why black for biking clothes

Other than the misplaced desire to look 'cool', why black for all the biking
gear.
Doesnt make sense to have reflective stuff on jackets if the dang jacket is
black.
I do NOT ride at night on the roads..
Even with reflective stuff and lights, it aint safe to be on the road with
cars at night.


What i want is maximum visibility.
I wear flourescent pink and green jackets but all the shorts and full length
tights come only in black.

Why not light flourescent colors and white shoes..
It is a proven fact that feet are cooler in white shoes.
In bright summer sun, would make sense to have shoes in white.
Also, biking shirts and vests in white or day glo green..


Does anybody know who makes shorts in colors other than black.
With the proviso, of course, that they arent charging $100 for them..

cheers

don

"Don" wrote in message
...

Other than the misplaced desire to look 'cool',

Thats all there is to it.

Pete

I ask the same questions myself. I don't agree about the night riding,
though.

Don wrote:
:: Other than the misplaced desire to look 'cool', why black for all
:: the biking gear.
[...]

::
:: What i want is maximum visibility.
:: I wear flourescent pink and green jackets but all the shorts and
:: full length tights come only in black.

[...]

:: Also, biking shirts and vests in white or day glo green..

You can get some at www.performancebike.com but it does seem like shorts
come mostly in black.

::
::
:: Does anybody know who makes shorts in colors other than black.
:: With the proviso, of course, that they arent charging $100 for them..
::

I've seen some at performance that have white in them, but they seem pricey.

Don wrote:

Other than the misplaced desire to look 'cool', why black for all the biking
gear.
Doesnt make sense to have reflective stuff on jackets if the dang jacket is
black.
I do NOT ride at night on the roads..
Even with reflective stuff and lights, it aint safe to be on the road with
cars at night.


What i want is maximum visibility.
I wear flourescent pink and green jackets but all the shorts and full length
tights come only in black.

Why not light flourescent colors and white shoes..
It is a proven fact that feet are cooler in white shoes.
In bright summer sun, would make sense to have shoes in white.
Also, biking shirts and vests in white or day glo green..


Does anybody know who makes shorts in colors other than black.
With the proviso, of course, that they arent charging $100 for them..

Black shorts have the advantage that stains (from leather saddles, etc.)
do not show up as much on them. The same is true for black tights, with
the additional advantage that the mixture of chain lubricant and dirt is
hardly noticeable on them.

Black shoes are best since they are the least distracting color to have
in the rider's field of vision.

Tom Sherman – Close to 41½ N, 90½ W

Have you ever ridden in the winter?
Black clothing is warmer (if you ride during the day and it's sunny).
But....
Black goes back to the days of early racing when riders that had breakdowns
would be required to fix there own bikes to continue. Wiping their hands on
black shorts made the most sense.
Tradition is huge in this sport, sometimes things are done for no other
reason than that is the way it's always been.

Mike D.

"Don" wrote in message
...
Other than the misplaced desire to look 'cool', why black for all the
biking
gear.
Doesnt make sense to have reflective stuff on jackets if the dang jacket
is
black.
I do NOT ride at night on the roads..
Even with reflective stuff and lights, it aint safe to be on the road with
cars at night.


What i want is maximum visibility.
I wear flourescent pink and green jackets but all the shorts and full
length
tights come only in black.

Why not light flourescent colors and white shoes..
It is a proven fact that feet are cooler in white shoes.
In bright summer sun, would make sense to have shoes in white.
Also, biking shirts and vests in white or day glo green..


Does anybody know who makes shorts in colors other than black.
With the proviso, of course, that they arent charging $100 for them..

cheers

don

"Don" wrote in message
...
Other than the misplaced desire to look 'cool', why black for
all the biking
gear.

As Tom pointed out bike & road dirt stains that you can't wash out
don't show on black. Others have written in this newsgroup that
coloured lycra shorts can become see-through when wet.

Doesnt make sense to have reflective stuff on jackets if the
dang jacket is
black.

Many colours don't show up very well in the dark, they look close
to black. White & light yellow are easier to see in low light such
as rainy days or lit city streets.

I do NOT ride at night on the roads..
Even with reflective stuff and lights, it aint safe to be on the
road with
cars at night.

I believe we can be "safe" but I don't understand riders with dark
clothes, no reflectors and no lights. It's not expensive to be
visible.

What i want is maximum visibility.

I like high visibility, but I might even show up more than you in
some conditions. Tights can contribute a LOT to night visibility
for example the proper reflectivity on a rider's calves is very
bright at distances of a kilometer or more and, because of the
pedaling motion, instantly indentifiable as a cyclist.

I wear flourescent pink and green jackets but all the shorts and
full length
tights come only in black.

During the day, if you're already wearing a brilliant green top,
how much extra visibility are brilliant green tights going to add?
Certainly nothing like calf or pedal reflectivity at night.

Shorts and tights tend to get dirtier than tops. Then if you are a
manufacturer, a retailer, or a rider, your black tights and shorts
go with any top. Get into colours and you need to invest in a lot
more bottoms.

Why not light flourescent colors and white shoes..
It is a proven fact that feet are cooler in white shoes.
In bright summer sun, would make sense to have shoes in white.

I wear Shimano sandals most of the time in the summer. My feet are
cool.

Also, biking shirts and vests in white or day glo green..

Aren't these widely available already?

Does anybody know who makes shorts in colors other than black.
With the proviso, of course, that they arent charging $100 for
them..

As Roger noted, Performance has some. Some of your LBS will too.

Doug
For email, a sense of wonder.

MD wrote:
Have you ever ridden in the winter?
Black clothing is warmer (if you ride during the day and it's sunny).
But....
Black goes back to the days of early racing when riders that had
breakdowns would be required to fix there own bikes to continue.
Wiping their hands on black shorts made the most sense.
Tradition is huge in this sport, sometimes things are done for no
other reason than that is the way it's always been.


I believe that 99.9999% of all cyclists still have to fix their own bikes
when it breaks down on the road. Maybe more?

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

I believe that 99.9999% of all cyclists still have to fix their own
bikes when it breaks down on the road. Maybe more?

I must be in the .0001 that doesn't break down. But I don't do
anything special beyond routine maintenance.

I think your figures are inflated.

:-)

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------
in.edu__________

Eric S. Sande wrote:
I believe that 99.9999% of all cyclists still have to fix their own
bikes when it breaks down on the road. Maybe more?

I must be in the .0001 that doesn't break down. But I don't do
anything special beyond routine maintenance.

I think your figures are inflated.

:-)

I think you misunderstood me. I was saying that out of all the cyclists that
have a bike that breaks down while riding only 0.0001% of them has somebody
following them in a car and fixing it for them, maybe less.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

Don wrote:
Other than the misplaced desire to look 'cool', why black for all the biking
gear.

As others have said, light colors show dirt quickly. If you do short
rides and wash everything immediately afterwards, I suppose that's not a
problem. If you do multi-day tours, you'll look grungy by day #2.

Doesnt make sense to have reflective stuff on jackets if the dang jacket is
black.

If you're talking about the "illuminite" reflective fabric, the color of
the fabric matters very little at night. If a car's headlights are on
you, the illuminite will show up well. In daylight, bright yellow is
better - but I think it's rarely an important difference.

I do NOT ride at night on the roads..
Even with reflective stuff and lights, it aint safe to be on the road with
cars at night.

Yawn Yeah, we've heard that. You stay home and watch TV. I'll ride.

What i want is maximum visibility.
I wear flourescent pink and green jackets but all the shorts and full length
tights come only in black.

Why not light flourescent colors and white shoes..
It is a proven fact that feet are cooler in white shoes.
In bright summer sun, would make sense to have shoes in white.
Also, biking shirts and vests in white or day glo green..

So, when you're driving, how often have you come within, say, 30 yards
of passing a cyclist before noticing him? Does this happen often?

I ask because it's not something that happens to me. Of course, I'm
talking about legal, competent riders. I'm leaving out a few sidewalk
cyclists, wrong-way-riders popping out from parked cars, etc.

--
Frank Krygowski [To reply, omit what's between "at" and "cc"]