How does leatt neck brace work

The sizing, fitment and adjustment are crucial to get right — just like the sizing of a helmet. When a neck brace is sized and fitted correctly, limitation in normal head movement while riding is not an issue. If anyone experiences this, it would be a good idea to ask a LEATT agent or reseller to assist you in proper fitment and set up. This issue we chat to Dr Chris Leatt, the man behind the neck brace to get the low down on the development of this iconic piece of kit.

What is a neck brace, and what are the benefits of wearing one? Magura View in Mag. Muc-Off View in Mag. Those who are sceptical about braces indicate that there is increased potential of collarbone injuries in low-level crashes. However, given the protection offered by the brace is for serious crashes, risking your clavicle seems a reasonable trade-off. It should also be noted that most modern braces are cleverly designed to break themselves before breaking your bones — so the manufacturers have thought about this!

For the professional race series, the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center has been collecting data over the last two years in regards to spinal injuries and the use of neck braces.

Since the overall number of injuries is relatively small, it will be several years before any statistically significant change can be shown and validated. However, at this point, we have seen a trend toward a decrease in cervical spinal injuries with use of neck braces and no increase in clavicle or thoracic injuries. We can only hope that this trend continues and we can see a reduction in the number and severity of spinal injuries.

Although real world testing may be impossible, manufacturers invest significant time and money in testing their products with computer simulations, crash test dummies and hours spent poring over the data they collect to ensure their products offer the best possible protection.

As with any protective equipment, the choice as to how far to go and what to wear is entirely with the rider. In the UK the only bit of protective kit enshrined in law is the helmet, so everything else beyond that is entirely your choice. For trail riders, increased protection is usually part of the riding kit as we said in the introduction, and reflects the increased risk of riding off-road. So should your kit bag contain a neck brace? To answer this depends on your attitude to risk and the type of riding you regularly indulge in.

If you are a weekend trail rider , happy to bimble along at 15 mph on the local lanes, then going out kitted like a supercross ride might seem an inappropriate response — in reality the most risky part of your ride may well be the road before the lanes! For faster riders and adventure bike riders, then neck braces begin to make more sense.

And if you are on an adventure bike, then you can double that figure. In that situation, deciding to wear a neck brace may prove to be a very wise decision. Click Here for details. First of is one of the original Leatt GPX braces. Although it comes with a chest strap to hold in place, the GPX conveniently fits perfectly into the aperture on a Thor Sentinel Chest guard giving entire upper body protection in one unit.

Our second option is an EVS brace that is a simpler and slightly more compact design. This is our choice out on the trails at it sits into the shoulders comfortably, held in place by a chest strap.

There are plenty of options out there, and companies like Leatt now offer body armour with integral braces, which addresses two requirements with one bit of kit. Either way, make sure you try the brace with your usual riding kit, body armour and helmet. And once you have one then wear it — no matter how sophisticated the design, neck braces are not effective if they are sitting in the kit bag ….

I wear a leatt 5. Happy I had my brace on could have been so much worse. I was just cruising down a trail, still not sure what I hit. Leatt and other companies have a variety of options from full-on braces to body armour with integral braces — probably a better option than a ring of foam that would restrict movement.

Several years ago, I was sprinting uphill on a pedaled bicycle, bearing down full weight on the pedals. My helmet protected my head, but had a huge split in the area of impact. I now have a nice bone nodule on the back of my neck. Lightweight neck braces seem to be a protective answer. This last winter my neck became more crunchy than normal and found out two vertebrae had broken off the rear facing spurs and were floating around my neck.

Doctor and Chiropractor said if it does not hurt , go ahead and ride. So met up with fellow Adventure riders and tried some off road. Thirty miles in my neck was not having fun. There were cases of non-critical cervical spine injuries without braces and cases with a brace. Of course we have to consider confounding variables. For example, brace wearers may be more cautious, less prone to risk taking, and therefore may ride in a more safe fashion you say. This is amateur motocross. Not a sport someone takes up because it is safe.

So I think we can dispense with that notion. Not all of the findings are as convincing to me. Death from cervical spine injury occurred in four cases without a brace and one with a brace. Hard to draw conclusions from small numbers, so they presented this as a 69 percent increased risk of death, perhaps to make it appear more convincing.

This particular piece of data also had an important notation. The brace wearer had undergone a cervical fusion after a prior injury that made his neck rigid and more likely to be injured in a subsequent crash. Well, that dashes the notion that brace wearers were more cautious!

I would venture that I am on solid footing as a medical professional in recommending that competitive motocross, where there is a high risk of crashing, is a very bad plan for someone who has had a compete all bones cervical fusion. I also question their assertion that pre-hospital care intensity is reduced in brace wearers.

That may be true, but it also may reflect care protocol or individual provider bias, even if that latter is subconscious. Seeing a rider crash, and knowing that the rider was not wearing a neck brace, generally leads to spine immobilization. Thus, the lack of a neck brace may establish a self-fulfilling prophecy that changes the specifics of care.

Though some people think a neck brace increases the chances of a collarbone fracture, the EMS team found otherwise. Bias against neck brace use among racers persists, however, and data alone may do little to change opinion. How do those myths die a not-so-quiet death?

With a celebrated champion who advocates for safety — and device use — and demonstrates success while using the device, of course. I don't want to be a pain or will I be. I just want to make that point because I don't want to see anyone of my friends or even riders that I don't know go through what I am going through right now.

If only it had been out a little longer and I knew more about it. If you look at the Super Cross races this year I believe the majority of riders are wearing them and good for them.

I don't want to sound like a hypocrite I just didn't know enough about them and also didn't think I would need one while racing 4x. It's clear I was wrong because anything can happen to anyone. Okay okay Take care and talk soon! Cheers, Tx Never Give Up! Tara Llanes Road to Recovery Fully decked out.. Straps included.

Clunk, Click, Every Trip. I'm sure you can sew better than me. Scissors are dangerous, get an adult to help you at this stage. My Nan would be proud of me.. Vertical slotted back adjusters. More adjustability which is available on every Leatt including the Adventure. No adjustment at the front on the Adventure.

Are Bike Brands Greenwashing? We Asked An Expert views. In my opinion i recon they should be compulsory but there so expensive atm which maybe off putting to some, although small price to pay to be able to walk on your own 2 feet. At least they should be compulsory in the World Cup along with helmet and spine protector.

I really do want to get one however, as you say demo Problem is, whats the best way to get around this!? If anyone has a way please tell me! SamCopp May 18, at Looking at their prices, Leatt need some serious competition before neckbraces become compulsory at races. How about letting their sponsors pick up the tab as is said, it's a small price to keep your top athletes at the top?

Maybe if our industry was playing on a level pitch the vast majority of riders would find these products more affordable. A bike won't lower the risk, technique and safety gear does that. ShaolinWood May 18, at Raveglia: I hear what you say, but I think it's a good move handing it out to pros, because the kids do only what the pros do.

So if no pros are wearing braces then no one will be motivated to buy one. It's the same with the BMX scene, most of the pros are riding around without helmets so the kids thinks it's "uncool" and they don't wear em But yea, it is sorry that they are so expensive, but there's a lot of research and work that goes into it.

In turn, I understand your argument. My point is that Pros are the only bikers to whom money is no object. If the price is reasonable to the man in the street, it is a BARGAIN to teams spending thousands each season on race appearances alone. If their pro breaks their neck the whole company is affected, not 'just' the rider and their social circle.

The neck brace would have to be practically useless i. I think we both agree that they are worthwhile protective gear - that's why team pros are using them, not because they were handed out free. It was a PR stunt - in my eyes, gone bad. Yea I hear you. I'm also struggling to get the money together The fact is it is a new piece of equipment, and offering it for free to the racers is a good way to have them try it out and see what it feels like without having to commit to anything.

I think many racers think that it will inhibit movement or something But let's hope that more sales will bring down prices!

Pabstinabottle May 18, at That's a moot argument. Unless we have magazines' ad rates for direct comparison it's not a point I would hold dearly. Sure, decking every pro racer out for free is promotion in the same way ads are, but let's get real here. There are massive international product festivals interbike there are massive international websites like this one, and there exists the opportunity to give free product trails lets say, a practice run for anyone and everyone to see that the product doesnt hinder head movement.

Giving them out to pros is a way of getting themselves seen out there, for sure, but it wasn't free. I'm putting it out there, I think this company has behaved badly with respect to their pricing structure and their promotional strategy.

There are ways and ways of doing things my friends, and I'm not about to start making excuses for what I think is poor corporate behaviour. Just my two cents, cheers. I think it should be mandatory in all downhill races, big freeride comps, and 4x, that's just my opinion though. There are, and only ever will be two arguments for a Leatt.

The end. Make up your own mind! Personally I think they're great. One day when I can afford one, I'll get one. Thats way oversimplified. Most of the comments here allude to a third argument: Product is spot on, Pricing is exorbitant, Promotion is dubious and from a consumer perspective those with the money thus the power they need competition or their patent to expire, whatever. JamesOliver May 18, at I'm looking into buying one before tht fatal crash does come!

Nice to see you included a wentwood dh pic. Also, its completely worth it to prevent and injury and since for most of us, biking is what we do and focus on its stupid not to make the investment and get one. I have the Leatt Club and its great, dont notice it when you ride and i know it has protected me a few times. Neck braces scare me. I wouldn't trust one NOT to break my neck on its own. Sometimes to tuck and roll, you have to TUCK your head down to roll, this prevents that The biggest problem with the neck brace is when do you wear it.

I mean i wouldnt want to wear it when i'm down at the pump track in my piss pot but surely i could be just as likely to break my neck then as when i'm racing. What about xc riding, i wouldnt wear it then but i've read stories of xc racers breaking their necks. Do you see where i'm coming from? It will not prevent all neck braking but greatly minimize it. JamesOliver May 19, at I'm sorry hondarider but that is the biggest load of shit i have heard in a long time. Theres no way they will make neck praces mandatory.

One thing that people do wrong with these is not set them up right. I race motocross and so many people wear them wrong. People have had these break their collarbones but I'm pretty sure most of us would rather have a broken collarbone than be paralyzed.

I didnt say i wanted to break my neck. I said event organisers are not going to make neck braces compulsory any time soon. As the brace would almost act as a pivot point on your neck and the added leverage and weight of your head and the force of the fall could damage your spinal cord and kill you or put you in a wheel chair.

JamesOliver Nov 13, at Dave that is a stupid philosophy to live by. Its personal preference i ride one my friend doesn't he just chooses not to and also he cant afford to fork out on something that expensive.

Also making them compulsory will just stop people racing yes its a benefit but if they are to be made compulsory then lower the price because without getting the deal on mine i wouldn't be wearing one. Well neck braces are good but if they werent If you cant afford the Leatt It was designed for mx but works on exactly the same principles, maybe a little heavier but hey-if it does the job you wont mind losing some time on the clock.

Thanks for a great novel. Good idea to put an article like this out there, now if only you could tell the retailers how important these things are, and get them to give us a good deal.

If they were affordable and widespread, you wouldn't have this issue, and you wouldn't be making this article. Exactly, I want to get one for safety but its just way too expensive. I can't understand why there so dear. Oh and is there any other neck brace companies Paton?

There so expensive because they spent millions designing, researching it and testing it. I dont like it, but this is how capitalism works. Amongst the marketing hype and the friendly sales pitch, they care about their balance sheet and profit ratio - not the welfare of me n my friends. Might buy that at some point soon, thanks l00cas And your completely right raveglia, we get completely ripped off in this biking market but the companies know that we wil buy the products cause we're hooked on the sport lol.

How about mentioning some of the other manufactures of such braces? Or are you too much of fanboy? If you read the title of the article, you would see this is a review on the Leatt Neck Braces, not any other kind. As far as im aware Si only sells Leatt Neck Braces, so would you really want someone who doesn't sell or potentially not know anything about another neck brace to write an article on one, say the EVS neck brace, and potentially mislead people?

I guess it depends whether your eyes just read some friendly advice from a fellow rider, or a written pitch from a salesman. Maaaah, my cynicism is playin up again. In the SDA gloves are compulsory but neck braces aren't?!? Where's the logic behind that? A small proportion of crashes will involve serious neck injury. A high proportion of crashes will involve cheaply-and-easily preventable hand skinning.

Pluck your own ballpark figures out of the air. In a full season at whistler, my guess would be something like a dozen spinal injuries resulting in paralysis and probably that number PER DAY skinning their hands. Now apply some logic, if you can, to an analogy. Driving cars results in a death every few minutes but they havent been banned outright. Instead we put rules in place to make maximum safety and minimum inconvenience for the greatest number of people. So yes, you can still buy a car even though you might die in it.

No, you are not allowed to spank it down the motorway at But of course, you realise all this and were just trying to look smart. Common sense doesn't seem to be all that common. I think the general fact that everbody seems to be avoiding is that neck braces are good at protecting your neck. Therefore they should be of at least some interest to everyone. If you bought a Leatt, and from that day never crashed in a way that could harm your neck then so be it.

You could call it a waste of money. But if you end up eating through a straw then I guess you'll be having seconds thoughts via your electronic voice generator. As I hope I've pointed out, no mountainbiker who has fallen could say that about gloves.