ital916
5th October 2010, 11:40
(Apologies for no pictures, camera has broken, I will get them uploaded asap).
Hey guys,
Well, I was at work yesterday when the reevu reps came in and dropped of two demo Reevu (Rear View) Gen 2 helmets for us to have a look at. The bass kindly gave me permission to blast around in one to see how it works and check out how good it is, so here is my review. I have tried to be as objective as possible.
I'll get the generic helmet sections out of the way first:
Price: $699.00
Construction:
The Reevu is a tri composite helmet made of polycarb (plastic), fiberglass and kevlar (so the rep says).
Weight wise it is 1600gms for the medium I tested but feels light enough. Construction quality was good but for $699 helmets could be a little better, mind you this was a demo model. Everything was put together well enough but little things like rubber trim coming a bit loose at the edges, the mirror system being a bit fragile feeling (I will expand on this later) etc made me think it could have been done better.
On the whole however, I do believe it is a well put together piece of kit, though not quite on par with the shoeis and other leading brands in that price bracket.
Comfort:
I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the Reevu helmet is. The interior lining is extremely plus and very soft. I would have to say the Reevu is one of the most comfortable helmets I have worn. The fit is almost the same as the Givi 4.01 helmets with the interior linings having almost the exact same fit and feel.
There is a generous cushion around the neck area making the helmet very easy to get into and out of. The softness of the interior liner also makes the helmet instantly comfortable as opposed to the stiffer interior pads found in other helmets which need to be broken in a bit.
The interior lining is removable allowing it to be pulled out and washed. There are various cheek pad sizes available allowing the fit to be fine tuned. These bits are also able to purchased further down the line to replace worn interiors.
Chin strap:
The Reevu utilises a ratchet clip system like that found in the Givi helmets. It is easy to use with gloves allowing the clip to be done up and undone quickly. On the down side it doesnt feel as secure as a double D ring attachment, though for street use it would be fantastic.
Though it may seem a trivial point the Reevu comes with no dome on the end of the chin strap to secure excess material once adjusted. For myself, I had about ten centimeters of strap left that I had to to tuck in to prevent it from slapping against the helmet when riding. Minor but annoying.
Ventilation:
Not so great. It comes with one top vent and one chin vent. I take it the reason for this is the vents would interfere with the system of mirrors built into the helmet in the usual spots that ventilation would be placed.
At slower speeds around town yesterday where it was sunny (yay!) my face was cooking. The vents couldn't evac the hot air quick enough and whilst you can live with it, it does get a bit annoying after crawling through traffic for an hour. Not enough to make me hate the helmet though.
Once up to 60-70 kmh though, the vents work a bit better and the helmet is cool enough.
The construction of the vents is solid and easy to use with gloved hands.
Visor:
Comes with a clear visor which has a quick release lever. Other visors are available as well as anti fog options. Lots of vision, pretty standard stuff; not much else to say really.
Finally, The Rear View Mirror:
The mirror viewing mechanism is situated in the center of the forehead sections of the helmet directly above the riders eyebrows (see photos). The mirror is adjustable backwards and forwards and can be pulled down out of the helmet or recessed back into it. This allows a lot of adjust-ability to cater for different riders and different bike types. A little plastic allen key is used to retract/extend the mirror and fingers can be used to tilt the mirror back and forth.
Once the helmet is popped on it takes about five minutes to get the mirror adjusted properly.
The mirror itself is quite thin vertically and allows the user to see a squashed view of what is behind the helmet. Due the amount of movement of a riders head during well riding, one must consciously moved their head to get an image of the same spot. This is again due to the small viewing angle of the mirror system. Move your head a little bit and all you will see is the top of buildings. Once you get use to it after about thirty min though, you can easily enough center back on the point behind the bike.
What isn't mentioned is the image isn't perfect. It is slightly distorted and does have imperfections. Depth perception is almost nil. So even though you can see what is behind you, telling how far away it is, is extremely difficult and inaccurate.
What the helmet does do is give the rider a quick indication of what is behind them (not a riders blind spots though, one still should always do and has to do head checks and mirror checks) . Given over time and practice one could use the helmet enough to figure out depth perception etc I found it very difficult.
At nighttime the mirror isn't as good due to lack of lighting, as a plus headlights do not cause blinding due to the filters built into the mirror system.
A major negative however occurred when my partner tested the helmet. She wears glasses when riding and said the system was unusable for her as she had to look over glasses, through the frame or at an angle where her glasses didn't work. this may not be the case for all riders with glasses but I strongly recommend trying before buying if you do use optics.
The little mirror itself is sturdy enough though it does feel a bit like I will break it when adjusting it. The rep said the helmets mirror system will withstand shocks of everyday use without affecting the alignment of the mirrors which are moulded into the shell. I will have to take his word on that.
Overall:
Overall the Reevu is a alright helmet, comfortable and well built. The Mirror system is useful here and there but for me personally my wing mirrors do a better job of showing whats behind me. Some may love it and some may not.
All I can say is, TRY BEFORE YOU BUY.
For all those aucklanders who want to try one, come into motomail and I'll organise a test ride for you with the reevu helmet. Who knows it may be the best helmet you've ever used.
Hey guys,
Well, I was at work yesterday when the reevu reps came in and dropped of two demo Reevu (Rear View) Gen 2 helmets for us to have a look at. The bass kindly gave me permission to blast around in one to see how it works and check out how good it is, so here is my review. I have tried to be as objective as possible.
I'll get the generic helmet sections out of the way first:
Price: $699.00
Construction:
The Reevu is a tri composite helmet made of polycarb (plastic), fiberglass and kevlar (so the rep says).
Weight wise it is 1600gms for the medium I tested but feels light enough. Construction quality was good but for $699 helmets could be a little better, mind you this was a demo model. Everything was put together well enough but little things like rubber trim coming a bit loose at the edges, the mirror system being a bit fragile feeling (I will expand on this later) etc made me think it could have been done better.
On the whole however, I do believe it is a well put together piece of kit, though not quite on par with the shoeis and other leading brands in that price bracket.
Comfort:
I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the Reevu helmet is. The interior lining is extremely plus and very soft. I would have to say the Reevu is one of the most comfortable helmets I have worn. The fit is almost the same as the Givi 4.01 helmets with the interior linings having almost the exact same fit and feel.
There is a generous cushion around the neck area making the helmet very easy to get into and out of. The softness of the interior liner also makes the helmet instantly comfortable as opposed to the stiffer interior pads found in other helmets which need to be broken in a bit.
The interior lining is removable allowing it to be pulled out and washed. There are various cheek pad sizes available allowing the fit to be fine tuned. These bits are also able to purchased further down the line to replace worn interiors.
Chin strap:
The Reevu utilises a ratchet clip system like that found in the Givi helmets. It is easy to use with gloves allowing the clip to be done up and undone quickly. On the down side it doesnt feel as secure as a double D ring attachment, though for street use it would be fantastic.
Though it may seem a trivial point the Reevu comes with no dome on the end of the chin strap to secure excess material once adjusted. For myself, I had about ten centimeters of strap left that I had to to tuck in to prevent it from slapping against the helmet when riding. Minor but annoying.
Ventilation:
Not so great. It comes with one top vent and one chin vent. I take it the reason for this is the vents would interfere with the system of mirrors built into the helmet in the usual spots that ventilation would be placed.
At slower speeds around town yesterday where it was sunny (yay!) my face was cooking. The vents couldn't evac the hot air quick enough and whilst you can live with it, it does get a bit annoying after crawling through traffic for an hour. Not enough to make me hate the helmet though.
Once up to 60-70 kmh though, the vents work a bit better and the helmet is cool enough.
The construction of the vents is solid and easy to use with gloved hands.
Visor:
Comes with a clear visor which has a quick release lever. Other visors are available as well as anti fog options. Lots of vision, pretty standard stuff; not much else to say really.
Finally, The Rear View Mirror:
The mirror viewing mechanism is situated in the center of the forehead sections of the helmet directly above the riders eyebrows (see photos). The mirror is adjustable backwards and forwards and can be pulled down out of the helmet or recessed back into it. This allows a lot of adjust-ability to cater for different riders and different bike types. A little plastic allen key is used to retract/extend the mirror and fingers can be used to tilt the mirror back and forth.
Once the helmet is popped on it takes about five minutes to get the mirror adjusted properly.
The mirror itself is quite thin vertically and allows the user to see a squashed view of what is behind the helmet. Due the amount of movement of a riders head during well riding, one must consciously moved their head to get an image of the same spot. This is again due to the small viewing angle of the mirror system. Move your head a little bit and all you will see is the top of buildings. Once you get use to it after about thirty min though, you can easily enough center back on the point behind the bike.
What isn't mentioned is the image isn't perfect. It is slightly distorted and does have imperfections. Depth perception is almost nil. So even though you can see what is behind you, telling how far away it is, is extremely difficult and inaccurate.
What the helmet does do is give the rider a quick indication of what is behind them (not a riders blind spots though, one still should always do and has to do head checks and mirror checks) . Given over time and practice one could use the helmet enough to figure out depth perception etc I found it very difficult.
At nighttime the mirror isn't as good due to lack of lighting, as a plus headlights do not cause blinding due to the filters built into the mirror system.
A major negative however occurred when my partner tested the helmet. She wears glasses when riding and said the system was unusable for her as she had to look over glasses, through the frame or at an angle where her glasses didn't work. this may not be the case for all riders with glasses but I strongly recommend trying before buying if you do use optics.
The little mirror itself is sturdy enough though it does feel a bit like I will break it when adjusting it. The rep said the helmets mirror system will withstand shocks of everyday use without affecting the alignment of the mirrors which are moulded into the shell. I will have to take his word on that.
Overall:
Overall the Reevu is a alright helmet, comfortable and well built. The Mirror system is useful here and there but for me personally my wing mirrors do a better job of showing whats behind me. Some may love it and some may not.
All I can say is, TRY BEFORE YOU BUY.
For all those aucklanders who want to try one, come into motomail and I'll organise a test ride for you with the reevu helmet. Who knows it may be the best helmet you've ever used.