Alpinestars Bionic Neck Support

I'm not on here as an expert in any sort of way, and I've not looked into all of the other braces on the market or how they work or differ from the Leatt brace to be able to provide any insight into any of the other braces out there.

I'm not sure where the info on the Leatt brace is that gives their measurable tests data at this point, as it was over 2 years ago when I researched the info and looked it all up when trying to decide whether to get one or not.

I'm also not saying that the leatt can't transfer pressure to another area and cause damage there........... I'm sure that it can as that what it is designed to do, it's supposed to dissapate the force over a wider area of contact to alleviate the force going directly to the neck. And I feel terrible for anyone that has had a crash that has resulted in a life changing effect due to damage, whether they were wearing a neck brace or not.......... it's a terrible reality in our sport.

I've been around long enough to remember the days of Open face helmets were the norm with Jofa mouth guards strapped over your mouth. I was there for the revolution with the BELL MOTO III full face helmet that made full face helmets common in motocross. Guess what full face helmets did that open face helmets did not do????? They broke collar bones on a regular basis in rather light falls. But they were worth it anyway and you'd be hard pressed to find a MX rider with an open face helmet anywhere today even though they are responsible for most of the broken collar bones in our sport. There is something like only 8 lbs / in squared of force to break a collar bone............ so with a hit on them, they break really easy. Anyway, it's a trade off of some sort like anything else...........

Could your neck brace hurt you in a crash? Yes if the force it generates into another part of your body can't take that force. Could it save you from a certain type of injury? Of course, that is what it is designed to do........... There is always a trade off of some sort.

Make your own personal decision to wear or not to wear based on what you believe is right for you or your child.

It would be great if there was some standardized testing like SNELL or DOT standards for helmets applied to neck braces to give users a comparison of some sort to go by and maybe someone like Barrington can get that to happen to help all of us make informed decisions as consumers.
 
I agree with everyone on this posts everyone has good arguments and personal info. But, if you see the Malcolms crash from St. Louis, (I believe Barrington posted it) IF again IF he had the Leatt on EVERYONE AND THERE BROTHER would be on here saying thank god for the leatt without it he wouldn't be walking or living and everything. Okay now that you have seen it why isn't anyone saying anything about that? Again I am on the fence on if I would want to wear on full time or not, but when you look at that crash and some of James crashes from all his career, you kind of start to think about if they had the leatt on what would of happened. Look at some of Pastrana's crashes, uhhhh im pretty sure he's knocked his head and went over the bars enough.

I rode yesterday for the first time in 4 years without a brace on, I also dont wear chest proctor, just jersey. I dont do it because I look cool or anything its my choice but I will say without the leatt for the first 5 or 6 laps I was very nervous and thinking about it. After a while I stopped thinking about it and I always said I could never tell the leatt brace was on, now that I have rode without it I will deffinetly no if there is a brace on from now on. I could move I think a lot more.

Now again before I end this I am still on the fence about wearing one I agree with everyone on here and it stress's me out to wear one or not. Because how horrible would it be if you crashed and then said wow what if I had one on?? Ok now how horrible would it be if you DID have one on crashed and the doctors said you basically got hurt because of the brace?? That's the bad part.
 
I have also wondered why if they are designed to break away in extreme impacts we aren't we seeing more break ? 45psi is a lot of force.

I think the mentality thus far has been to trust this device openly, and people are so quick to say " I would of died or broke my neck I know for sure if I hadn't worn it." I want to trust in that idea too, not until science, trial and error, or injury statistics have lowered from the norm...(personally, I'm sure you're all sick of hearing my personal opinion on this matter, I'm trying to put the stake in but everybody brings up good points and makes me wonde more)

The Malcolm Stewart comment mxj made is a good point too, I do think people would of hailed the neck brace for saving Malcolms life, if he had one on.
 
OK here is my 2 cents... My son was wearing the A star brace and he crashed and the impact did cause the A star brace to break apart as it dispersed the impact force across the tail section (back side). The brace worked as it was designed to and when I contacted Alpinestar about a replacement tail section, they mailed 1 to my door the next day.They said that is the design, to absorb the impact up to and including destroying itself. It worked well for us.and no broken collar bone..only whiplash in neckarea..broken bones elsewhere..fractured pelvis and tibia. All recovered now.
 
Instances like that should be included in the neck brace testing we're pushing for. As your situation seems to prove to me the Bionic worked as it was designed with the tail piece breaking away.

That's why this topics so hard to get a position on...
 
A comment on the 45 p.s.i. number that is getting tossed around for Leatt. I won't claim to be an expert, I am just tossing my interpretation in here....

Not to get into too much engineering talk, but I am guessing that the 45 p.s.i. actually refers to a material property. The back of the brace is basically a cantilever beam. You look at how much tension or compression is placed on the base of that beam from a certain force at the other end (i.e. where it ends at your back). That tension or compression (lbs.) can be converted to a pressure (p.s.i.) dividing by the cross section area of the piece (a small rectangle if you look along your back, maybe 1 inch wide by 1/8 inch thick just looking at it?). So to say 45 p.s.i. is being placed on your back is misleading. The reality is some force is placed at your back, and that force is actually spread out across the back plate assuming it is in contact along your back at multiple locations and not just the tip. The resulting pressure in the material of 45 p.s.i. is the number being mentioned I assume. So less than 45 lbs of force on that back plate will break it off, which isn't much force when you consider the dynamics of a crash.

Just my .02. Again, I haven't worked with Leatt or anything. I am just trying to apply some engineering knowledge.
 
Just a quick follow up on a few things. There was question as to whether the new Leatt chest protector could be worn in such a way that the brace could set on top of the chest protector in order to distribute the force better in the front and back. I went past Iron Pony on Saturday and there was a Leatt rep there answering questions, I was told the brace is meant to wear under the chest protector.

When I mentioned the back piece of the brace coming down into the T6 area and causing injuries in that part of the back, the rep said they've changed that back piece that runs down your back so that it breaks off with less pressure than what the original brace came with. I told her I have one of the original Leatts and that I would look into ordering the revised piece...she then gave me her card and told me to call her when she was back in the office and she'd send me one at no cost, guess they normally cost 15 bucks. If you have one of the original braces and like to wear the brace, it'd be a good idea to give them a call and get the new part.
 
mooch said:
Just a quick follow up on a few things. There was question as to whether the new Leatt chest protector could be worn in such a way that the brace could set on top of the chest protector in order to distribute the force better in the front and back. I went past Iron Pony on Saturday and there was a Leatt rep there answering questions, I was told the brace is meant to wear under the chest protector.
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That's interesting, how to you get the brace UNDER the chest protector? Wish I would have known there was a rep there I would have run down.

Check out these videos of the protector to see the brace resting on it, clearly shows there are cutouts specifically designed for the Leatt brace to sit on the CP padding.

http://video.mpora.com/watch/t5oUoX2Fu/

http://www.vitalmx.com/videos/features/Dealer-Expo-2011-Leatt,2400/GuyB,64
 
mooch said:
Just a quick follow up on a few things. There was question as to whether the new Leatt chest protector could be worn in such a way that the brace could set on top of the chest protector in order to distribute the force better in the front and back. I went past Iron Pony on Saturday and there was a Leatt rep there answering questions, I was told the brace is meant to wear under the chest protector.

When I mentioned the back piece of the brace coming down into the T6 area and causing injuries in that part of the back, the rep said they've changed that back piece that runs down your back so that it breaks off with less pressure than what the original brace came with. I told her I have one of the original Leatts and that I would look into ordering the revised piece...she then gave me her card and told me to call her when she was back in the office and she'd send me one at no cost, guess they normally cost 15 bucks. If you have one of the original braces and like to wear the brace, it'd be a good idea to give them a call and get the new part.
Click to expand...
this is interesting. admitting design flaw? then want to charge you for it. lol. beyond that, why wouldnt they release some serious PR on this so that people with the bad piece can get the revised part? seems sketchy to me.
 
Sorry Pit, I meant to say that I was told by the rep that the back support that rests on your spine still goes UNDER the chest protector.

Barrington, yeah, I was thinking the same thing. If that part changed in order to allow it to break easier, that would seem like a reason to have a recall or send everyone a free part.
 
Pit, after watching the dealer show vid you posted a link to...it did look like the back support was on the outside of the brace? I have no doubt that when I talked to the rep that I was clear about the brace setting on the front or back plate. After she said the back support went underneath, I mentioned the thought that the T6 area might have less pressure on it if the brace were on top...that's went she brought up the back support brace being revised. In the front it's the same as the new TLD and EVS chest protectors...the front cutout is large enough to fit around front of the brace at is sets against your chest rather than the chest protector. I'm gonna take my Leatt in next time and actually try the CP with the brace. I still need to call the rep to get my new back support piece...I think I'll badger her about this again when I call.
 
Oh she was only saying the BACK piece went underneath? I have been talking about the front and shoulders, which you can see in the video clearly rest on the padding of the CP.
 
personally i think they are a good thing. i have an alpinestars now, but i had a leatt before. i was at NEMX once and wrecked so bad that it broke the back of my one industries helmet, and broke the back of my leatt brace. if i wasnt wearing it i feel like i would have ended up worse, but thats just me.
 
I wear mine under my Fox CP, and so does my son, and he has a mini Shift CP. They go under easily, and the brace allows the should cups to slide right up over top the wings and top of the brace. Works perfectly. I am with you though, if there is a piece that is designed to break away more easily, everyone should be able to get a replacement for the cost of shipping. Just like a recall on any product.
 
mooch said:
Just a quick follow up on a few things. There was question as to whether the new Leatt chest protector could be worn in such a way that the brace could set on top of the chest protector in order to distribute the force better in the front and back. I went past Iron Pony on Saturday and there was a Leatt rep there answering questions, I was told the brace is meant to wear under the chest protector.

When I mentioned the back piece of the brace coming down into the T6 area and causing injuries in that part of the back, the rep said they've changed that back piece that runs down your back so that it breaks off with less pressure than what the original brace came with. I told her I have one of the original Leatts and that I would look into ordering the revised piece...she then gave me her card and told me to call her when she was back in the office and she'd send me one at no cost, guess they normally cost 15 bucks. If you have one of the original braces and like to wear the brace, it'd be a good idea to give them a call and get the new part.
Click to expand...

Mooch do you have this reps name? As soon as I saw your post I called and inquired and the rep I spoke to reacted as if he has never heard such a thing and told there is no such thing??

Also Scotty it sounds like your in the engineering field lol?? Very well stated point in that the spine peace is cantilevered. So that does make sense that the 45 psi is actually not an acurate statement in terms of preassure on the spine.
 
MX724 said:
Also Scotty it sounds like your in the engineering field lol?? Very well stated point in that the spine peace is cantilevered. So that does make sense that the 45 psi is actually not an acurate statement in terms of preassure on the spine.
Click to expand...

its not putting 45 psi on the spine. in any crash. that would be fatal, in my opinion. leatt just claims that 45 psi is what is required to break the back plate off. which again, in my opinion, is too high.
 
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