Black????really????

[kermit]

I rode today in my usual, very popular but busy area in our town. I would say that three out of five cyclists were wearing predominantly black gear. I have had so many close calls with cars and even a school bus, I am all about "please see me" clothing. Is this happening any where else?

[Roadtrip]

Yup. Just last night we were out about a few hour after sunset and I passed a bicyclist without lights and wearing dark colored clothing. I didn't see him until I was about 50' from him, and while he was safely on the shoulder of the road, I was stunned someone would be riding with no lights in near pitch darkness.

Shannon

[OakLeaf]

One of my riding buddies has "Ace of Spades" kit.

He knows what I wear, I don't have to preach verbally.



ETA - I guess that design has been discontinued, but a large plurality of the designs that are on Primal's website now are black. Including their "Dia de los Muertos" kit, for the fans of sick jokes.


Edit again: In daylight, black is actually more visible than light blue, light green or most browns, which blend right into sky and vegetation.

[bmccasland]

In a hot climate I wouldn't want to wear black during the day. Nothing quite like absorbing heat.

For low sun ray times, maybe the riders should don a lovely high vis vest? Probalby not cool enough.

[Grits]

A few of the people I ride with sometimes wear non-cycling workout wear to ride in, and it sometimes is black or some other dark color. Although, just because it is cycling specific doesn't necessarily mean it is a very visible color. I've noticed that a lot of the blue jerseys just fade into the highway.

When I"m looking at the riders either ahead or behind me at a distance, you can really see a huge difference in visibility between the riders in high vis colors vs the ones in dark colors. Yellow shows up for miles. I am so paranoid about being seen that I wouldn't even enjoy a ride if I wasn't wearing nice bright colors with my blinkie light flashing! My next purchase is going to be a yellow vest.

[kimikaw]

Glad you asked...been meaning to post somewhere about a women I saw last week. A bike commuter riding at 5:30pm through the most trafficy part of my commute (state street in downtown Wauwatosa for any locals) - totally dark and at a time of day cars do a lot of lane jockeying to get past each other.

She had on a long black coat, black pants, black boots (quite stylish street clothes), black backpack. NO LIGHTS, only reflectors were on her pedals. And she was wearing earphones and a iPod.

If I had been on my bike, I would have stopped her to explain not only was she breaking the law (WI requires lights), but putting her life in jeopardy. Sure she gets points for commuting - when I've been afraid to since the time change and darkness - but loses them all for stupidity. Haven't been able to get her out of my head since.

[tangentgirl]

Maybe grey with yellow dotted lines is the way to go.

I've seen a lot of black cycling tops lately and thought the same thing. I was at a tri store recently, would see something with a really cute bright print on the front, just to turn it around and see an all-black back.

In daylight, black is actually more visible than light blue, light green or most browns, which blend right into sky and vegetation.

I'm trying to picture this, I am. Not feelin' it, but am open to hearing more.

[ridebikeme]

I have been seeing this unfortunately for quite some time. I've actually started having long discussions about this with some of the clothing companies that I carry...while they listen most have tended to do NOTHING! When you have a minute, look at your selections of clothing... especially cold weather clothing. While we all know that shorts/tights are black, why is is that most(not all) jackets/vests are black? Think about this when you buy yor next piece, and voice your opinion to LBS/mail order.

Thanks for bringing this up, hopefully more people will pay attention to what they are wearing. I like so many of you, always wear bright clothing, and can only hope that someone is paying attention while they're driving.

[OakLeaf]

What 7rider said.

I've said it many times before here, but it bears reiterating. I wear hi-viz for two reasons.

First is for the people who ARE paying attention. If you've driven an automobile and come up on bicyclists, you know that you will see the ones in hi-viz about a half mile ahead, where you may not be able to see the ones wearing colors that blend in until you're a couple of hundred yards behind them, and it may not register that they're actually human road users until you're much closer. That just isn't enough time to plan at 65 mph, and it's barely enough time to brake or swerve. My being visible is courteous to good drivers, allows them to drive more smoothly and less stressfully, and allows traffic to flow better.

Second is why I call the gear "Exhibit A," as 7rider said. If a jury has to wear sunglasses to see what's left of my jersey, there's more hope that the automobilist won't be able to get away with "I didn't see her."

Of course I'm responsible for my own safety, always, on foot, on bici, on moto (and in a car as well). But it doesn't make sense to me, to deprive automobile drivers of the ability to see me and drive safely around me.


(It's a whole 'nother story on the moto where I have the opportunity to get out of trouble by twisting the throttle, as well as the opportunity to stay out of trouble. But the distinction between bici safety and moto safety, and target fixation vs. safe driving, is for another thread...)


Also, I'm sure it's different for urban riders, where speeds are so much slower, and things like intersections and parking lots force automobilists to expand their field of vision slightly. I don't think I'd worry much about visibility if I were riding in the daytime in urban areas.


Edit one more time ... FHWA and OSHA require hi-viz apparel for workers in highway rights-of-way. That's good enough for me.

[Crankin]

I love black and dress in black or grey almost all of the time, in my "regular" clothes." That said, I only have one piece of black cycling wear (on the top). It's a winter piece, long sleeved, thermal jersey that zips up. It has red and white reflective accents on it. I've only worn it in the day time, in bright sun a couple of times. Most of the time, it's been worn under my screaming yellow jacket. My other jerseys are all kinds of colors.
I too, have noticed many commuters with no lights, or only a horrible reflector at dusk. Most of them are young people or older people, "invisible" cyclists, etc. I see them on my way home from the city I am working in for my internship, which has a large immigrant population. No helmets, either. Going the wrong way. But, I also see this in Cambridge, which has a huge cycling population, commuters, who zip through very heavy traffic, in street clothes, with no lights. Yes, it is brightly lit on the main streets, but I am sure they go into residential areas to get home. Around where I live, most of the commuters have lights, but they could have more/better ones.
When I ride in the dark, I have a bright headlight, a very bright rear blinkie and a blinking ankle band on both legs, as well as a reflective vest. One day, when I was coming home from my before work ride, DH was going to get bagels and saw me, in a pretty dark corner of my neighborhood, He said I was extremely visible, so I guess it works.

[shootingstar]

Most of my cycling bottoms are black or dark. But tops, especially jackets are hi-vis. Jerseys tend to be light coloured or bright coloured..since I can wear bright colours well against my face.

I've gotten onto elevators at various workplaces, where there were car-driving employees in same elevator, who expressed their appreciation for hi-viz apparel by cyclists.

Doesn't that say enough? Oak's comment on hi-viz wear as a OSHA requirement (by highway workers, construction workers on the road, etc.) says alot here.

I suppose for some non-cycling apparel cyclists, maybe wearing black while cycling on a fixie is a form of "cool"/hip.

Or wearing black means to hide wet dirt splash-up.

But I value my life over fashion, while on bike.

[sarahkonamojo]

I agree with Ridebikeme, the choices aren't there, at least where I shop. I would rather dress like a Christmas tree than be hit by an auto.

I think cycling short/tights should have high viz on the rear/upper thighs.

[tulip]

I read somewhere a while back that hi-viz yellow is better to wear in urban areas because it stands out from all the other visual noise. The same article said that hi-viz orange is best to wear in rural areas. I would argue with the second point on a brilliant fall day in Vermont, however, when the leaves are as bright orange as the clothing.

Please do not ask me to come up with a source. I read it somewhere, a while back.

I figure the highway construction industry has done all the studies on visibility, so I get my hi-viz stuff at a highway safety supplier (alertshirt.com; there are other, too). Not cycling specific, but the products are compliant with the major standards. When I commuted by bike, I wore their simple t-shirts. You could sew your own pockets on the back if you are handy with a needle and thread. The prices are very reasonable, too.

[limewave]

tulip, the other day I saw someone wearing a high-vis yellow jersey and they completely blended in with the fall background. I happened to be looking for cyclists and runners as that is a popular area for cycling, so I saw them. But someone who isn't conscious of that never would have seen her

[pll]

I have to say I have noticed more drivers are courteous when I'm wearing a high visibility jersey. I had only a 'highlighter green' short sleeve jersey, and this fall I splurged and bought two fluorescent yellow jerseys, short sleeve and long sleeve. The latter makes me want to got out in the cold and I cannot wait for the spring to use the short sleeve one. It's hard to find high visibility stuff for women in the local bike shops -- I always look for it. It's black, down to the the under layers (why???).