Is a neck Brace a must have thing for DH riding?

PB Forum :: Downhill
Is a neck Brace a must have thing for DH riding?
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flag BadgerPineMax
Posted: Apr 17, 2012 at 13:16 Quote
I know they are great for safety, but do they really make that much of a difference when you fall off. I mean Is a neck brace a must have thing whilst Downhill riding?
flag vi5a
Posted: Apr 17, 2012 at 15:29 Quote
BadgerPineMax wrote:
I know they are great for safety, but do they really make that much of a difference when you fall off. I mean Is a neck brace a must have thing whilst Downhill riding?
Ask yourself that same question when you're in a wheelchair... for life!
flag loveforvdubs
Posted: Apr 17, 2012 at 17:08 Quote
vi5a wrote:
BadgerPineMax wrote:
I know they are great for safety, but do they really make that much of a difference when you fall off. I mean Is a neck brace a must have thing whilst Downhill riding?
Ask yourself that same question when you're in a wheelchair... for life!

This!
flag cale
Posted: Apr 17, 2012 at 21:45 Quote
Next to a helmet it's probably the only real piece of gear that will save you from major trauma. Every other piece of gear prevents you from getting hurt but does very little for preventing serious injury. Even full suits with spine coverage will not save your back in a crash, they save you from minor injury. A neck brace WILL protect your neck.
flag MrMania
Posted: Apr 17, 2012 at 21:50 Quote
Yes and no. I've been riding DH for a while and up until last year neck braces weren't an mainstream option. It wasn't until recently that they got indorsed and placed on pro riders shoulders. Even now it's still too expensive for me to buy. If you can afford it then that's great.

In any gravity sport your taking risks and you have to choose to wear the gear that will offset that risk but also what your comfortable with. I'm not discrediting the effectiveness of a neck brace but if you don't have one/can't afford one that's no reason not to go riding.

*The best article I've read on the subject, by far (Part 2 of 2).

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/industry-news/2009/11/04/neck-protection-let-s-talk-about-it-2/full
flag DragontalesDH
Posted: Apr 17, 2012 at 22:16 Quote
I can confidently say that after this weekends race I would not be here telling you to wear a neck brace if I hadn't been wearing my leatt. I refuse to ride DH without it. I went OTB hard down a steep rock garden and fractured my femur among other injuries. I first landed on my head but I could feel the leatt do its job and when I finally came to rest my neck was uninjured. You can make your own choice but I will never ride dh withut one.
flag BadgerPineMax
Posted: Apr 18, 2012 at 13:26 Quote
Thanks for the replies guys, truly a lot of help. Apart from 'vi5a', that was not the sort of reply I was asking for.
Anyway, I only asked this because when im riding trails I will only see one or two people out of 20 wearing neck braces, and I don't know if they're being complete idiots or they have some common sense when it comes to spending money.
flag vi5a
Posted: Apr 18, 2012 at 15:27 Quote
To my defense, I answer the way I did because I didn't want to write an essay on such a debated subject. But if you must know my opinions, here it goes...

Is a neck brace necessary for downhill mountain biking? The answer is 'no'. Is body armor necessary for downhill mountain biking? The answer to that is also 'no'. Is a helmet necessary for downhill mountain biking? Believe it or not but the answer to that is also 'no'. The bare minimum necessary for downhill mountain biking is a bike.

Would I ever downhill without a helmet? Never! A neck brace, like the helmet, is absolutely necessary for me. I crash a lot so the chances of me sustaining a neck injury is greater. If you're the type of rider that never crashes, then a neck brace wouldn't be worth wearing. Why bother even wearing a helmet if you never crash? The fact is, everyone crashes. With every crash, the chance (however small) is there for a neck injury. I just make those chances even smaller by wearing a neck brace.

Yes, neck braces can cost quite a bit of money but so can helmets. You're not going to buy the most expensive helmet on the market so why would you for a neck brace. There are options if you want neck protection without spending a fortune. Leatt braces may be the cream of the crop, but other companies such as EVS and Alpine Star have neck protection as well.

In conclusion, the option to have neck protection (or any type of protection) lay solely on the individual rider. Do I recommend neck braces? Absolutely! If you can afford a DH bike, you can definitely afford a neck brace.
flag cale
Posted: Apr 18, 2012 at 18:37 Quote
Westhewizard wrote:
To vi5a. Your opinion is for young and stupid people or old and stupid people like you
rself. Sorry to quote you.

Quite the immature response, I'd say his last line sums it up perfectly. If you can afford the bike, you can afford the gear...the same is true for any discipline with two wheels.
flag Westhewizard
Posted: Apr 18, 2012 at 18:58 Quote
cale wrote:
Westhewizard wrote:
To vi5a. Your opinion is for young and stupid people or old and stupid people like you
rself. Sorry to quote you.

Quite the immature response, I'd say his last line sums it up perfectly. If you can afford the bike, you can afford the gear...the same is true for any discipline with two wheels.


Thanks for the response cale. You are right that was a immature response. I hope vi5a also realize how immature it is because it is a quote he made directed toward me but alot worse.

Sorry for hijacking this post. I hope everyone got the answer they were looking for. Vi5a is a LBS hater. And I am still waiting for a response to my pm.
flag Scythe888
Posted: Apr 18, 2012 at 20:11 Quote
Yes and no. I'm sure it works in some cases, as stated above. Also there is some cases you will screwed up even more with it on. It has to do with where the force of the crash is directed at, in the middle of the back. Im sure different braces does a better job to spread the force out, but still. This is also one of the reason Aaron gwin stopped wearing his. He mentioned it in a interveiw a while back. For the OP, ridemonkey.com or mtbr.com is also a better place to be asking this type of question. Also there is a couple of threads on this topic.
Helmets is tried and true. You can't compare helmets with neck braces. About 99.9% of people believe helmets work, but there's always that .1%. There is a lot more people that don't think neck braces really work.
flag DragontalesDH
Posted: Apr 18, 2012 at 22:06 Quote
Scythe888 wrote:
Yes and no. I'm sure it works in some cases, as stated above. Also there is some cases you will screwed up even more with it on. It has to do with where the force of the crash is directed at, in the middle of the back. Im sure different braces does a better job to spread the force out, but still. This is also one of the reason Aaron gwin stopped wearing his. He mentioned it in a interveiw a while back. For the OP, ridemonkey.com or mtbr.com is also a better place to be asking this type of question. Also there is a couple of threads on this topic.
Helmets is tried and true. You can't compare helmets with neck braces. About 99.9% of people believe helmets work, but there's always that .1%. There is a lot more people that don't think neck braces really work.


im gonna go out on a limb and say that 1% have never wrecked while wearing one. i know my brace has saved me from serious neck injury several times. and to the OP. it is personal choice but like you just said. 99.9% of people would say its better to have one than not to. i cant speak for other companies because i have not read on them or worn their product but my Leatt spreads out forces around the upper body very well. you really have no chance of the brace making your injury worse unless you susatain a fatal sized impact in which case you would have been dead anyways. the ONLY downside to wearing them is having to pay for it.
flag vi5a
Posted: Apr 19, 2012 at 0:39 Quote
Westhewizard wrote:
cale wrote:
Westhewizard wrote:
To vi5a. Your opinion is for young and stupid people or old and stupid people like you
rself. Sorry to quote you.

Quite the immature response, I'd say his last line sums it up perfectly. If you can afford the bike, you can afford the gear...the same is true for any discipline with two wheels.


Thanks for the response cale. You are right that was a immature response. I hope vi5a also realize how immature it is because it is a quote he made directed toward me but alot worse.

Sorry for hijacking this post. I hope everyone got the answer they were looking for. Vi5a is a LBS hater. And I am still waiting for a response to my pm.

1.) This is a thread about neck braces. Not about local bike shops.

2.) I don't hate local bike shops. Just don't much like the one in the city I live in.

3.) For a LBS to track me down on PinkBike because of the bad review I left them on Google is quite immature. I will not delete it! It is my right to voice any opinion I have towards a bike shop. That's how I felt. And I'm not the only one that has felt that way walking into your shop.

4.) I ask that you not continue to track me down just so I can delete that review. If you continue to do so, it could be considered harassment. And for a LBS to harass a customer, is very unprofessional.
flag dnlparr
Posted: Apr 19, 2012 at 0:49 Quote
hey, i never thought i would bother to buy a neck brace because ive got other things to spend money one. reading this has scaird me a bit and ill defonitly try and get hold of one soon. thanks heaps guys!! tup
flag chriss78
Posted: Apr 19, 2012 at 5:42 Quote
dnlparr wrote:
hey, i never thought i would bother to buy a neck brace because ive got other things to spend money one. reading this has scaird me a bit and ill defonitly try and get hold of one soon. thanks heaps guys!! tup


I'm sort of with you on this. I'm out with a dislocated collarbone, 4 fractured ribs & whiplash. Although I wouldn't say I'm 'scared' just trying harder, going faster & bigger so crashing harder.......

One quick question regarding the Gwinn/ racers point of view. Obviously money is not an issue for them so who doesn't wear one & why?

Cheers.
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