# Air bag vests?



## ddbear (Mar 21, 2021)

I am seeing technology develop rapidly for lightweight airbag vests for motocross racing, and now being adopted by a lot of motorcycle riders. These vests seem low profile enough to be very useful for mountain biking. Some of these lightweight vests also provide some shoulder and neck protection. Here's an example,

Helite is coming out with a new version of their vest which will be computer/sensor controlled (advancement from their popular Turtle 2 lanyard model):








Helite B'Safe Airbag Vest Unisex Hi-Vis


Turtle 2 Airbag Vest Hi-Viz Helite




helitemoto.com





The Dainese D-Air Smart Jacket looks the most stylish and low profile, but unfortunately this one doesn't have any real shoulder protection:





SMART JACKET


Dainese Shop Online - D-air




www.dainese.com





Are there other good ones? Thoughts on using these for mountain biking?

Would the computer models detect the typical mountain bike crashes, or not sense them because the calibration is for motorcycle velocities? Taking another look, the Helite B'Safe airbag vest is designed for bicycles. Nice.


----------



## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

note that they don't say anything about breathability/ventilation.

I expect that's going to be a big problem for this sort of thing for bicycles.

the example people they show (for the Helite that's made for cyclists) appear to be casual commuter types, who aren't likely to be building up a lot of sweat. Though wearing one of these will probably be like wearing an insulated trash bag. When cool out, likely not a big deal. In the summertime? I don't think so. So I think for bike purposes, I only see possible applicability if you're doing downhill shuttles. If you climb, and if you live in a warmer climate, I'm gonna say pass.

But it's questionable why the Helite doesn't market for the downhill segment. Seems to me like those folks will be more likely to pay almost $800 for one of these vests than a casual commuter. Is there a functional reason why they aren't marketing the vest for downhill mtb?


----------



## shakazulu12 (Jul 14, 2015)

RXR has a chest protector that uses air for energy absorption, but not an exploding airbag like the vests used when racing motorcycles. I'm teetering on the edge of ordering one just out of curiosity sake. I know a few people that use the lighter one for MX and it seems like it would be great on downhill days. The issue with the airbag vests is recharging them and the fact they are one or two uses before you need to

R-Pro Airbag 2.0


----------



## ddbear (Mar 21, 2021)

shakazulu12 said:


> The issue with the airbag vests is recharging them and the fact they are one or two uses before you need to


Some of the airbag vests such as Helite allow you to easily replace the CO2 cartridge at any time. If I get one, I would take advantage of that to play around with it do some test falls and see what happens, then just replace the cartridge.


----------



## shakazulu12 (Jul 14, 2015)

ddbear said:


> Some of the airbag vests such as Helite allow you to easily replace the CO2 cartridge at any time. If I get one, I would take advantage of that to play around with it do some test falls and see what happens, then just replace the cartridge.


Gotcha. I only know them from racing motorcycles. I had a Dainese airbag suit. And later an Alpinestars one. The Alpinestars took two charges, the Dainese only one and you had to send the stupid thing to California to get it re-charged. Love the tech and worked a they should. The Helite looks pretty interesting, but as mentioned above, I would wonder about heat.

We are getting closer to the next jump in protection though I suspect.


----------



## Loll (May 2, 2006)

I always wonder about this. After a knee surgery and a facial correction procedure, I decided never trying anymore sketchy jumps or drops again until protective technology has developed enough where I am no longer chancing things. I get pay for going to work, and my work is not a professional mtb athlete. Not worthy the injury compared to making Monday morning’s meeting.

Doesn’t sound like the technology is there yet though? A big step in protecting collarbone and back-spine. Whay about the broken arm or ankle?


----------



## ddbear (Mar 21, 2021)

I asked Helite about availability and here's what they replied:

We hope to have the B'Safe available in the US by the end of the year. It still requires the FCC approval to be launched. The vest is made for street riding and the parameters are set up accordingly. Mountain biking might result in sudden movements that can accidentally trigger the system.​​Someone should design an airbag jacket for mountain biking which has replaceable cartridges and neck & shoulder protection (like the Helite models) but also with an active cooling system.


----------



## shakazulu12 (Jul 14, 2015)

That actually makes sense. You go through a rock garden or send a jump, and the accelerometer is going to think you crashed as compared to street riding. As fast as motorcycles are, they don't move like that either. It also just occurred to me I've never seen anyone use one for MX, which is where all the mountain bike stuff is basically going to trickle down from.

Back to the drawing board I suppose.


----------



## ddbear (Mar 21, 2021)

I think there would be a large market for a mountain bike specific design, if one of these manufacturers wakes up and starts to realize this. It could have a sensor on the bike (similar to the Helite B'Safe model) that senses an unrecoverable bike orientation and/or senses that the rider has separated from the bike by a certain number of inches (while in motion). Plus some kind of active cooling.


----------



## walkerwalker (Jul 17, 2020)

On an MTB I think accidental deployment would cause more injury than it would save. I'd try one out on my motorcycle though.


----------



## fredcook (Apr 2, 2009)

I'm not sure how an expanding vest will work if you've got hydration pack straps over it. Or a GoPro chest mount. 

I don't know about others, but of all the many, many, many crashes I've had riding dirt since the 70's, I don't recall any where my upper torso was impacted. Arms, legs, wrists, head, feet... ALL the time. But chest or stomach? Never. At least if it happened, it was minor enough over so many years that I'd probably pass on an airbag vest. Maybe that's just me.


----------



## HerrKaLeu (Aug 18, 2017)

Looks like a floatation device and not like those motorcycle airbags that create a whole body bubble. This one still let's you break off your head.

Takata airbags.... happened in a very regulated and liability industry with lot of consumer protection. I doubt I would trust the bike industry with an explosive on my body.


----------



## Carl_d (Feb 26, 2021)

The mother of a friend of my son had a MTb accident last year. She was basically riding a trail and another rider ran into her. (From what I was told) She ended up falling down a hill and broke her back. She’s now in a wheelchair.

I ride a dual sport motorcycle and I’ve been doing a bunch of reading on airbag vests and I’m about to pull the trigger on buying one that is electronically activated. The idea is that for some of the riding on trails you may want to turn the vest off.

In the process, I started thinking about my sons’ friends’ mom, and how she may have had a much better chance of walking away from her accident had she had one of these vests on. The manufacturers would need to develop and tune the algorithms for MTB specific deployment/activation, but I’m sure it can be done. (Maybe they already have, as I see some models that already appear to be available for biking.)
As far as being injured when the best deploys, I think it’s highly unlikely. The airbag basically creates a high volume bladder around all your vital parts in less than .1 of a second after activation. The number one comment from users that wore an airbag vest in a crash is that the vest saved them from serious injury and they will never ride again without one.
Everyone has to make their mind up for themselves and balance comfort with risks, style of riding and safety, but it’s a personal choice. I think the technology is developing fast, and the airbag vest manufacturers have to be looking at the MTB /cycling market segment and would want to provide a solution for what is potentially a much bigger market than the motorcycle one.


----------

