Armor...is it necessary?
 

I need some advice on whether or not I should get a back/chest protector and shorts (I'm looking at Knox for these). My commute use to consist of in-town riding, but now i'm going to spend a lot more time on the freeway and I was wondering, if armor would be over kill or a good idea. any advice??
thanks in advance!!

I wear armored jacket all the time. I sometimes wear knee shin guard as well, just to go to work. You never know when something might happen. And I would be upset if I was not wearing armor and damage my shoulder, elbow and knee.

My riding jacket came with a foam back pad, but my understanding is that the OEM pieces are junk. My cheap riding jeans don't have any armor.

For me, it's not worth it to get an upgraded back protector and riding pants armor. I really don't want to wear it around all day, and though I'm sure it would provide some protection, I'm not sure how much more protection I'd get out of the back armor, nor how helpful it'd be for my hips to have armor if my legs are going to get flayed anyway.

For me, this is on the other side of the safety line we all have to draw for ourselves. From an objective standpoint, however, I can't think of any reason why more armor would be a bad thing.

Head, ribs and back are the most damaging/frequent injurys related to our
sport. Yes, armor helps. Anything, you add between you and obstacles, increases
the survivability. The best protection is a combination of leather and armored pads.

The textiles do a good job too, though. If you do a lot of high-speed riding, I do
recommend the hardened back armor over the foam. It is definetly not over-kill.
Modern equipment has gotten so common and in-expensive, it's really silly NOT
to utilize it.

Ern

Gear up as much as possible/ but still in your own comfort zone. Make sure each gear/sizing will work with other accesories your wearing. If your planning on wearing armor shorts like the icon field armor shorts, then your pants may need to be 1 or 2 size bigger.

You'll need full body protection if you're going to be on the 5 or PCH. ;-)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Everything Ern said.

Sometimes, accidents happen on short ride to market etc. It is not the distance or how fast you are going. The wrong fall on slow speed can give you worse injury. So I don't take chance with my body

thank you for the replies! i was worried i would be going over the top, but yeah, it's best to be protected. i ended up pulling the trigger on the contour back protector and knox chest protector. I'm going to wait until next pay check to pick up the knox cross shorts. any recommendations for knee/shin armor??
thanks once again!!