Yellow Jerseys

Nope. Wear it if you like it.

My bike is black and yellow - I wear yellow jerseys, when I want.

I look at it this way. The chances of someone making a comment about you wearing yellow are slim. If it does happen, the person making the comment will probably be wearing a Discover Channel, Quickstep, or some other pro-peleton jersey. You, and I both know they aren't on no pro-peleton team, and therefor the comment is nil.

I like to be seen when riding, so the brighter the better.

My friend's dad gave me a nice Italian jersey that is yellow with black shoulders. I love it and wear it often as it is very lightweight and very comfy on a warm day.

As for comments, I was riding with a club member the other day wearing our cool weather gear and a group of kids yelled "Hey Lance" at us. My outfit is a blue helmet, blue jacket and black tights on a black and silver bike. So I guess it really doesn't matter what you wear as long as jerks are around they will think what they will.

Look on the bright side. If you're in the US, there are probably less than a dozen people in your entire state who could even identify the actual yellow jersey, much less think poorly of you for wearing a similar one.

Liesel: I see you're in State College. If a 40-something year old women on a Ti bike flies past you on the road, wave and say "Hi Mary!" She's a friend of mine.

What about green jerseys? Or white ones? Or white with pink polka dots? Those all have connotations too. On second thought, maybe the polka dots aren't such a good idea. Unless you're riding through the kind of neighborhood where yellow indicates your affiliation with a rival gang, go for it.

I am looking to buy a yellow jersey...I like to be seen when I ride.
Don't worry about what the elitists or purists think, wear what you like.

Brian

Liesel said:

[font=Georgia]I recently got a yellow jersey as a gift and while its not THE yellow maillot, it is yellow none the less (its the 2005 Rails to Trails Conservancy Jersey). Do you guys think its a cycling faux pas to wear any yellow jersey of any kind just because of the conotation the color has?

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I ride early mornings on winding secondary roads. Bright yellow gets me seen a second or two earlier by half-asleep motorists. I have a yellow helmet, jacket, vest and a few jerseys. I'm looking to pick up a couple more yellow jerseys. On weekends I ride in a club and I'll wear other stuff, but for solo rides it's yellow all the time.

Good point. I almost forgot why I was given the yeloow jersey in the fisrt place. For evening rides. Better to be seen and laughed at than run over.

TKOS said:

As for comments, I was riding with a club member the other day wearing our cool weather gear and a group of kids yelled "Hey Lance" at us. My outfit is a blue helmet, blue jacket and black tights on a black and silver bike. So I guess it really doesn't matter what you wear as long as jerks are around they will think what they will.

Ah don't think of them as jerks, but just silly kids. When we were in Spain a bunch of kids were yelling Indurain Indurain at my husband (he is very tall). They were just goofing off. I mean, come on were were riding fully loaded touring bikes.
Of course what we did not know was that about 4 or 5 miles behind us there was a real bike race coming through. I'm pretty sure it was the "Tour of Cordoba". We had (fortunately) just turned off of the race route and started up a big hill when they started coming through - at first we were a little freaked out - there were police cars with loud speakers saying something about bicycles and we don't speak any Spanish so we had a good laugh when the race went by.

I can't tell you how many times people yell "Go Lance" and the like to me. I have even been asked how far ahead in the race I am!

On another note, who cares what people say about your jersey or kit. If you like it and it is what you want then do it. When I first moved here I did a group ride that had the local racing teams riding what was essentially a training race at the front (great ride, goes all the way down to people cruising along and socialising as the back) anyway, I was in my kit from my old team and was treated with respect in the "race." A guy with a postal jersey was with the group and he kept getting forced out of the paceline and snide comments directed at him by one guy. I was astounded as back in my old town I had never seen this before. Next week I showed up in my Domo-Farm Frites, Axel Merckx, Belgian Champ jersey and sure enough it started up. Well the group got broken up by a breakaway and they got a nice lead, when I was about to hit the front of the chase group the main guy making comments to me (and the postal guy) decided to bump me out. It was the final straw, so I went around him put my head down and towed the entire group all the way up to the breakaway. The group was cheering and patting me on the back as I dropped to the back and when I passed that guy, I simply said, "quit making a fool out of yourself." In the almost two years I have been here I haven't seen him do this anymore since that day.

Liesel said:

[font=Georgia]I recently got a yellow jersey as a gift and while its not THE yellow maillot, it is yellow none the less (its the 2005 Rails to Trails Conservancy Jersey). Do you guys think its a cycling faux pas to wear any yellow jersey of any kind just because of the conotation the color has?

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Go For It!
I wear an Irish national team jersey, and am in no way affiliated with them. Be happy you got a Jersey as a Gift!!!

Cheers!

Better to wear yellow and be seen then to wear black and match the asphalt

strummer_fan said:

Go For It!
I wear an Irish national team jersey, and am in no way affiliated with them. Be happy you got a Jersey as a Gift!!!

Cheers!

Wear the yellow...... I feel if it was the yellow maillot then maybe it would be a different story...... The same as the World's jersey..... I feel though that wearing your favorite team's kit or a retro one is a sign of respect towards that particular team and cycling itself ......

TrekDen said:

I look at it this way. The chances of someone making a comment about you wearing yellow are slim. If it does happen, the person making the comment will probably be wearing a Discover Channel, Quickstep, or some other pro-peleton jersey. You, and I both know they aren't on no pro-peleton team, and therefore the comment is nil.

I like to be seen when riding, so the brighter the better.

Just to reiterate my above comment. I'm not against anybody wearing a team kit. They wouldn't sell them if they didn't want you wearing it. Like Wolfix said, it is a sign of support, and respect for a team. I have a couple of team jersey's myself, mostly because I like they way they look. That is one of the funnest things about an event, or group ride. All the bright, and different colors we wear. Just have fun doing it.

I wasn't even wearing a jersey and I was riding through my local college campus powering it up a hill and some kids screamed Go Lance Go, I screamed back I'll see you in France, yeah. Just don't get worried about it and have a witty reply.

There is nothing wrong with wearing any jersey, including THE yellow jersey... Heck, If Floyd gave you his personal yellow jersey and it fits, wear it!!!!

As long as you don't claim to be the person who earned it...

Take pictures...

Post them...

Say look what I have...

Just don't say you earned it, unless you did.

One more vote for wearing it. If someone doesn't like it, thats their problem.

And its the safest colour.

Once had a bloke tell me that bike racing was dangerous, as he sucked on his ciggie.

Wearing a jersey that is yellow, no problem. Wearing team colours, or team jerseys, no problem.

I think wearing a replica of the "Maillot Jaune", or the yellow jersey itself, is stepping over bounds, showing a lack of respect for the courage and discipline it takes to earn the jersey in the Grande Tour. The same goes for the World Championships, Green, or the Polka Dot jersey.

Most experienced riders don't wear these kinds of jerseys, so you'll be identifying yourself as an inexperienced rider in their minds.

1. Most people won't say anything - if they do, having a humorous response ready is a nice plan.

2. Most people won't even think anything - if they do it's likely they'll think you're a little naive, not arrogant.