Commuting - Source for those high visibility stickers?

Looking for those yellow/orange reflector stickers to plaster all over my frame

Saw some at Sports Authority but they seemed like a ripoff (10 bucks?)


Thanks in advance

How about DOT Class 2 Conspicuity Tape, the white & red stuff you see on semi trailers. Your local Napa auto parts stores should carry it. You can cut it to suit, and it reflects pretty well.

I found 3M scotchlite at a local sign store in arbitrarily small quantities. If you ask nicely they might even give you cutoffs from other customers' signs. What I have doesn't seem as reflective as some of the other stuff, but the price can't be beat. I think I paid $20 for 24" x 1 yard.

I just bought 6 strips of the black reflective tape from this Ebay seller: http://stores.ebay.com/3M-REFLECTIVE-TAPE

I found him via a post here on the forum. He ships quick, charges reasonable amounts for shipping plus he gives free samples. I'd shop there again.

how does black reflect?

I haven't used it, but black probably doesn't reflect as badly as one might guess. The retro-reflected portion of the light, which you care about most, primarily comes from the glass beads, which are often mostly near the surface. If the light doesn't pass through very much tinted material, it won't be attenuated very much.

Colors other than white can also add to visibility, since even if they result in slightly less brightness contrast, they will have lot of color contrast with surrounding objects.

The black works just fine. As I understand it the retroreflective beads are in a thin clear layer on the surface of the tape with a black layer underneath. When the tape, your eyes, and the light source line up you see a bright white area. Off the best angle it goes grey then black. The black absorbs any off-angle light so it appears black.

Looking for those yellow/orange reflector stickers to plaster all over my frame

Saw some at Sports Authority but they seemed like a ripoff (10 bucks?)


Thanks in advance

They are somewhat of a mild rip-off. Any reflective material is better than none. When I need reflective tape I go to a local industrial safety supply store, they stock several colors, types, and widths. For about $20.00 I outlined my entire 3/4 ton truck.

For complete geekiness Find the company that started making the reflective paint/liquid after 3M stopped making it years ago. Pain the entire bike!

The black works just fine. As I understand it the retroreflective beads are in a thin clear layer on the surface of the tape with a black layer underneath. When the tape, your eyes, and the light source line up you see a bright white area. Off the best angle it goes grey then black. The black absorbs any off-angle light so it appears black.

Off-angle light is also reflected back roughly in the same direction from which it came. Thus, the orientation of the reflector to the viewer doesn't matter. This is what makes this material so much more versitile than molded reflectors, which only work well at a discrete, usually small, number of angles.

Sorry if that's too much information; I use this stuff in my research and can't help myself from sharing.

I purchased some black 3M Scotchlite reflective tape from http://www.identi-tape.com. They have lots of other colors and tapes.

gosh, you guys paid alot for your stuff
I picked up a roll of red 3M and a roll of white 3M reflective tape from Kroger for 3 bucks each
each roll had 3 or 4 feet in it

I used these for a while. Very reflective.
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=10691&item=00-2005&slitrk=search&slisearch=true

So is black hands down the best for reflectivity or a combination of both scotch lite and black reflective

White is the best for nighttime reflectivity; black is the worst, but lots of people use black because it's less obvious in the daytime (if applied to your pedals, wheels, back of helmet, and other black parts of your bike).

I used reflective vinyl pinstripes (http://www.autopinstripes.com/Size%20&%20Price.html) and High-Intensity Retro-Reflective (Conspicuity) tape (http://www.identi-tape.com/hi-intensity.htm) on my Breezer. Both black and white pinstripes, there is a noticeable difference in the reflectivity between the two, but the black is still pretty reflective, and it is very difficult to see in daylight on a black frame.

Black pinstripes where used down the fork, chain stays, and seat stays. White was used along the rack, and to accent the fenders. I also ran a second strip of black along the fender, higher up than the white. You can see the differences below.

The yellow stickers are those Nathan Helmet stickers. They are pretty bright. I need to put more of them on my helmet.

http://static.flickr.com/80/208156662_d561c17734_o.jpg

http://fortsanders.net/files/active/0/Breezer_reflective_side.jpg

You can find white reflective tape at an auto parts store. I got a 50' roll for $3.95.

REI (http://www.rei.com/online/store/Search?storeId=8000&vcat=REI_SEARCH&query=nathan&x=0&y=0) (store or online) has Nathan's reflective stuff.

The best is 3M white diamond grade. Ugly as sin but really reflexs and has a 10 year glue warranty. I bought it on ebay from the same seller as previously listed. You buy it in small sheets and cut it to fit. You can be very creative or functional.

http://www.rei.com/product/11068460.htm?vcat=REI_ALL_CATEGORIES

Here's an example of how those black reflective stickers look using a camera flash. I'm not quite done adding them yet. I plan on applying them to the fenders once my new set arrives and perhaps to the wheels as well.

I applied some white reflective tape strips to my helmet which you can see resting on the heater in the photo.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k15/lurker1999/Reflectivestickers2.jpg
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k15/lurker1999/Reflectivestickers1.jpg

how does black reflect?

Depends. If your life depended on it, get white. What I did is put white tape on for visibility, and used black tape to finish the outline of the bike. Whether drivers at night care that they recognize a bike or not is another issue...

Taking a flash picture of black tape, yeah, sure, it's bright, but using constant beam lights, not so bright...

I got a question.

How easy is reflective tape to remove from a brand new frame?

I'm about to pull the trigger on a hot road bike for commuting, but I want to keep my options open to sell it later if it doesn't work out.

I got a question.

How easy is reflective tape to remove from a brand new frame?

I'm about to pull the trigger on a hot road bike for commuting, but I want to keep my options open to sell it later if it doesn't work out.

The 3M reflective tape I have says on the backing "Removable Graphic Film" so take that for what it's worth. Personally I just use 3M blue painter's tape to layer underneath the reflective tape as I know that stuff will come off without too much fuss.

Ah, brilliant! Cool.

I just realized my post sounded kinda snotty. What I meant was, I think potential road bike purchasers are more discerning about the cool factor of the frame, and probably wouldn't look kindly upon non-removable reflective dork-tape.

As far as I'm concerned, I wanna reflectorize the crap out of it. Reflectivity looks cool to me, in the dark, like a UFO. I wish they made frames that were reflective themselves. And had little LEDs going along all the tubes. And spokes that light up. And glow in the dark handlebar tape. That would be allsome.

Seeing the pics above gave me the idea to photograph mine to see the effect. Oh my gosh.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y214/giantcfr1/BIKES%20My%20Bikes/My%20GIANT%20CFR1/Oct06007.jpg

rock on napa! (im at work now, standing at the counter...)

Seeing the pics above gave me the idea to photograph mine to see the effect. Oh my gosh.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y214/giantcfr1/BIKES%20My%20Bikes/My%20GIANT%20CFR1/Oct06007.jpg

Loooks like you got a bunch of little devils stuck in your spokes:eek:

Loooks like you got a bunch of little devils stuck in your spokes:eek:And when he rides, they all chant UPGRADE, UPGRADE! in chorus :D

Seeing the pics above gave me the idea to photograph mine to see the effect. Oh my gosh.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y214/giantcfr1/BIKES%20My%20Bikes/My%20GIANT%20CFR1/Oct06007.jpg

How'd you do that???

How'd you do that???

It was very straight forward. I was bored and sat there cutting 8mm strips of tape. Just stuck them to each spoke.(the spokes are bladed) I added a few extra strips between the spokes on the rim. I was hoping for circular effects when the car headlights hit them as I go through cross roads.

rock on napa! (im at work now, standing at the counter...)

i'll be there (A NAPA, not your NAPA) in about 2 hours...

I purchased some black 3M Scotchlite reflective tape from http://www.identi-tape.com. They have lots of other colors and tapes.

+1 for Identi-tape. Use it on all my commuters. Holds up really well. I even put a few pieces on my jacket,and they hold up for a couple months before I have to reapply it.

-1 for Nathan and Conspicuity. I've tried both with bad results. They reflect really well,but don't stay very well on curved surfaces. Every piece I've used on a frame or fender started peeling after a month or two. I've also had the same prob with the tape with the hex pattern in it. Doesn't like sticking on curved surfaces.

I found packages of red/white strips at Lowe's. While not bulk, it is as reflective as any reflector on the bike, if not more so. I also bought a can of reflective paint made by Rustoleum, which I wouldn't recommend.

It was very straight forward. I was bored and sat there cutting 8mm strips of tape. Just stuck them to each spoke.(the spokes are bladed) I added a few extra strips between the spokes on the rim. I was hoping for circular effects when the car headlights hit them as I go through cross roads.

I think it's a great look.

Check this sight out: http://lightweights.org/

giantcfr1, that looks awesome! Prop up your frame with something, start the wheels spinning and take another picture. I bet it would look as good as those LED blinkers that go on the wheels, as in this one:

http://www.ladyada.net/make/spokepov/

Looking for those yellow/orange reflector stickers to plaster all over my frame

Saw some at Sports Authority but they seemed like a ripoff (10 bucks?)


Thanks in advance

You'd save money if you just go to ebay and find some 3m scotchlite reflective sheeting. It goes by series numbers something like 680, 690 etc.

Reflective sheeting (white, mostly) is used to make traffic signs and graphics for emergency and l.e. vehicles. And teensy, expensive stickers, too.

I got mine from a person in MN who sold off-quality scraps (minor coating defects), 20' by 5' for $24+sh. Thats right, 100 sq ft for less than $35. Thats enough for 10 bikes.

Also, local print shops would have some scrap that they couldn't use - this would work fine for bikes. Buy a press operator a beer, then presto - free reflective sheeting.

+1 for this Hi-intensity tape: http://www.identi-tape.com/hi-intensity.htm.

I think it's definitely brighter than the 3M stuff, based on my initial impressions. I'm using red and white.

re: black
The website for this tape notes that black is the least reflective of all the colors they offer.

+1 for Identi-tape. Use it on all my commuters. Holds up really well. I even put a few pieces on my jacket,and they hold up for a couple months before I have to reapply it.

-1 for Nathan and Conspicuity. I've tried both with bad results. They reflect really well,but don't stay very well on curved surfaces. Every piece I've used on a frame or fender started peeling after a month or two. I've also had the same prob with the tape with the hex pattern in it. Doesn't like sticking on curved surfaces.

Identi-Tape sells several different styles of reflective tape. Is this the one you're recommending?

http://www.identi-tape.com/hi-intensity.htm

Ah, brilliant! Cool.

I just realized my post sounded kinda snotty. What I meant was, I think potential road bike purchasers are more discerning about the cool factor of the frame, and probably wouldn't look kindly upon non-removable reflective dork-tape.

As far as I'm concerned, I wanna reflectorize the crap out of it. Reflectivity looks cool to me, in the dark, like a UFO. I wish they made frames that were reflective themselves. And had little LEDs going along all the tubes. And spokes that light up. And glow in the dark handlebar tape. That would be allsome.

Try www.houseofrave.com and hunt around. Not all the stuff needs a DC/AC convertor. Things like the Glow-In-The-Dark hair gel.

Identi-Tape sells several different styles of reflective tape. Is this the one you're recommending?

http://www.identi-tape.com/hi-intensity.htm

No,I've tried some of that and it doesn't like curved surfaces(keeps peeling up on my fender).

This is the stuff I like:
http://www.identi-tape.com/eng-sr1.html

When put on a frame or fenders it stays put with zero peelage. I even put some on the back of my rain jacket and I get a couple months before it flakes to the point I have to reapply.

No,I've tried some of that and it doesn't like curved surfaces(keeps peeling up on my fender).

This is the stuff I like:
http://www.identi-tape.com/eng-sr1.html

When put on a frame or fenders it stays put with zero peelage. I even put some on the back of my rian jacket and I get a couple months before it flakes to the point I have to reapply.

Interesting...I've had good luck with the Hi-intensity (http://www.identi-tape.com/hi-intensity.htm) tape on my BOB trailer and my seat stays, but those are round and it's easy to overlap the tape. I've had no problems with peeling, but all my applications have involved round surfaces where I can overlap the tape.

FWIW, according to their website, the Hi-intensity tape is 8X - 10X brighter than the engineering grade reflective tape.

Never thought about wrapping it around. But then again I have the 1" wide stuff. Wrapping not practical for fenders,though. I've also started getting artsy with cutting the tape into arrows and stuff. Much easier to do than with the hexed tape.

Honestly,the engineering stuff looks pretty bright. I mostly use the orange and white. I've also used the black on my Kona and a couple helmets and doesn't do too bad.

I have Streetglo decals on my bike: http://www.streetglo.net/bicycle-reflective-decals-stickers.html

They come in various shapes and sizes that fit well on different parts of a bike. I also have them on my bike's rims and they've stayed on for several months.