Photos: Ewald Sadie's Review of 2012 by esphotography

43 Comments

Score Time

+ 13

bennett-newkirk (Dec 30, 2012 at 7:21)

look at his front tire in this picture: James Kennedy - Urban Assault 2012 - Cape Town
mother of god :o

skierdud89 (Dec 30, 2012 at 11:01)

I love those photos that are taken at that perfectly crazy moment that you don't even realize it is happening while you ride. Like bottom out pics and G-outs!

tdryan242 (Dec 30, 2012 at 11:55)

www.pinkbike.com/photo/9045917 my buddy managed to capture one of those moment of impact photos. after a hand rail hop and 6 feet to flat. 45 psi in the tires too

mfbeast12 (Dec 30, 2012 at 17:56) (Below Threshold) show comment

his tire is actually in a rut in the concrete, look at it again. that's what i thought the first time too

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rideRB (Dec 30, 2012 at 4:50)

It's only me, who found interesting that everybody with fullface helmet has also neck brace? BTW very nice shots!

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Protour (Dec 30, 2012 at 8:42) (Below Threshold) show comment

Temporary fad, in 10 years they'll be gone. There is no documented evidence they've ever prevented a serious neck injury, just cause broken collar bones right?

Nice photos, but the freeriders are close in most of them, would be nice to see more landscape photos and some scenery instead of just sponsor logos and toilet seats around necks.

freddeinallah (Dec 30, 2012 at 9:08)

the broken collar bones are caused by a not fitting neck brace. If you have a neck brace which fits, you won't have any broken collar bones caused by the neck lace. a lot of riders are just buying the cheapest one and dont really care about a correct fit

freelifenride (Dec 30, 2012 at 9:10)

all leatt too??

Mathhhh (Dec 30, 2012 at 9:45)

They buy the cheapest one because that thing is ridiculously expensive! They but a price on sefety but not everybody can afford a plastic thing at 400$..

snoopy24777 (Dec 30, 2012 at 10:30)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ5NvChWbpo i cant believe people still dont believe in neck braces

larryssman7 (Dec 30, 2012 at 11:47)

wait someone explain the collarbone thing???!! I recently broke my collarbone, and felt lucky that it wasnt my neck, so i decided to go buy a neck brace. now youre saying they can cause collarbone breaks?

WolfRidge08 (Dec 30, 2012 at 11:48)

Protour, you do talk shit

airmiller44 (Dec 30, 2012 at 11:56)

dont listen to protour hes a troll and talks shit on every post

tdryan242 (Dec 30, 2012 at 11:59)

i do think its a bit silly when people where a full face, goggles and a brace, but then wheres a cut off with no elbow/ arm protection.

jasdh (Dec 30, 2012 at 12:09)

it saved my brother

snoopy24777 (Dec 30, 2012 at 13:23)

tdryan how can you think thats silly? a broken elbow wont kill you. a broken neck, cracked skull or a stick through your eye however, can.

finnrambo (Dec 30, 2012 at 13:24)

neck braces are kind of strange to dial in fit with IMO, have a leatt dbx comp 3 and still can't get it so it's unrestrictive when your head is tilted back

airmiller44 (Dec 30, 2012 at 13:32)

did anyone watch rampage here ? half of them didnt have elbow guards.... it just depends on the soil etc. alot of it wont cut you or they just want their elbows to move freely. i for one wear them but if they ride better without and obviously dont mind getting elbows cut up a little for the sacrifice then....

tdryan242 (Dec 30, 2012 at 15:24)

think about all your wrecks this season. and out of those wrecks how many did you even hit your head? i only had my helmet save me once this season (thats why i wear it) but my elbow pad has saved me from reopening old scars countless times. i really dont see how any rider that pushes their ability on a regular basis (aka crashes on regular basis) can ride with out elbow pads or knee pads and expect to stay on their bike all season with out having to take time off to heal.

dusse123 Plus (Dec 30, 2012 at 15:56)

I used to feel that elbow guards were too restrictive and I didnt feel comfortable going DHing with them on because of this so I can understand why people dont wear them but in June I got myself a pair of g form elbow guards and they are just so comfortable that I dont mind wearing them, I have gone on for 2-3 hours after riding forgetting I had them on.

elmo20 (Dec 30, 2012 at 18:11)

"a broken elbow wont kill you" - Maybe not but it could stop you riding again. I had massive pains in my arm after I broke mine, it passed with time but now I never ride DH without them. And maybe the neck brace thing is to do with the South African company/South African rider sponsorship?

Protour (Dec 30, 2012 at 19:54)

After reviewing some more evidence I see the neck braces can save you from the severe neck injury, but besides breaking the collarbone(which comparatively isn't important), the neck braces can cause back injuries, but the risk is lower than the neck injury. I guess they are a good thing for most riders, if fitted properly.

larryssman7 (Dec 30, 2012 at 20:57)

Protour please explain how the heck they break collarbones?

airmiller44 (Dec 30, 2012 at 21:20)

If you don't use the straps and it moves you could. But still breaking a collarbone isn't comparable to death or driving a wheelchair through blowing in a straw for rest of life.

Leesethebeast (Dec 30, 2012 at 21:59)

The back strut of the neck brace is designed to snap before it takes enough force to injure your back. (Protour) Also if it fits properly you should probably notice a slight restriction when tilting your head all the way back (at least that's my experience). That's really the only con. And I'm pretty sure neck braces prevent collarbone injury, not cause it. That's part of their purpose. I think if you know how to handle crashing you shouldn't need elbow pads. I rarely scrape my arms.

snoopy24777 (Dec 30, 2012 at 22:32)

larrysman protour is just a trolling b*tch ignore him he does this every week

dusse123 Plus (Dec 31, 2012 at 3:15)

@Lessethebeast: I agree with everything you said apart from the elbow guard bit, can you really guarantee that you wont crash on your elbows? Its obviously your choice and I'm not trying to convert you or anything, I'm just saying why I wear them; The more protection I wear the more I can ride!

seventotheone (Jan 1, 2013 at 1:14)

They all have neck braces on because they either got them for free or got a deal. Who knows what these "neck braces" do since years later there is still no third party testing, scientific evidence to what they actually do or established safety standard like a helmet has ie SNELL or DOT. Its all conjecture and marketing hype preying on peoples fears.
Do some research as to why Chad Reed stopped wearing one. Give you a head start: it has something to do with autopsy results.

Snozz (Jan 1, 2013 at 14:04)

" I think if you know how to handle crashing you shouldn't need elbow pads." I often lose skin on the elbows. If there is a good technique Im missing something. Maybe this would be a good article to cover?

dusse123 Plus (Jan 1, 2013 at 14:10)

Sure there are some situations where you can control the way you crash to minimize injury but can you honestly say that you can control the way you crash every time? The more protection you wear chances are that you will spend more time riding.

cikudh (Jan 2, 2013 at 22:18)

i can say, neck brace saved me more than 5 times ... thanks to the innovation

dusse123 Plus (Jan 3, 2013 at 3:47)

Yeah, the first time I ever wore a neckbrace was this season and on my first time wearing it I got catapulted into the ground so hard that I was winded for almost a minute and got a bloody huge dent in my shoulder through my body armour, this was in August and I'm still feeling it in my shoulder (just to give you an idea of the impact) and I landed head first into the ground, all the marshal were properly worried about my neck. I am so friggin glad I was wearing a neck brace.

snoopy24777 (Jan 4, 2013 at 11:05)

i cant say a neck brace has ever saved my life, but a neck brace has deffinetly saved me from serious neck injuries, i was once jumping onto an air bag and i chickened out of doing a back flip and i over compinsated forward and i landed on my head. i was wearing my EVS and the next day i couldnt move my head because my neck hurt so bad. who knows what could have happened if i wasnt wearing it, probably not a broken neck. but it deffinetly saved me a trip or two from the hospital

seventotheone (Jan 7, 2013 at 21:57)

Is anyone that is saying a neck brace saved them Doctors?

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seventotheone (Dec 26, 2012 at 21:36)

Clean work! Hopkins photo is rad

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liamoc (Dec 30, 2012 at 3:07)

awesome shots

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jasdh (Dec 30, 2012 at 12:10)

anyone else think that the photo 4th from bottom was sam hill back in like 2010 shah

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KarateMonkey-hb (Dec 30, 2012 at 8:14)

Rad Shots mate! You had a good year! Can't wait to see what next year has in store for you! Smile

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redguy13 (Dec 30, 2012 at 5:50)

Great use of wide lens and flash! And camera handling also! Smile

There is lot to learn from this photographer...

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NAPALMJEFF (Dec 30, 2012 at 4:48)

DAM I WISH SOMEONE WOULD TAKE JUST ONE ALL I ASK IS JUST ONE PHOTO OF ME IN FULL FLOW ?

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finnrambo (Dec 30, 2012 at 13:24)

like how he put his pics in an article, I hate video slideshows

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danyul (Dec 30, 2012 at 10:52)

Great work Ewald!! Photos look amazing

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whalesandowls (Dec 30, 2012 at 3:56)

My name is Sadi too! Big Grin

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