[Closed] Why do so many cyclists on the road wear BLACK

Slimming init.

Because its bad-ass :p

Although I'll always have lights on, and fluoro gloves / helmet if I'm wearing black this time of year.

Gore's shakedry fabric is really difficult to add colour to.

My wider view is it's up to them, it's the drivers responsibility to make sure they don't hit them.

My personal approach is that I don't trust drivers, so I'd rather increase my chances of not becoming a statistic by wearing colours and using daytime lights.

To keep forums and local cycling group FB pages ticking over with outraged self-appointed experts.

i agree..it's daft TBH..

I call em 'stealth roadie ninjas'.

Granted, wear what you want mate, but at least TRY to be a bit visible I guess...

DrP

Last time I was hit by a car I was wearing dayglo orange.

If they're not looking at you it doesn't matter what colour you are wearing.

I think a lot of drivers are far less attentive than you give therm credit for.

Blame the manufacturers, if you want high performance kit (Shakedry being case in point) it seems less likely that you can get it in bright colours.

I'm an absolute magpie for bright shiny stuff and even I struggle to get the gear I want in the fit I want in bright colours, it all seems to tend towards black 🙁

I guess for winter riding there would be no harm in a relatively big, baggy and sweaty commuting style waterproof (assuming you're doing nice slow base miles in winter, a theory that is slowly being abandoned I think) but once you've gone Shakedry there's just no going back!

Plus a lot of the other stuff you might want to get in fluoro yellow (such as overshoes and leggings perhaps) is also going to take a pasting from mucky filthy water, so would probably end up filthy brown in short order. Even my fluoro yellow gloves are already getting pretty grubby with chain marks etc.

A good flashing rear light for me, will probably Scotchbrite my mudguards if I remember and get some blinky/reflective anklebands too if I know I'm going to be out in the dark.

My wider view is it’s up to them, it’s the drivers responsibility to make sure they don’t hit them.

My personal approach is that I don’t trust drivers, so I’d rather increase my chances of not becoming a statistic by wearing colours and using daytime lights.

I agree with this; as a cyclist I think that it's the driver's responsibility to look out for me, but as a driver I also think that cyclists have got to help me out a bit.

@MoreCashThanDash Exactly, not much point being in the right when you're dead.

Goths innit.

I’m going to poke the hornets nest.

We live in a car-centric society,  where non-motorised victim blaming is the norm.
The Culture of Fear is everywhere. People try to try to dictate what you, the citizen, wears.

They are trying to make fashion choices for you in the name of their holy, car-centric "safety".

Basically, if you feel the need to advertise reflective clothing for pedestrians and cyclists, you are advertising complete ineptitude about building safe and liveable cities. You are shouting to the world that you believe cars are king and everyone else is at their mercy.

But yeah I wouldn’t wear all black either 👻

The ninja bikes and ninja road clothing trend has confused me for the last ~15 years, I much prefer at least some vibrant colour for both.

I love my PX retro reflective toe covers as a moving part to catch motorists' eyes dusk to dawn, tempted to buy a pair of the similar design crab gloves (my dayglo orange Dafeet E-touch aren't bad in mild temps for visibility), sadly the PX helmets are too small. It's very boil in the bag if I put some effort in, but my Boardman retro reflective jacket lights me up like a Christmas tree in gillet form.

SMIDSY won't stick with me.

I just buy what works for mountain biking and generally that is dark colours. That kit then gets used for commuting and road. Powerfully rear and front lights is the important bit. If a driver cannot see an exposure flare light I am not sure a bit of colour will help! Survived 15 years of London daily commuting and 5 years of Sussex drivers!

The driver that knocked me off, just didn't see me, I was travelling at about 30mph when descending from the cat and fiddle. He lost his Licence for good, was 80 and failed his eyesight test.
Castelli orange perfotto stuff is great, so is Endura hi Vis blue FS pro stuff, I do hate the hi vis yellow sweat like a pig bin bags.
I do get it that if a driver is going to hit a cyclist its because they are just not looking and has sod all to do with what they are wearing but wearing something bright and/or flashing lights at least may give a chance that the driver that isn't looking see's you at the last second.

^ agree with mrl. I buy clothing for mountain biking, when it gets a bit tatty it becomes my commuting kit.  Most of the kit is in dark colours.

However I do stick a day glo yellow enduro jacket on at night, hopefully it'll get cold enough to use it as its been a touch warm so far this autumn.

Decent commuting lights for the win, still find it bonkers how many folk don't have lights on their bikes in the evening...

Over 40 years of experience tells me that it doesn't matter what colour you wear, many drivers suffer from wilful blindness with regard to anything that's not a vehicle. However, in winter I do wear reflectives and run lights which are far more effective than wearing fluorescent colours.

The same idiotic thinking insist on school kids wearing the stuff when walking on pavements when the actual risk is from vehicles mounting the pavement.

By all means swaddle yourself in fluorescent nylon if it makes you feel better.

Its because the caveman part of the human brain is designed to be weary of dark shadowy figures moving in your peripheral vision making them more noticeable than those trying too hard to be seen.

At work we wear yellow hi viz vests. Unless you're crane crew or traffic marshal, then you wear orange hi viz vests. It's to help plant operators see us.

Is such logic transferable to the public highway?

The ninja clothes don't bother me, the ninja bikes don't bother me. Cycling on nsl roads in the pitch dark (or as was a few weeks ago 10m visibility fog) with no lights or at best some token gesture free with a mag ones, dressed as a ninja and having stripped anything vaguely reflective from your bike, yeah that baffles and annoys me.

Its a driver's job, amongst other things, not to hit you. It's your job not to make that extraordinarily difficult. (same reason we drive on the left not which ever side we feel like etc)

I wear colourful gear cos I like. If it means people on the road can see me a bit better then it's a bonus.

Black is just boring most of the time. It makes me laugh when I used to stand on the train station platform at rush hour in winter and I was the only person not wearing a black or dark grey coat.

He says whilst wearing black jeans and a black body warmer.....I do have a purple sweater on though!

It lasts longer if you ride in shit weather

I wear black as much as possible as my head tells me its more flattering/better at hiding as I'm ashamed of my body/physique. I do wear a bright jacket for road riding though so hopefully other folks - bikists, carists and pedestrianists - might notice.

Why do so many cyclists on the road wear BLACK

Because it's easier to buy. What colour red is that, do I like that shade, will it fade in the wash, this jersey has two different colours of red, will I like them. If there's a choice of colours on a piece of biking kit that costs ££, I'll just go black because I avoid all those pointless thoughts.

Next question please!

It's faster...

Personally I've always wondered this myself.

All my commuting clothes have bright tops. I have a few Rapha outer layers, their Brevet range is pretty bright (I have orange, yellow, green and pink, all with reflective bits)

Also a big fan of reflective ankle bands

I asked a similar question a couple of years ago and was somewhat surprised by the replies.

It doesn't matter what colour you wear or how many lights you have on. Have a chat with an ambulance crew or fire crew and ask them how often people pull out in front of them, even with the lights and sirens going.

Because cyclists lives matter.

My wider view is it’s up to them, it’s the drivers responsibility to make sure they don’t hit them.

Never understood this. Do you drive a car at night with all the lights off? Disconnect your brake lights? Why not, isn't it the other road users responsibility not to hit you?

Do you leave your front door wide open when you are not at home? Isn't it everyone else's responsibility not to walk off with all your stuff?

My personal approach is that I don’t trust drivers, so I’d rather increase my chances of not becoming a statistic by wearing colours

Yep, drivers are generally crap at driving and don't observe anything until it is under their nose.
I don't see the point of ending up in hospital because a driver didn't see me in my black outfit and screaming "the driver should have seen me, it is not my fault"

Since being knocked off and hospitalised in September I am more nervous on the road (I was in bright clothes, daylights etc)

You were wearing bright clothing and got knocked off so it clearly makes **** all difference.

I think you're making it up OP, I've never seen any.

Why do some people choose to drive a black car when everyone knows a bright yellow one is more visible? Why are we not obliged to put hi vis stickers on our cars?

As has been mentioned, this is a car centric society and unfortunately, it always seems to be the cyclists fault if they're hit. I.e. they should have been wearing hi vis. The same argument as a victim of rape is told they shouldn't have been wearing a short skirt (or somesuch other inane and offensive statement). It's a sad indictment on society I think.

All the above said, I'd wear bright stuff if I was riding on the roads.

If they’re not looking at you it doesn’t matter what colour you are wearing.

But given how human vision works, if you are wearing bright colours then they might end up looking at you, where they wouldn't if you were in black.

It’s true, it probably makes no difference - cos the drivers that hit people just aren’t looking.
I mean, I saw on one of those emergency programmes a car that had ploughed into a horse, killed the horse (white horse), knocked the rider flying, life changing injuries... and horses are massive - car came flying down back road, didnt see them. Didn’t see 2 horses with riders!!
Anyway, yeah it also makes no difference to me what other people wear, so they can all wear black, no lights, no helmet, ride in the gutter or wrong side of the road... whatever. My safety is my responsibility and that’s what I care about.

The same argument as a victim of rape is told they shouldn’t have been wearing a short skirt

Well it's a bit more complex than that. We can require that men be in control of their behaviour - I mean I imagine it takes some time to follow, attack and rape someone. But human vision and human brains are pretty fallible things no matter how hard we try, and we need to factor that in. Whilst yes, it IS illegal to pull out in front of a cyclist, it doesn't make sense to make it harder for our brains.

I mean, what if I rode around in camo? A pattern that's been speficically created to make me as invisible as possible? Black at night is pretty much camo.

I’ve recently been looking at winter jerseys.

Most of the ones people recommend only came in a shade of black.

Absolutely no sense to it IMO

But assuming you are using lights as a cyclist (I don't think this was ever a discussion about using lights anyway), I don't understand how a black car and a cyclist dressed in black are, for want of a better phrase, not the same thing?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not disputing the fact that as a cyclist, why would you NOT wear reflective clothing etc but it's the argument that cyclists should feel obliged to, when black car drivers are not?
Just goes back to my agreement with the statement that, in this country, we are a car-centric society.

If they’re not looking at you it doesn’t matter what colour you are wearing.

A wee bit of contrast with the surrounding gloom probably isn't the worst idea though is it?

In fairness I have spotted and avoided killing my local Ninja three times already this week, fortunately you can just about make out the Castelli logos...
I suppose his poor choices, at least motivate me, and the 200 other drivers that pass him every morning to stay sharp when driving. Maybe it's a trust exercise and he's proving that the world is actually full of considerate, caring people... The Genius!

Poor little lamb can't even afford a rear light either, must have handed over all his disposable for that Italian lycra (But does have a front light)...

I might stop tomorrow, wait by the roundabout I know He'll have to stop at and offer him a free Rear light...

I wear a high vis at night and its covered in road grime.wouldnt have thought bright colours last long.

Usually around here, they do have lights on. It's the ninja runners wearing black with no hi-viz or lights running on dark country lanes that baffle me.

Personally I have lights and suchlike on the bike so that it doesn’t really matter. It’s not as simple as “black sucks” anyway: for a start, while driving I’ve seen green hi-viz blend very effectively into foliage where black has been highly visible. As far as collisions are concerned, I’ve seen police investigators comment that hi-viz has acted as camouflage and that lights have blended into the nighttime urban environment. You pretty much can’t win, even if you acknowledge that visibility and conspicuity aren’t the same thing, because the real issue is almost always poor observation and excessive speed on the part of whoever’s going to pile into you.

Related, as background:

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/bez-the-wedge/

Is such logic transferable to the public highway?

But given how human vision works, if you are wearing bright colours then they might end up looking at you,

No because they generally can't see you through their phone/the stereo /chatting to their mate what ever else it is they are doing except driving.

My old man was knocked off his motorbike. You can clearly see in the following riders video that the van veering onto his side of the road appears to have no driver.......he was leaning down to get something off the passengers floor......

The number of folk I still see doing something in their phone while driving is remarkable.

Blanket ban the driver from touching or taking calls at the wheel. (Even hands free) make the driver drive.

I was sat at some traffic lights waiting to turn right a month or two back when some old **** pulled up alongside me and proceeded to ask me why I didnt have lights on, I pointed out it was a bright sunny day. He then moaned about my black top (it has reflective panels but thats beside the point) he told me I should be wearing hi viz so I can be seen. I looked down at his black car and said why isnt that hi viz and why are your lights off? He started moaning some more, luckily at this points the lights changed and I rode off.

Basically it doesnt matter what you wear if people dont look, although I do use lights and bright clothing in lower light.

Sure, sometimes drivers don’t look and if you’re in the way you’ll get hit no matter what.

But sometimes they just don’t look very well and standing out in bright colours is the difference between being spotted early or late / not at all.

Not wearing high vis because of the first case puts you at a higher chance of being hit on the second.

I don’t understand why people think the second case is somehow OK to expose yourself to.

The only saving grace I can see and the only way I stop it making me angry is that the people cycling around in black force most drivers to look a bit harder, so making me a bit safer in my bright colours.