# BLACK ROAD JERSEYS/JACKETS



## Anandarider (Apr 21, 2021)

I live/ride in Santa Fe,NM. Not a serious town for cycling(compared to say, Boulder or....elsewhere. Noticed over the past few years numerous riders wearing fully black kits. Maybe a lighter colored helmet. Maybe a rear light.. maybe not
I just dont get it.
I’m 75
Ridden for 50 yrs...all over the country/world
ALWAYS wear high viz...everything.
All I can figure is these guys are either trying to be cool or they’re ....yes,stupid
I don’t understand how why manufacturers like Rapha and others would even make a black outer layer.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

It's the Ineos Grenadier effect. It exudes a seriousness that intimidates all those rainbow-hued rivals. In any case, I agree that it is important to be as invisible as possible when riding your bicycle.


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

have been hit twice while wearing black jerseys, twice when wearing hi-vis yellow...

when people have their head down looking at a phone or are otherwise distracted/impaired, doesn't really matter what riders are doing/wearing. you could put sparklers in your ass and some moron might still run into you...

so, a big meh to scolding about attire choices.


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## Fredrico (Jun 15, 2002)

Always thought blinking lights do the trick. If the approaching motorist doesn't see a bright colored jersey in the headlights, he can't tell if you're a bicyclist or road barrier until he's right on you. So he's usually passing with plenty of road.

Dark colors are elegant. They don't reach out and grab your attention. That's cool in my playbook. The taste makers over at Rapha apparently agree!

Mapei has a great point. Black jerseys intimidate. Grenadier, approaching the ninja effect. Add black skull cap, dark helmet and one way lenses, others instinctively show respect. Always get compliments on a Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge jersey, black with cheerful white skeletons gathered around a card table, a statement on the gamble I take every time I leave the house.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Oxtox said:


> have been hit twice while wearing black jerseys, twice when wearing hi-vis yellow...
> 
> when people have their head down looking at a phone or are otherwise distracted/impaired, doesn't really matter what riders are doing/wearing. you could put sparklers in your ass and some moron might still run into you...
> 
> so, a big meh to scolding about attire choices.


The problem with putting sparklers in your ass is the need to ride out of the saddle for them to be seen and effective. And riding out of the saddle all day would tend to get a mite uncomfortable.


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## ogre (Dec 16, 2005)

Several clothing manufacturers make black attire that is reflective. Probably not as good as neon colors at night, as contrast is also a variable that affects visibility.


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## shrubs (Apr 6, 2021)

No color prevents a distracted driver. I am a high vis, lights, defensive biker when I ride roads.
Giving, in the least, drivers having an experience in their brain that will allow them to realize bikers are more than a Smurf,







on a coaster brake bike, training wheels, riding on a roadway-not on a sidewalk.

With my see and be seen thinking, maybe it will lessen the collision when I do get hit. (never is good)


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Oxtox said:


> have been hit twice while wearing black jerseys, twice when wearing hi-vis yellow...


Anecdotal. True that there are no guarantees in life, but I will do everything to increase my odds of staying alive while on the road.

Light colors are more visible than dark colors. Being more visible increases your odds of being seen - especially at certain times of day and in foul weather. Light colors also reflect light and heat. Black absorbs light and heat and can be really miserable as the weather gets warmer. The fashionistas like to wear black from head to toe in order to try and look all bad-ass. When I see someone riding on the road in all black from head to toe, it tells me they are either focused on looking all bad-ass or are just stupid.


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

Anandarider said:


> I just dont get it.
> 
> All I can figure is these guys are either trying to be cool or they’re ....yes,stupid


Here's an idea... before you go around calling people stupid... maybe you should... uhhh know what you're talking about.

Do you have any data to make you smarter than everyone else? That way you don't look.... stupid.









What is the safest colour for cycle clothing?


We look at whether wearing black is asking for trouble




www.bikeradar.com




Nick Hussey, founder and creative director of Vulpine, goes one step further, saying that he’s sceptical that there’s any point in wearing hi-vis in daylight in any case. 
“The research on visibility is so mixed (apart from at night, when reflective kit and good lighting is a must). If someone isn’t going to see you, they won’t notice you whether you’re in a yellow jacket or a black one.”

Contrast is key
A study by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), part of the UK Department for Transport, which looks at all aspects of transport safety and functionality found that when it came to collisions between motorcycles and other vehicles, *head to toe hi-vis had little or no impact in ‘SMIDSY’ collisions* – those cases of: ‘Sorry, mate. I didn’t see you.’

Another recent study, again into motorcyclist visibility on the road, appeared to show that drivers saw moving motorbikes more quickly if there was a greater colour contrast between the background and the rider’s clothes. This was backed up in research carried out by the Swedish cycling brand POC, which found that *although fluorescent clothing made riders more visible, there was a crucial difference between being seen and being recognised.* 


The important definition here is the difference between motorists seeing cyclists and recognising them. Visibility depends on the quality of daylight/streetlight and background environment. Backing this up, at its most surprising,* this means that sometimes a black jacket may be the best option for visibility in an urban environment* — a 2012 study by the Transport Research Laboratory concluded that, unlikely as it sounds, black or white sometimes offered more of a stark contrast than bright colours on busy city roads. 


Black is a favourite colour for cyclists, but is it really more dangerous to wear? Joseph Branston
The consensus seems to be to wear what you like, but make sure it’s reflective. Even considering this advice,* an analysis of accidents involving cyclists found that despite the fact that most of them happen in low-light conditions, dark clothing was reported to have been considered a factor in only 2.5 percent of incidents according to police feedback. *










Study: Cyclists Safer on the Road when Using These High Visibility Items


By John Marsh The Wall Street Journal’s July 1 article “How Cyclists Can Stay Safe on the Road” reported on recent research conducted by a Clemson University professor into how conspicuous certain apparel makes cyclists during daytime riding, and how conspicuous are tail lights during daytime...




www.roadbikerider.com




The Wall Street Journal’s July 1 article “How Cyclists Can Stay Safe on the Road” reported on recent research conducted by a Clemson University professor into how conspicuous certain apparel makes cyclists during daytime riding, and how conspicuous are tail lights during daytime riding.

Rick Tyrrell, Ph.D., is a psychology professor who specializes in research “to improve our understanding of human visual capabilities and limitations” in an effort to “reduce societal problems that result from visual limitations.”

He and his team conducted two studies, both partially funded by Trek Bicycle Corp., titled: “An open-road study of the conspicuity benefits of bicyclist apparel in daylight.” And “An open-road study of the conspicuity of bicycle taillights in daylight.”

Experiment One: How Conspicuous is Certain Apparel?
In the first experiment, according to the WSJ article, 186 college students were separately driven on a route lasting 15 minutes and were asked to push a button each time they “were confident that they saw a cyclist.”

Somewhere on the route, the researchers had placed a stationary bicycle, with a rider wearing “one of four combinations of clothes, from all-black to nearly all-fluorescent yellow.”

To summarize the findings, according to the article: “…*the fluorescent jersey didn’t make the cyclist significantly more recognizable as a cyclist than a black jersey.* When the cyclist wore fluorescent leg coverings, however, observers recognized he was a cyclist more than three times farther away on average than when he work black leggings and a fluorescent jersey.”

“Humans are really good at recognizing other humans,” Dr. Tyrrell said.

The upshot is that, because of the fluorescent yellow being worn on the legs, which when pedaling a bike churn in a very obvious motion that humans easily recognize, the wearer is more readily identified as a cyclist.

It’s the key difference between a bright color being worn “statically” on the torso, for example, which moves very little when riding a bike, and that same bright color being worn “actively” on the legs, which are nearly constantly in motion when riding.

Experiment Two: How Conspicuous are Tail Lights?
It turns out, that same static-vs.-active dynamic holds when it comes to tail lights, according to the second of Dr. Tyrrell’s experiments.

This time, the researchers found, during the day, “that from a distance of 200 meters…a flashing tail light is significantly more conspicuous than an always-on tail light, which in turn is significantly more conspicuous than” no tail light at all.

As a kicker, the WSJ article reported on a year-long cycling experiment in Denmark among 4,000 cyclists, which found “that those who used front and rear daytime running lights had 19% fewer crashes that caused injury than those in a control group.”



Full disclosure: I don't own or wear any black jerseys.


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## shrubs (Apr 6, 2021)

How about orange undergarments? Better yet in Denmark.


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## Anandarider (Apr 21, 2021)

Oxtox said:


> have been hit twice while wearing black jerseys, twice when wearing hi-vis yellow...
> 
> when people have their head down looking at a phone or are otherwise distracted/impaired, doesn't really matter what riders are doing/wearing. you could put sparklers in your ass and some moron might still run into you...
> 
> so, a big meh to scolding about attire choices.


Agreed. Studies are mixed...if not downright inconclusive. Maybe it’s my imagination that I get more “noticed” with my high viz gear.


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## duriel (Oct 10, 2013)

That's why I always ride like an a**, then everyone see's me. That is a big plus in old folks city.

I get notice a lot, there are BIG discussions about how I ride!


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## xxl (Mar 19, 2002)

True story: I'm parked next to local MUT, taking a break, and these two women ride up. Because of the wind and our relative positions,I can hear their conversation while they're still a quarter-mile away, as the woman comments to her companion, "Oh, check out that guy's (me) jacket, I love it! It's SO visible, and it's _not _chartreuse!"

(My jacket is black and white. And not chartreuse.)


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

xxl said:


> True story: I'm parked next to local MUT, taking a break, and these two women ride up. Because of the wind and our relative positions,I can hear their conversation while they're still a quarter-mile away, as the woman comments to her companion, "Oh, check out that guy's (me) jacket, I love it! It's SO visible, and it's _not _chartreuse!"
> 
> (My jacket is black and white. And not chartreuse.)


Well contrasting colors make you more visible too. Bike shorts/tights are usually black for obvious reasons, so a light, bright color on top and a bright helmet makes for good contrast.


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## shrubs (Apr 6, 2021)

I suspect that was girl talk for, “that bike guy looks “hot”.


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## xxl (Mar 19, 2002)

shrubs said:


> I suspect that was girl talk for, “that bike guy looks “hot”.


Kind of you to think so, but that woman was too far away for her to tell when she made her comment. I think she really just didn't like hi-viz chartreuse.


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## bmach (Apr 13, 2011)

How about a drone flying 100 ft behind with a neon flag reading cyclist ahead?


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## Fredrico (Jun 15, 2002)

shrubs said:


> No color prevents a distracted driver. I am a high vis, lights, defensive biker when I ride roads.
> Giving, in the least, drivers having an experience in their brain that will allow them to realize bikers are more than a Smurf,
> View attachment 479287
> on a coaster brake bike, training wheels, riding on a roadway-not on a sidewalk.
> ...


Yep. Knowing how much fun we're having just makes 'em all the more jealous!


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## Anandarider (Apr 21, 2021)

Interesting discussion re high viz clothing vs NON
I regret using the term stupid for those who choose to wear dark outfits.
Agree that if a driver is texting ..or brushing their teeth...it doesn't matter what color you're wearing.
All I say,after fifty years of riding, is when I wear high viz clothing I sense a difference in driver's behavior. More consistent acknowledgement/reaction.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Anandarider said:


> I regret using the term stupid for those who choose to wear dark outfits.


How about foolish?


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Stuff happens. But it's always nice to try and keep the odds a bit more in your favor.


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