Are you guys mad?

[splat]

On 9/2/2022 at 2:59 PM, Shebeen said:

I really thought this black cycling clothing trend would be done by now. 

I realise it is still fashionable, but it has got to be the easiest way to get into an accident. The amount of people that wear fully black cycling kit is mind boggling.

Rapha and the boys pushing it should be answerable too.

Apart from wearing a hi-viz vest, I wonder what colour jersey would be most effective in the dark ?
(assuming that most of us wear black shorts and have effective front and rear lights)

[117]

52 minutes ago, Spinnekop said:

Just putting it out there...........
Black lycra lasts WAY longer than any other color lycra.  Or so I have been told by a manufacturer.

Any truth in this?
It will explain why black is more preferred than color?

 

Its less honest to the body dimensions than any other colour, like whitey tighty's for example

['Dale]

28 minutes ago, splat said:

Apart from wearing a hi-viz vest, I wonder what colour jersey would be most effective in the dark ?
(assuming that most of us wear black shorts and have effective front and rear lights)

Lumo green is seen from furthest away. Saw a graphic somewhere, probably on the Safety thread.

[cadenceblur]

I would think that a bright flashing light will also do the trick. Day time lights have proven to increase visibility by a great deal.

[Johan A Marais]

If a motorist does not see a bright flashing red light from behind or a bright white light from the front (because he/she is on the phone or doing whatever they are doing apart from concentrating on the task on hand), trust me they will not also see whatever color kit you are wearing... 

Apart from the above, the lights actually take away the most of the visibility behind them i.e. try to make out a riders detail, kit etc., when they are approaching behind a white light, or when you are approaching a rider from behind with a flashing red light.  You actually see nothing but the light, so what color kit your wearing is an irrelevant point.

And in day-time someone may say a black kit is more visible...

Edited September 5, 2022 by The Commuter

[wattnow]

The amount of people that don't ride with daytime running lights is criminal. We are so vulnerable on the roads, I cannot understand why people do not use them. The proper day time running lights are so effective and don't cost the world, relative to the value of the bikes you put them on.

This being said probably the most criminal thing is people not stopping at traffic lights. You can be as visible as you want, jumping lights is going to get you killed. End of story.

 

[Bub Marley]

To be honest a flashing light is more important. Not disputing the black clothing thing but just having your front and rear lights flash/strobe instead of just on captures everyone’s attention immediately. I always do this if i ride alone.

[lechatnoir]

I can't talk too much about riding in the dark, but I ride solo on high speed roads with a Garmin Varia. Yes, it's an expense, but for safety, it's amazing. When it detects a car coming up, I wave my right arm and in variably (see what I did there), the car gives me space, sometimes going into oncoming lane - no oncoming cars and some drivers are nice.

The Varia does begin a flash sequence when the car's detected, but I think the additional human-action of waving makes the driver actually identify me as a person. In cases where there is little to no shoulder, drivers coming up from behind slow to my speed when there are oncoming cars after I have waved (excitedly, it must be said).

There have been cases on the shoulderless roads and a lone car from behind giving me a close-pass, I think simply out of mindlessness behaviour that they must stay in their lane, despite me being there too. Since I've been waving, this hasn't happened. Causation/correlation? I can't be sure, but I'd rather overdo things and look daft, than not and be dead.

So to that point, riding in the dark is probably best with all the reflectors and lights. Radar too if your budget extends to that. Can I put a price on safety? the gear seems like cheap life insurance. 

[cadenceblur]

Said this before. I'm lost without my varia!

[Skubarra]

1 hour ago, wattnow said:

The amount of people that don't ride with daytime running lights is criminal. We are so vulnerable on the roads, I cannot understand why people do not use them. The proper day time running lights are so effective and don't cost the world, relative to the value of the bikes you put them on.

This being said probably the most criminal thing is people not stopping at traffic lights. You can be as visible as you want, jumping lights is going to get you killed. End of story.

 

Not sure I fully agree about the daytime running lights (if you mean on the front of your bike) - I always feel the biggest risk is being hit from behind. If the conditions are bad then there is always a risk of a car turning in front of you so I ride with a front light if it gets darker.

I commute regularly and the closest calls I have had have always been (every.single.time) drivers doing erratic things because they are distracted by their cell phones - not sure flashy lights or bright clothing will help for that. 

[wattnow]

2 minutes ago, Skubarra said:

Not sure I fully agree about the daytime running lights (if you mean on the front of your bike) - I always feel the biggest risk is being hit from behind. If the conditions are bad then there is always a risk of a car turning in front of you so I ride with a front light if it gets darker.

I commute regularly and the closest calls I have had have always been (every.single.time) drivers doing erratic things because they are distracted by their cell phones - not sure flashy lights or bright clothing will help for that. 

100% agreed, if a driver is looking at there phone there is not much you able to do. I

Actually I find the front day time light pretty important, specially on downhills when cars are facing you head on and signaling to make a turn in front of you.

Either way even if the day time lights make me 2% more visible I would not ride without one. So much so that if I happen to forget to charge my light and the battery is dead, I will not head out the door on my bike, I would rather do intervals on the IDT.

[Shebeen]

might blow some minds, but clothing colour and bike lights are not mutually exclusive options!

 

the science here looks solid.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753517313528

[Eddy Gordo]

21 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

might blow some minds, but clothing colour and bike lights are not mutually exclusive options!

 

the science here looks solid.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753517313528

3.4. Safety effect of the bicycle jacket

Table 5 shows the safety effect of the bicycle jacket. Overall, the bicycle jacket reduced the number of multiparty PIAs by 47% (ARR-1.00 = 0.53–1.00 = −0.47) (Table 5). For motorised counterparts, the safety effect was 55%. The safety effect was higher in winter (56%) than in summer (39%), higher in daylight (51%) than for the overall effect (47%), and higher for participants with high jacket use (60%) than for those with low use (33%) (Table 5). When corrected for response bias, the effects were reduced (Table 6). For instance, the effect on multiparty PIAs was reduced from 47% to 38%.

[splat]

Reading the Original Post: The question seems to be more related to riding on that particular road at that time, rather than the colour of their attire.

There is no doubt that bright lights will help with visibility (day and night), but drivers actually paying attention is the biggest thing to deal with in this scenario.
My wife and I have both been knocked off our bikes (while riding alone, during the day with flashing lights inside the yellow line and not jumping stop streets or red lights) by drivers who 'just didn't see us' !

The UK went through a bit phase of victim blaming in social media. It seemed that the cyclist who was knocked over was at fault for not wearing a Hi-Viz vest. i.e. no responsibility on the driver to pay attention. Hence Tim Brink's response on the previous page.

Edited September 5, 2022 by splat

[M L]

You know what’s crazy?

this (R7,500 saddle - used once):

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/saddles/583385/sw-romin-evo-mirror-155