2017 Giro Empire Reflectives. Crazy!

[Shortsocks]

So I was at the "Rich Person" Bike shop today in Dallas. My wife and I had some 1st world sushi for lunch and I decided to torture myself with a Swing at the Nice side of the tracks, LBS. I never go in there because it depresses me......


Regardless. They had the New 2017 Giro Empires with that new Volvo Reflective Finish...and man. I WAS IMPRESSED!

So I took a normal shot of it and a Light shot of it. I was in the Shop when I took this...And I have t say. Im impressed. I took the picture with my Iphone, with my Wife's Iphone light on it....I Didnt turn off the lights in the shop at all. It was taken with the Lights ON, and its a WELL LIT SHOP.

The Reflection of my Wife's little Iphone light actually caused my Phone to go all screwy and It blinded the camera. It couldnt figure out how to concentrate on the shoe OR the store's ambient light.

I was impressed. I would love to see how these glow with car headlights at night!

Normal
http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j323/prelude97si/IMG_9670.jpg (http://s1080.photobucket.com/user/prelude97si/media/IMG_9670.jpg.html)


With Light on it, IN A LIT ROOM.

http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j323/prelude97si/IMG_9669.jpg (http://s1080.photobucket.com/user/prelude97si/media/IMG_9669.jpg.html)

[Cicli]

I wear those shoes. Super nice. I wonder how they look. I just liked the grey color.

[pasadena]

perfect for the cold, short days.
I have the Empire's with the reflective heel. It was really hard to get the full reflectives last spring.

Here's what the reflectives look like on the street
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9KUYtANP4o

[Bwana]

Wow, that's crazy.

[Shortsocks]

perfect for the cold, short days.
I have the Empire's with the reflective heel. It was really hard to get the full reflectives last spring.

Here's what the reflectives look like on the street
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9KUYtANP4o

That video was GREAT!
I really don't think this is an exaggeration...this really is a Huge leap in Tech. Pretty Impressive. I noticed though, it doesn't come in any other shoe BUT the Empire. Which kinda sucks.

[PJN]

perfect for the cold, short days.
I have the Empire's with the reflective heel. It was really hard to get the full reflectives last spring.

Here's what the reflectives look like on the street
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9KUYtANP4o

Except when it's cold you'll probably have them covered with shoe covers.

Anyone make a bootie with this finish?

[regularguy412]

Except when it's cold you'll probably have them covered with shoe covers.

Anyone make a bootie with this finish?

Sounds like this is the next, most logical step.

Mike in AR:beer:

[jemoryl]

Gaerne has had that sort of material for some time. Not so much for the top shoes but at the mid-level. I have a pair of their Coste Carbon shoes that are around 5 years old with the reflective finish - it still reflects, but tends to get more scuffed up than the usual black or white versions.

[kppolich]

3M has this same material. Nike and the Jordan brand have been putting it on shoes for years to ward off fakes.

[adub]

I believe you can buy this product in an aerosol can.

[pasadena]

That video was GREAT!
I really don't think this is an exaggeration...this really is a Huge leap in Tech. Pretty Impressive. I noticed though, it doesn't come in any other shoe BUT the Empire. Which kinda sucks.

With how popular it is, i hope they offer it in more styles.
Once the days shorten, i will be tempted to get these again.
I have seen them in the wild, and they really are as bright as the video.

What is odd is the reflective heel Empire seems to make sense with cars approaching from behind
The Reflective are reflecting everywhere except the heel.

[beeatnik]

These kicks are rad, but all you really need are those Fredly reflective velcro attached strips for your ankles and knees. Peep this!

http://cyclingtips.com/2016/06/does-reflective-and-fluorescent-clothing-make-us-safer/

In the late 2000s and early 2010s, Professor Joanne Wood from the Queensland University of Technology lead a team of researchers focused on cyclist visibility and the benefits of reflective clothing. In a study published in 2010, Wood and her team tested the night-time visibility of a range of different clothing setups used by cyclists:

a) a black tracksuit
b) a black tracksuit and a fluorescent yellow cycling vest with no reflective markings
c) a black tracksuit and a jacket with reflective markings
d) a black tracksuit, a jacket with reflective markings and reflective strips positioned on the cyclist’s ankles and knees.

The results are striking: “Overall, drivers identified the largest number of cyclists wearing the vest plus the ankle and knee reflectors (90% correctly recognised), followed by the reflective vest alone (50%), the fluorescent clothing (15%), and lastly black clothing (2%).”

These results mirror research findings on the visibility of pedestrians at night and can be explained by a concept known as biological motion (or ‘biomotion’) — that is, “our visual sensitivity to patterns of human motion”.

Reflective strips on the knees and ankles, on the other hand, move up and down as the cyclist moves, helping drivers to better recognise the object in front of them as a moving cyclist, as opposed to a simple light source.

This finding seems to lead to an obvious recommendation for cyclists: if you want to maximise your safety at night, don’t just wear reflective clothing; ensure that the reflective clothing includes reflective strips worn on the ankles and knees.



3. Professor Wood and her colleagues showed in a subsequent paper that the use of bike lights actually reduced the effectiveness of reflective ankle and knee strips. Wood offers a simple explanation for this surprising finding: “This pattern may have resulted from the bicycle light (mounted on the handlebars) acting as a glare source that reduced the drivers’ ability to see the reflective markings on the ankles and knees.” While Wood et al. don’t say as much, it would seem that the combination of reflective ankle and knees strips + lights, while detracting from the visibility of the reflective items, is still more visible than lights on their own.

[Veloo]

Sugoi has/ had the Zap booties:

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/technspec/sugoi-zap-shoe-covers-review-2016/#.V7maE65_vBE

Castelli has too.

http://www.castelli-cycling.com/Products/Men/Accessories/Shoe-Covers/REFLEX-SHOECOVER/p/451554615A

[bigbill]

I'm curious and live 2 hours from Dallas, which shop is the rich shop? I like to stand and drool on occasion.

[Cicli]

I'm curious and live 2 hours from Dallas, which shop is the rich shop? I like to stand and drool on occasion.

When I am in Dallas I like to visit Richardson bike mart. They have alot of cool stuff.

[Shortsocks]

I'm curious and live 2 hours from Dallas, which shop is the rich shop? I like to stand and drool on occasion.

When I am in Dallas I like to visit Richardson bike mart. They have alot of cool stuff.


The Main Richardson Bike Mart in Richardson is HUGE and has TONS of stuff...but the shop I'm taking about is Bicycle Plus in Highland Park by SMU. Its Very small, BUT its packed full of expensive SH*T!

7015 Snider Plaza #110, Dallas, TX 75205

They carry TONS of high end Colnago, Rare one of kind Carbon, Great Selection of Clothes and such...BUT very little low end stuff. Its the Neighborhood. Ive seen people just "Walk" From their houses, walk into there and Pick up a Colnago C60 EPS, Because they "Want to get into Cycling"...Its crazy. That store know their Neighborhood well. :eek:

They have a really Good Crit Team, and Where I live in Dallas they do a lot of Crit Training.

But without a doubt, the people that live in that Neighborhood want the latest and Greatest and they have NO ISSUE paying retail for it. Its uncanny.

[KidWok]

Sugoi has/ had the Zap booties:



Love my Sugoi booties. We do a Tueday night hills ride year round and they get used quite often here in rainy and dark Seattle.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c151/TaiLee77/9daba5f8ccf05b9ba34a2c03f0372fa5_zpsfg9y6hsd.jpg

Tai

[chiasticon]

I think these are awesome and I considered buying a pair when I found 'em for just over $200 last week. but the thing is, I'm pretty much never out in darkness until it gets colder. and then I've got something to cover my feet anyway. seems more worthwhile to buy reflective booties or oversocks.

[jlwdm]

The Main Richardson Bike Mart in Richardson is HUGE and has TONS of stuff...but the shop I'm taking about is Bicycle Plus in Highland Park by SMU. Its Very small, BUT its packed full of expensive SH*T!

7015 Snider Plaza #110, Dallas, TX 75205

...

I didn't think there was a true high end shop in DFW. I have been by that shop a number of times but did not go in because the other Bicycle Plus shops i have been to were not exactly high end. I will have to check it out.

Jeff