Judging but he CT scan result, the fracture seems to align with the seat washer in that particular area.
Does anyone know what the flattest ones known to man are?
I did 4 ribs this time last year, but that was due to a seat being too large and ended up being thrown around violently.
As far as rib protectors go, tried the lot. Didn’t like the Bengio as padding was a little too thick and felt every vibration transmitted. Right now I’m using the GreyHound which has been a life changer. Literally can’t feel anything although the build quality is a little off.
tillett p1 is also nice but ive heard good thigns about the grey hound. have you tried cutting a hole in a piece of foam tape thats as thick as the end of the bolt? than you surround all the exposed bolt ends with that and they no longer stick out. I did this and it worked very well.
If all else fails you could also custom machine one or get someone to custom machine one
Best of luck with your injury
Sorry to hear mate. It sucks I just had similar problem. I had to be off karting for 3 weeks. Didn’t do an x-ray or CT but pretty sure injured the rib. I was using a carbon fibre rib protector but my seat may be a bit on the loose side.
I just bought a Nike shirt (out of ebay since it has been discontinued) that has some padding (I think it’s for American football). I have a kart mate that uses it underneath his rib protector and really likes it.
George,
Assuming you keep injuring this over and over… consider a deepseat or ribtect seat. Bye-bye rib problems. Different handling, they say. I personally found it to be be just fine.
Yes I have considered those however they are not readily available in Australia, and to actually see and try one in the flesh is even rarer. You can understand I’m not about to pay $500 online for a product I’ve never tried.
Mine has stayed on for 2 years and counting, and its worked well. When you have a hole to allow the bolthead to stick out it make the seat more comfortable. ideally youd want the foam to be about 1-2mm thicker than the exposed bolt, as the foam compresses.
It’s worth it with recurring rib problems. The seat is “taller” and extends above the bottom of your rib cage. The top also wraps around your upper torso, slightly.
As these aren’t retailed in shops, I got sizing from the company. I called them.
Maybe some australian seat company makes a tall seat at least? Or maybe the tillet tall?
I broke my ribs twice in a season 2 years ago (hopefully that never happens again) but I think the biggest contributing factor to my injuries beyond the very bumpy track was my fitness. I had kind of let myself go fitness wise and I could never keep my upper body in a proper driving position which I think contributed to additional stress on my ribs. I don’t know what your body type is or fitness level just know my own experiences and what I think contributed to my rib problems.
I think this is a good observation. As I became more fit, my injury levels went down. Additionally, most of the health complaints I had were weight related. My knees were very bad, for example.
Karting provided the motivation to get very slim, since I was racing kids who weighed 110-140 lbs, generally. As I lost 60 lbs, all of the problems I had with my joints went away, mostly. Also, I went from feeling old to feeling very young. I can run, jump, dance, etc again. It feels great and I love being as spry (almost) as when I was a young man.
