STUCKMATE
TRAIL WINCH
$170, Stuckmate, http://www.stuckmate.com
WE’RE
TESTINGhttp://www.adbmag.com APRIL 2016 | 121Don’t be fooled by the name of this item,
it’s actually French not Australian, despite
the Ockerism in the name. The Stuckmate is
kinda like a manual winch, only without the
handle.
To put it simply, the Stuckmate is a device
to get you out of trouble when you’re stuck
on a hill or in a bog and, especially, when
you’re without a mate. The unit connects to
your fork legs, and has a retractable cord,
capable of holding up to 300kg, with a
Velcro strap at the end so you can connect
it to a tree. As you move forward the cord
retracts, holding you and your bike in place
a little further up the hill.
The Stuckmate is easy to use. The big
red dial on the top allows you to lock and
unlock the cord. The carbon-fibre reinforced
polymer body, which weighs 650g, is
connected to the fork legs via two U-shaped
brackets which are very sturdy and so far
have shown no signs of breaking.
The cord is just under six metres long
and is super tough. The locking mechanism
is incredibly strong, and I’m confident
if you decided to ghost your bike up an
embankment while you watched from below,
the locking mechanism and cord would be
able to hold it when it came to a stop.
The unit, which mounts to the top of your
fender, was a slight distraction while riding,
and if you knew you were not going to come
across anything too tricky, it would be easier
to leave it off. We’ve got a few extreme
rides coming up, so stay tuned for a full
evaluation.
Editor Mitch LeesBELL MX-9
ADV HELMET
$299.95, Monza Imports,
monzaimports.com.au, (03) 8327 8899WE’RE
TESTINGOne thing I’ve noticed riding on the road
wearing a full-face motocross helmet with
goggles is wind noise. At speed it's loud
and distracting even with earplugs in.
After a long day without hearing
protection I was having trouble hearing.
The solution was obvious, get a proper
adventure helmet with a visor. So I went
with the Bell MX-9 Adventure.
The MX-9 Adventure Barricade Hi-Vis
looks the goods with its flash grey and
flourescent green colour scheme, the peak
is generously-sized without intruding into
the top of my vision and the faceshield
has a few positions between open and
closed to vary ventilation if needed.
The shield also has generous clearance
at the top where it meets the helmet
proper to allow air flow and prevent
helmet lift at speed.
The liner and cheekpads clip out
for easy washing, a feature that makes
me shudder when I recall the days
when helmets went a whole season
accumulating sweat and dust. The fit is
firm without being tight and no doubt will
adapt to the odd shape of my head, which
has been panelbeaten a few times falling
off motorbikes.
Inlet vents under the peak and exhaust
vents at the back allow great air flow on
Outback adventures.
Hard to find anything negative about
this helmet so far but the tab on the
shield could be slightly bigger to allow
easier opening with gloved fingers. In low
temps the vents may need to be covered
with tape because you can't close them.
After the initial break-in ride over
everything from single-lane to main
highway I’m very happy with the fit and
performance of the Bell MX-9 Adventure.
It is quieter than a helmet and goggles
and now I don’t need earplugs!
Warren Jack