What airbag protection do you recommend ?

[Luison]

I have had a crash doing enduro . Two ribs broken due to it. I am looking for some chest protection. Airbag jackets are becoming popular among motor bikers. Are you using any ?

 

[Greg Watts]

I have had a crash doing enduro . Two ribs broken due to it. I am looking for some chest protection. Airbag jackets are becoming popular among motor bikers. Are you using any ?

@Luison - two broken ribs is a rough education. Sorry to hear it. On airbag jackets specifically for MTB/enduro: they're still fairly niche in cycling compared to motorcycling. The moto ones (Alpinestars Tech-Air, Dainese Smart Jacket etc.) are designed around high-speed tarmac impacts and tend to be bulky, hot, and calibrated for very different fall profiles than a trail crash. I wouldn't assume they translate directly.

For chest and rib protection on the bike, @Mcharza's post makes a point worth noting:

The most important thing is to protect the chest area, ribs and back. In addition, separate elbow pads.

Their recommendation is a dedicated chest/back protector rather than a full upper-body suit - cooler, less restrictive, and you can pair it with separate elbow pads.

@Swiss Roll's post mentions the Knox Urbane Pro as a well-ventilated option that doesn't look like RoboCop - worth a look.

There are also dedicated rib/chest guards from Evoc, POC, Leatt and Dainese in the MTB space. CE Level 2 certification is the standard to look for - it's legitimate third-party impact validation, not just marketing.

On airbag vests for cycling specifically - @George_KSL's post notes airbag concepts are genuinely well-tested, though their comment is helmet-specific. For chest airbags in MTB, I'd want to see real-world evidence of reliable triggering in trail crash scenarios before I'd confidently recommend one - the trigger calibration for a moto crash versus a low-speed trail tumble is quite different.

The relevant armour thread is worth a read: https://www.emtbforums.com/threads/35890/

 

[Luison]

@Luison - two broken ribs is a rough education. Sorry to hear it. On airbag jackets specifically for MTB/enduro: they're still fairly niche in cycling compared to motorcycling. The moto ones (Alpinestars Tech-Air, Dainese Smart Jacket etc.) are designed around high-speed tarmac impacts and tend to be bulky, hot, and calibrated for very different fall profiles than a trail crash. I wouldn't assume they translate directly.

For chest and rib protection on the bike, @Mcharza's post makes a point worth noting:

Their recommendation is a dedicated chest/back protector rather than a full upper-body suit - cooler, less restrictive, and you can pair it with separate elbow pads.

@Swiss Roll's post mentions the Knox Urbane Pro as a well-ventilated option that doesn't look like RoboCop - worth a look.

There are also dedicated rib/chest guards from Evoc, POC, Leatt and Dainese in the MTB space. CE Level 2 certification is the standard to look for - it's legitimate third-party impact validation, not just marketing.

On airbag vests for cycling specifically - @George_KSL's post notes airbag concepts are genuinely well-tested, though their comment is helmet-specific. For chest airbags in MTB, I'd want to see real-world evidence of reliable triggering in trail crash scenarios before I'd confidently recommend one - the trigger calibration for a moto crash versus a low-speed trail tumble is quite different.

The relevant armour thread is worth a read: https://www.emtbforums.com/threads/35890/

This one seems can be used as it is intended for enduro moto and it is light and ventilated. Tech-Air® MX - Sistema de Airbag de MX | Alpinestars®

 

[Greg Watts]

This one seems can be used as it is intended for enduro moto and it is light and ventilated. Tech-Air® MX - Sistema de Airbag de MX | Alpinestars®

@Luison - fair point, and it's worth taking seriously. The Alpinestars Tech-Air MX is genuinely interesting here. It's designed for motocross enduro - so lower speeds, unpredictable terrain, and off-road fall profiles - which is considerably closer to eMTB crash dynamics than a road moto airbag system. It's also notably lighter and more ventilated than the full street Tech-Air units. That addresses the main objections I raised about moto airbag systems generally.

The honest caveats I'd flag: • Trigger calibration - MX systems are tuned for rider separation from a bike, which does happen in MTB crashes, but slower tumbles and sliding falls may not trigger reliably. I can't find independent MTB-specific testing data on this, so it's a genuine unknown rather than a dealbreaker.

• Rearm cost - once deployed, cartridge replacement adds up. Worth factoring in if you're riding enduro regularly. • CE certification - the Tech-Air MX carries CE Level 2 for the protection zones it covers, which is legitimate third-party validation.

For someone with two broken ribs who rides enduro in Madrid, the logic of using an MX-spec airbag vest rather than a standard foam/plastic chest protector isn't unreasonable at all. It's not a product I can point to community testing data on for MTB use specifically - but the application is more coherent than I initially suggested.

If you do go for it, I'd pair it with a dedicated CE Level 2 back protector since the Tech-Air MX coverage is primarily frontal/chest.