Every year, many bikers sustain neck and spine injuries while mountain biking. As people become more aware and look for better ways to protect themselves while mountain biking, the demand for MTB neck braces also increases. Although MTB neck braces are relatively newer innovations of protective gear than helmets, the protection they give is just as important, and you’ll see why in this article.
How does a neck brace for mountain biking work? MTB neck braces work by transferring the forces during an impact to its components and less vulnerable parts of the body. They have striking areas that are located at their front and back. The helmet hits these areas whenever the neck wants to overextend beyond its range of motion during a crash.
If you spend a lot of time on challenging mountain biking trails with a lot of jumps and twisty turns, chances are you are exposed to a higher risk of neck and spine injuries. In this guide, I’ll be discussing in detail how MTB neck braces protect these delicate parts of your body in the event of a crash and the MTB neck braces that you should get.
MTB Neck Braces – History And Their Function
There are several mechanisms at work when an MTB neck brace does its job. Unlike other protective gear with individual purposes, an MTB neck brace works hand in hand with your helmet to fulfill its purpose. You’ll be having an idea how pairing your neck brace and helmet could protect both your head, neck, and spine at the same time.
Neck Brace Function
The main goal of an MTB neck brace is to limit head movement during a crash. An MTB neck brace stops any movement of the head and the neck beyond its usual range of motion. However, an MTB neck brace works slightly differently from other safety restraint systems found in four-wheeled automobiles.
In four-wheeled automobiles, especially for motorsport events, a driver’s neck is protected with a restraint system that keeps the head from overextension during a sudden stop. For MTB neck braces, they absorb and disperse the energy from a crash helmet once it hits the brace. The key mechanism here is the helmet making contact with the MTB neck brace. Once the helmet hits the neck brace, the energy is transferred within the shock absorbent padding and to less vulnerable parts of the body such as your shoulders. Without the neck brace getting in the way of the helmet, the neck is highly susceptible to whiplash or any other type of neck injury that could possibly even affect the spine.
How MTB Neck Braces Came To Be
The first patent for a neck brace was first filed by Dr. Christopher Leatt back in 2003. The doctor attended an enduro motorcycle event in South Africa where he witnessed a rider fall and break his neck. He tried to resuscitate the rider, but it was unfortunately too late. Having a young son back then who showed great interest in riding motorcycles, he dedicated his time to work on the neck brace that we all now have the privilege of protecting ourselves with.
The Physics Behind An MTB Neck Brace
Alternative Load Path Technology diverts and disperses forces into different channels. In the case of MTB neck braces, these alternative channels would be all the padding surrounding it including your shoulders, which are also protected by padding.
In a scenario where one is not wearing an MTB neck brace, as someone finds themselves crashing on their head, the impact’s energy is transmitted from the ground, into the helmet, and then to the neck. In a different scenario where the rider has an MTB neck brace on, once the helmet absorbs the energy, it makes contact with the strike areas of the MTB neck brace, which are purposely designed to restrain the overextension of the human head beyond its natural range of motion.
Strike areas are found at the front, sides, and rear of the neck brace. The three main strike areas of an MTB neck brace are the front helmet rim strike area, rear helmet rim strike area and the lateral helmet rim strike area.
Neck Brace Padding – Impact Absorption And Protection
An MTB neck brace has padding in the majority of its structure. These layers of padding technology are meant to protect the collar bone, shoulders, and spine. Padding could also be found in the strike areas to maximize energy absorption and minimize head movement with its flexibility. The padding in an MTB neck brace helps reduce and control rapid brain deceleration that could cause severe head injuries during a sudden stop.
Without padding, the full effectiveness of Alternative Load Path Technology would not be achieved. It prevents the helmet rim from projecting beyond the edges of your MTB neck brace that could cause increased forces exerted on your neck.
Worthy MTB Investment For Safety
Like other MTB safety gear such as helmets and goggles, MTB neck braces from different manufacturers vary in price. They could start at least $200 and reach up to $500. Although you’re sure to spend a significant amount of money when buying an MTB neck brace, you’re also already investing in your safety for all your future mountain biking trail sessions.
If you’re the type of biker who’s quite conscious with added weight, then adding an MTB neck brace shouldn’t bother you that much. The majority of MTB neck braces weigh more or less a pound and would indeed not affect your riding experience or performance. Do remember that if you want to invest in an MTB neck brace, be sure to get a full-face helmet if you still have not gotten one. With a half-face helmet or any other type of helmet there would be no chin bar that would make contact with the front striking area and thus would defeat the purpose of wearing an MTB neck brace.
Wide Selection Of MTB Neck Braces
MTB neck braces come from different prominent brands. If you’re the type of rider who’s a bit too loyal to a specific brand and want brand uniformity in their MTB gear, then you’re in for a treat with the different manufacturer options I’d be giving you.
Aesthetics are also a factor if you also want to look good while riding safely. Though there’s a massive resemblance between MTB neck braces, they can still vary in color and smaller details. Worse comes to worst; your sizing might not be available with your desired brand; that’s why I’d be giving you a couple of options on the best MTB neck braces on the market.
The MTB neck braces that I’ll discuss have different compositions and technologies that would certainly pique your interest. These various compositions affect their overall weight, flexibility, and shock absorption capabilities.
Alpinestars BNS Tech Carbon
The BNS Tech Carbon from renowned motorsport accessory brand Alpinestars is priced at $209.73. In comparison to its competitors, the BNS Tech Carbon is relatively less expensive. However, the lower price tag comes with a slight disadvantage. Compared to its competitors, it weighs 735 grams which is a hundred grams more than the lightest option from the list. It also is almost sixty grams less than the heaviest MTB neck brace from the pool of options I’d be giving you.
The Alpinestars BNS Tech Carbon is made out of advanced carbon polymer compounds. This means that Alpinestars focused on structural strength and rigidity while also maximizing weight-saving. All the parts of this MTB neck brace are made out of EVA (Ethylene-vinyl acetate) foam, which is the most commonly used foam in protective sporting gear such as hockey pads or ski boots. The raised chest striking frame area of the BNS Tech Carbon is also raised to avoid hyper-flexion injuries.
In terms of rider comfort, the BNS Tech Carbon features a quick-release locking that could come in handy when fitting and emergency removals. With its X-strap system, you can wear its straps over or under your jersey.
EVS R4K
The EVS R4K is a little bit pricier than the Alpinestars BNS Tech Carbon at $309.9. Its weight sits at 635 grams.
Its low profile design that mimics a collar makes it comfortable yet offers a high protection level for your neck during a crash. The rear strut is adjustable for a customized fit that would suit your comfort even during rough trails. Wearing and removing a collar also wouldn’t be too much of a task with its rapid lock closure system.
In terms of its composition, its upper shell is made out of nylon. The hi-tensile polyurethane foam base features great flexibility and shock absorption in the event of a crash.
Atlas Air
The Atlas Air MTB neck brace costs just $329.99 but only weighs 600 grams, the second lightest neck brace among your options.
The Atlas Air has a flexible polymer construction. This means that it is tough, impact-resistant, and adjusts to external forces through flexing. Like most MTB neck braces, it transfers forces from an impact to bigger muscle groups like the shoulders instead of your spine and sternum. According to Atlas, Atlas Air has 27% more body contact than its competitors. This would bode well in reducing the pressure of an impact by providing a larger surface area to be hit.
For your riding comfort, the Atlas Air offers height adjustment for longer necks or smaller helmets. Its smart mount feature has six possible settings for fitting. The X-strap system of the Atlas Air is great if you’re looking to conceal the straps under your jersey while riding your bike.
Leatt GPX 3.5 Neck Brace
The GPX 3.5 Neck brace from Leatt is priced at $340.29 and weighs 790 grams. Although it comes with a hefty price tag, you’d be paying more than its weight-saving benefits. It comes in 4 available sizes, from small to extra large.
It was awarded a Design And Innovation Award back in 2018, so you already know how worthy of an investment for safety the GPX 3.5 is. According to Leatt, GPX 3.5 reduces the risk of a neck and spine injury by up to 47% after long periods of testing the neck brace. The optimal setup of the helmet rim striking platform gives your head enough freedom of motion while still protecting your neck and spine. The thoracic rear strut and emergency release mechanism snaps once it absorbs excessive pressure to prevent the GPX 3.5 from causing additional harm to its wearer.
Atlas Carbon
The Atlas carbon is priced at $499.99 and weighs only 580 grams, making the Atlas Carbon the most expensive and lightest neck brace of the bunch.
Its ultra-lightweight feature can be attributed to its handcrafted carbon-fiber composition. Carbon fiber is widely used for different heavy-duty purposes, such as motorsports, because of its lightweight yet robust qualities. For maximized impact absorption, the Atlas carbon is also 2.5 times more flexible than other Atlas products making it the most elite neck brace by Atlas.
Like the Atlas Air, it features six available options of fitting for the proper angle of comfort to the rider. The X-straps of the Atlas Carbon is also ideal if you want to keep it simple while riding.
Conclusion
You wouldn’t want to face the regret of sustaining career-ending injuries just because you were stubborn not to get a neck brace. Although wearing an MTB neck braces does not guarantee to make us invulnerable from crashes, it would bring you further away from a severe injury. Get one of the braces that I had discussed above and watch as you gain more confidence in your protective gear. Most important of all, do not forget to enjoy but also ride safely!
