Maelochs

By the way ... one "disrupts" the background by not blending in .... so you cannot design "disruptive" camouflage unless you only ride in front of certain background. In fact Any pattern works that way, because there is almost never a background which will match a jersey pattern ... unless you wear all white and ride in front of white fences all the time ... in which case your tires will "disrupt" the background.

I suggest you spend a lot of money to buy a huge amount of that "Disruptive Camo" and run numerous tests against varied background. Science!

f4rrest

If it could be shown to work, will you wear it?

jon c. 

Camouflage to increase visibility is an amusing concept from a linguistic standpoint.

Maelochs

I would gladly wear the "disruptor-camo" @TimothyH suggests .... as soon as TimothyH clears it in his thread on how to dress to be a proper bicycle ambassador.

I wouldn't want to commit what TimothyH considers a "cyclo-fashion faux-pas" by wearing something suggested by TimothyH.

Though ... i guess if it costs a tenth of what most bikes cost, it might meet TimothyH's exacting standards ... that $150 camo jersey by Ale ... But No!---that is Actual camo, for when people want to hid in a grey woods while cycling. It's not "disruptor-camo."

Fashion is so complicated. Thankfully we have TimothyH to explain it to us.

WhyFi

Hmmmm. Some of the camo kits are interesting, but if any are making a claim that they increase visibility by disrupting the background, they're cracked. Camo works, in the conventional sense, by breaking up the silhouette of the wearer; these alt camo kits still do that, even with their color choices.

DrIsotope

So to come around to the question-as-veil from the beginning, "disruptor camo" won't make you any more or less visible than hi-viz or actual camouflage... in general. Everything relies on contrast-- except for the Sugoi Zap stuff, which relies on artificial light.

I don't think manufacturers are being disingenuous if they are indeed claiming that their pattern of camo will make you more visible than a jersey of a single color. Under certain conditions, it could-- because the bright orange contrasts to the dark blue, etc. You are your own contrast. Beyond that, three colors have a better chance of contrasting to the background than a single color... unless they don't. So I guess, don't buy it for safety. Buy it because you like the look. Just like every other jersey.

Maelochs

I'm not buying a thing until @TimothyH endorses it.

kbarch

The point there is not to hide, but to confuse the observer regarding aspect or target angle, and make it difficult to predict how the vessel would track during evasive maneuvers.
As a design for cycling gear, it's not so purposeful; it's just a curiosity, no different than any other novelty design, like cartoon characters or food labels, except it's more "artistic."

Bah Humbug

I... yes I know. Trust me. Do you not find it interesting, regardless, that it got repurposed for athletics and athleisure? Especially in context of camo jerseys and why they'd exist?

TimothyH

-Tim-

TimothyH

Rapha Pro Team Midweight Jersey - $80
https://www.rapha.cc/us/en_US/shop/p...uct/PMW01XXGYB

Great sale price. Worth it at twice the cost. Perfect with a mesh base layer and maybe arm warmers from the low 60's through the mid 70's. Its my new favorite especially for cooler night riding. Fit is impeccable with just the right amount of stretch. Generous pockets which don't sag.

Orange and pink qualify for stylish high-vis bonus points.

TBH, this thread has been useful, especially the explanation by @Spoonrobot earlier. I'm actually starting to warm to the LeCol piece. It makes sense.


-Tim-

kbarch

Just impersonating Cliff Claven there....
No, I don't find it particularly interesting, and nothing that designers do along such lines surprises, me, either. Much of it makes no sense beyond basic aesthetics because so many don't know the meaning of what they're doing most of the time anyhow (not that it doesn't have meaning, just that most designers aren't concerned or even conscious of it). They just have "an eye" for style, for visual harmony or contrast with prevailing fashions in terms of colors, forms, constructions - what's fresh, what's old-fashioned, etc. The crazy paint jobs that some brand S bikes come with these days are part and parcel of the same trend.

indyfabz

Heh. These threads are a collective cry for help.

seypat

Are we talking about Camo or Cameo? I know the kit that Cameo's lead singer wore was very disruptive.

Lazyass

Camo is a sign of toxic masculinity in 2018. I prefer something like this.

WhyFi

Paging @PepeM

GuitarBob

Hello Kitty is a bad ass.

Bah Humbug

Others may disagree on the "interesting" point, and I never called it "surprising". So I guess that's it.

Paul Barnard

I think most bicycling related garb looks goofy.

PepeM

Will go well with my other jersey:

Stormsedge

I had hopes that the faux camo was intended to make a person look slimmer...thankfully this thread only disrupted my ice cream eating for a few seconds. Cheers!

kbarch

Oh, I guess I could see what's interesting about the phenomenon/style if I weren't so jaded and tired, but I've been listening to designers' narratives in a professional context for years....

In any event, the first time I saw dazzle paint as a youngster, I thought it was the coolest thing. And then there was a time when some designer tried to apply it to a project - some restaurant or nightclub - but it didn't fly. On walls, floors or ceilings, well, it's quite a statement, but on a garment, not so much.

Bah Humbug

I would think it would be a bit much on a wall. The closest I've seen is my barbershop, which has alternating diagonal stripes of pink and green. On one wall, the pink is flamingos; on the other wall, the green is leaves. In each case the opposite stripes are just the color, not the images. It's interesting, not as high-contrast or bold as zig-zags of black and white, which would make me feel like I was in Alice in Wonderland. Or the opening of The Twilight Zone.

Fortunately, the only designers I work with are web designers, which come with their whole own different set of issues.

canklecat

Camo looks like crap, even in our military uniforms. It's functional, not a fashion statement. Apart from military field use and hunting it's a ridiculous look, especially in casual use. Why not go the whole way and wear a Ghillie suit? Just be careful it doesn't catch the chain or spokes.

But I'd make an exception for hippie camo and tropical island camo. If anyone makes paisley or Hawaiian print cycling kit, I'm in.

kbarch

Not sure if it's what you meant, but yes, having a pattern serves a function: not usually to disguise the thing itself, but rather to disguise defects, dirt and damage. So what pattern should it be? Seems the more novel and "fashionable" it is, the more it calls attention to itself and away from any flaws that would otherwise be more apparent, so it actually works pretty well. If maintaining a certain appearance (smart, neat, or merely clean) doesn't matter, why even dye the fibers black? Sometimes I think black cycling gear is more fussy than not.