Before this had happened, I was looking around for a 180
degrees modular helmet i.e. the Shark Evoline 3 and some other brands. Then while
at a bike accessories store, I had come upon this brand spanking new 2013 model
from LS2 that mimicked the Evoline 2 (this is because the visor has to be up
before you can remove the chin bar.
Why did I choose this helmet when I'm riding a cruiser? Well
here are a few reasons:
My handle risers are REALLY SHARP SPIKES that stare at me
while I'm arched over speeding. -Being a rider of many bikes, I have done my
share of falling and have had my share of “ouch” moments. I know what the
spikes can do to me upon frontal impact.
I wanted a helmet that had a tinted inner visor and clear
outer visor. –I have an issue with my eyes whereby I have to wear sunglasses
till the sun don't shine. But it doesn't mean that it makes me batman or have
night vision. No, I can’t see in dark roads just like you. So a clear visor
though not as cool, does the job
I wanted a 180 degree rotating modular helmet. –Seeing
how those spikes are there, a full face function when riding fast is a good
idea, not to mention your head doesn't fly everywhere and you don't get the “parachute”
effect. But I also like the wind in my face while not looking like I can receive
satellite tv while the dumb chin bar is up.
So that's the reasons why I wanted one of these.. though
they don't suit a cruiser much, at least its better than a full face helmet all
the time.
Now, back to the review:
Being generally a full functioning full face design
helmet, one does not expect the front visor to cover you all the way down to
your chin. The visor covers up to past your nose, and seems to be just fine
there. In open face mode with the visor down, you do not get any wind blowing
in your face (tested other helmets that cover half your face, wind bends in and
hits your eyes making it very tiring.
The helmet is very well vented with a very big glove
friendly vent on the top of the helmet and a not so glove friendly but very big
in air flow vent on the chin bar. There are 2 very nicely frenched in exit
vents, some air grooves and a low spoiler on the back of the helmet.
On the left side of the helmet is a very big glove
friendly swivel switch that is spring loaded for the inner tinted visor. If you
are new, it will take some time to find with your hand but once you get it, I found
its ok.
The chin bar is generally made of some hard impact
resistant plastic that doesn't look too flimsy and the sides are latched with
latches made of metal.
The rotation of the chin bar is managed by some grooves
and some type of locking mechanism when you push it to the back of the head. However,
I recommend that if you are planning to convert on the fly, don't lock both
sides down. Instead just push one side in so it locks to make the one handed
operation easier while riding.
The padding of the helmet is made of something called
Outlast. It is advertised that this material is used to regulate the
temperature in the helmet. How much it really helps I have no idea yet. However,
my head was quite cool when I was riding but I think that it is due to the very
big vent on the top of my head. The inside padding for the helmet was quite
interesting as the sides where you temple is is slightly softer than the rest
of the helmet. This is to make it more glasses friendly which is a good thing for a 4 eyed old man like me.
The latch of the helmet is a little annoying as it is one
of those 2 handed operation types where although it's a clip on, it needs 2
hands to remove it unlike those old car safety belt buckle types previously. A little
annoying, but I don't mind.
I didn't test it in full face mode much today but, in
open face mode with the visors down, I heard a lot of wind noise. Which is
something I generally don't get from my ¾ open face helmet, that makes it something
new. Being a full face by design, the side views are a little restricted too
but that is normal for a full face helmet.
I had the opportunity to convert the helmet on the fly
while riding earlier as a car was being an asshole. Its not much of an issue,
but one had to push the outer visor up and then convert.. but the stability the
full face mode gave me while I was speeding was crazy! Very little wind
resistance and I didn't feel like my head was about to be ripped off.
Anyway, this is my initial review for now.
Good: sturdy, doesn't flounder in the wind, it looks
friggin sick
Bad: wind noise, it is very heavy, if jawline locked in
place, very hard to convert to full face on the fly.
EDIT: a couple of months ago, i had gone for a ride to blow off steam from work. i took a 90 degree corner wide in a narrow bike lane. i was doing it in full face mode. this helmet saved my life! THATS how good it is
By Vy
