bike park and this helmet saved my noggin from a good wallop. As it's designed to, the helmet cracked but my head didn't.

My Venture has held up well for the ~3,000 miles I've put on it. The glue on the pads on the front has worn out a little causing the backing/foam/felt to separate about halfway but it's still comfortable just a little uncosmetic. The chin strap has avoided getting worn out on my cheek's beard stubble better than my other Bell helmet but maybe it's a fluke.

It may sound cheap, but there are many virtues behind the "universal size" scheme. The ratchet is easy to adjust and allows to lend it to someone you're trying to get into cycling.

The vents let a moderate amount of airflow in. In the summer it's a tad hot, but on the plus side the built in (removable) visor helps keep the sun out of your eyes. If you want superb ventilation you'll probably need to spend at least 3 times as much on a fancier helmet. But in the winter you'll be able to fit a cycling cap under just fine (once again hooray for that nice adjustment range).

Bottom Line: this could be the best $40 you've ever spent. 5 stars