my chest protector bruised my rib

I was coming off a 30ft downhill double and i cased it with my back wheel. Bike landed right on my back when it came down and ran me over like a train.

Without my fox chest protector i think i would been in even more pain or even some broken ribs.

Most of the time i think it does more good then bad.

I sort of have a similer story to you mephisto. I fell in a corner while I wasn't wearing my chest protector the bike landed on my back on the swing are side the bike was still running in gear(it was a 4stroke) and the tire completely tore up my back I had mager rode rash all the way down my back and not to mention a few broken bones in my back too. I will now ALWAYS wear my chest protector after that when riding. Even if it does more harm in some cases its worth wearing one when ever you ride.

i dont think ive ever had a time where my equipment did more harm, a few days ago i went riding and fell in about 3rd(stupid ruts) the break leaver crushed my hand bad and i bruised my knee really bad(i wasnt wearing my knee pads). i think there will be more times where u will need them where as u had a bad break and they did more harm, i would still wear all of it if i were you...

Don't make the mistake of determining that your safety equipment does more bad than good. It definetly help protect you.

I have heard someone who determined that seat belts are bad because of being able to get out of the drivers seat while being broad sided. He was sure that is what saved his life. Maybe but in most cases the seat belt keeps you from going through the windshield or getting a stearing wheel through your chest.

I also overheard a guy which wanted to buy a helmet identical to the one he was just in a accident with. Apparently this helmet flew off of the guys head when someone turned in front of him. He skidded sideways and his head stop so close to the side of the van that he felt his hair touch the van. That convinced him (and his girlfriend which nodded along with him) that if the helmet had stayed on it would have hit the van and made the impact worse. The salesperson was shocked and had to confirm with him that he wanted the same helmet.

I love my protector. Same story as above. I went over the bars, landing on my back on top of a small jump. As I rolled over into a ball, I could feel that the right strap has broken and the protector had slipped up my back on the right a bit. As my bike landed squarely on my back, the only part injured was the exposed lower right side of my back(two broken transverse processes on the lower lumbar spine-the exposed area). If I hadn't been wearing my chest (back) protection, it would have been much worse looking at the impact area on the plastic. Definitely get a protector that has as much coverage as possible with still being comfortable to wear ALL the time. I could see if it was too short how it would leverage against your ribs.

As far as getting a new one be sure to try them all out. Plus you might get some amused looks in the shop trying them on- standing up/squatting down/sitting on their showrrom bikes/ doing somersaults on the floor .... J/K - but it would be funny.......

I hope you get to healing - that sounded like a hard get off......

Can't wait to ride this weekend - I have already spent too much time on cleaning, maintenance and such....... AGGGGHHHHHH

So far all my equipment has saved me tons of pain. Boots help with hard landings and when rocks, etc. come up and hit you. Thor Force knee guards saved my knee after I accidentally ran over a shovel, and the metal end hit me in the knee and put a gouge in the guards. They also help protect your knee cap, etc. after a fall and landing on knee. My chest protector looks like I went at it with 50 saws. I cased the landing of a 35ft double and went over the bars, then proceeded to skid for 20 ft on my back in rocks, if not for the plastic chest protector, my back would of been seriously ripped to shreds, plus the shoulder protection of it helped immensly when I hit the ground.

I am sorry, I really am that I was laughing reading some of the crash posts. You guys have some stories that for sure! Paper Racer you must look like someone who is going horse jausting when you ride with all that stuff. LOL But I wouldnt stop wearing the important stuff

I had a simalar experince with my thor chest protector 4 weeks ago i broke two ribs in the front right where the the kinda v form ridge lines up on the front right of my chest and one in the back, but no telling how much more severe it could have been without it. but man this is a annoying injury!

spktm

Back in January I was racing a local arenacross when I plowed front wheel 1st into a triple. The bike came to a dead stop and my chest hit the bars so hard it jammed my kill switch in. The part of the chest protector that buckles peeled the side of my stomach open like a cheese grader but my chest was fine. Without it I know I would have broken ribs again and that aint no fun. Been there and done that, it's the reason I have a chest protector in the 1st place.