[bikerepublic]

How many of your actually wear knee and elbow pads and think that they are necessary for road cycling? I fully understand the need for them in BMX and mountain biking.

[riderman14]

anytime chicks wear knee pads is cool by me!!ride on

[camilo]

I think I'd shake my head if I saw a road biker wearing that stuff. But I'm a guy who doesn't actually think helmets are important.

[TxCyclist]

I think it's a little extreme but I would not look down on someone for doing so.

[Tarukai]

I think for road cycling it's not as necessary, as it seems like it'd be a bit bulky and in the way.

MTB and BMX have more of a reason for it I think.

[mefistofeles]

I wear knee, elbow and wrist pads for mountain and road riding. Plus a fox chest protector and kidney belt.

Some people may think this is extreme but I just got back from a road ride with a group of fixies and lost traction when the surface transitioned from concrete to asphalt I landed on my elbow. Fortunately I had elbow pads so when I landed aside from a few minor abrasions I was fine.

Approximately one month ago I was road riding with a friend when he clipped my rear tire. I went down again. However my elbow pads worked at 100% and I didn't even suffer any abrasions. I later looked at my left wrist pad and it look like it had been partially melted. If I had gone down without my wrist pads I probably would have sprained my wrist for sure.

I haven't used the chest protector yet, and the helmet did save my life once when I hit a car.

Of course then there was the time I hit a car, rolled over it and emerged with no more than a series of abrasions. Incidently the car looked like it had suffered a few thousand dollars worth of damage after I collided with it on my bike.

However the helmet saved my head from going through the windshield and from having brains scrapped all over the asphalt. The knee and elbow pads saved me from any secondary injuries that occured after the collision.

I started wearing wrist pads after spraining my wrist mountain biking. Speaking from personal experience, yes the gear can constrain your mobility but having even a minor accident can constrain your mobility for a few weeks or even a few months.

Sure you can be careful but no one can be assure me that their riding is 100% safe and perfect. Although I agree the chest protector can be a bit much, and make you sweat profusely, I think the other gear ( helmet, knee, elbow and wrist pads) is something that you'll use pretty often and is probably well worth any mobility tradeoff. I can ride with the fixies and manuver faster than any of peers at high speeds or through tight spaces so I think any perception that protective gear will slow you down significantly is an inaccurate one.