[Closed] Road riders wearing black - why?

Cycling in the Uk is not like cycling in Holland or Denmark though is it?

timc......please explain how it differs?

I ride in Black, I do so cos' it's sexy.

I don't however ride at night on busy main roads, all my riding is done in the quiet Hampshire Lanes.

If on the foldie/fixie in That Lunnnjon I ride in jeans and jacket, however I have just bought a very dashing burnt Orange variety so I'd class that as "bright".

Lights go without saying, roadie has one on front, two on seatpost, foldie one on front, two on rear seatstays, fixie has one on front one on rear.

It was Ian, just near Fenwick.

I ride in dark colors as they look better and I dont want to look like a lollypop man. Does anyone have any hard stats that say dressing like a wolly decreases your chances of being hit??.... cos logic definitely says otherwise.

The only reason a driver should not be able so see a cyclist (given that all cars come equipped with powerful head lights) is if they are not looking at them. Rear lights are are a good idea so that a driver can have prior warning of a cyclist before his/her dipped beam reaches the rider. Before this time no amount of reflective gaudy color schemes will illuminate you as there is no light to reflect.

I'd guess it's cause they dressed for a ride not for a health and safety convention. If it was night time and they had no lights and dark clothes feel free to have a rant, if it was daytime and they just got caught out in low light I don't see why they deserve scorn. 80-90% cars had lights on so presumably there were a few dark coloured cars with no lights on - why are you not having a pop at them?

Stewart Maconi made the comment that if you want to pass completely unnoticed through any environment in the UK, put a fluorescent jacket on

If we're talking safety then lights and reflective strips/panels have a much greater impact than fabric colour in low light conditions and in normal light conditions black is perfectly visible.

Eh?

So you're saying that a material that requires light to bounce off it is better than hi-viz in low light conditions (when not all cars have headlights on) and black is as visible as a hi-viz in 'normal light conditions' (whatever they are)?

'k...

😕

Not once in my life can I remember being out in the car and not seeing a cyclist because he was wearing a dark coloured top (I'm not starting on shorts). I've been caught out by someone in dark clothes at night without lights, but the solution for him wasn't to put a different coloured hoodie on it was to get some lights.

Not once in my life can I remember being out in the car and not seeing a cyclist because he was wearing a dark coloured top (I'm not starting on shorts). I've been caught out by someone in dark clothes at night without lights, but the solution for him wasn't to put a different coloured hoodie on it was to get some lights.

That's because you didn't see them...

crikey - Member

Eeeh, that photo is a fail...

Baggy cuffs, hood, cut too long at the front and too short at the back, no pockets and she's wearing knickers.

Not really cycling clothing at all.

I had to stop and peer very closely at the lady's bottom to confirm the knicker-wearing thing. You must have great eyesight.

So you're saying that a material that requires light to bounce off it is better than hi-viz

Seems we have lost the knowledge already!

Bring back the nanny state! 😉

I have some red/blue/etc jerseys but for the most part my riding gear is black or drab colours. There just isn't that much choice out there unfortunately. When commuting I tend to wear a fluoro gilet and some of those fluoro/reflective reversible ankle strap things, and lots of lights on the bike/me when it starts getting dark (ie now).

Basically it comes down to the trade off between some perception of personal safety, and not wanting to look like a bell end

imo colour of the clothes is nonsense, lights make a difference and some reflective bits in twilight but in the dark or daylight it'll make sod all difference imho

Fairly thick fog here this morning I couldn't believe the number of cars driving about with no light on at all! madness in my mind

That's because you didn't see them...

I know were supposed to be arguing the toss, gradually taking a more opposed viewpoint and generally getting angrier as the thread goes on but that was funny. Nice work. 😆

High viz also requires light to bounce of it

If you're referring to the fact you need light to see it (such as daylight, or other ambient light) then yes - it does.

Reflective strips do exactly that - reflect. They require a direct light source, such as a headlight, to work. Therefore in most situations (such as daylight) they will not be as visible as hi-viz.

I know were supposed to be arguing the toss, gradually taking a more opposed viewpoint and generally getting angrier as the thread goes on but that was funny. Nice work.

Thank you. 😉

[img] [/img]

grum - Member

"murdered out" is a good look.

Murdered out is my favourite colorway.

I brought some cycling clothes in a murdered out colorway recently.

😀

I brought my way out colors to a club ride recently and got asked to swap them out.

[img] [/img]

Seems we have lost the knowledge already!

Quality - love the full tinfoil suit the kid is wearing. Very practical.

Not a helmet in sight though... 😛

Having a decent set of lights is most likely get you seen in low light conditions IMO, supplementing that with some brightly coloured and/or retro reflective clothing is perfectly harmless so do it if you want (I do) but if black / dark colours are your preferred aesthetic then fair enough, os long as you have some lights on then I suppose the drivers excuses for mowing you down are pretty much null and void.

TBF no matter what you wear you'll be viewed as a weirdo these days, your on a bike.

Whats the point of lights in bright sunshine?

I came close to hitting a guy on a bike, in a 50 zone the other day. Very, very contrasty light, lots of areas of shadow and blinding light, twisty road - the kind of conditions which have more than once made me pack in a ride and go home.

I was driving according to the conditions but at the end of the day, you've got to make progress.

Saw the guy in a deep pool of shadow, at the very last moment and stamped on the brakes. Waited a moment until it was safe to overtake. If I'd been doing the recommended 50mph, I would have been lucky not to hit him. If he'd had a flashing rear light, I'd have seen him earlier.

I understand this ^^^ is dangerous talk round these parts and it's the responsibility of the driver to be very aware of vulnerable road users, but if there's anything I can do to make myself safer on a bike, I'll do it. And that does include assessing light conditions and going home where necessary.

EDIT - no clue what he was wearing...

The key to visibility is not colour or brightness but contrast, on a gloomy day in a city that may well be bright colours, but in other conditions it may not be.

You will actually get better visibility by having areas of different colour/brightness next to each other, ie: bright bike, dark rider or dark top, bright helmet and shorts that way you have more chance of people being able to pick you out against a variety of backgrounds.

All said and done though being in dark clothing does not make you invisible as long as you are sufficiently illuminated

EDIT - no clue what he was wearing...

😀

I would rather not cycle(and I have most days since I was three) than join the wonking helmet, high viz gang.

Insisting people dress up in silly clothes is one of the key reasons people dont start cycling in the first place.

Doesnt matter a jot what colour your wearing when the driver of a car is updating their facebook status.

ton - Member
timc......please explain how it differs?

Come on, no point going round the houses, we all know these countries cater for cyclists better than the Uk.

Op - see my ninja roadies thread a few months ago, the row went on for days......

and why so many silver cars that disapear into fog banks....

Cycling in the Uk is not like cycling in Holland or Denmark though is it?

You're right: we're intent on making cycling in the UK be seen as a dangerous activity.

I recently bought a set of exposure flash/flare lights for this very reason. Whilst i have kit that is colourful, i also have kit that is dark. The lights i use as daylight running lights because they are rechargeable and run for 8hrs which is easily enough for a day ride.
Lights, plus a bright fluoro helmet should have me seen regardless of whatever else I'm wearing.
As above, doesn't matter what colour you are if the driver doesn't care enough to actually look where they are going.

Very rarely wear black on the road. At junctions I think people are looking further up the road for fast moving vehicles, and aren't necessarily concentrating on the foreground. I generally wear red in the hope that the brighter colour will catch the driver's eye, specifically at junctions.

I'm not a fan of black, with modern fabrics getting bright colours clean again is not a problem. This is me, easily spottable.

[IMG] [/IMG]

I'm with muddydwarf - use Flash/Flares as daylight lights and have a hi viz helmet, doesn't matter what colour my kit is then

I really don't understand this trend for having lights on during the day. We've been fine for years without them, I can understand in low light but daylight is pointless.

Try not to wear black on the road (or mtb if I'm off the beaten track. Would like to be found if I'm knocked out..) Anything that makes us cyclists more visible to some motorist on their phone must be a good thing..

Bright colours don't work at night. Reflectivity and lighting are your friends in the dark.

As a driver, I have come across riders on the road in hi-viz gear and they didn't stand out that well. Green clothing against a green background (here in the countryside)? You are better off wearing plain reds, blues etc. IMO.

. If I'd been doing the [b]recommended[/b] 50mph, I would have been lucky not to hit him.

The roads would be a hell of a lot safer for all of us if people (and unfair to overly criticise one post that reflects the norm) would stop
conceptualising speed limits as targets.

I've got one of those (black) nightvision jackets, shine a light at it and I look like Tron. Okay, probably a bit more like that fat bloke in Running Man. I've got loads of reflective bits all over the rest of my (black) kit. I also have lights, several. If you don't see me then a yellow t-shirt wasn't going to change that.

This is me, easily spottable.

Anyway, back to the OP; why do a lot of cyclists wear black? Same reason that clothes and bikes went fluoro in the 90s: Fashion.

as you don't actually have to be able to see, what you wear on the road as a cyclist is fairly academic.

I know there are rules about vision, but they don't preclude the colour blind, the single eyed; they don't stop people not wearing glasses.

As for whether black is good or bad, time and place, black in snow is good, white in snow is bad. bright colours are pointless at night, low sun blinds drivers so they won't see you so clothing is irrelevant.

And what a cyclist is wearing when the driver is sending a text doesn't really matter.

There is a line between going day glow and ninja that you need to tread to have half a chance of being seen in any light conditions.

The responsibility for road safety is one that is shared amongst all road users. In a car I use lights to see with and be seen by and the same applies with clothing choice on the bike.

No-one ever seems to think about the relative differences between a vehicle and a cyclist in terms of reflectivity of light, surface area, etc.

And there is heaps of non black kit out there if you want it that isn't tat

Black hides the sweat

And the fat.

Hi Gary

I really don't understand this trend for having lights on during the day

I suggest you read this guy's post. Still don't understand why some people ride with lights on in daylight?

I came close to hitting a guy on a bike, in a 50 zone the other day. Very, very contrasty light, lots of areas of shadow and blinding light, twisty road - the kind of conditions which have more than once made me pack in a ride and go home.

I was driving according to the conditions but at the end of the day, you've got to make progress.

Saw the guy in a deep pool of shadow, at the very last moment and stamped on the brakes. Waited a moment until it was safe to overtake. If I'd been doing the recommended 50mph, I would have been lucky not to hit him. If he'd had a flashing rear light, I'd have seen him earlier.