unsafe trend in jerseys?

[flash]

p.s. on visibility ... Has anyone else noticed this? To me, it seems that contrast (and especially horizontal contrast) is even better than solid colored bright jerseys for visibility. One example is Castelli's Maya jersey in red & white....

http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=24905

[Resi]

Thanks latelatebloomer for speaking up, I absolutely agree with you! I noticed this for a while, the dark colored cycling jerseys. Yes they look nice, tempting to buy, but wait a minute... dark colored jersey on the road??? Safety is number one for me when I ride my bike, that means I wear bright colores (what colores where the best, bright green and also yellow?). I don't care if I am in fashion or not, I want to bike not impress anybody with my new expensive cycling close

Ride safe

Resi

[mariposa]

I remember reading somewhere that the BRIGHTEST colors for visibility (notwithstanding reflective strips), in descending order are:

Fuschia,
Yellow,
Orange, and
Red.

So I won't buy a cycling top in any other color.

Blues, greens and purples are NOT very visible to drivers.

[emily_in_nc]

I remember reading somewhere that the BRIGHTEST colors for visibility (notwithstanding reflective strips), in descending order are:

Fuschia,
Yellow,
Orange, and
Red.

So I won't buy a cycling top in any other color.

Blues, greens and purples are NOT very visible to drivers.

Agreed! I see bike commuters nearly every night when I leave work and am amazed at how many of them are wearing DARK jerseys. I always really appreciate the ones who are all lit up; it really does make a difference. In addition to the colors mentioned above, I also find white jerseys very visible. And wild patterns/team kits with multiple bright colors.

If you have a dark-colored jersey you love (or it's the only one clean), wear a screaming yellow wind vest over it on the road. Dark colors are okay on the trails, bike paths, etc., but just not right for the road, IMO. I used to wear them, but as I've become more aware of the visibility differences, and how distracted drivers are these days with cell phones, I won't.

Emily

[Zen]

my dictionary says fuschia is a dark purplish-red color

[Thorn]

Actually, Fuschia is something like this

Of course, color and names of color are very subjective, but when I need an obnoxious bright color for testing computer displays it is a background color of Fuschia with Yellow text. I think of it more as a very painful pink.

Wasn't there a post eons back about the bright yellow not always being the best color? The case was a driver not seeing a bike they knew was there and the rider was wearing the yellow/lime color because the sun was behind the rider. Usually the color is effective, but we can't assume we're boldly visible.

Multiple, very bright colors are required for different lighting conditions. Heck, fire departments can't agree on whether trucks should be red or yellow/lime. Give me a wild pattern jersey with lots of bright colors--makes me giggle when I wear it and it makes me think I can be seen.

[Beane]

in motorcycle safety class they told us that white was always and by far the most visible, especially for helmets...

[HoosierGiant]

For what it's worth, I was driving the girls to piano lessons one afternoon and was several hundred yards away from a y-intersection when I saw DH go sailing through in his hi-vis orange cycling jersey. Thought to myself, "Dave must be ahead of him already heading up the hill." Uuumm, no. Ever-vigilant and always scanning for cyclists, I was SHOCKED when I realized Dave was actually just a short distance behind DH -- white jersey, white helmet. Never even registered on my radar.

We won't ride in anything but hi-vis, and have found that drivers seem to treat us with a little more respect since we made the switch. (That's still not saying much though!)

Was in a major LBS in Indianapolis and asked the buyer why they didn't carry anything for women other than pastel pink and baby blue. She told me that riders like those colors because they feel like they're easier to see. Snort.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

You have to ask yourself: what do highway road crews wear? Fuschia? Baby blue? White? Sunflowers? Stripes?......no, they wear screaming hi-visibility yellow or orange, with reflector tape for nightime.
Here in NY state, there was a study done a few years ago that caused the highway dept to switch from hi-vis orange and pink to hi-vis yellow because they found it was the most attention getting and visible color to motorists. Those guys do major safety studies and tests, -they want to make darned sure their road crew does not get hit by cars who don't see them.

Screaming yellow for me, thanks (with cozy merino wool base layers underneath!).