SponsoredWhen neck braces first began to be a more common sight on the World Cup circuit around 2008, they were usually wrapped around the necks of riders like Sam Blenkinsop, Andrew Neethling, and Aaron Gwin. Over the years some of these riders stopped wearing them, while others, like Sam Hill, adopted their use later on. However, there are riders that have run the length of time with neck braces and continue to do so – Danny Hart is one rider that comes to mind, and he also dispels the rumors that have been flung about of racers foregoing their use because they felt the brace slowed them down. Despite riders like Danny continuing to use a brace, it would be short-sighted to say they're still as popular as they were a few years ago.
It's not just on the World Cup circuit that we're seeing a decline in their use, though, with the drop in their use being pretty evident on the local trails too. For example, at their height – let's say around 2010–2012 – probably somewhere between 30–50% of riders in the Whistler Bike Park were wearing a neck brace – they were a really common sight. Today that's definitely not the case, with neck braces in the bike park being far closer to sightings of a Tasmanian Tiger – rare.
Without a doubt, there are more than a few of you reading this that have a neck brace on a shelf somewhere in your home, collecting dust. So why are people not wearing neck braces anymore? Is it lack of proof around their success with preventing injury? Comfort? Price? Maybe you're still wearing one and want to let us know why you do? We're keen to know, so hit the link below and fill out the online survey.
Click here to fill out the Neck Brace Survey
It's just indistinguishable from the other 4000 utterly useless shite products that came out that week, that also promise to be "genuinely essential to your safety"
That's like saying "subliminal marketing has no effect on me".
Just like all US presidents, of all history, won their campaign by who spent the most on marketing. That isn't me being political, just an analogy of the power of marketing
I do have to ask though... Were you going... mach chicken? Yes, I'll see myself out.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/9555855
On more positive side most of these people are completely without or only with mild neurological deficit. We don't advise going back to riding but you know how it is. They usually ride xc or trails after the surgery. All that said I wear neck brace only to a bikepark, but I think it's worth it. Back protector - not 100% sure considering most of major spine traumas we see are usually hyperflexion/extension, but I wear a backpack with the protector anyway.
Axial load injury of the C spine - have seen only two so far, first one young supertall guy on a backseat, car literally jumped off the road and he hit the roof with his head. Went home OK. The second one jumped head first into a pool 80cm deep, was OK. BUT I am not saying that breaking your C spine isn't dangerous for f*cks sake! These dudes were super lucky! Even the surgery itself will limit or end your biking career
We feel very lucky not seeing many severe spinal cord traumas in young people during the year. Let's protect ourselves and keep our emergency shifts calm, that coffee doesn't drink itself
Yes, the neck protector can break your collar bone and it can potentially damage your brachial plexus or arm vessels, but I have never seen that.
This is a nice summary.
www.dirtrider.com/features/the-neck-brace-should-you-wear-one
This is not a big deal. There are obvious safety benefits and popular negatives about any sort of protective gear. They get popular and then not as popular because people are sheep. A lot of bikers out there do it to look cool, that's the answer to your question. Mystery solved.
Also, your second last sentance sums up 99% of decisions made in the WBP.
because they aren't covered by their parents anymore
any they don't make real people job money yet
$100, thats like 100 post-ride beers
To my mind, price is the biggest barrier. Deals may be available, but a top quality neck brace typically runs the average consumer $250-300, or more.
Yes, that's exactly how it works. Utter idiocy. I mean, nobody wearing a helmet has ever still hurt their head have they? It's about reducing the risk of injury, nobody has ever said they wipe all injury out. But you conveniently ignore that.
You also ignore the actual medical professional in the comments. You ignore the tons of research and evidence another person posted.... Because you apparently did research yourself.
So, does better equipment make us more brave and more willing to try gnarlier stuff (e.g. "I feel much more confident with one on"). Please don't think I'm knocking your comment, rather you made me contemplate myself... better gear makes me push it, and likely does most of us.
The stuff I rode in 1989 on a fully rigid Univega Alpina Pro is lame by today's standards. I ride WAY worse stuff today, and I've gotten a bit older since then.
If that's true, then if I take away your bicycle helmet you won't have any impacts while riding your bike.
I had a near miss before I bought my neck brace, $700 leatt carbon, and was luckily and to land on the back of my head and upper back, tuck and roll out of it, doc said had I landed 2 mm higher I would be in a wheelchair, hence buying a neck brace.
These racers get paid, have insurance should something happen, the average dude does not, buy one save your life, and ride on. We have jobs to do Monday morning. In retrospect they are a fraction of the cost of our bikes. These neck braces are the haans device of Motorsports - how many lives do you think they've saved.
Cheers
I had a bad crash at whistler in August 2015. I went over the bars on dirt merchant and landed head first. Knocked out cold , dislocated shoulder , dislocated hip , fractured tibb and fibb , torn calf muscle (which hurts ALOT) , concussion (I was out cold for a couple mins) and a back that looked like someone went to town with a meat tenderizer for a few mins. My neck was fine , no pain or discomfort at all. Why ? I was wearing a neck brace , that's why. They don't prevent %100 chance of ending up in a wheel chair but they sure do reduce it. I'm convinced that I'm walking today because of my neck brace. I don't even notice I'm wearing it anymore because I've been using one for so long. I swear by them. Remember , all it takes is one wrong fall and that's it. I would rather spend the $$ to reduce the chance of something bad happening.
Why are you not using it? Not using what?
Same idea goes for wearing a helmet
To the people who have stopped wearing an older style leatt, I would very highly recommend trying one of the new ones, worth it for sure
Had a nasty stack in one of the 1st gen Leatts last year which because of the design near the collarbone did nerve damage and resulted in no shoulder movement for about a month (was asked if I shouldered a tree as that's how the injury generally occurs). Since then ended up with a newer 5.5 and the design is just overall more friendly.
Hopefully will not need to know if it works or not. But since having one it just feels weird not having it there.
And those people are what is wrong with mountain biking. You are all too cool for it. It won't ever happen to you. All the evidence that is out there isn't up to your own non-professional standards. Waaaah they cost too much money, yet here you are on bikes costing £1000s.
Grow the f*ck up.
Pro riders using or not using is also flawed, like so many of today's sports it's about looks and a false sense of security!
A neck brace is designed to work with full face helmets only, Enduro is heading into if not already into trails that quite frankly leave most DH tracks behind more so at EWS level, a certain rider just retired due to the risk in his words beyond what he is prepared to take to be competitive!
Trails are way longer than DH, multiple stages, fatigue where most injuries occur are much higher level of risk!
Skill has nothing to do with it, everyone who pushes the limits will find those limits, its not a matter of if but when!
That all said I have broken my neck, I've raced DH many times since and I have crashed where he impact with a neck brace has had me feeling very secure, eg similar crashes pre broken neck without a neck brace I had mild concussion or full concussion suffered dizziness and head pain for days often, I have not had that since wearing a neck brace and I am on my 3rd gen Leatt.. alike Helmets I regularly update them!
The reduction in people wearing them imo, is more ignorance than anything else, while I don't want to see anyone injured or go through what I have and still do from a broken neck and head injury, I still suffer PTSD symptoms and everyday is a struggle, easier 8 years on, but I still suffer sleeping issues pain etc etc, but Im still riding, riding helps with all this believe it or not, if u want that and use a Full Face helmet then I struggle to have sympathy or empathy for those who do suffer an injury from not using the technology available to you.
Cost excuse is total BS yr bike probably costs 2000 times that! (usually kids say that)
The other weak argument is is data or its unproven data again it's selective ignorance, also people who maybe medical yet have no background in racing riding, opinionated and subjective, you need to cover all bases of research not just because you have some doctorate!
Data is out theyre and very much like helmet data a mine field of bad data, some practical data, if anyone is bothered to look into Leatts history read they're website you can see they are the only certified independent neck brace, that also said that can mean little as in helmet testing eg Dot vs Snell and u can pay snell for a cert not that I would when again u research what damage that test will do to your brain!
Unfortunately nothing is a silver bullet, but then why wear a helmet at all! Or any protection and yet this is the last peace of the puzzle for the extreme side where a FF is used, it is obvious to all but the stupid, it's a no brainer but take what you will again wear my shoes and tell me that, I will slap you! But I also don't preach to people to wear the, if they choose to go without thats they're risk regardless of what I think of it!
And I will struggle to have empathy or sympathy for you and other joy of a long term head injury!
People will remain ignorant good luck to you on that side of the fence!
Read the "Special thanks to" list for sources. Note they are mostly medical professionals from hospitals and research institutes. There is plenty of "science" on this topic if you choose to find and read it, including Alpinestars detailed R&D documentation describing testing of the braces with cadavers, which I found particularly informative.
doesn't do it for me.
there is no real proof they work.
best thing about neck braces?
more surface area to put your sponsors decals!!!!!
seems like it was a fad to me.
Also conspiracy-laden is today's PB banner image showing Cam McCaul with a neck brace.
fathers teach sons how to fall properly from bikes, horses,skateboards, and motorcycles.
if i had a neck brace on there is noooo way i could do a proper stuntman head tuck and roll.
my father never did give me the 'how to eat shit off a swing set lesson' though.....
If your solution is for universal upbringing to include gymnastics then great, no one needs a neck brace. For those of us who are less skilled than you and your father (like me), then having some options to bolster our confidence and/or reduce risk shouldn't be looked down on. Disagreeing with using a neck brace is one thing, but it's another to call people fatherless pansies for doing so.
I only rode dh in parks but I looked pretty hard at a neck brace. As it was, I rode with a TLD padded chest/back/shoulder protector. If I still had a dh rig I'd likely be acquiring a brace.
Someone mentioned an insurance viewpoint...and I'm onside with that. In terms of my helmet, I'll take the compromise of wearing one because I don't like the prospect of the possible consequence of not wearing it. Same view on a neck brace, at least for me.
Kind of defeats the purpose.
It's not the best looking neckbrace but it works just the same.
Some people here have jobs to keep and a family to support. What's another $250 to keep us doing what we love?
I haven't heard of a single case where someone was paralyzed because they had one on.
Collar bones are less important than your spine. If you think the brace broke your collar bone then you have an error in your logic. You exposed yourself to a situation where enough force was present to break a bone.
Remember that motorcycle rider that did a back flip and cased it and died on impact? Jeremy Lusk. All it takes is once.
If you have’t tried one, you really do forget about it after a couple laps. There are too many riders that are paralyzed from accidents gone wrong. Could they have been saved by a neck brace? We’ll never know of course but there are scores of riders that can testify to nasty crashes where they believe they’d have broken their necks otherwise.
I’ll ride a bike park without pads of any kind before I’ll ride without a neck brace. Why risk it? Broken legs and arms heal but a neck...? It’s your dice; roll ‘em if you so choose!
The way I see ite I really want to know how many spinal cord injuries or broken vertabrates are due to side to side or front to back deflection of the head. In my opinion most severe back/head injuries come from axial impact, resulting in compression fractures. And a neck brace will do absolutely nothing to prevent this. Plus I wonder in how many cases without a neck brace the head would just deflect on an angular impact to prevent injuries (without overstretching).
And I see no scenario where a brace could help with concussions or brain injury.
But of course I have to agree that there is a certain or better uncertain chance of more damage without a brace.
But to mee it looks as if the discomfort or whatever seems to outweigh the potentially small decrease in risk. I can't think of another reason why pro athletes in mtb and sx would put their carriers and lifes on the line without even having to pay for a brace.
And if John Smith from the east cost tells me how many times a brace saved his life or no brace ruined his life, I still struggle to believe him, because no one knows the alternative outcome with or without brace in that specific situation. And then were are back at the beginning looking for in depth statics and crash analysises.
But maybe I am mistaking and the risk decrease is substantial, also a possibility but atm I am not a believer, no offense to believers, though. Ride safe and all the best to all riders out there...
"Results: A total of 102 men and 5 women were identified for inclusion. The mean age at injury was 32.7 years (95% confidence interval 30.6, 35.0). Seventy-nine patients (73.8%) sustained cervical injuries, while the remainder sustained thoracic or lumbar injuries. Forty-three patients (40.2%) sustained a spinal cord injury. Of those with cord injuries, 18 (41.9%) were American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) A, 5 (11.6%) were ASIA B, 10 (23.3%) ASIA C, and 10 (23.3%) ASIA D. Sixty-seven patients (62.6%) required surgical treatment. The mean length of stay in an acute hospital bed was 16.9 days (95% confidence interval 13.1, 30.0). Thirty-three patients (30.8%) required intensive care unit attention, and 31 patients (29.0%) required inpatient rehabilitation. Of the 43 patients (40.2%) seen with spinal cord injuries, 14 (32.5%) improved by 1 ASIA category, and 1 (2.3%) improved by 2 ASIA categories. Two patients remained ventilator-dependent at discharge.
Conclusion: Spine fractures and spinal cord injuries caused by mountain biking accidents typically affect young, male, recreational riders. The medical, personal, and societal costs of these injuries are high. Injury prevention should remain a primary goal, and further research is necessary to explore the utility of educational programs, and the effect of helmets and other protective gear on spine injuries sustained while mountain biking."
What a lot of people haven't thought of in terms of braces is what I call "jumping on the bandwagon". For example when dropper posts first came out every bike component manufacturer worth their salt made their own. This never happened with neck braces... Why is that? I have been told from a very good source that a major company who makes protective gear did their own research into neck braces and found that could cause more severe injury than they could prevent so they didn't want to put their name to their own product if that was the case. This lack of other manufacturers making them has always worried me.
NO ONE wants to be Danny Hart (EVAR)
It really is that simple.
DH is a #FashionSport where "looking" cool/fast/stylish are the number 1 priorities for the average amateur participant. Danny is the fastest most stylish rider on the WC circuit but there's absolutely nothing cool about the guy.
Sorry Danny.
I started with DH only and I was wearing neck brace almost every time, one day I had a really bad crashed broke my helmet had small concision... I was wearing my neck brace I'm not sure what would've happened if I wasn't!
But now I'm doing more like aggressive all mtb or Enduro, recently got me one those switchable helmet could make half shelf or full face for more protection, yestarday we did 22miles how the heck I'm gonna carrie a neck brace? By the other hand, it's scary to read all of this, knowing that sometimes I'm going as fast as I was on DH bike only difference before we were shuttling now we climbed to top! I guess at some point I will have to start wearing it again! God help us all!!
And also I want to say thanks to PB for bring this up!
Also how do parks in the US and Canada manage it where injuries are so litigious, are waivers that watertight that insurance companies don't make them enforce neck brace rules? In NZ we have a government body that insures all of us for no fault accidental injuries so it's not so much of a concern. We get full costs and 80% of wages after 2 weeks off work!
Those reasons kind of suggest to me that the science behind the merits isn't yet proven to a good level. Kind of like MIPS, still a good idea but I'm not throwing out my non-MIPS season old helmet for a new one....
Had a few "over the bars" crashes and a big overshoot in 2016, landed on my head, smashing my D3, and i've broken 4 fingers and my right wrist in 2 places and some ligaments.Soon i will go to surgery.Even though my wrist was in the wrong position, the doctors first got me a CT scan on my neck due to the looks of my helmet and my neck was perfect.The doctors told me that if i didn't had the brace...oh God...So yes, i will continue to use the neck brace for ever. Thnx, Leatt!
would i wear one? yes definatly.
only thing stopping me from buying one is the price. I dont understand why safety stuff has to cost so much for a molded bit of plastic and foam. last time i was looking they were 150-200 upwards.
and before people bitch cant put a price on safety, well you can and they have.
spent my money on a carbon troy lee.
1. Park parks should offer walking times (e.g. 1 hour before opening). Walking a trail before riding it is invaluable in determining line choice, evaluating obstacles and determining correct speeds for jumps etc.
2. Offer pace riders. I would see this working similar to mountain hosts for snow sports where ‘local experts’ would take new riders to the park under their wing and show them line choice and set a speed and approach for jumps.
3. Be ballsey enough to call out riders not up to the trail. Generally riders like this stand out like dogs balls – so when you see a rider like this a simple ‘hey you know there are some serious gap jumps in this trail eh!’ might help. You might get a ‘f*k off old man’ reply – but then they may also think twice when hitting something beyond them.
4. Don’t overlook physical conditioning. Being strong and fit does help prevent injuries – but for many riders all they do is ride. Just like the WC riders weekend warrior riders should be hitting the weights as well.
I think, for enduro, most of us should really be wearing full faces. So that's the better question IMO.
I think this question is better suited to moto riders where 100% of the time you're wearing a full face. And yes, there are umpteen amounts of threads and disputes in the moto world as to whether or not they actually help or cause more damage in some particular crashes. Of course, it's nearly impossible to figure out because those who get hurt badly wearing them say, "I wonder what would have happened with out it, maybe this or that." And those who get hurt badly with out it ask what would have happend if I was wearing one. The answer to this question will never be figured out because every crash and impact is entirely different, and not to mention no human body is created the same. Every crash and body is unique to it's own.
Just my .02
And P.S. ------> Who Sponsored this feature?????????
From memory I paid over $800 AUS when Leatt was first released, which is insane but in hindsight thats a cheap price to be walking!
If I'm shuttling/racing (which is rare cos I can't afford it!) I always wear an upper body jacket - the shoulder and elbow pads have saved both me and a mate on several occasions. Can't justify the cost of a neck brace - before you say about the cost of bikes etc, I haven't bought a new bike since 1999 - always 2nd-hand... Maybe if they were like £50 more people would try them.
When I stopped rolling around and skidding, I popped right up and just stared around wondering what the hell happened to me. I looked up to see half the parking lot coming my way on various bikes and 4 wheelers, including the track owner......several of them had already called Life Flight, certain I was toast. I still can't believe the whole thing when I think about it, but in the end I walked away with a mangled bike, some very sore knees and hands, but nothing else. I thank God I had that Leatt on because I feel certain I'd be dead or paralyzed otherwise. From that day forward, I always wear my Leatt in both MX and when riding MTB with my full-face.
Oh, and the reason for the wreck was my damn master-clip on my chain came off and the chain came off up the face
When your doctor tears up over how close you were to being disabled the gravity of the matter hits hard. Trust me and my doctors when I say a neck brace saved ME.
I encourage everyone to form their own opinion but please do so with education and caution rather than a narrow minded, know it all attitude. I'd hate to have wound up in a chair due to arrogance and a she'll be right attitude.
This is called confirmation bias.
As for the feeling uncomfortable I felt the same the first couple runs but adjusted to it, after I talked with my sports physio (I got lucky and deal with one that was a cyclist) and gave me insight that I was originally over extending my neck in turns and by slightly changing body position I could achieve the same effect and sight line without cranking my neck.
since then i had some more times where i was thanks good for my neckbrace.
Here's my two cents though. The reason I don't wear one is that when I asked some riders who were sponsored by Alpinestars a few years ago about their factory tour, they told me the most interesting this was concerning how to wear their neck braces. They were told that the neck braces were designed to function with no more than 10mm of clearance between the helmet and the brace on the sides. That small amount of clearance limits how much the spine can be compressed, because then the helmet will in essence bottom out before severe damage happens. I don't doubt that.
However, I can't ride right given that 10mm or less of clearance between the helmet and brace. It seems like that fits for moto a lot better with an upright riding position, but less for DH. So, I'd ask those manufacturers, what is the clearance, or lack thereof that is required to make the braces work best? At some point, the brace can act as a lever, at other points, it can be beneficial.
I've broken my back years ago, I've endured rehab, and I've had great success riding and hardship. I think I'm a pretty careful rider now, but I still love pushing myself. I think we all have that paradox to some degree. I'd love better protection, but I'd also like more information out there on how to use that protection in a setup sense. Until then, I'll wait, as I feel like going to the gym and having the best flexibility I can have is the best protection I've got going for me.
I use a leatt with full face and it has saved me at least once.
Also use a Poc Mips open face which has also saved me with its ability to limit rotation on my melon. Unfortunately you need to stack them to see them in action.
I work in construction where my workers argue the toss on whether the need to wear a hard hat. Which will save there life if things go sideways.
My wife works on rehabbing people with serious head and spinal injuries and I hear how poor their lives become post injury. Truly sad stuff for person and family.
I will say this.
"There is no point in protecting a head or body that is not smart enough to wear what is available"
It is a bit like natural selection....
I use a leatt with full face and it has saved me at least once.
Also use a Poc Mips open face which has also saved me with its ability to limit rotation on my melon. Unfortunately you need to stack them to see them in action.
I work in construction where my workers argue the toss on whether the need to wear a hard hat. Which will save there life if things go sideways.
My wife works on rehabbing people with serious head and spinal injuries and I hear how poor their lives become post injury. Truly sad stuff for person and family.
I will say this.
"There is no point in protecting a head or body that is not smart enough to wear what is available"
It is a bit like natural selection....
There's something really liberating about being out on trails with relatively minimal stuff. But I struggle to balance that against by need to be reasonably protected and equipped for contingencies.
What is the line where we should up our protection? How many SCIs occur on trails where literally no one where a neck brace and almost no one wears a full face. The SCIs around here I have heard of have all been on trails where people typically don't wear braces.
The other issue is that brain injuries have increased with increased adoption of helmets in snow sports. This is apparently because, while they limit death, they don't prevent concussions very well and people ride harder because the think they are protected. So injury is behaviorally driven
Any way, I'm for protection. I wear more than most people I see. But so with the moralizing
I experienced a huge crash back in 2010, in Chamonix... Still don't know what exactly happened, but all of a sudden I was doing 2 flips and a good scorpion 30 feet down the mountainside next to the trail..... If I had not worn the brace I'm pretty sure it had been wheelchair life from then on....
I do have a question for all the people that claim one saved their lives. How do you know?
I do not follow motocross but I was told the only guys using them are guys getting paid to use them. I have also heard it is the only piece of protective gear that will cause an injury (broke clavicle). I also heard a wild story of a woman rider that crashed with one and the handle bar made way up between the brace and her neck/head and nearly choked her to death. Still, I will probably get another.
5. Why are you not using it? A: ???
Answer 5 is kinda strange if you dont own any but have too answer it...
www.cyclenews.com/2018/12/article/neck-brace-effectiveness
Now, do neck brakes prevent such hyper-events, I believe they do, but they're just redirecting the force into the thorasic spine. And do those hyper-events translate into cervical spine injuries? That I'm curious to know...
www.pinkbike.com/news/jay-balabas-the-injury-that-inspired-the-transcr.html
(Chin bar leverages neck into hyperflexion for mechanism of injury after otb crash)
As @mdhorner correctly addressed, 'pure' axial loading to the spine is rare and a neck brace will not prevent injury in these events. (For those who don't know, axial loading is a compression force along the axis or 'length' of the spine). I'm also not sure a hyperextension event on its own is significant enough to cause cervical spine injury and also why I think there's some uncertainty to the efficacy to neck braces. The real world though doesn't care about isolated 'clinical' motion events. I heard of a situation years ago where a swimmer in a pool was surfacing as he reached the end wall. He misjudged his distance slightly and with his neck in a hyperextension position (aka looking up) his chin brushed/bumped the wall of the pool. That compressoin force in combination with the hyperextension position of the cervical spine was significant enough to cause trauma resulting in paralysis.
No f*ck you.