How many wear a neck brace?

You can’t tell the richness of Gaylord’s friend? He only has rich friends but they worry a lot. He told us that.

Haha, you have issues, but then again, so does everyone on here :D
 
I got back into bking late on.

As I ventured back into biking at a late age, I was amazed by the new advanced kit available. Since I've always worn, well anything that was at hand when funds were low.

But I went out with my mate one day and he had the Helite vest on, and he told me his mate crashed at 10 miles an hour and went down straight onto his chin and broke his neck.

Having been advised by my doctor, due to a current neck issue, not to do anything such as motorbiking, off roading, skiing, mountain biking, etc I went my own way and ignored him so I could get on with life.

However I then immediately bought a Helite vest, my thinking being, I want to keep on biking as I'm now back into it and its my life interest. And I certainly don't want to have 'an off' and suffer badly when I could have potentially prevented it.

Further to this I went to South Africa to ride my my mate who lives out there. Whilst I was with him on a 'pre' bike trip, we were looking at what he had that I could borrow to save me bringing on the plane. To which he produced a Leatt neck brace!! I hadnt even seen one of these before. He then kindly bought me one. Which is a shame as I don't think there's a need for both the jacket and the brace.

But I completely get the brace thing, and wear this on the days I'm on the off road bike and not wearing the jacket. (The jacket would only work once off road, and with me that would be in the first 5 mins!! - day over whilst trying to ride like a huge balloon)

The braces were initiated by a guy from my mates school in South Africa (Dr Leatt), who saw his sons mate have 'an off' whilst off roading again braking his neck and paralyzing him.

Its all personal choice in the end, but I'm grateful some people out there are thinking how we can be safer and making this kit. We've all had those flashes before us when the complete 't**t' in the car is either not looking or on their f*****g phone. I'm just waiting for the rocket propelled missile to take these knobs out.

Safe riding all

ps if you're thinking about a brace, they do 2 type, one is road related, the other off road related, the latter being much bulkier and substantial.
 
So.. any more with pictures of themselves wearing neck braces?
 
Here is one of me not wearing one and I walked away with just a thorn in my foot after losing the front at 160km/h

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Here is one of me not wearing one and I walked away with just a thorn in my foot after losing the front at 160km/h

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Would you like to try that again? or concede you were just very lucky :D
 
Who needs a neck brace with my luck.:p..another after crashing at Kells RR in 2002.

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Honestly, I'd rather have pictures like mine.... than pictures like yours :p
 
Whele... you appear proud of those events / pictures? :nenau :blast

After falling off a few times on TET trails, I'm considering a neck brace. None of my falls involved any neck or back impact or injury, but any future fall could easily do so.

There are braces out there for big bucks and little bucks. Not a victim of or subscriber to the Veblen effect, I'd rather spend less than more. What are you other cheapskate neck-bracers using?
 
Here's my take on it.

Leatt Neck Brace

When I first turned up wearing the neck brace, I had all sorts of reactions.

a) Some people were totally into it and thought it was a good idea (those sensible considered few)

b) Some people didn't understand it at all (if it's so good, why don't professional Superbike or TT riders wear them)

c) and finally those that took the piss relentlessly... but I have a funny story about that.


So let's talk about A)

The main challenge people have (even if you think it's a good idea)... is cost vs benefit and do I really need it?.

These neck braces come up for sale on eBay occasionally. So I waited and bought mine second hand to try first (I have two), one carbon fibre low profile, and one with a different design used when out Blood Biking. So the cost can be halved immediately, just buy one second-hand to try first.

I think the reason they come up for sale on eBay is convenience, or lack of it.

It's another thing to think about when dressing for riding and it's another thing to carry when out and about. But honestly, once you get into the routine of wearing one, you do feel more vulnerable without it.

They are used a lot on motocross sports (albeit they are expensive)
 
I bought a Point Two airbag jacket a few years back and wore it all the time.
But after a few years I realised that being trussed up like like a turkey ,especially in hot weather took away a large chunk mod enjoyment of being on two wheels.
On my Asturias trip in September on my H2 SX I simply wore a leather jacket, short gloves and waterproof jeans . So much more enjoyable .
Life’s too short for what if’s-recent events at home have focussed my mind, but perhaps a neck brace wouldn’t be a bad idea one day.......but they are designed to be worn over an mx shirt and not a large goretex jacket......strange they don’t do a road version.....
 
So lets talk about B)

One of my friends spends a lot of time on race circuits in the 'fast' group, he loves track days, Californian Superbike School, IAM and RoSPA Gold etc....

Anyways, he said Steve, if they are so good, why don't Superbike Racers wear them, or racers at the TT... why don't they wear them.

In my opinion... it's all because of their environment.

On a race circuit, they are designed for large run-off areas where you can slide for a long way before hitting anything. Unless you are VERY unlucky and hit another bike at speed, or high side (very high), you shouldn't experience a 'sudden stop', and it's those 'sudden stops' that do the damage (as testified in the earlier post in this thread, 10mph landed on his chin and broke his neck). On the TT they are feckin nuts, and that's part of the deal. At the speeds they do, and risks they take a neck brace is not going to save them.

Horse riders are prone to this injury, slow speed, bucked off horse head first onto the ground (all slow speed, but a sudden stop on the neck). They wear Helite Airbags now as this situation is infrequent so suits this 'one time use' application.

Motocross racers on dirt, jumping over crests, inbetween trees and rocks. They wear neck braces now as frequent crashes suit this application.

Road Riding.... with street furniture, curb stones, walls, fences, traffic. There are lots of opportunities for a 'sudden stop' in the event of a high side, low side or crash. But unlike a horse (with a mind of it's own) a motorbike generally does what you tell it to, so most riders think 'it'll never happen to me, I'm better than that' .... which might be true, but you can't control everything and one day when you do need it... it won't be there :comfort

Off-Road riding, hey YOU ARE GOING TO FALL OFF guaranteed haha... Get one.
 
I bought a Point Two airbag jacket a few years back and wore it all the time.
But after a few years I realised that being trussed up like like a turkey ,especially in hot weather took away a large chunk mod enjoyment of being on two wheels.
On my Asturias trip in September on my H2 SX I simply wore a leather jacket, short gloves and waterproof jeans . So much more enjoyable .
Life’s too short for what if’s-recent events at home have focussed my mind, but perhaps a neck brace wouldn’t be a bad idea one day.......

Agreed... but I found two solutions...

1) In very hot weather I found that I could unzip my jacket completely, as the clips for my seperate Helite airbag held the jacket together underneath.... so weirdly, the airbag jacket allowed MORE airflow without compromising my armour.

2) Dump the air bag jacket completely.... switch over to the neck brace as this does not restrict airflow at all, it's less weight to carry around and I loop mine into my helmet strap so it's easy to carry around.
 
So lets talk about C)

Taking the piss.... oh yeah, I got it good for the first time people saw it. But it very quickly died down and nobody mentions it at all now (except very occasionally you bump into someone new who hasn't seen it before). Some people think you have to wear it because you've already broken your neck haha.

Anyways... Funny Story...

You know you always get one joker that you know will take the piss... usually above 55 years old :rolleyes::D

Anyways, as expected he turns up and straight over to me...."What's that around your neck"....

So I very matter of fact said "it's a toilet".... "for when we are out and about".

"How the fuck does that work then" he said.

I took it off and showed him how you extend the legs at the back, snap it shut into a 'seat' and sit on it for poop time.

The look on his face was a feckin picture and everyone was in tears laughing :D

After that, nothing more said.... :thumb2
 
Agreed... but I found two solutions...

1) In very hot weather I found that I could unzip my jacket completely, as the clips for my seperate Helite airbag held the jacket together underneath.... so weirdly, the airbag jacket allowed MORE airflow without compromising my armour.

2) Dump the air bag jacket completely.... switch over to the neck brace as this does not restrict airflow at all, it's less weight to carry around and I loop mine into my helmet strap so it's easy to carry around.

But how do you wear the brace over a big jacket when it’s designed to be fitted snug over an mx shirt ?
 
But how do you wear the brace over a big jacket when it’s designed to be fitted snug over an mx shirt ?

This is where it MAY not work for you.

One of my mates was interested in the neck brace (he's 6' 8"), so I took my spare one over one day (it's size XXL - the biggest Leatt do) and I use it over my winter jacket and blood bike hi-viz. It's then on Maximum extension to fit. So this works for me.

But, it did not work for him. Mainly because some guys have 'short necks' is the best way I can describe it. So their helmet doesn't clear the neck brace properly and restricts the movement for life savers too much. So unfortunately he had to abandon the neck brace idea, but then bought the Helite Airbag system which fitted perfectly.

I must have a longer neck because it works for me with no issues. As you can see in the picture below, I'm dressed for winter as it was really cold that day... but it all still works and plenty of clearance. This is the heaviest jacket I would ever wear during the winter.

Best ride to a bike store and try one on with your riding kit on. See how you get on with it.
 

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When you look at the gap between my helmet and the brace, I did wonder if it would actually do anything at all...

But in my experience, when you 'brace for impact' you tend to raise your shoulders automatically, making that gap considerably less :D

... and it's worked every time for my off-roading lack of talent. :augie:thumb
 
There are braces out there for big bucks and little bucks. Not a victim of or subscriber to the Veblen effect, I'd rather spend less than more. What are you other cheapskate neck-bracers using?

I use Leatt neck braces, but buy them secondhand off eBay, and just be patient for them to come along. Expect to pay around £100 to £200'ish

I paid £205 for a second hand (like new) Leatt STX Neck Brace XXL (including delivery), my Carbon Fibre GPX 6.5 was more expensive (in the pictures) at £450 (but I bought that brand new at the time, as I knew what I wanted and they were not popping up secondhand on eBay).
 


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