Posts
331
Joined
4/11/2010
Location
Moscow, ID
US
Fantasy
2792nd
Edited Date/Time
12/27/2020 8:11pm
It seems like since I started riding DH I have always been trying new combos/different types of body armor to wear when I ride. I have quite a collection of body armor now but I STILL don't know what is right for me. I know that there is no way to protect EVERYTHING while riding and it is really important to me that I am able to move somewhat freely when I ride. I see that pros usually don't wear much in the way of armor, so is there anyone that can help me decide what needs to be covered and what I could skip?
Armor is a personal preference thing for most. I rock a 661 Core Suit which allows me to move freely but still have some protection. It covers my kidneys, my chest, and spine pretty well. My elbows occasionally get scratched up but for the most part I feel protected enough.
On the other end, since we're all fashion victims, everyone is jumping on the most unproven safety product of all, the neck braces.
The French Motoccycling Federation just released the results of a 2 years investigation/survey they had on the use of neck braces in MX/off-road. The survey used various independent labs, involved various doctors, used all different methods of testing, from computerized to mechanical to cadavers, etc and the results was pretty interesting. I'm sure not so many want to translate this here in the US, this is too big of a business now that most companies are getting one in their catalogs.
Safety is a funny thing in our sport.
The FFM (French Moto Federation) handed over the investigation to independent biometric labs. It last 1 year and a half, used soft protection (the old doughnuts), semi-rigid/soft (like the EVS) and hard shells like the Leatt.
Results shows that of the 3 type the only 1 that has some kind of positive effect, in some very rare cases, is the hard shell (Leatt, Astars, Ortema, etc). It shows that the positive effect is so small that the FFM has decided not to impose it in racing (after such investigations/survey they imposed helmets, boots, back-protection).
The survey showed that in cases where it was possible that the neck-brace deflected impact from C1-C2 to C3-C4. It showed too that the risk of injury to C3-C4 is still very important even with a rigid neck-brace (Leatt).
Their conclusion is that it is not the miracle product it was fashioned in 2007, that it could in a very small percentage of potential injury help in a very limited way but not to justify the investment for riders. They say important improvement are still needed, and that the perfect product will be a combo of helmet/neck-brace/body-armor.
The most important neck injury comes from compression, rather than hyperflexion, and none of the existing product remedy to that. It showed A-stars is still working on theirs, going more in that direction. Showing other serious investigation like this one are on the way in more European countries and that most come to the same conclusions.
I would be surprised any American magazine would ever investigate that way and publish that kind of results, advertising dollar is too strong here where publication sales pay less than ad sales.
What do I think? I'm in between, I'm old and heavy and I know I can get hurt easily (because I crash easily), I want to wear something for my neck but I am worried for my back. Right now, I'd be keen on something like the Ortema. Even if now Leatt and A-Stars says that the back piece is supposed to break under a certain load.
at the beggining i got a 661 pressure suit (Spine, chest, shoulder and arm protection).
I went riding with it a cuple of times in a local bike park. and i tended to crash alot.
then i decided to take it off for one run and immediatly felt alot better and stopped crashing. most people call me stupid for not wearing it, but the truth is i feel so much better without it and ride better. i dont know if its because i can move more, because of the weight and the pressure of the suit or if its just mentaly that i ride better without it (more concentrated and aware of not crashing). i am planning to buy a leatt brace this spring because i feel its sumthing important for me to have. appart from that i wear a full face helmet, gloves, knee pads and high shoes (protect the ankle).
i think in the future i will ride with neckbrace and maybe ill try a back guard.
does anyone else feel they can ride alot better without body armor?
I had a 661 Vapor short sleeve before this and thought the shoulder and chest armor were way too bulky.
I can vouch for that little carbon bit on the Leatts breaking under a certain load as I did mine in a couple months ago. It's hard to say what would have happened during the crash had I not had my Leatt on...but I'm not really looking to find out.
I'm not looking to sway anyone's opinions for or against, but even if the benefit of wearing one is pretty minimal on only in certain situations, I'd much rather have that benefit than not. Especially for a piece of equipment that, if fitted correctly, virtually disappears while riding as compared to some other protection equipment.
I just figure if he sees daddy wearing one, he will adopt it at an early age with no problems. I started MX at the ripe old age of 4 and have landed on my head in every concievable way possible with no damage to my neck or spine and never felt the need for one until Feb. 9 2011.
Of all the Dainese jackets whether its the street or MTB stuff I like this the best due to the fact that when I started racing downhill I always used my moto chest/back roost protection which thats all it does protects you from roost ( I've cracked everyone I used.) and lets face it the Dianese stuff is "MADE FOR IMPACT" .
The back is rated at lev #1 and the chest is rated at lev # 2
This also has jointed shoulder arm protection and if you notice the shoulder it wraps around the shoulder to give you some shoulder blade protection. Their is also a lateral rib protection plates.
The back protection has Dainese patented wave polypropylene plates with aluminium honeycomb core frame for impact. The chest is made of the material, but has thermoformed polyethylene foam.
Now I have not had the chance to try this out and it is built better then my Commando with extra features.
All other protection is Dainese 3x elbow and knee, MTB Impact shorts, Atrax and Techno Air4 gloves, and for the head AGV MTX (dot) / AX-8 helmets .
And for some of you that asked about the neck braces I tested the Leatt and it fit my Commando no problem.
Well for me hands down DAINESE is the best fit, function, and best made.
The MTB is less (much less) a worry for me, so I go without armor. The one time I had a significant injury on the bicycle, any armor would not have helped. (I endoed down a drop and landed on my shoulder, breaking the collarbone. There's not much you can do from that angle.)
I bought it after boiling in the lift line a couple times over the summer while wearing my 661 pressure suit that was 10 years old. The fox suit is a major upgrade, much cooler and it fits better too.
For knees I wear Dakine pads, helmets TLD D4 composite and a Bell Super Air on the trail bike.
Lots of good stuff these days, much progress from the old Roach hard-shells and Dianese pressure suits! D30 material seems like it could hardly help, but in crashes I've been amazed at how well it works! It's better than hard-shell pads!
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