Atlas Crank Neck Brace - Review

Construction

Atlas' approach to neck brace design is to allow the brace's frame to flex slightly, thereby letting it conform to the rider's body and how he or she moves when on the bike. The flex is far from being an afterthought of the design, though, with Atlas saying that it has been ''designed with controlled amounts of engineered flexibility'', something that is accomplished by both the shape of the brace's frame and its split design that allows the left and right sides to move independently of each other. The rear section is tied together by a replaceable rubber tether that allows each side of the brace to flex while still offering a positive connection, and it also joins both sides together when the 'Emergency Release System' at the front is employed and the brace is opened up like a clamshell in case of an emergency.



The same approach to flexibility and comfort can be found at the front of the Crank brace, where it uses two separate padded sternum supports that feature a wishbone shape. This layout allows them to flex upon impact to have the brace absorb and dissipate the crash energy rather then just feeding it directly into the rider's body. ''This promotes further rotation of the helmet,'' they explain in the brace's technical write-up, "'helping to keep the body in motion rather than the head coming to a harsh, abrupt stop on impact.'' Both of the padded sternum supports also rotate so that they can rest on the wearer's chest evenly.

The front of the Crank is also home to Atlas' Emergency Release System, a design that allows the brace to be opened up and removed without having to shift the rider's head or neck should he be on the ground with suspected injuries. The system is simple enough: pull off the large pin that runs through the end of axle and in a slot machined into the anodized red aluminum nut, then unthread the nut off of the axle by hand. You should now be able to pull the brace apart easily.



The Crank's twin back supports are each mounted on machined aluminum blocks that pivot off the frame, and Atlas offers them in different offsets to allow the brace to be adjusted width-wise to fit thicker or thinner chests. They also say that the mounts can be reversed, making for an even larger range of adjustment should you be at either end of the scale of a particular size. The pads themselves have a much larger footprint than those used on the front of the brace, a fact that no doubt helps to spread impact load over a wider area rather than seeing it more focused, and both the mounts and the supports can be purchased separately if you need replacements for any reason.

One point that should be mentioned is that the rear mounts can be folded down flat into the center section of the brace, something that should make it much easier to travel with compared to some other options on the market. The shape of the rear mount blocks - the aluminum pieces that the supports attach to - keeps the them from rotating outward too far when the brace is put on.




Set Up

Just like with a helmet, adjusting the brace for your body is not only going to be key to having it fit comfortably, but also so that it protects you from injury as it was designed to. With the Crank brace being available in three different sizes, it's imperative that you measure your chest circumference just below your armpits to be able to pinpoint the size that is going to work best for you. Our tester ended up requiring a large sized brace, although we first tried out a medium with the larger aluminum rear mounts fitted in order to be sure. The next step was to adjust the height of the brace on our shoulders via the adjustable padding, and adding more padding will have the brace sitting higher so that it makes contact with your helmet sooner. The amount of padding that you use is going to depend on your body shape and the type of helmet that you're sporting, and lower profile helmets will likely require more padding than a moto style lid that usually features larger external dimensions.



We used the Crank brace with three different helmets - Troy Lee's D3, Specialized's Dissident, and Bell's Full 9 - and found that some adjustment was necessary to have it function properly with the latter, mainly removing the slim additional pads that we had fitted to each side when wearing the lower profile D3 and Dissident helmets. This is obviously going to come down to body shape as well, and there's a good chance that our tester has a shorter neck than many other people. It's also worth pointing out that Atlas' braces don't open up like Leatt's or Alpinestar's models, meaning that you have to slip it on from above rather than wrap it around. This isn't anything to complain about in our minds, but it does mean that you'll have to put the brace on before donning your helmet, whereas you can install the competition afterwards.



Performance

The list of what we look for in a neck brace is pretty simple: it needs to fit properly while not shifting around on our shoulders, it shouldn't restrict any natural movement that we'd make while riding, and it obviously needs to prevent injury to our neck. Most braces on the market check off all of those boxes so long as they are adjusted properly, which leaves the biggest deciding factor: comfort. Much like heads and helmets, certain neck braces will simply fit better than others for some people, and we'd recommend that potential buyers try any brace they're planning on purchasing while wearing the helmet that they will be using. Having said that, Atlas' Crank neck brace is the most comfortable of any that we've ever used, and that list includes all of the major players.

There are a few reasons for the Crank's great fit - the separate front and rear supports simply feel less intrusive than the more traditional support layout found on some other designs. No, it's not invisible by any means, but Atlas' uncoupled rear supports, as well as the hinged and flexible twin sternum supports, make for a relatively natural fit. It also had our testers noting the large contact patch that seems to offer a more positive feel on our backs compared to those that feature a single point of contact.



The amount of flex built into the Atlas' frame is surely also another factor as to why it felt so comfortable, with the Crank simply having a more natural feel to it than the competition when in the heat of battle. This flex allows the brace to stay in contact with your body more, whereas a design with a more rigid frame will tend to try and lift up off of your shoulders if one is higher than the other. Again, it isn't invisible, but it definitely offers a fit that is more in-tune with how a rider's body moves when on a downhill bike and at speed, and we never once found ourselves restricted in movement by the Crank. Given that neck braces are designed to restrict extreme and unnatural movements of the head, that last point is especially impressive - the Crank works as intended, but doesn't go overboard. Proper setup plays a big part in this, of course, but no amount of tinkering with other designs has seen them offer the same kind of performance.

Like most neck braces, the Crank is best used with the supplied strap setup that helps to hold it down onto your shoulders, with it extending down from the front of the brace, around the chest and just under the armpits, and then run through the two rear supports. This makes for a very secure layout that kept the Crank from shifting, and although we did try running the brace sans straps, we ended up preferring the more secure strap setup.



The Crank brace reviewed here is a 2013 model, and after this review was written Atlas informed us they have released an updated version for 2014 that ''decreases the weight by 20% down to 750 grams, uses an all new and simplified chest strap system, has more secure and removable X strap clips on the frame, and also features easier adjustment to the overall size of each brace by combining multiple sizes into a reversible rear mount design.'' We'll be getting our paws on the updated model soon, after which you'll be able to find out if Atlas has been able to improve on their already impressive design.


Pinkbike's take:

www.atlasbrace.com

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Reviews and Tech Reviews Helmets Atlas