Gear Shot - Leatt DBX Pro Carbon Brace

I am also someone who has walked away from an L4 fracture accident that was 100% the other person's 'fault'; I still believe that I could have prevented it.

I'm not saying you don't have a point - but you have also proven mine. Thinking you can beat the odds on your bike and never crash is like thinking you can beat the stock market - hubris that will make you pay one day. And the fact that you could have prevented the crash you mention didn't help you much did it?

Your advice is sound. We should use your heads and ride within our limits but there are things that happen while you are riding that no amount of care and skill will prevent. Which is why you don't need to be as reckless and wonton (and seemingly unbreakable) as Robbie Bourdon to wear protective gear.

Do you wear a helmet?

I always wear a helmet because as ReductiMat so eloquently put it: "shit happens". Helmets have a long and empirically supported record of reducing injury. I don't think Leatt has demonstrated that their product actually reduces the risk or severity of neck injury. They've not published data supporting their claims; their testing has been in-house.

They are preying on peoples fear of serious injury to create a niche in the market for themselves.

edit: If you do a quick google scholar search you'll see how much effort Leatt has put into patents to protect their idea and a lack of peer review despite 10 years of development.

So if I understand correctly, you are only interested in safety products that have a long and empirically supported, peer-reviewed record that are ideally patent-free? Anything contrariwise implies snakeoil and should be avoided?

I need more than a fear of breaking my neck to be separated from ~$700.

The Leatt brace has zero empirical support of efficacy while holding ~40 patents. It isn't that difficult to publish in peer review journals, provided you have sound evidence. Given that Leatt hasn't published sets off alarm bells that he has no data supporting his claim that the brace actually works. The number of patents they have shows how motivated they are to protect their intellectual property because they recognize how profitable this could be.

It probably won't hurt you to wear a neck brace, but it probably won't help you either.

I need more than a fear of breaking my neck to be separated from ~$700.

Since fear is hard to measure, would you be willing to buy and wear a neck brace if it were $20?

haha, good point. I'd try one, but it's likely that it would end up in the closet with my chest protector after a few rides. Riding in armor is like sex with a condom on; sure it's a good idea, but I'd rather accept a little bit of risk and use judgment w.r.t. what I hit. It just feels better to ride sans protection.

this is yet more empirical evidence that mountain bikers are breathtakingly stupid

this is yet more empirical evidence that mountain bikers are breathtakingly stupid

anecdotal actually.

anecdotal actually.

no because your posts are in it

I need more than a fear of breaking my neck to be separated from ~$700.

The Leatt brace has zero empirical support of efficacy while holding ~40 patents. It isn't that difficult to publish in peer review journals, provided you have sound evidence. Given that Leatt hasn't published sets off alarm bells that he has no data supporting his claim that the brace actually works. The number of patents they have shows how motivated they are to protect their intellectual property because they recognize how profitable this could be.

It probably won't hurt you to wear a neck brace, but it probably won't help you either.

…..just as an aside (and since WayneP always cries Moto, let me rally behind AutoRacing)…the makers of the HANS device are also very protective of their patents and have been the same way through their history….and it took a while for them to publish there findings as well.

I've been in favour of the Leatt brace for a while, but price kept me from getting one up until last year (I'm pretty sure I only paid $450 for mine)…early adopters of the HANS device ran up against all the same arguements we're seeing in this forum…everything from price to mobility/visibility concerns….but as the unit has been refined and forensic sciences pointed out how drivers were being killed more and more organizations have made the HANS device or similar unit mandatory. I had one major crash while racing karts during a time when a hard foam horse collar was the only thing available and while I walked away from my crash with a destroyed helmet, 2 weeks later another racer in a similar style crash died on impact. We were wearing the same gear, right down to the collar…I was just lucky…and I've been lucky a couple times since. I'm sure given the impacts we both suffered that a Leatt style brace or HANS device may have offered at least a hope of that racer surviving his crash. I'm not going to say a Leatt brace will protect you from every possible life threatening injury but having seen how a similar item works in open wheel motorsports I'll stand behind it. I inadvertently tested mine this year on Dirt Merchant. I got up and walked away after putting my shoulder back into place. The only thing I noticed was some bruising the next day that showed the outline of the brace on the side of my body where I hit the hardest.

I'm not sure the Leatt is the best option, but for the time being it's one of the options we have available….if you're a believer, you drink the kool-aid…if you're not, you wait and see what happens to those of us who did drink the kool-aid.

So why are there no statistics/tests to prove that the Leatt actually works?

So why are there no statistics/tests to prove that the Leatt actually works?

hard to find volunteers?

We continually make risk assessments in the sport of mtb'n. Ultimately, as long as you are willing to accept the potential consequences of your decisions, then all is good. But it would sure suck to have a bad outcome and be continually wondering, what if?

So why are there no statistics/tests to prove that the Leatt actually works?

Unless you can think of an ingenious way to gather the data without breaking the necks of some of your volunteers, you are going to have to wait a very long time for any sort of 'evidence'.

If you think it's a tax on the stupid, that is your prerogative.