Wiggo

[MacB]

You're not a physicist then?

White refects light / heat - that's why it appears white.

Black absorbs it which is why it appears dark.

It's a fundamental physical property rather than a myth, and I'd imagine could make a huge difference
in those temperatures

nope and I hope you did notice the question mark, I just have a recent recollection of seeing something about this being an unsupported assumption on a recent tv program.

 

[LizardEye]

You might want to dazzle us with your talk of black bodies but there is no evidence anywhere that black clothes actually make you hotter than white clothes even if the physics says so.

No evidence anywhere ??

Ok then

The Effects of Colour and Fit of Clothing on Thermal Comfort in the Sun
Ken Parson, Steve Naylor and Jamie Wales
Dept of Human Sciences, Loughborough University

This paper presents two laboratory experiments into the effects of colour and fit of clothing
on the thermal comfort of people who are exposed to simulated solar radiation....blah blah......
..the results show that wearing a black shirt was hotter than wearing a white shirt.

Full paper here if interested

That's called evidence, not opinion.

 

[LizardEye]

nope and I hope you did notice the question mark, I just have a recent recollection of seeing something about this being an unsupported assumption on a recent tv program.

I did yes. I didn't see that programme, so am assuming that what I learnt a loooong time ago still stands.

Mind you it wouldn't be the first time a long held belief turned out to be just that.

 

[MacB]

I did yes. I didn't see that programme, so am assuming that what I learnt a loooong time ago still stands.

Mind you it wouldn't be the first time a long held belief turned out to be just that.

it just struck me as strange that a new cycling team, with a fairly hefty spend like Sky, would opt for a colour scheme that would cook their riders. Still a bug ugly kit though

 

[Chrisc]

I don't like the kit but I thought the idea of black being hot and white cool was a myth that had been exposed?

Nope, black surfaces absorb 90% of visible light energy, white reflects it back again.
Think of a concrete drive or a tarmac drive on a bright day, tarmac will get a lot hotter.
And yep, given their apparent obsessive attention to detail they ought to have spotted it.

 

[LizardEye]

it just struck me as strange that a new cycling team, with a fairly hefty spend like Sky, would opt for a colour scheme that would cook their riders. Still a bug ugly kit though

Yep. I certainly wouldn't want to be outside in 40C heat wearing black. Let alone trying to cycle in it.

 

[rich p]

The baack?

It's wool then!

Trust ewe to spot that Ed!

 

[Noodley]

I think Lovqvist wil be up for team leader next year too

Lofkvist was the team leader before Wiggins arrived, I reckon it should have stayed that way this year with Wiggins acting as his domestique. I reckon Wiggins would have learned a lot from it.

 

[montage]

You might want to dazzle us with your talk of black bodies but there is no evidence anywhere that black clothes actually make you hotter than white clothes even if the physics says so.

lol what?

u krazy?

 

[Ludwig]

Why do tennis players and cricketers and Arabs wear white? Simply to keep them cool in very hot weather. The riders are constantly emptying the bottles of water over their heads and a light colour kit would keep them cooler. Whatever you say it is a shockingly awful kit compared to the others such as astana, and rabobank which have been superbly designed. A British rider simply can never win the tour partly down to our cold climate and we don't have the big tour mentality racing structure and tradition. Wiggo is basically a track rider and lacks the big tour experiance that the others have.

 

[biking_fox]

Why do tennis players and cricketers and Arabs wear white?

Probably tradition actually. There are many desert tribes (of whatever religion) that do wear black. And don't forget black skin is from a high sun climate. Black also radiates heat away better than white.

Anyone know what the actauly %difference it makes?

I think whatever colour kit you have you'll get hot on the Tour!

 

[youngoldbloke]

Anecdotal evidence: Black v White

 

[Hont]

Had a good look at Wiggo on today's stage. It is true that almost all of his back is covered in white and pale blue, which is the bit that faces the sun, so presumably Sky did think about this and acted accordingly. Need a bit more white all round and on the back of the shorts, though, I think.

 

[mangaman]

Still, Sky have got the best team bus according to Eurosport, so hats off to them for that.

To be fair to Wiggins I think last year was a bit of a fluke - he admitted that himself. He wasn't expecting to finish that high.

The parcours this year has been a lot lot harder almost from day 1 - even Armstrong got on the podium last year

 

[Chuffy]

The parcours this year has been a lot lot harder almost from day 1 - even Armstrong got on the podium last year

He'd need a stairlift this year.