First Look: Leatt’s New DBX 6.0 Experienced… On a Drift Trike in California

At Sea Otter last month Leatt launched the DBX 6.0 carbon full face helmet, and I got a chance to experience the new helmet on a drift trike. Drift what? I’ll explain that in a bit, but first, a little about the new helmet. The DBX 6.0 is a carbon helmet that packs Leatt’s “360° Turbine Technology …

At Sea Otter last month Leatt launched the DBX 6.0 carbon full face helmet, and I got a chance to experience the new helmet on a drift trike. Drift what? I’ll explain that in a bit, but first, a little about the new helmet.

The DBX 6.0 is a carbon helmet that packs Leatt’s “360° Turbine Technology for concussion and brain rotation safety” into a compact, lightweight package. It’s by far the most comfortable full face helmet I’ve worn thanks to its light weight and excellent fit. Leatt also includes a number of nice features like breakaway, replaceable visor rivets, a hydration port, and easy-to-remove cheek pads. Look for my full review of this helmet, coming soon.

Speaking of reviews, no journalist really wants to test how well a helmet performs in a crash, no matter how dedicated to the craft he or she may be. With that in mind, Leatt arranged for our group to get a unique feel for the new helmet, along with DBX 5.0 knee and elbow pads, and DBX 4.0 gloves (the Lite version–check out my review of the DBX 4.0 Windblock gloves, here). Drift trikes!

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Without knowing what we were getting into, each of us were asked to sign a waiver before piling into a van. After driving for about 30 minutes we arrived at a county park to find a fleet of drift trikes positioned on the road near the top of a mountain. I had never seen a drift trike before, but basically, these are adult-sized tricycles with a 20″, pneumatic tire up front and two small (10″ diameter?) wheels in back. The trike has pedals and rim brakes on the front wheel and sits super low to the ground.

Needless to say, this was not like riding a mountain bike. I can honestly say I was scared to death about pointing this thing downhill and if there was any comfort to be found, it was in being covered in protective equipment from head to knee. (Some safety boots would have covered me down to the toes as well, and would have saved a lot of shoe leather from foot braking).

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At the end of the day, none of us truly put the Leatt DBX 6.0 helmet to the test, but I can say that at the very least I felt safe, despite having little confidence in my ability to control the drift trike. Check out the video above and stay tuned for my full (MTB) review of the DBX 6.0 helmet!

Thanks to Leatt for providing the helmet, pads, and gloves for review, and for setting up the drift trike test.