Orifix Mapboards – Review

Well in the end I raced the whole of the European Championships with the Orifix. I used the extra spacers to get it higher above the handlebars which really helped with reading the detail. To start with it feels very odd having the board so high but it does force you to look further ahead which is no bad thing anyway.

The board frame comes to bits and packs flat which is useful for travelling (and delivery through the post) and the board itself goes on with plastic butterflies meaning it can be tightened easily or swapped for a different size without tools if it does come loose (as Mirys do from time to time)

It attaches to the bars with finger turn nuts which is very quick though I did have to do them up very hard to stop the extended mapboard from twisting when I got a little energetic with the bike flying down the steps in Vyborg. I will probably tweak them with a pair of pliers next time.

The clear plastic foil although causing me a slight phaff on the relay more than made up for it in its rejection of water and mud, the extra wrap around performing far better than the Miry hardly letting in any rain on the middle distance race where others were left with a soggy mess. The Velcro fixings also will allow flexibility for some of the bigger laminated maps found on adventure races.
The Orfix is also available with reducing shims for smaller diameter handlebars.

So I am a convert, my old trusty Miry will pass down the family tree to Cath and I will be swapping to Orifix… http://www.orifix.net/index.php

If you want one get in touch with emilybenham@me.com