Pick one of these up & now you have two functional (and presumably safe) helmets

http://www.rei.com/search?query=Side+Release+Buckle

Cost to Bell isn't $200, in fact you can find this helmet all day long now for $80 online. Another way to look at it is if they send you this 5 cent strap and you install it wrong, what type of liability has Bell then opened themselves up to? I'd mark this up to nothing more than a company standing behind their product and good customer service.

Truth in here but it's still ridiculous as mentioned. It always shows where this simple stupidity leads to.
The helmet could have been sent in and being repaired by them and all would be safe too. And abundance reduced.

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-shoki

Which side?

If the right side fell off it's silly for them to not send you a new piece. If it was the left side it makes complete sense.

One side is simply threaded through the buckle and doubles back on itself. The other side is stitched into place. If you lost the adjustable side and they sent you a new helmet then consider yourself lucky, I guess...

As others have mentioned, the helmet does not cost them $200. It's routinely available on the internet now for $79 and their cost is likely closer to 50 or 60% of that.

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__________________________

I tweet!

It's the side that's EASY to replace