Dear SoberPete,

I would do a bit more homework about these braces. I'd be willing to bet that orthopedists, and particularly spine and neck specialists, would have a wide range of opinions about these devices and their potential to help or harm. Just looking at the design, I can imagine they could have the negative effect of forming a fulcrum between your shoulder and head, so in the presence of strong lateral forces the device could have the effect of levering your upper vertabrae apart, with the potential to stress and damage your spinal cord. I have no evidence of this, but just looking at them logically.

At risk of repeating myself with uninvited observations, I'm confused by the scattershot approach you are taking to your own physical safety. As someone else has suggested, look through the endless threads in ADVRider.com, and see what adventure riders are wearing. You will see lots of guys with integrated suits, which have all their armor built in and properly positioned over arms, shoulders, hips and knees. There's probably a fair amount of discussion about strap-on protectors, and the big question will be whether they stay put in a getoff; generally speaking, I suspect they provide at best some protection in the initial impact. But if you get off at speed, you will either tumble or slide. In either case, there are all kinds of forces trying to rip those strap-ons from your body.

Expense is a factor, but safety equipment has to be just as important as your bike itself, actually more important. Each time I visit the US, I dig into Craigslist, which is filled with ads by financially strapped guys who are selling their bike and all their gear, often for a song. Near-new stuff for a quarter of original retail.

Think clearly about the kind of riding you'll be doing, and what kind of protection you'll need for that kind of riding. Then get the right gear and strive to be the best possible rider you can. Gear helps a lot, but is far less important than the skill and judgment and wisdom that comes with experience. (And I speak as a relative newb...)

cheers