Details of how they keep you visibile and safe
As the nights draw in and the days get shorter riding in the dark or very poor light is something we all have to deal with for the coming months. I have given this a great deal of consideration as part my responsibility to everyone who purchases cycling kit from us at Le Col. One of the ways to illustrate this is with the reflective elements in our garments.
There are specific danger areas for all cyclist confirmed statistically and by my own personal experience that need extra attention to keep you visible and safe. Often people cycling in the dark or low light use lights, they are great and will supersede any item of clothing in terms of being most visible to other road users accept in one instance. Lights work effectively from the front or back but much less from the side. This coincides with the dangers cyclists face from cars turning in and out of junctions where the 3/4 view is most important. For this reason we have placed large reflective panels on the arms and shoulders of our winter garments for the Pro and Hors Categorie Range.
Here you can see that the reflective panels on the Jackets are big and bold designed to attract attention from cars to the side of you in so protecting that vulnerable 3/4 view. The second detail that may not be obvious is that the reflective panels are also positioned carefully to create an outline of you as a rider. What this does is create quicker recognition for car drivers and other road users to identify what you are more quickly and help them understand what speed you will be travelling at, how much room to give you and how to respond to you in general. All of this has been designed to bring your probability of an accident down.
The final consideration for the tights was to add reflective to the areas that have most movement, again this attracts attention best in two ways, one reflective at the ankles pick up a lot of movement to be seen in the first place, secondly it also helps identify that you are a cyclist because of the unique movement the pedalling action creates enabling other road users to identify what you are and what to do about avoiding you.
I do hope you appreciate the consideration put into designing Le Col cycling garments. My goal is that we create safe technical clothing that is still classically designed and smart looking.
Take care and ride safe this winter,
Sincerely
Yanto