The gloss version of Dashed inverts the palette: a black base with the same angular panel lines picked out in grey and a scatter of silver highlights, no red. It's a reminder that the graphic name and the mechanism are two separate things in this range — Dashed describes a panel pattern that Shark applies to more than one colourway, while Flip-Up describes what every one of those colourways actually does at the chin.

This colourway on the shell

Gloss black underneath lets the grey panel lines sit as a genuine tonal contrast rather than disappearing the way they might on a matte black base, and the silver highlight strokes carry a faint metallic glint under direct light without going as far as the Mekarium line's brushed-chrome effect. It's a quieter, more monochrome take on the same angular design language as the White Red version of Dashed.

A chin bar that actually opens

Unlike a true jet or open-face helmet, which has no chin bar to speak of, the OXO's is a full structural part of the shell, hinged at the temples and secured by two catches at the base. Release them and the bar rotates rearward until it locks against the crown — a deliberate, certified change of configuration, not an improvised one. Shark built the shell from the ground up to work both ways, rather than adapting a full-face mould after the fact.

Certified shut, and certified open

A flip-up helmet's real homologation question isn't whether it passes ECE 22.06 — it's whether that pass covers the open position too. Shark's own documentation states the OXO holds dual P/J approval, tested in both. The standard itself moved the EU's baseline up sharply from 2024: eighteen impact points rather than five, several impact speeds rather than one, a new oblique-impact test, and a rotational-energy score the previous 22.05 standard never included.

The visor family built around two shells

VZ390 is the OXO's own visor range, and its structure gives away how the helmet itself is built: two shell sizes, not one, with every tint in the family issued as a matching pair of part numbers, small-shell and large-shell. It's the kind of detail that stays invisible until someone needs a replacement visor and discovers the tint alone isn't enough information to order the right one.

Why the weight on the box isn't the whole answer

The OXO's quoted weight, 1,660 g, comes from Shark's smallest shell size — not necessarily the one most riders end up wearing. SHARP's independent test recorded roughly 1.7 kg; MotorcycleNews weighed their own unit at 1,880 g, more than 200 g above the manufacturer's figure. It's the kind of gap that matters most on a long ride, when the extra weight sits on your neck for hours rather than a moment on a shop scale.

Two real alternatives, either side

Below this OXO on Shark's own 2027 price list sits one full-face helmet; above it sits another. Both are genuine current-range neighbours, not a hypothetical bracket:

Two vents, two riding positions, no invented decibels

The OXO's intake ventilation runs to two points, chin and brow, each a straightforward switch rather than an adjustable dial; the exhaust side goes undocumented by Shark, so it stays that way here too, rather than being assumed. Independent reports on noise describe no problems riding open through town, and general optimism that the OXO will be quiet, balanced against a note that Shark's earlier modular helmets could get noisy on the motorway. No dB figure is claimed, because none has been measured and published.

What the visor is rated for, tint by tint

Every OXO comes with a clear VZ390 visor approved for all users, Pinlock 70 already fitted, tension adjustable at the central lock, and an anti-scratch coating. Beyond that sits a TE50 light tint for daytime road riding, and five Iridium tints — blue, gold, silver, red, rainbow — every one marked racing use only. The VZ390 family carries no stated optical class, a detail this description leaves as unknown rather than assumed.

What's documented for daily use

The OXO's everyday feature list, confirmed by SHARP's listing and Shark's own page alike, runs to four points: a drop-down internal sun visor, intercom readiness, tool-free visor changes, and a glasses groove. The interior liner removes for cleaning, but no documentation states it's washable or specifies pad-size options, so this listing stops there. SHARP's four-star rating dates to a May 2025 test.

Who this decor suits

The gloss black-and-silver Dashed carries the same Sport and Touring pairing as its white counterpart: a graphic with enough visual energy for spirited road riding, on a helmet whose flip-back hinge is genuinely built for longer, varied-pace days rather than a single track session. It suits a rider who wants one helmet for both a fast B-road and a long motorway leg.

How the shell split shows up in fit

Riders moving between the OXO's smaller and larger shell aren't just getting a bigger helmet — they're getting a shell that was moulded separately, which can change the fit character rather than just scale it. One independent tester described the interior as oval-leaning and, for their own head, too oval — a personal finding worth weighing, not a universal verdict.

The spares list, and the detail it hides

On paper, the OXO has sixteen visor options — clear, TE50 light tint, five Iridium colours — priced roughly EUR 31 to EUR 85. What the simple list hides is that every one of those sixteen is really two parts, small-shell and large-shell, and the Pinlock 70 insert follows the same pattern, independently confirmed in the range book. Order by tint and shell size both.

Five honest limits

No MIPS, no EQRS cheek pads, no published noise figure in either riding position, no documented exhaust-vent count, and a fit that at least one independent tester found too oval for their own head. SHARP's four stars, from a single May 2025 test, remain a genuine result but not a permanent guarantee. None of this is disqualifying — it's simply what the OXO doesn't claim, stated rather than hidden.

Five-year cover, and a complete first fit

Nothing extra to buy before the first ride: the OXO comes with its clear VZ390 visor fitted, Pinlock 70 insert included, and internal sun visor built in. Shark backs all of it with a five-year warranty and real, ongoing spares availability.