Baggins2012

I think some element of driver's annoyance with cyclist is the perception cyclists are indulging a hobby out on the road. So when stuck behind a rider, the driver has this notion "I dont walk out into the street and hold up traffic to hit golf balls, why am I being delayed by this doofus in a skin tight clown suit."

Of course, a bike commuter is getting to work or the store. May mitigate this thinking above by motorists.

The ultimate look in this is the guy riding the wrong way, wearing jeans and a dark jacket, with no lights, on a very low end bike. Nobody thinks that dude is just practicing his hobby. Of course, no one sees him either until he gets run over.

I go with a middle approach. I go pannier and ride an old mtn bike (although the bike choice is b/c my ride includes single track and RR tracks). But I do wear a helmet, about 3 blinkies, and a bright orange Carhartt T shirt. I think pannier says - commuter more than anything.

So do you try to look like a commuter/a rider with a destination or do you not care and wear roadie kit.

Double0757

I don't try to look like one, but I doesn't try not to look like one, because of the same reasons you mention above. I take Sunday rides on my road bike and notice that when you have panniers on and the safety vest, people give you a little more room.

I'm not sure if it's because you look wider or they feel you are too poor to have a car and you just making it and feel compel to share "their" road!

Double O

AlmostTrick

I think the perception that cyclists are playing hobby in the road is worse when it's a group of fancy pants cyclists. No one commutes in a group, right?

But here's the thing... it shouldn't matter. Not all motorists are commuting somewhere important. (or anywhere for that matter) I know many owners of classic cars just go out "cruising". How dare they get in my way while enjoying their hobby! Never mind that it's legal.

Even so, I would not wear a roadie clown suit. That just looks silly no matter where you're going!

kickstart

Let me think about this.

A middle aged Clydesdale riding a Dutch bicycle with baskets wearing a mix of work clothes and Urban cycling gear.
Nope, I don't think I look like boy racer playing in the street................

Perhaps it might make a difference, but I still encounter wankers now and then who think bicycles don't belong on "their" roads

gregf83 

I don't think drivers give two ****s what cyclists wear.

I'm always impressed by how many large semi-trucks move over into the far lane or at least halfway into it when passing me. I'd say it's over 50%. If one of them moves over I think the trucks following feel guilty if they don't move over also.

I wear a backpack and spandex.

wphamilton

They don't care - and after seeing me every morning in the same place, at about the same time, for the last five years I think most of them realize that I'm commuting.

caloso

I dress for my ride, not to impress drivers.

prathmann

Agreed that it should be obvious after a while. Seemed to me that whenever my commute route changed I'd tend to get a few more angry honks for a couple weeks. Then they'd go away again as drivers recognized me as a daily commuter and that honking wasn't going to make me magically disappear.

Sixty Fiver

I only wear the kit when I go for road rides, it is cooler for when things get really hot and the pace is high.

For the commute I have shirts made of technical fabric that I will wear with my mtb or cargo shorts, most often have panniers, and usually ride the recumbent so I look like a total Fred... but I stay cool and the clothing is practical off the bike.

If the weather stays warm I won't be wearing pants again until October...

TransitBiker

I wear "street clothes" year round on every ride. Since I got the the new bike a year ago, I do find that people give me a bit less grief. My old bike was a wide handlebar-ed cruiser, not something one would normally find being used as a commuter rig. The rack, lights, fenders, and panniers do "look the part".

- Andy

scroca

Neither

wolfchild

I wear a mixture of high-performance athletic clothing and street clothing...Drivers don't really care how cyclists dress or what type of bike they using. It seems that certain cyclists are the ones who worry and stress themselves over what some other cyclists are wearing.

Redhatter

I probably look like I'm headed to a construction site. Similar sort of clothing.

As for the bike, well, there are photos of it in the Commuter Bike Pictures thread… I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

bmthom.gis

I don't dress to impress the cagers. I wear lycra, because it is a heck of a lot more comfortable over distance, and living in SC I am going to sweat and have to change, so I may as well be comfortable. My bike does not look like a Fredcycle with it's rack and panniers and the ridiculously big reflector in the back.
I did get honked at yesterday once or twice, but also had many more positive interactions with drivers

esmith2039

The only look I go for is the one that won't get me ran over.. It's the same look I think. Don't have many issue's. There is a random driver here and there of course.

Jim from Boston

do you try to look like a commuter when on the road?

I previously posted to this thread on the Commuting subforum, “Looking like you own the place”

Archwhorides 

Lots of delivery/pickup trucks on my commute. I wear reflective line worker gear like I'm going to work at a construction site, and I get more space on the blacktop.

ItsJustMe

I don't try to look like anything. I'm probably the freddiest dude around though, lots of lights, reflectors, bags.

HDavidH

I am blessed with a short 6 mile commute in Michigan and office attire is slacks and a polo shirt. Rain gear for getting caught out in it and layers for winter all work well with the casual business attire. I ride at an easy pace, averaging 12.3 mph so I don't break a sweat and thoroughly enjoy my commute with the added benefit that I am getting a 30 to 40 minute easy workout twice a day as part of my work life. In the morning I wear a safety orange mesh vest I had to buy as part of my cycling kit back in 2008-2009 when I was doing a phone system on a Homeland Security base where all cyclists had to wear a safety-high visibility vest. It helps with the early morning coffee drinkers and smart phone addicts that are also trying to operate 2 tons of junk. If you have a locker and shower at work that would be so cool. You could choose to dress differently and either make it a serious workout or not, depending on your needs and desires. The best thing we can do as a community however (in my opinion) is to wear normal clothing and operate a bike within the parameters of the law as much as possible alongside the cagers. It's a slow process: Evolution, and some of the auto operators will never get it that we share the roads and this is our mode of transportation, be it a lifestyle choice or a necessity.

alan s 

I wear skintight lycra to impress the ladies. And it works. Lots of honking and yelling compliments out the window, as best I can tell. Kinda hard to hear exactly what they are saying.

grolby

I do not think this is true, but if it were I would not be remotely interested in indulging this attitude with my dress.

Telly

I don't dress with specific clothing to LOOK like a commuter, but being one, I probably fit the clothing "stereotype"; sans the lycra since I'm a Clyde.

Having said the above, I have noticed a major difference in attitude (more courteous) when I ride with pannier, helmets and high-viz clothing.
And having spoken to colleagues at work who don't cycle, they tend to be more "forgiving" to cyclist which look the part of the commuter than random people riding with dark clothes and/or without lighting or helmets.

TxSpeedster

This.

The people who are most likely to notice/care what a cyclist is wearing are other cyclists.

practical

Well said. I appreciate your understanding of the driver's point of view. My choice when riding is to always wear bright clothing and helmet so that I can be seen easily. Respect cars but don't be afraid of them. Be obvious and predictable in my intentions and actions. Use lights at night. Be as courteous to cars as I hope they will be to me. And finally, communicate visually and orally my appreciation when they treat me with courtesy - like letting me go first at n intersection.

ThermionicScott 

This. I wear the clothing that works best, my only aesthetic concerns are for what helps visibility.

BTW, I put up with motorcyclists, pickup and car drivers "indulging in their hobby" on the road, they can put up with mine.