I searched and tried the Gore Windbreaker Jacket today on. It fits me very well and I like the look of the jacket in black.
The white one looks good too, but I am afraid that it is harder to clean if it gets dirty. Is it a bad idea to cycle in full black clothes because of visibility?
I think there is a case to be made that you will be less visible in dark colours. Anecdotally whenever I look down the road at a group of cyclists, it's the ones in large blocks of bold colours (not necessarily fluorescent) whom I can spot first. Bright but mixed patterns of colour are also less visible from a distance. I'm not saying anyone should be berated for wearing black - plenty of cars are black/grey/dark blue and certainly it's not fair to blame them in the case of an accident, but I do believe there's an increased risk. For something better than my opinion, consider the accident statistics for black cars.
During daylight hours, black cars were up to 12 per cent more likely be involved in crashes than white vehicles, while at dawn and dusk, the figure rose to 47 per cent.
It's not a huge stretch to extrapolate this to cyclists.
As others have pointed out, how easily others can see you depends on the lighting conditions. Any time cars will have their lights on you should have as much reflective material (Scotchlite or similar) as possible. This isn't limited to clothing, you can buy tape for your bike in a variety of daytime colours (including black!).
Finally, whatever colours you wear, I would suggest using been-seen-by* lights at all times. Yes, even during the day. In many situations I believe this will make more difference than the colour of your clothes. Lights can be noticed at a glance and instantly identify you as a vehicle moving on the road, rather than a pedestrian or part of the scenery. However, be aware that even lights which provide side-visibility are often not bright enough to make you more visible from the side in daylight. For side visibility in daylight the best thing is to wear large blocks of bright colour.
* Be-seen-by lights - not necessarily bright enough to allow you to see the road ahead, but to make you visible to other road users)
Blame
In addition to the advice above, I want to make clear that I would not blame you for wearing black clothes. It may be sensible to wear large blocks of bright colours and it may reduce your chances of being in a collision with another vehicle. However, unless you're breaking the law, say by not having lighting after dark or reflectors, then I don't think you should be blamed for wearing black. In my view it is the responsibility of all road users to avoid collisions, even with dark objects like fallen trees, wandering cattle or cyclists in black. If the conditions mean they can't see well enough to be sure of avoiding a collision, they need to slow down. I say this as I hear a lot of victim blaming in the media about cyclists wearing black.
Cleaning
I'd suggest that black will show the dirty less easily than lighter colours. Most of my bright-yellow clothing is spotted with muddsplatters and the occasional oil stain which would hardly show on black. Either way Goretex does require careful washing to keep its waterproof and breathable properties. I prefer not to use these additional products and just rinse in clean cold water instead.
Is it a bad idea to cycle in full black clothes because of visibility?
Yes. Totally. Completely. As Darwin said, it's survival of the fittest. Or in this case survival of the cyclists who get seen.
But you knew that already.
This is about making a choice about safety, that is, staying alive. This is not about will I have to wash it?
The statistics are clear. The first published evidence that comes to hand is Wood, Joanne M. , Lacherez, Philippe F. , Marszalek, Ralph P. , & King, Mark J. (2009) (PDF)
Research has shown that increasing the use of visibility aids may improve the ability of drivers to recognise cyclists, as well as pedestrians, and that the ability of drivers to respond in time is greater when cyclists or pedestrians make us e of visibility aids (Kwan & Mapstone, 2004) . Increased cyclist visibility can have important implications regarding the severity of injuries suffered in the event of a crash. After adjusting for potential confounds and level of exposure (ie, kilometres ridden per year), the number of days off work fo llowing a bicycle crash injury was found to be substantially lower among cyclists who reported that they always wore high visibility clothing (Thornley, Woodward, Langley, Ameratunga, & Rodgers, 2008) . Increasing the visibility of cyclists is especially important when considering low light conditions.
Some people do wear black, and are still alive. The ones who aren't alive haven't replied.
Their voices are the loudest.
If you are riding during the day time then black is fine.
If you are riding during dawn/dusk a bright orange jacket makes you much more visible.
If you are riding in the dark then you need lights and reflectives. Colour (black/white/orange) doesn't matter.
In my opinion brightly coloured orange clothing does nothing to improve your visibility in daylight or in the dark, but is really, really good in low light. Since most winter commuting is at dusk/dawn then a bright orange jacket is very useful. I ride with an orange Altura Night Vision windproof and would recommend it. It also has a lot of reflective areas which are good for night riding.
Short answer, yes black is not as visible during the day, night or dawn or dusk. Distracted drivers are way more likely to notice you if you stand out and most of the time Black does not stand out (neither do earth tones). Visibility colors like fluorescent orange, fluorescent yellow, and bright red are your best visibility colors. White is a not a bad color choice for visibility, but there are better choices, especially given the fact that white and dirt and grime do not mix well together.
Also don't count on bright colors to protect you at night, you'll need active lighting (front and back) to help you stay visible at night. Reflective accents will help, but don't count on it during the dawn or dusk which is the most dangerous time to ride.
Good analysis of color choices in cycling clothing here: http://redkiteprayer.com/2015/02/the-trouble-with-black/
The answer to your question is no. Whether in day or at night, wearing all white vs. all black alone is simply not going to have a meaningful impact on your visibility.
Rather than the color of your clothing, the presence of reflective elements built in to the garment should be what you are looking for. As someone mentioned, it looks like you have reflective piping on that jacket. Bring a penlight to shine at clothes when you're shopping to see what will be visible to others on the road. It will have an exponentially larger impact on your visibility than the color of the item.
Obviously this should be in addition to an overall visibility strategy that includes lights and other reflective elements, but your question was about your clothes.
Source: 8+ years of bike commuting, which includes needing to see other cyclists and joggers on the paths and road. I've never thought "my, what a brightly colored jacket, I could see you." Reflective clothing, on the other hand, is always noteworthy for its impact on visibility.
Yes, wearing all black is a very bad idea for cycling gear. Looks cool, but not when you've been run over by a cellphone-distracted driver.
I'm a former pro cyclist, and the only black I wear is my tights or shorts. Everything else has some color, even my shoes and socks, or reflective tape that gets me noticed.
For outer garments, get yourself a nice, bright yellow/orange/green/hot pink windbreaker or wind vest - I love my Specialized jacket with removable arms in retina-burning yellow. Or try arm warmers in eye-popping colors.
At night, give yourself some extra visibility with reflective ankle wraps, and try a few reflective strips on your helmet too. Ditch the black from the waist up - stay safe out there!
Do not buy the dark versions. Many "moderate color" clothes also have the bright versions intended for skiing, where visibility is also very vital. You may need to switch into another web shop to find the colored variant. The jacket I wear was only offered grey or black in the popular shop but I found it bright orange in another.
I initially doubted if it is for everyone to walk into the city with bright orange jacket, but for commuting looked fine, as many wear the large yellow vests. But nobody seems paying any attention even if I am in the shop not in immediate vicinity of my bicycle.
I confirm cars react to me from longer distance now. In circular traffic (roundabouts) this is pretty easy to measure when I am on the only lane of the circle and the entering car needs to stop giving me the way.
Of course, if you have no fenders or no adequate fenders, the clothes get dirty (the back is dirty immediately without the rear fender on the slightest rain), and on dark clothes this would be less visible. But for more frequent rides the color does not really look like a solution.
It's probably a bad idea to wear all black, but you can wear a vest which will definitely improve the visibility at night while wearing all dark. This YouTube video shows how it works.
Full black is just fine. Just make sure you wear a high-visibility vest at all times (if cycling with a backpack - over the backpack). They are actually compulsory in my country for a couple of years.
During the night, you would add a reflective ankle strap, pedal reflectors and spoke reflectors.
