Alex.s, there is nothing wrong with erroring on the side of caution and overbuying to prevent a possible crash (no guarantees there though). It takes longer to learn about things when your leg is in a cast. :\ And yes, without training/time... it is more likely to mask a more fundamental issue.
Bottom line, I have seen racers place second
(5-6 seconds off lap record pace) on irc's and other riders like myself hate the overall feel at anything above a warm up pace.
I have learned that we are only talking about a few hunnit' bucks here. Not worth the alternatives.....