While the days are getting longer, it's still always a fight for a biker to be seen by other road users. There are a few ways to go about this, but the most effective way is down to the choice of colours you have on your bike.
All modern bikes have the dipped headlight on by default nowadays, and it does go some way to making you stand out, but it's of limited use outside of its throw, and at night you blend in with all the other headlights on the road.
So what's the most effective way of avoiding the dreaded 'Sorry Mate, I Didn't See You'/SMIDSY? The well established answer is the use of high visibility clothing, or even applying the same method to your bike and helmet.
High visibility, or hi-viz is synonymous with emergency services, construction sites and any other place where sticking out like a sore thumb is an advantage.
Hi-viz consists of a bright, fluorescent colour, usually yellow-green, combined with retroflective stripes. The yellow-green colour is extremely effective at drawing the eye at all times of day; you'll find greys and blacks, typical bike gear colours, just don't attract attention. There is, of course, a drawback to this, and it's the reason why most gear is dark in colour! When riding around in all weathers your gear takes a lot in its stride, and dirt is a big part of that. Dark colours simply don't look dirty as quickly as lighter ones, and that's the biggest issue you'll run into when using hi-vis clothing.
The retroflective stripes use a special material that reflects light, but returns it along a similar path from where it came, unlike a conventional mirror. You'll often see the effect on road signs to catch road signs in headlights, and when it's on bike gear or your bike itself, it's a very effective technique to catch other road users' attention when they can't necessarily see your lights.
There are a few ways you can get the advantage of this colour and striping, and the simplest is by simply wearing a hi-viz vest. These usually come in sizes big enough to go over bike gear and will include the distinctive colour and retroflective striping on all sides. Sadly, this isn't the most attractive of solutions (although it's definitely cheapest!), so gear and accessory manufacturers have gone to lengths to make the solution more convenient and better looking.
The main solution you'll find is gear that has the colours and striping integrated, but it's possible you'll still fall foul of the dirtying issue, so it's something you'll want to bear in mind if you're a bit lazy on keeping your gear clean. It's easier to stuff a hi-viz vest in the laundry than to put a jacket in separately with some specific detergent, such as Nikwax, and have to wait for it to dry.
The other main option is to have hi-viz on some of the hard surfaces on your bike and gear. Hi-viz helmets will have gloss finishes that are as easy to clean as normal helmets, and your head is the most visible part of you from any direction on a bike, and chances are you'll wear the same one in all weathers.
You can buy vinyl and tape to add fluorescent colours and retroflective striping to your bike itself too, with the advantage of the retroflective tape coming in a variety of colours that still lights up brightly when hit by a headlight. Retroflective rim tapes are probably the most common example of this, but it's up to you where you put it. If you so desire, you could end up dressing your bike up so there's a chance it could be mistaken for an emergency services bike. You'll get noticed quickly, but some people to take exception to the mild impersonation. The 'POLITE' notice hi-viz vests are a good example of this; they definitely attract attention but it can annoy some people, and annoyed people do stupid things which you can't afford if you want to be safe on a bike!
Bike Stop has a range of hi-viz gear in stock, and we're more than happy to discuss the pros and cons in our shop in Stevenage, and you can judge for yourself how eye-catching the gear can be.
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