Wiggo - Man in Black

Road Red

Interested to see a photo of Wiggo going back out last week for his first ride since being knocked off. He was dressed from head to toe in black.

I know motoerists should see us regardless of what we wear, but we dont help ourselves at times. Surely in winter conditions when the light can be poor we must make an effort to ensure we are seen.

chrisaonabike

In daylight, black is an excellent colour for giving overall contrast against backgrounds of different colours and textures.

This is why a lot of the RAF training aircraft are now painted black.

Although that article refers to visibility against skies, it's also true when the background is not sky.

I can imagine the story is different at night. However, since taking up cycling again, I've paid a lot of attention to what people wear in poor light - and the so-called high-visibility jackets are really pretty rubbish most of the time. If there are a lot of background lights to distract, then the side of the jacket you can see isn't being illuminated much at all.

Hardly a scientific study, but in my limited observations, the thing that makes the difference is really bright, flashing lights, and the more (and the more area they cover) the better.

Rodrego Hernandez

Do black cars have more crashes than coloured ones? His bright yellow builders helmet was very visible though!!

cookeeemonster

funnily enough I don't hear many complaints about black cars or cabs being too invisible to see, even with blacked out windows...

Personally, add some good lights (2 front and 2 back min) and the possibly some reflective stuff on your bike and maybe you and you should be ok.

Basically if they don't see the lights and reflectives you have then a yellow jacket aint gonna make jack sh*t. Some drivers literally don't look (or don't see when they look) and that's basically it. Defensive riding is your friend

LegendLust

Problem is Wiggo is a pro and therefore has to wear his pro team clothing. In this case Team Sky and their kit is black. Nothing much he can do about that, apart from either getting Rapha to design a more 'visible' kit for night time training or else he joins Liquigas.

And for what the Team Sky kit is designed for i.e. standing out in a peloton, it does a pretty good job.

zx6man

At night, bright coloured tops are deemed not to make much difference, its the reflectiveness thats the key (There was an article last year in a bike mag about it all). I wear black altura night vision kit and it glows big style at night when in car headlights.

Bozman

I generally wear black but at this time of year i always have a small rear and front light flashing away when it's dull.

amaferanga

Black or dark coloured clothing with reflective bits and good lights are more effective than a magic yellow jacket, especially under orange street lighting.

It amazes me when I ride to work early morning when it's not properly light yet (so most motorists still have their headlights on) the number of cyclists I see wearing magic yellow jackets that have lights but don't actually have them on, not even a rear one.

bompington

Rodrego Hernandez wrote:

Do black cars have more crashes than coloured ones? His bright yellow builders helmet was very visible though!!

+1

Last time I was smidsied I had a flashing 1000 lumen light on the front when he pulled out in front of me. And it was broad daylight.

greasedscotsman

LegendLust wrote:

Problem is Wiggo is a pro and therefore has to wear his pro team clothing. In this case Team Sky and their kit is black. Nothing much he can do about that, apart from either getting Rapha to design a more 'visible' kit for night time training or else he joins Liquigas.

And for what the Team Sky kit is designed for i.e. standing out in a peloton, it does a pretty good job.

As pointed out in Pro Race, look closely, he's wearing an Assos jacket.

pinarellokid

doesnt he now have a green van with flashing lights following him around at the minute
certainly will protect him from the front

pippi_langsamer-2

My kit is all black at the minute. I get constantly nagged off wife/ Mom n Dad whenever they see me that I should "buy a high vis jacket". I agree, HV jackets alone make little or no difference. I bought a better than average rear LED recently (Lezyne Micro Drive), which has a handy day-running flash mode, which at 70 lumens is more than enough to be seen even in bright sunshine. I've got into the habit of switching it on whenever I go out now (except when riding in a bunch!), and feel far safer than I would with a Bob the Builder smock on.

Nightime of course, I'll try and cover myself in as much 3m reflective bits as is humanly possible!

The number of riders I've seen out at dusk/ dawn/ nightime with pish-poor lighting is pathetic really. They're usually the same lads who think nothing of spending £5k on a bike, but are too tight to extend that budget to quality lights. I think the small LED general use head-torches are a good idea too in as much as the light is transmitted wherever you look at junctions etc. I'd like to try these too if I ever get my ar$e in gear to try the commute, but not sure how it'll fit with helmet on.

Dinotte front LED
Lezyne rear LED
3M

...and a bit of luck!

thegreatdivide

+1 for keeping the Lezyne Micro rear on during the day. I've had lots of comments on its brightness.

Lezyne Power Drive XL front
Lezyne Micro Drive rear
Knogg Boomer rear on jacket/jersey
All black clothing with enough reflective bits that I look like Tron

freddiegrubb

say what you like, I'll take my chance with colour & reflect-ability, at least I will hopefully think I've done the best I can.

zx6man

Why not use a flag pole sticking up at the back, with a 1000 lumen light shining down on bike and rider........

monsterhill

Regardless, how bright your jacket is, lights are etc, you are going to get knocked off at some point.
I've had altura night jackets on and at least 5 lights on the back of the bike and i was still hit form the back.

LegendLust

greasedscotsman wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

Problem is Wiggo is a pro and therefore has to wear his pro team clothing. In this case Team Sky and their kit is black. Nothing much he can do about that, apart from either getting Rapha to design a more 'visible' kit for night time training or else he joins Liquigas.

And for what the Team Sky kit is designed for i.e. standing out in a peloton, it does a pretty good job.

As pointed out in Pro Race, look closely, he's wearing an Assos jacket.

Looks like Wiggo has been enjoying himself a bit too much after the Olympics. Looks like any other club rider out on a Sunday run!

Buckie2k5

no overshoes, he must have asda bags on

diy

A lot of my kit is black, its not by any thought process, I just bought the black one. I have a couple of led flashy arm bands which I bought for £1 each that help. I also have some reflective bits here and there, plus my lights obviously, which I have on even in daylight (albeit just one blinker)

cougie

Its bollox to say that black is great for contrast in daylight.

Maybe in bright sunshine it is - but at this time of the year ? I rode past my training partner one winter - he was the other side of the road head to toe in black and riding under the shadows of the trees on a fairly dull day.

It took him ages to catch up with me and he was shocked that I just didn't spot him - even though I was looking out for him.

You can see this yourself when you're out riding - you'll spot a rider ahead in fluo yellow faster than you would anyone else. After that red is pretty visible, and navy blue is almost as bad as black.

Sure there will be drivers who just aren't looking out for anyone - so no colours make a difference to those idiots - but they are a very small percentage of drivers. Give yourselves a chance and wear something bright and flashing lights on dull days - the vast majority of drivers are pretty decent and don't want to hit a cyclist.

If you're riding at night - then colour is no use. Reflectives and many kick ass lights is what you need.

cougie

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

My kit is all black at the minute. , HV jackets alone make little or no difference. I bought a better than average rear LED recently (Lezyne Micro Drive), which has a handy day-running flash mode, which at 70 lumens is more than enough to be seen even in bright sunshine. I've got into the habit of switching it on whenever I go out now (except when riding in a bunch!), and feel far safer than I would with a Bob the Builder smock on.

Interesting that you think that HV makes no difference but you still ride with a flashing light ? I reckon I see a HV top in country lanes long before I see their flashing lights in daytime.

sev112

sorry i cant believe that head lamps are a good thing; with lights getting even brighter, having a really bright light blinding the driver of the 1 ton vehicle coming in your direction is not good risk management

i would not be surprised to read in the news that the cause of a future accident to a cyclist being that the driver of the car was blinded by the head torch of the cyclist that got hit

i think the brighter lights i see are good things, but we have to be responsible with them as well

Paul 8v

Apparently orange hi viz is easier to see in all light than yellow. Hence why you have to wear orange for network rail jobs.

pippi_langsamer-2

cougie wrote:

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

My kit is all black at the minute. , HV jackets alone make little or no difference. I bought a better than average rear LED recently (Lezyne Micro Drive), which has a handy day-running flash mode, which at 70 lumens is more than enough to be seen even in bright sunshine. I've got into the habit of switching it on whenever I go out now (except when riding in a bunch!), and feel far safer than I would with a Bob the Builder smock on.

Interesting that you think that HV makes no difference but you still ride with a flashing light ? I reckon I see a HV top in country lanes long before I see their flashing lights in daytime.

Ok, I don't think they make as much difference as most people would think.

Do you see the ambulance/police car/fire engine livery first or the flashing lights?

It all depends on the quality of the lighs though which is my main point of argument....

Maybe I'll get a high vista vest too to cover all bases then :idea:

jscl

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

cougie wrote:

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

My kit is all black at the minute. , HV jackets alone make little or no difference. I bought a better than average rear LED recently (Lezyne Micro Drive), which has a handy day-running flash mode, which at 70 lumens is more than enough to be seen even in bright sunshine. I've got into the habit of switching it on whenever I go out now (except when riding in a bunch!), and feel far safer than I would with a Bob the Builder smock on.

Interesting that you think that HV makes no difference but you still ride with a flashing light ? I reckon I see a HV top in country lanes long before I see their flashing lights in daytime.

Ok, I don't think they make as much difference as most people would think.

Do you see the ambulance/police car/fire engine livery first or the flashing lights?

It all depends on the quality of the lighs though which is my main point of argument....

Maybe I'll get a high vista vest too to cover all bases then :idea:

Ditch the lights and whack a speaker on your handlebars, booming out a siren. What could possibly go wrong!?

pippi_langsamer-2

Paul 8v wrote:

Apparently orange hi viz is easier to see in all light than yellow. Hence why you have to wear orange for network rail jobs.

That isn't true I'm afraid.

Rail workers wear orange as opposed to yellow simply because yellow is too close to the accents on signalling devices, and thus avoids any potentially fatal misinterpretations by the driver.

pippi_langsamer-2

JSCL wrote:

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

cougie wrote:

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

My kit is all black at the minute. , HV jackets alone make little or no difference. I bought a better than average rear LED recently (Lezyne Micro Drive), which has a handy day-running flash mode, which at 70 lumens is more than enough to be seen even in bright sunshine. I've got into the habit of switching it on whenever I go out now (except when riding in a bunch!), and feel far safer than I would with a Bob the Builder smock on.

Interesting that you think that HV makes no difference but you still ride with a flashing light ? I reckon I see a HV top in country lanes long before I see their flashing lights in daytime.

Ok, I don't think they make as much difference as most people would think.

Do you see the ambulance/police car/fire engine livery first or the flashing lights?

It all depends on the quality of the lighs though which is my main point of argument....

Maybe I'll get a high vista vest too to cover all bases then :idea:

Ditch the lights and whack a speaker on your handlebars, booming out a siren. What could possibly go wrong!?

Ditch the road bike and hit the trails is another option!

Paul 8v

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

Paul 8v wrote:

Apparently orange hi viz is easier to see in all light than yellow. Hence why you have to wear orange for network rail jobs.

That isn't true I'm afraid.

Rail workers wear orange as opposed to yellow simply because yellow is too close to the accents on signalling devices, and thus avoids any potentially fatal misinterpretations by the driver.

Oh I thought it was for both reasons! My last companies uniform was a red polo shirt and the operatives weren't allowed to wear them because the red could be interpreted as a signal.

NITR8s

Doesnt matter what your wear or what lights you have got on. I learnt on Sunday, the hardway that some drivers dont bother to check their left mirror when turning left and even after they have side swiped you and left you lying in the middle of the road bruised and grazed they still claim not to have even known you were there or that they hit you.

By the way it was midday and the weather was perfect with excellent visability and I was wearing LBS shop long sleve jersery with excellent reflective strips. Doesnt matter how many flashy lights you have or how reflective your clothing is, the bottom line is people dont look or pay attention.

Mirror, Signal, Maneuver people.

Bustacapp

Just because he's won the Tour De France and an Olympic Champ doesn't mean the guy can't be a moron!

I mean, look who he holds in high regard!

Road Red

Bustacapp wrote:

Just because he's won the Tour De France and an Olympic Champ doesn't mean the guy can't be a moron!

I mean, look who he holds in high regard!

Illustrates my point nicely.

What stands out here? Not the black jacket of the muppet on the right but Wiggo's high-viz tie and thingy hanging out of the pocket!