Australasian Dirt Bike – June 2019

FACTORYRIDE/READERSRIDE/HERITAGE/ACTION/OAS/BUYERSGUIDE

IHAVEALWAYSmanagedto

stayoutofharmswayand

injuryfreewithbothmyknees.

Ihavewornkneebracesduring

someofmyracingeventsbutI

havealsospentalotofmy

racingjustwearingplastic

kneeguards.Ilikedtheidea

ofextraprotectionbut

kneebracesannoyedmewith

theirbulkandsometimes

uncomfortablefeel.

Whenthechancepresented

itselftogetinapairofMobius

X8kneebracesIdecidedtogive

themagoastheylooklike

somethingyouwouldwear

chargingintobattle!

WERATE 

RATCHETDIALTheRatchet

dial,whichismadefromstrong

CNCmachinedandforgedT6

aluminium,makesfittingand

removingtheX8kneebraces

simpleandfast.

TENDONBACKPLATEOnce

positioned in the cavity behind

my knee the tendon back plate

gives a lot of support while

holding my knee in a safe

position.

STRAPS I like simplicity and

Mobius could not make things

any simpler with the straps

numbered to indicate the order

in which they need to be

tightened. Follow the numbers

and you can’t go wrong.

DESIGN Mobius uses injection

moulded shells to make up the

main body of the X8 kneebrace.

It does give them a “ready to

battle” look that provides

incredible coverage to the knee

and lower leg area.

WE DON’T RATE 

AIR FLOW The Mobius X8

kneebrace doesn’t allow much

real air fl ow to the knee. That

made the time I used them on

a 39-degree day very warm

and sweaty.

MOBIUS X8 KNEEBRACES

Kriega Hydro 2 Race Pack

THERE’S NO TWO ways about

it, this is a hydration pack built

for racing. No, it won’t make

you faster or fi rst to the next

checkpoint, but it will lighten

the load and the weight

swinging off your shoulders.

With no external pockets and

a small bladder capacity it was

important to test the Hydro 2

Race Pack in its natural

environment.

We headed out to our

favourite fi ve-minute test loop

to bed in some new suspension

on a long term test bike. This

meant going round and round

on the same patch of soil for

hours. There was no need to

bring a phone, wallet or spare

inner tube on our ride, just

water and our fi tness!

WE RATE 

STURDY Kriega have been

perfecting hydration packs

since 2007. They use a tough

cordura material which we

have not managed to break or

wear out in six months of

testing.

SLIM FIT The Hydro 2 is

incredibly compact and does

not protrude off your back or

out the sides. It felt tight on my

body and comfortable.

BITE VALVE I chew on the

valves of my hydration packs a

lot and this one still hasn’t

cracked and leaked.

WE DON’T RATE 

STRAP SYSTEM I’m not a

massive fan of the gut strap,

mainly because it pulls on my

gut. It would be good to see a

four-point harness that straps

in one place on the chest. I also

struggled to fi t the straps over

my armour and neckbrace.

Mitch Lees

GETITHERE

BILL

$179

BROWSER

kreiga.com.au

BLOWER

0409959737

GET IT HERE

BILL

$799.95

BROWSER

serco.com.au

BLOWER

07 3362 6600

VERDICT

As a rider who is normally

sitting on the fence when it

comes to kneebraces I can

say my time with the

Mobius X8 has me on the

kneebrace bandwagon. I

like the ease of adjustment

and simple fi tting. My knees

have always been strong

but the added support and

protection leads to more

confi dence when riding.

Easily my favourite feature

would be the kneecap and

lower leg protection. Never

once did a stone or

handlebar to the knee

give me any kind of

discomfort or pain.

Ben Grabham

VERDICT

If you are thinking about

buying this hydration pack

for trailriding, think again.

As a race hydration system

it is excellent. It is small and

light but still allows you to

carry 1.5 litres of fl uid. This

would be a great product for

people racing Hattah, Finke

or AORC events.

http://www.adbmag.com.au JUNE 2019| 121

Used &

Abused

Used &

Abused

/ TECH / KIDZ KORNER / USED RIDE / FACTORY RIDE / READERS RIDE / HERITAGE / ACTION / OAS / BUYERS GUIDE