My old POS Bell helmet has done a good job of protecting my head during a lot of crashes over a lot of years — especially on the Mountain Uni. I probably should’ve replaced it a long time ago, but it seems I have a weird shaped head and finding a helmet that is a snug fit isn’t an easy task. Thanks to The Bike Vault in Castlemaine and a change of Australian safety standards my head is now sporting a cool fresh lid — a Fox Flux complete with a graffiti ‘Punk Black’ style paint job and a rear spoiler, to assist flight control I guess 🙂
The first job to do was ‘fix’ the helmet straps which for some unknown reason aren’t threaded through the slots in rear adjustment mechanism. There’s a handy thread on Rotorburn regarding altering the Flux helmet strapping. Rather than damage the adjustment mechanism I opted to unpick the stitching on the strapping and re-thread it. The process didn’t take long and provided the perfect opportunity to get the helmet straps just right. I also trimmed off the excess strapping and seared the ends of the strapping on the fireplace. Will restitch them together when I get a chance.
First ride with the Flux today and I’m very pleased with it. It’s very comfortable, I’d say the fit is even more snug than the old Bell, and the extra protection around the back of your head could come in pretty handy. It was only about 10 degrees and drizzling rain so can’t really comment on overall ventilation, though I’d guess it’s going to be comparable to my old helmet at least based on the generous serving of large vents.
The other thing of note on today’s ride was chain suck. After a couple of hours of riding trails in the drizzling rain the drive train was coated in grit, becoming increasingly noisy, like each pedal stroke was causing it pain, leading to chain suck — the first time I’d come across it on the Mojo HD. I ended up having to take it very easy and crawl back home. I probably should’ve lubed the chain before heading out as it was just about ready for another lube, it could’ve been as simple as that though based on today I wonder if Squirt is the ideal lube for wet, gritty conditions.
I’ve had a week or so of not riding much, letting things settle down after the recent crash. It’s great to be out on the Mojo HD again, even if it was in the cold and rain.