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Thanks man! I highly recommend trying one out. I thought it looked bulky in the videos I watched and was a bit worried what it would be like in person. Besides the weight (Which you don't feel once you have it on) and hump in the back where the computer and canister sit, I don't see how it's anymore bulky than most chest pro's on the market. Plus it's super comfy and almost molds to your body in a sense. It's not uneven and nothing is poking you. I think you'd have to be crazy to ignore this technology and the injuries it could prevent.
It honestly blows my mind how many pros are sponsored by Alpinestars and aren't wearing it.
Anyone have a gear bag with an area that this Tech Air would fit? It just a protective bag it could be stored in?
I put it it on top of my boots. Same as my old chest pro. Ogio 9800.
I have a 9800 too. Mine is loaded with multiple sets of gear, goggle, socks and a lot of stuff I probably just need to throw away... Tech air fits no problem in my bag. Your boots fit in the 9800?
I'm sure someone makes a bag that would fit it if you want to keep it separate Ie. Ogio, Fox, EVS, Tusk etc. Or you could just keep it in your truck/van if you're worried about it getting bumped around.
@PRM31 Did you end up buying one?
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Not yet. Though after surfing the web the 9800 seems perfect.
Edit: if you meant a Tech Air MX, yes!
I meant Tech Air, did you buy one? And It's a good bag! I've been beating on mine and leaving it out to get baked in the SoCal sun for eight years and it still works. I wish my boots fit but it's not that big of a deal.
Barcia's Tech Air deployed during that horrific crash last night. Talk about a situation where it's nice to have that extra protection!! Kudos to Alpinestars. It's unbelievable to me that more guys racing Supercross aren't wearing one.
I have not watched Barcia’s crash in entirety. Probably won’t. Good to hear he had one and it deployed. Impossible to say how it contributed to his relative lack of injuries, but it sure seems like it had to help.
In Eli’s interview right after the race, I thought his chest pro looked a little thicker in the shoulders, like the Tech Air MX. Anyone know if he wearing one now?
Really glad I got mine when I did.
You would know if he was wearing one. You can usually tell by the hump in the back where the computer and canister sit. I think Tomac is just wearing the standard A-1 protector. I don't think Forkner is wearing it anymore either. So Barcia must be the only top guy
Barcia was the only one running it last night surprisingly. Glad he was!
After that one, even though I definitely get warm in it, I’ll 110% be wearing it at all times. I’m not sure we can guess how Barcia would have faired without it, but I’m convinced that it most definitely played a positive role in him coming out relatively unscathed all things considered. My confidence in this thing just got a lot better.
In one of the slow motion videos from the front you can see the airbag go off as he’s heading towards the ground. Incredible technology.
Yup!!!
I picked mine up a couple weeks ago and have used it the last 2 weekends. I'm 5'10", 180lbs and the large fits me perfectly. I have worn a full coverage Troy Lee protector for many years and grabbed one of these when my wife said "buy it, its cheaper than the insurance deductible"! As others have said, it is warmer than my previous protectors but I really like how snugly it fits and still allows full movement. It is a bit heavier too but seems to disappear when riding. After seeing some of the test riders crashes in MXGP and Barcia's crash this weekend, I am glad this was made available to the public. I definitely feel safer wearing it even though I hope it never deploys LOL.
Can anyone elaborate on which setting they’ve been using? Trying to decide between mx and mx race
I'm using the default MX setting for practice days. The way I read it is that the MX Race setting is likely a bit less sensitive and is geared towards supercross and the stupid fast pros.
Thank you. Just didn’t want it deploying for crashes that it wouldn’t be necessary. I suppose they’ve got that kind of accounted for ha
I chose MX Race. Seemed to indicate it would be less likely to deploy on low side tip overs.
Pit Row
Yeah I read that. Kinda wish we had a bit more info. At $115 a deployment I’d like it to work when needed but not when it isn’t.
I think I am going to stick with the MX setting unless I race. I feel it will be worth the $115 to be fully safe, if it seems to go off unnecessarily I will change it then. From what I have seen in numerous tests, Alpinestars has the software worked out pretty well.
This is what MXA said in their review about the different settings:
"Riders can customize the system’s deployment sensitivity based on their discipline or environment. The MX Race mode is tuned for pro motocross riders like Austin Forkner, Jordon Smith, Justin Barcia and Chance Hymas. It’s less susceptible to false deployments in whoops and big jumps. Enduro mode is recommended for speeds under 50 miles per hour, and Rally mode is for high-speed cross-country racing over 50 miles per hour."
Perfect thank you!
So I had my first ride in the tech air yesterday, and did have a deployment on a tip over in MX Race mode.
I was riding a sand pit which was also still kind of snowy, so I had a couple tip overs. The interesting thing, the bag did not deploy on the first one and it did on the second one. The falls were almost identical. I was shocked it went off, they were the type of tip overs where you go into a deep sand corner and just stick the front end a little too much and fall over. Sucks that its $115 every time it deploys, I was just really surprised it was that sensitive.
Mine has deployed 3 times in MX Race mode.
I expected all 3 but really only needed it once. The other 2 I fell in soft dirt, but the airbag doesn't know that.
I have had probably had 10+ tip overs and it has not deployed from them which is why I chose MX Race over MX.
For me MX Race works the way I want it to, YMMV.
The cost of the cartridges will certainly be motivation to not fall. I do wonder if they can collect even much more data with it in production? Maybe further refine the algorithm to avoid the tip overs.
The algorithms undergo consistent development. Tech-Air MX has only been in market a couple of months, it’s brand new. It will see software updates to fine tune it. Better to have it deploy in a tip over and know it’s there when you really need it than the other way around. It’s doing its job, it might just be overachieving. Give it time.
Thats what I told my buddy who was with me. Good to know its going to deploy when you need it at least. Good point on the software updates as well hadn't really thought of that.
They are working on bringing the cost down on the cartridges as well. Also they run data on all of their athletes even if they aren't running the actual airbag system.
I know they are updating from their own data and when we do updates we benefit. Are they able to pull data from us via the app? I haven’t looked into it and that is what I was getting at. Honestly I don’t know how it could benefit them without being able to relate to the crash that leads to a deployment and make a judgement about tweaking the algorithm.
I also want it to err to the side of deploying more rather than less.
I will be highly considering this investment when I get back on a bike soon. Barcia's near zero injuries compared to almost being paralyzed or killed sold me on that product.
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