Dark or Bright Colors?
 

I see lots of dark colored jerseys and the those that wear fluorescent yellow. Is it important to be seen or blend in?

Prefer white and black combination because it looks great and white jersey / helmet / etc might help with heat dissipation. It feels like it does and like I cook less in the sun than with darker colours.

I run lights for visibility, frankly never felt visibility was an issue except for the people cycling without lights at night, and there are reflective bits on shoes and jerseys and the like as well.
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I didn't begin to wear very bright colors while riding until I reached about 50 years of age. In the 1960's and into the 1970's, I favored gloss black, deep burgandy, and brown 10 speeds. I don't know why because I liked bright metallic blue, bright red, bright yellow, and other bright colors on bicycles with fenders and tourist bicycles.
Today I really favor the KOOL LEMON, ORANGE, and CAMPUS GREEN Schwinn colors from circa 1972 and the almost Jim Rockford Pontiac Firebird color that Schwinn was using in the mid Sixties and the VIOLET color from mid Sixties, circa 1967. YELLOW and ORANGE are favorites today because of their visibility from far away.

I prefer to wear dark coloured clothing. If visibility is an issue I put on a traffic vest over my dark clothing and use lights.

I have no preference in jersey colors, other than disliking team-type jerseys or prominent logos. I prefer solid colors or fairly subdued patterns. I buy whatever's on sale -- white, green, blue, hi-viz yellow. They all have some reflective trim, which helps. Especially some Garneau jerseys, which use a reflective material that appears grayish-black in daylight but is highly reflective white at night under headlights.

I avoid black jerseys, mostly because it's so hot in Texas summer, although it doesn't appear to affect folks I know who do wear black in summer daytime rides. I'd like to claim colors pop a bit better, but my favorite green jersey probably blends in with roadside foliage.

To me, observing other cyclists, helmets seem to be the most important visibility element in daytime. I usually get white helmets, although one has hi-viz orange on the rear, and my other Bell helmet is hi-viz yellow.

If I really wanted some hi-viz kit I'd probably go for socks, although I prefer ankle socks. So my hi-viz yellow trim ankle socks are a waste of effort because the color is hidden by my shoes.

I almost always run lights, day and night, including on my helmet. I might make an exception for one short loop route with little traffic, if I'm doing intervals in daytime. Sometimes I'll skip most lights for those sessions, although I'll still use a Cygolite Hotshot or Hotrod blinky on the back since they weigh almost nothing and aren't an aero factor.

I bought into higher visibility colors - when buying new helmet, gloves, socks, shirts buy the brighter colors and on the road wear those.

Use all my older darker stuff (including old dark helmet) when riding on rail-trails, off road, etc. or as underlayers when doing cold weather road rides.

The data seems to support doing so, but I still assume the worst about every driver (and other cyclists) that get near me. Being visible and actually being seen aren't the same thing...

Prefer lighter colors to dark, because dark colors all turn gray to black in low light. Orange is highly visible by day, but might as well be charcoal gray at night.

Never know when one might get back from a ride late in the evening, or even cause in heavy overcast.

I wear jerseys that I enjoy, chosen mostly in tribute the great cyclists of my childhood. So, Peugeot/BP, Mercier/Hutchinson, La Vie Claire, Molteni, and of course, Cinzano. The colors are what they were. I have reflective striping on my outer windbreak layers, if and when I wear them. Not yet, though. I haven't worn a vest yet this Fall. PG

I prefer bright ones to be more visible and for safety.

If riding on the road, I like bright colors to be seen by cars. I also run a rear tail light.

If riding in an enclosed track like the Vietnam veterans memorial trail at the enterprise park at Calverton, I wear whatever I feel.

What do YOU think, Bob? :rolleyes:

I usually wear blue because that's what color our team kit is. Aside from that I have all kinds of colors of jersey and I just wear whatever is clean.

Stick a couple bright lights on your bike and it doesn't matter what color clothes you are wearing.

Depends on when I last did my laundry.

Really, dark color tops are generally stupid if you're riding on the road.

Bright colors that contrast with the scenery. As a cyclist and a driver, I think it's foolish every time I see a cyclist wearing black or dark gray on the road.

Contrast? The high vis green color is fine for 50 weeks of the year, except with new leaves are popping out on the trees. Then that high vis jacket or jersey disappears into the background. Likewise, safety orange is fine except when the maples are turning in the fall and they're all colored -- safety orange.

In bright daylight hi-viz clothing does more for visibility than lights. In overcast, rainy, dusk/dawn etc. conditions lights are superior, given they're bright enough for daylight use. I'd say it's preferrable to have both, but if I had to choose just one, it would be lights, since they work also in dark.

I like wearing bright neon colors for visibility. Mostly yellows, but also orange, green and red.

Mondrian if I can find it relatively inexpensive.

Really? Oh yeah, I like to blend in, especially on the road, so the F150s can’t see me.
Tim

Orange, red, yellow, green and white. I also run front and rear lights during day. I'm getting older and more paranoid.

I always ride with blinking and or solid lights so I don’t rely on my apparel to make me visible. I wear whatever I feel like. Orange and black one day, grey another and sometimes I’ll dress like its 1998 with my old as hell looking Pearl Izumi screaming yellow.

Now I can't find the study so please take what I say as the ranting of some random internet person.

But the general outline was that drivers did not 'see' people wearing hi-viz shirts. Apparently the large block of color often is perceived to be a sign, or something otherwise stationary off the side of the road and not as a person on the road who should be given room. It was more effective to have the bright colors/reflectors/lights on parts of the body that moved and could be recognized as a human.. hands feet etc.

That said, I tend to wear red shirts, and my bright green/yellow helmet.

Bibs without a jersey, plus a farmer's tan. It's all the rage.