Leatt
Cape Town, South Africa is the home of research and development of Leatt®. Here Dr. Leatt along with his knowledgeable engineers and highly skilled designers invent new products, test those products and constantly strive to improve existing products.
The research facility has built-in state-of-the-art testing equipment that enables the team to conceptualize a product, through testing of the product and create the prototypes.
Although the majority of Leatt®’s R&D gets done in Cape Town, South Africa but collaborations with famous multinational companies give our products an international flavor.
Dr. Chris Leatt at the heart of Leatt® Lab
A rider and inventor Dr. Leatt was about to get specialized knowledge in neurosurgery when he observed a fellow rider, Alan Selby, died from a suspected neck injury. Dr. Leatt never wanted to see this happen again so he left studies and began to design what would ultimately become the Leatt-Brace®.
Chris started his study on medicine at the University of Cape Town and began internship in 1995 in the UK. He had worked in several hospitals in the trauma words. He finally left his medical career in 2004 to focus on the Leatt-Brace®.
With experience of being a medical officer for three FIM MX South African Grand Prixs Dr. Leatt heads up the Leatt® lab in Cape Town which is the life blood of Leatt®’s research and development. At the same time Chris is still very enthusiastic about motorcycle racing and participates actively.
The research facility has built-in state-of-the-art testing equipment that enables the team to conceptualize a product, through testing of the product and create the prototypes.
Although the majority of Leatt®’s R&D gets done in Cape Town, South Africa but collaborations with famous multinational companies give our products an international flavor.
Dr. Chris Leatt at the heart of Leatt® Lab
A rider and inventor Dr. Leatt was about to get specialized knowledge in neurosurgery when he observed a fellow rider, Alan Selby, died from a suspected neck injury. Dr. Leatt never wanted to see this happen again so he left studies and began to design what would ultimately become the Leatt-Brace®.
Chris started his study on medicine at the University of Cape Town and began internship in 1995 in the UK. He had worked in several hospitals in the trauma words. He finally left his medical career in 2004 to focus on the Leatt-Brace®.
With experience of being a medical officer for three FIM MX South African Grand Prixs Dr. Leatt heads up the Leatt® lab in Cape Town which is the life blood of Leatt®’s research and development. At the same time Chris is still very enthusiastic about motorcycle racing and participates actively.
Testing at the Leatt® Lab
The philosophy of testing at Leatt® is to develop methods that allow engineers comprehensive in-house testing and exploration. In our lab we imitate real life scenarios that might be encountered in a bicycle, motorcycle and automotive racing tarmac. Accordingly tests are conducted at same intensity level so that our engineers can understand accident dynamics comprehensively. And the outcome is optimized product performance.
Moreover this rigorous testing procedure boosts Leatt® engineers’ confidence to expect a first round approval from the certification authority.
It is true that in early days Dr. Leatt had no guideline to follow or no standard against which to test quality and performance. But with the advancement of technology the brand has developed some standards that are acceptable worldwide. Leatt® also acquired a Hybrid III ATD which is a crash test dummy and MATD neck specifically designed for use in motorcycle testing.
Moreover this rigorous testing procedure boosts Leatt® engineers’ confidence to expect a first round approval from the certification authority.
It is true that in early days Dr. Leatt had no guideline to follow or no standard against which to test quality and performance. But with the advancement of technology the brand has developed some standards that are acceptable worldwide. Leatt® also acquired a Hybrid III ATD which is a crash test dummy and MATD neck specifically designed for use in motorcycle testing.
History
From the beginning to present days Leatt® has a history of pride and honor. In 2001, the first neck brace prototype invented by Dr. Leatt. Three years later he sold the first Leatt-Brace® in South Africa. In the year of 2006, BMW documents the Leatt-Brace® and Dr. Leatt along with Andreas Geisinger introduced the product at the 6th International Motorcycle Conference in Cologne, Germany. A year later Leatt-Brace® was awarded Product of the year by RacerX and featuring the cover page of the same. Later in that year the demand for Leatt-Brace® spiked when critically injured racer David Bailey released a video that encouraged all riders to use neck brace while on tarmac.In 2008 world renowned Leatt® Lab founded in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2009 Leatt® got three achievements namely SAMIA Award for Outstanding Safety Achievement, Innovations Award at Eurobike and ‘Product of the Decade’ by readers of Motocross Action vote. In 2010 Leatt® introduced DBX, the first bicycle-specific neck brace system which won BrandNew Award in the Safety Equipment category at BikeExpo in Germany. In addition Leatt® rider Ryan Dungey secured the SuperCross Championship title convincingly in that year.