powerhouse

Do you wear hi-viz or reflective clothing while riding on a fairly regular basis?
If so, what items do you use when? Some bicyclists like to wear clothing like screaming yellow jackets on long rides so that they can be seen from afar. Other cyclists wear various reflective items such as vests during shorter rides (such as commutes) so that the uncaring motorist's excuse of "I didn't see him/her" wouldn't hold water while being questioned by police or in court.

If you don't wear hi-viz clothing or choose not to, that's fine with me. I didn't begin this thread to start an argument.

chipcom 

When it's dark for my morning commute and the temps are below 60, I wear a reflective vest or an alert shirt. When riding on the roads during daylight hours I usually wear a bright colored shirt or jersey. Red Adidas Climalight shirts seem to be my favorite this year.

10 Wheels

Yes

mvnsnd

I typically try to wear something that will be highly visible.

Chris516

During the Summer, I wear a yellow reflective short-sleeve vest. During the Spring, Fall n' Winter, I wear a yellow reflective long-sleeve windbreaker. I also wear an orange mesh vest, year round, on top of that.

Spire

I don't wear hi-viz clothing persey but I try to make sure I wear my orange jersey on commutes.

Juha

A hi-viz jacket or shirt in summer. In winter I wear XC skiing clothes, those are not hi-viz by any means. I add reflective bands in ankles, and hi-viz tubes in wrists. This in addition to normal reflectors on bike and panniers, and lights.

--J

K'Tesh

When my coats didn't have enough reflective material, I found a 3XL safety vest, stripped off the reflective material, then glued and sewed it to the coat. You can see one of these coats in my signature. I also found that you can remove the reflective sidewalls of your bike tires after they are beyond service, and reuse it on clothing.

I also have developed a strong liking for yellow shirts and coats.

ghettocruiser

ANSI lime backpack cover and/or jacket, mostly in fall and winter.

twinquad

I wear this from Nashbar:



Unfortunately it's only available in huge, but my lovely, resourceful wife took in the sides and sewed a zipper into the front.

SCROUDS

No. Sometimes I even wear dark colors at night. But I got a big *****in tail light. What I wear on a ride largely depends on what I want to be wearing when I arrive and where I'm going. Most of my trips stay in the urban core. If I was riding down 70 mph rural roads in texas I'm sure I'd be wearing this stuff.

genec

During my commutes, yes... I wear a high vis vest and have orange shirts that I wear. In the image below, you can see my typical commute "fred" look.

Since this pic was taken, I have a new helmet and new panniers... but I still wear this clothing.

IMG_0207_web..jpg


I am thinking of a new paint job for the bike... and want to add some reflective patches to the bike and get a much more reflective vest. My route is is on 45 MPH and 50MPH arterial roads and a small section of interstate 5.

AlmostTrick

In the neighborhood or just going to the local store, no. On my work commutes or any other rides where I’m on high speed roads, always. I choose either a hi-vis lime alert shirt / jersey / jacket, or traffic worker style reflective vest, depending on the weather and darkness.

drmweaver2

Um, no. I wear what I wear and tend to avoid at all costs that putrid looking lime green monstrosity. I'm not a safety worker or a lost at sea sailor (the original source for "flourescent" orange) so I don't wear safety orange vests either. The fact that I live in the high humidity Southeastern US also has something to do with my decision - another layer of "clothing" just adds to my personal discomfort in the heat even with venting; but this is a minor reason.

In low-light situations, I might reconsider and give in - night time, heavy rain when I can't wait it out, or even fog. But I really really really hate wearing the hi-vis stuff. Putting reflectors & lights on the bike/trailer is a different matter.

sevenhills

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hi-Vis-Viz-Zip...tectiveGear_RL

I wear a hi-vis orange/yellow vest most times that I ride, its great because its got pockets at the front too.

AlmostTrick

If the jersey or shirt is hi-vis there are no additional layers.

In the daytime, a hi-vis jersey is noticable from a greater distance than most lights.

Speedo

Yes.

Speedo

degnaw

Not a fan of high-vis vests and jackets, but I do make a point to avoid dull shirt colors like black, grey, etc.

Chalupa102

On my winter hybrid bike, I always wear a reflective vest regardless if it's night or day.

On my recumbent, during the day I don't wear anything reflective. At night, I usually wear a reflective band. Of course, I always run a main headlight, small helmet headlight, and 2 tail lights at night, so I'm not even sure if the reflective band makes a difference. This is what my recumbent looks like at night:

genec

For those that are not fans of hi vis clothing or refuse to wear it... what is your typical bike ride like... Do you ride on high speed arterial roads with speeds over 45-50MPH?

When I am not commuting, when I ride for fun or in my neighborhood, I wear whatever I want... although frankly if I am doing a long fast ride, my jerseys are all of bright colors.

When I ride in the neighborhood (typically 3-10 miles) I may just wear any comfy shirt and shorts and a ball cap.

My clothing wear is very situational. Commuting however does bring out the Hi-Vis and bright colors, the helmet and the full lighting bike.

kgriffioen

I wear a pearl izumi vest/jacket day or night, summer or winter. Best piece of clothing that I have ever owned

rajman

If it's cold or dark (or both) Yes - yellow jacket with reflective tape. If it's hot and sunny, no.

noisebeam

Just a lime alert shirt for my commute - as well as a bright LED headlight on flash in the day. It is extremely rare that I don't notice drivers respond to me, maybe more to do with my lane positioning than my attire. Also the daytime headlight does wonders to stop drivers entering or crossing my path long before they need to.

For rides w/groups I just wear a mix of jerseys.

bhop

I wear bright colored jerseys/tees. My messenger bag has reflective strips on the back and bottom, and I'm usually wearing it when on my bike.

himespau 

If I think I'm going to be riding close to dusk, I throw my hi-viz reflector vest from nashbar (like the one pictured above) in a bag so that I can put it on if it starts getting dark. That with the headlight and the superflash under my seat and on the back of my helmet usually tell people I'm there, but I try to ride only when it's light out because I'm worried about enough other things that I don't want to have to worry about trying to ride in the dark too.