jyl

I am debating the aesthetic side of a purchase, so figured I'll make a thread for this and, perhaps, similar sartorial dilemmas.

For all the times you've wondered "does this jersey make me look like a sausage", "do these toe covers match these gloves", and even "will this water bottle go with these sunglasses", feel free to post your embarrassingly superficial query here.

After I get my superficial query in, that is.

Here - thinking of getting this jacket https://www.competitivecyclist.com/ca...to-jacket-mens which comes in white with silver stripe, black with silver stripe, and black with fluorescent baboon butt. I'd wear it with black tights on rainy and/or cold days. What say you - white, black, black/fluo?

overthehillmedi

Well, they don't show a back view so we can't tell how big the fluorescent section will make your butt look, but that one makes more sense considering you 're going to be riding in reduced visibility times

Ramona_W

Let me get a post in early to say that leggings are never under any circumstances to be considered a replacement for real pants. Now, let me go take a look at this baboon's butt jacket.

Ramona_W

I'm gonna say black with the fluorescent yellow. Too bad that white or silver couldn't be subbed for the yellow. KOM spots would have added an interesting bit of color to that area as well.

Rick@OCRR

Given those choices I would go for the white / silver as being the most visible in most conditions. Plus, I think it looks the best, but that's just me. I should also warn you that my wife thinks I have terrible sense in these kinds of decisions . . . just a warning though!

Rick / OCRR

jyl

Well then - what does she think? Let's get an opinion from someone who has fashion sense.

Carbonfiberboy 

I figure I won't care about fashion if I'm dead or injured, so I always wear something Hi Viz. Very important both in bad weather and in bright sun when riding on forested roads. Gives me the willies when I see riders who look just like pavement. Both white and black are invisible. IME it's not the rear view so much as the head-on view - people pulling out in front of you on a descent, at an intersection, etc. They come up on you much more slowly from the rear. But, but . . . black is so stylish now!

hiller

I like the silvery white. For rain and, maybe, snow storms, it seems just right.

bruce19

I am always amazed at Euro sizing. Here, in the US, I buy my normal clothing in XL because I like a loose fit. My chest measures at 42" and when I buy a Euro jersey in XL it looks like it has been painted on my body.

99Klein 

Black and fluorescent.

GFish

Oh my... really like fluro yellow, except the yellow butt cover on that jacket looks out of place. If your really set on this jacket, I vote for the white. Personally speaking, I'd look for something entirely different.

Phil_gretz

On the jacket, I'd try to choose the color that's most visible at dusk or in the dark. That might be the lighter grey/white. I like the fluorescent panel on the black one, though.

I suspect that fashion advice for this crowd is a lost cause. Or a lost art...I have a red/grey/black Hincapie Force wind-tex jacket for winter riding. It fits perfectly, but when I'm in full cycling grear, including balaclava, gloves, helmet, tights, booties, helmet and that jacket, I look like some kind of weird crime fighter. My pastor calls me "Spiderman", and the term isn't completely flattering.

For fashion, I'll stick to street clothes. And on that score, choose sizes wisely and don't be afraid of tailoring to get the best fit. My two cents...

BITSA

Having had a run in with a 4 wheel monster, I no longer care about fashion sense, I would go with the Hi Vis to be seen.
Be careful out there!

NOS88

OP, you're in Portland, yes? Without fenders on your bike, it probably won't make much difference. Yellow, white, whatever, will quickly turn to muddy brown/grey.

Ramona_W

Living near Portland, I'm going to have to hold out for the black/fluorescent combo because the contrast in color should make you more visible. The silver/white is stylish but we have so many days here where the sky is gray and the rain is gray and the road is gray that I'd be concerned you'd be just more gray even with the black tights. And, for the record, I'm not just a fashion amateur; I work the sales floor in softlines.

Hermes

It is a Goodwill give away.

I suggest something like this or anything from Showers Pass.

jyl

Thanks, all. Yes, the bikes I ride in the winter have fenders.

And I do like Castelli stuff, though their sizing is humiliating and their SKU count head-spinning - how are you supposed to choose from 20 varieties of booties? They also discontinued the rain jacket that had a zippered back opening so you could get into your jersey pockets, boo.

The fluo butt on black does seem safer. I worry it will make my butt look big. I worry about being romanced by a fluo baboon. The white does seem a magnet for chain grease and dirty fingers. It looks so debonair, though.

Thank goodness for First World problems, I suppose?

Biker395 

I've been drooling over that SP jacket for a while. It'd be a lot easier to justify if I didn't have the Double Century jacket. How do you like it?

Re the Castelli ... It looks like a sweet jacket in most respects, my assessment:

(+) Looks like it has velcroed cuffs
(+) Waterproof zipper
(+) Breathable fabric
(+) Vents
(+) Looks to have a lot of reflective material

(-) No two-way front zipper
(-) From a visibility standpoint, black and silver are both no bueno, even with swatches of hi-vis. Since you're going to ride it in the rain, it's gonna get dirty, and that argues for black being the better choice of the two.

Hermes

I am drooling with you. I want the SP jacket but do not think I ride enough to justify it. I picked up a $9 clear jacket that was a hand me down from a pro race team. When it gets colder, the plastic gets stiff. The feature I like about the SP jacket is that it light and can be stuffed in a jersey pocket and used on descents and if I get caught in the rain.

fietsbob

I like the Showers pass tweedy Portland jacket, in its prior Greenish-Beige.. color.

its a charcoal grey, again, the last couple years .


https://www.showerspass.com/catalog/m...ortland-jacket

cccorlew

White. Black on a bike just seems like asking for trouble. We have enough "didn't see 'em" already.
Plus, the white one just looks sharp.

lhbernhardt

I've never liked vertical lettering on bike clothing. Looks awkward. On jerseys, it's right up there with non-full-zip as a deal-breaker.

The other issue is wearing the manufacturer's advertising. I figure that if you're riding around like a rolling billboard for the mfr, they should be paying you, or at the very least you should have gotten the clothing item for free. Adidas is the only company that does this well, and which I would except; their corporate identity has been distilled into the three stripes, which they use as an integral design element in much of their clothing. Plus it evokes, thru consistent association, a strong sense of recognizable athleticism. And it doesn't hurt that Adidas cycling stuff is difficult to obtain in North America, so it's the only clothing worth paying to wear. All the rest, well, they should be paying you to wear their ads.

Luis

cccorlew

I always worked from the other direction: They should pay me to not wear their clothes and sully their name.

Oh, and vertical stripes are totally cool. See Capo for examples.

jyl

Castelli's logo and branding are indeed very in-your-face. On the white one, the "CASTELLI" letter seems more subtle.

For total eyeball-searing fluo-viz, this older jacket is on ebay at $70 . . . It is more for a wad-it-up-in-jersey-pocket sort of rain cape, neither lined nor breathable, but visible from space.



I have also tried on some Pearl Izumi rain jackets that were super high-viz but, oddly, had no venting - no back vents, no pit zips - and fairly spendy.

The Showers Pass Pro Tech ST looks super cool, but the thing I'd wear it over is black, so I'd end up all black. Also, does it have vents, I can't tell.

Myosmith

Florescent green is the new black