Commuting - Body Armor

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I have a Dainese safety jacket- it gives some protection for the spine, shoulders and arms and I use it in winter when I commute to work.

Anyone tried their "summer jacket" ?
http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/35-DA-13

the bmx'ers wear armor so they dont get too jacked up on the street course with the rails and pipes and ramps and stuff . id think it would look a little guilty out in the city

silly not guilty

I have a several armored jackets from my motorcycling days. If you go down at 60 mph and slide off the roadway into a field, you'd probably do OK with one. If you were run over by a truck, it wouldn't really matter. It's really for abrasion protection, not impact protection. I guess motorcycle-style armor could help to some degree, but I don't think it makes sense for commuting unless you fall a lot.

I guess under amour does not count!

http://www.underarmour.com/ua2/ua/detail.asp?dept_id=37&pf_id=5385&mscssid=

So when I got of work last night she asked me if I ever thought about wearing some {body armor]. She gets worried about me riding where I do and at what times I do, which I don't blame her because as everyone knows, Metro Detroit has the worst drivers in the US.So how 'bout it? Anyone wear any?

First of all, if you were riding in Boston, your wife would have good reason to think body armour! Our "best" drivers have migrated to Detroit long ago ;-)

Following a crash on black ice in Boston and a crash doing single track on a bridge in Boulder, I had a third crash in Boston traffic. Doc Scheller who is the court physician for the Celtics (who takes care of yours truly as well as our beloved Pistons on occasion) has not seen me in leg armour yet- http://crash-pads.com/product.aspx?dept=bike&style=1200
but Doc does approve of the open patella knee pads I've been wearing during my rehab. http://www.websoft-solutions.net/product_p/ftro-kn-sp.htm

I look on leg armour (haven't thought about upper body armour yet) the way your Rip (Richard) Hamilton thinks of face masks. Not fun to run around in- but in a hostile environment, whether commuting in Detroit traffic or doing downhill or extreme BMX, it's a lot better than surgery/rehab.

So in mid-June when Spring finally comes to Boston (real feel was 38 F this morning), I'll try commuting with "CrashPads". Stay tuned ;-)

:roflmao: :roflmao:

Armour's for when you take a hit. Taking a hit is bad, hm'kay? Concentrate on enjoying your ride and avoiding the hits, and you don't need that victim-mentality armour.

Armour's for when you take a hit. Taking a hit is bad, hm'kay? Concentrate on enjoying your ride and avoiding the hits, and you don't need that victim-mentality armour.

Putting on a Dainese safety jacket is no more difficult than putting on a shirt. It doesn't stop enjoyment of the ride (at least in Winter) and I can't see any good reasons not to wear one particularly when commuting over ice and snow in traffic for example. Why should I just accept injuries as an occupational hazard when there is something I can easily do to mitigate the risk?.

Any reasons against body armour for commuting could also be used to argue against wearing a helmet.

But everyone should wear whatever makes them feel comfortable and gets them out on the bike IMO.

Any reasons against body armour for commuting could also be used to argue against wearing a helmet.





That is false logic. Body armour is false security. It is not designed to protect against the impact of vehicles, nor protect limbs from impacting the pavement. It won't prevent a broken collar bone... or broken pelvis, or hip. It might help with a bit of road rash, but when I've gone down, road rash was the least of my concerns.

If you are that afraid, take the bus!

That is false logic. Body armour is false security. It is not designed to protect against the impact of vehicles, nor protect limbs from impacting the pavement. It won't prevent a broken collar bone... or broken pelvis, or hip. It might help with a bit of road rash, but when I've gone down, road rash was the least of my concerns.

If you are that afraid, take the bus!

this is what I meant - the arguments you have used are the ones that the anti-helmet faction use- won't help if you hit a bus and so on. Fortunately most accidents are not so severe and some body armour may well help. It makes me wonder why body armour exists at all when it is all so suddenly useless out of the particular context of downhill racing.

Also why do rollerbladers wear body armour?- rollerblading is in essence a similar activity to cycling

In the last accident I had on my bike I hit a kerb with the front wheel and landed on my spine. Luckily on that occasion although I was not wearing any body armour I had my rucksack on and it had some magazines and soft stuff in.

Now I would imagine that you would also scoff at the safety value of rucksacks stuffed with magazines and soft stuff but it saved me some considerable pain and possibly some permanent damage.

It is not a question of being afraid but of merely balancing the risk. You are free of course to balance your own risk (or not if you dont want) but why can't you just accept that people will come to different conclusions than you?

That is false logic. Body armour is false security.

A rather odd claim.

I guess all the sponsored freeriders and professional downhill racers who wear it (and slow down their race times in the process) are just paranoid and afraid of a little superficial gravel rash. They should all suck it up and ride without pads.

Why not go to the skate park and tell the kids wearing pads that they are whimps, too?

Your claims are utterly meaningless. The fact that protective gear does not "prevent" all possible injuries means nothing about it's potential protective value. Yes, you can still get hurt wearing it. JUST LIKE A HELMET. You claim false logic, I see none.

And the remark that road rash is nothing serious is just bizarre. My most significant injuries from riding have been from sliding along the pavement on my forearms. I didn’t enjoy it all that much. Maybe I’m a whimp too.

It looks hot 'n heavy. How much does it weigh and is there a problem with overheating in the summer?

It is hot, and it is somewhat heavy. I don't think it's the best idea for summer road rides. But in the winter when I am on my mtb, it's really no different than a jacket. I bought it for DH riding, but it is comfortable enough that I could use it for general urban riding in cool weather.

i can see this getting to the point where people who wear body armor are telling people who dont wear it they are stupid for not wearing it, just like the helmets issue. the people who enjoy riding with a he;met seem to push it on everyone else like biblical dogma.yes its a good idea to wear a helmet but its the choice of the individual

body armor to me seems a bit excessive but if your comfortable looking like something from thunderdome feeling like you are carrying a midget then more power to you

body armor to me seems a bit excessive but if your comfortable looking like something from thunderdome feeling like you are carrying a midget then more power to you

I see where you're coming from. After last week's ambulance ride with some nerve damage. My helmet hit the edge of the curb -- Now I'm all ears.

Also why do rollerbladers wear body armour?- rollerblading is in essence a similar activity to cycling


It is not a question of being afraid but of merely balancing the risk. You are free of course to balance your own risk (or not if you dont want) but why can't you just accept that people will come to different conclusions than you?

to each his own; but roller bladers are always falling, as are mnt bikers, downhillers etc.. I think as ones sports become more hazardous then one needs to take more precautions. I happen to think road riding is not that serious....if I felt that way I wouldn't ride. Perhaps this false security but it works for me.

i can see this getting to the point where people who wear body armor are telling people who dont wear it they are stupid for not wearing it, just like the helmets issue. the people who enjoy riding with a he;met seem to push it on everyone else like biblical dogma.yes its a good idea to wear a helmet but its the choice of the individual

body armor to me seems a bit excessive but if your comfortable looking like something from thunderdome feeling like you are carrying a midget then more power to you

I agree - freedom of choice all the way

and I really don´t go around looking like mad max- I wear the safety jacket underneath my rain jacket. No one can tell that I have it on and it is just like wearing a fleece jacket underneath.

I did consider some knee protection as well but the inconvenience of having so much gear to put on starts to outweight the possible benefits at this point IMO. But I hadnt seen Leo Driscolls ´s leg armour then.

Let us know how it goes Leo. I would be interested to see how it works out for you.

i know what you mean , but i never top 10mph most likely i even start early so my commute to work isnt rushed either so a tumble for me wont really need a full metal jacket

but yeah for bmx people and downhill people i can see why body armor would be coolbut im not out there doing backflips with my bike or racing downhill at 50mph so yeah they probably need it a little mpre than commuter joe

In metro Detroit I'd want the kind of body armor that stops bullets!

Here's my story:

Six breaks on five ribs and a separated shoulder from t-boning a dog on a bike trail last September. Dog came onto the path from the woods and stopped. I never had a chance. As I was lying there, the dog's owner came onto the path, whistled to the dog and walked off into the woods on the other side... Left me lying there unable to get up. I half expected him to come back and steal my bike! Fortunately, two very nice ladies were walking up the path and called my wife and 911. No reports of the dog coming into any of the area vets, so I assume the dog was okay, but if I ever see the guy again I'm going to tear his spine out through his @@s! I'm still recovering but at least I can get back on the bike now.

Now, at the recommendation of both my back doctor and my orthopod, I wear the sixsixone flack jacket. No it won't protect me if I get hit by a car, but if I hit the ground and/or the bike lands on top of me, I have some level of protection over and above what my body can give me. Bailing off the mountain bike the other day and hitting the bad ribs on the handlebar caused no pain and no damage. What would have happened without the jacket. This is not to say that everyone should wear one, or that armor should be mandated by law, just that it works for me, and takes one less worry out of my favorite activity. Without the jacket, I probably would still be inside on the trainer, and not outside on my new bike.

I agree - freedom of choice all the way

and I really don´t go around looking like mad max- I wear the safety jacket underneath my rain jacket. No one can tell that I have it on and it is just like wearing a fleece jacket underneath.

I did consider some knee protection as well but the inconvenience of having so much gear to put on starts to outweight the possible benefits at this point IMO. But I hadnt seen Leo Driscolls ´s leg armour then.

Let us know how it goes Leo. I would be interested to see how it works out for you.

Hallo royalflash! Was ist los heute in die Strasse bei Munchen? Ah Munchen, (sorry no umlaut- this is
an Irish machine ;-)

I wish I were lifting a stein of Lowenbrau with you and admiring the Madchen outside the Hofbrau Haus!

Well, I came off the injured list today and commuted to work on my 1984 Raleigh singlespeed wearing the CrashPad pants! It was a good test not only for my healing knees but also for the very ingenious CrashPads.

Today was the first day since last September that I biked in 79 F. Yeah, the CrashPads, although ventilated were warm- bike shorts would be best. But I try not to let the best be the enemy of the good. The confidence the CrashPads gave me enabled me to hold my own with manic Memorial Day Weekend traffic.

Just an aside- biking, like lots of sports, is really a sport of the mind (perhaps not as much as the new Poker-made-for-TV "sport" ;-) If we feel confident in our bikes and our ergonomics, then biking can be a joy!

:roflmao: :roflmao: