Not so long ago, Bell Helmets found itself gripped by something of an identity crisis, the venerable brand’s executive vice-president and general manager Jessica Klodnicki tells BikeRadar.
The feeling was that Bell, with a 61-year history steeped in motorsports, machismo and pro-rider endorsement of its products, had lost some of its connection with its customer base. “About a year or more ago, we decided we wanted to reset,” Klodnicki says, acknowledging that people didn’t necessarily associate Bell with mountain biking – contributing to a feeling that it had lost its personality.
As you’d expect from one of the most senior women in the cycling industry, Klodnicki’s media experience is apparent in some carefully chosen responses as we chat over a transatlantic line. But she concedes that Bell, hardly uniquely in the cycling industry, had become seen as an “inherently masculine brand”.
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That recognition, though, has been turned to Bell’s benefit this year with the launch of its new Joy Ride collection of women's helmets. With the decision taken to redevelop the brand’s ethos, and to bring a grassroots, ‘community’ feel back to the fore, came the opportunity to address the burgeoning women's cycling market, starting with mountain biking – something that Klodnicki says she’s determined to focus on.
A non-intimidating riding environment
Klodnicki's own experience of mountain biking in many ways exemplifies the growth of women's cycling through informal social networks, and the experiences many women have when getting into the mountain biking.
“About a year and a half ago, I was a new mountain biker,” she reveals. “I love riding, but I was too intimidated to ride with the guys from the office.”
Getting past pinks and purples
Brand ambassadors
Looking ahead
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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