That, but for the grace of God was me. I was riding on my place by my self, wife and daughter were at the beach. I crashed....some where, don't know where. I "came to"setting in a chair in my garage, bike was parked. I was on auto pilot I guess and rode back to the house. Anyway, at the time of the crash I had all my gear on, pads etc but had not spent the money on a neck brace. Had been thinking about one just being cheap. An MRI revealed three fractured vertebrae.I also had a "slight" concusion and a soft ball size lump on my right thigh I came vey close to being in a wheel chair or laying over in the woods, nobody knowing where I was. Pretty stupid couldn't happen to me attitude Now I don't warm it up without my leatt and of course my NEW helmet on. That will be two years in june when I also turn 57, and now have never felt better. Man I love dirt bikes! Dave
I would think twice before purchasing the LEATT GPX trail. And though Leatt will never admit to this dangerous design, you can see that his new designs are beginning to spread the load away from the center of your spine. Take a closer look at the Leatt GPX 5.5 "Alternative Load Path Technology (ALPT®)" or the Atlas and you will see what I am talking about.
I wear an Alpine Stars Bionic Neckbrace with there Bionic full padded jacket designed for use with the brace. It has a removable panel in the top of the cervicle back protection area on the jacket to allow the neckbrace to lay right into the bionic jacket. Its pretty cool, it doesn't really hinder my head movement when wearing this set up. In fact I hardly notice any restriction when wearing it. It has 2 elastic loop straps that you just pull up onto your arms and pull up between your neck and the brace and they hook onto a couple small hook tabs on each side over the top of the neck brace itself to keep it pulled down and in place. Other than taking longer than anyone else to get all my riding gear on, which may bother everyone but myself. I wouldn't ride without it. I also ride with Allsports Dynamics wrist braces, MSR Reflex knee guards and padding on everything else including my shorts. I feel alot safer riding now and I don't care how hot it gets this summer, I'll still be wearing all of it. The only thing I may change, is go to a bigger Hydration pack for summer. I'll be 55 next month and the body breaks easier and doesn't heal as fast. So protection is a good thing. Dirt biking gives me a good upperbody workout everytime I ride, especially if I don't crash. I'm still sore after riding anyway so I just need to get used to it. Someday i figure that will happen, until then I'll keep riding.
Dang, I have a GPX club 3, have there been any documented cases of spine damage with these? Although, my head was over extended forward fracturing my 3 vertebrae. Hate to spend another $350.00 plus on another one but on the other hand, I would have been willing to pay alot more to of had one on the day I wrecked. Dave
so...I tried on the GPX club 2 and pro race from Leatt and the Atlas braces the other day with my helmet and padding at some bike shops. I really feel more supported with the Leatt....it seems to block end range in all planes when compared to the Atlas...the Atlas is super easy to get on and also lower profile but I just didn't feel like it provided the necessary support. Also...found the Leatt tucked in nicely to the cheap Fox roost deflector/padding that I currently have...no need to fork out the extra cash for Leatt gear...I have not tried the new Leatt 5.5 as no one seemed to have one in stock in proper size to try. It's really tough to justify the bucks for one of these when I have been riding racing mountain bikes for decades without incident but that is not the way to look at it....any more feedback from guys who use these would be helpful.
Did you replace it with something else or are you going without? The thought of going without really scares me now. Used to not worry about such things. Dave
Most people I know wear the horse collar thing. I know Ty and Patty Blais wear those. Told it helps spread the load better.
I posted on Leatt's Facebook page and they responded: "There is no information that suggests a GPX can cause a spinal fracture, only superstition and rumors."
Only one thing to do now...call the Mythbusters and have them put a Leatt on Buster and toss him from the roof.
You sure about this? I have been conversing with them online, and they (Leatt) have said the reason for the change has been for comfort only, and that the thoracic tab on the GPX has a designed fracture point at the top that will fail at 1/30th of the amount of force it would take for it to fracture your spine.
I bought a Fly Zenith this winter which uses the same type of break away feature. It's made by Leatt.
ITs like hand guards, work 99% of the time and every once in a while might cause an issue. Nothing is perfect. Decide what works for you and run it.
The nylon covered foam ring, about an inch or so thick. Not a true brace, but certainly better up than nothing and keeps the helmet off your clavicle. I wear one. I have a plated clavicle, still looking for a brace that I can tolerate. Leatt felt awful as it sat right on the plate, couldn't even stand it on in the shop. Thats why they break clavicles, even in relatively minor crashes that would not have caused neck injuries. Personally know of several cases.
The are just the padding style. This is the one I use. Although the picture doesn't show it, it came with extra material and hardware to bolt it to my roost guard: http://www.cyclegear.com/CycleGear/.../brand/EVS/2012-RC3-Race-Collar/p/39554_59409 After about a half hour of riding the first day, didn't even realize it was there. This style also plays nice with a backpack. So if you are wearing a camelback or whatever, it allows the straps to sit on your shoulders like normal.
