General Cycling Discussion - Visibility

Has anyone tried these?:

http://hokeyspokes.com/

Also, what would be a good front/rear lighting package be for (as an example) under $100?

Lastly, I want to add a water bottle & cage for it onto my Raleigh SC30. How is that done: adhesive/Velcro; screw-or-bolt the cage on...or some other method?

Thank you.

The biggest visablity issue with bicycles is rear profile
visiablity not side. That said I say skip these spoke
do-dads. Simple reflective tape on the forks & frame
is better. Also try to make yourself more visiable from
the rear with a Lime Green reflective vest or a slow
moving vehicle triangle at the rear.

You can use either zip ties or hose clamps to put a
bottle cage on any bike.

I noticed that the blades 'read' best when going the mind boggling speed of--7 mph!

The blades also cost $30 EACH. So, you'd be spending $90 per wheel .

East Hill

Simple reflective tape on the forks & frame is better.
Reflective tape is an excellent supplement to a lighting system. For an example of how to get added visibility without adding much to your "Fred Factor" (love that term :lol: ) Check out this thread. "Stealth" Reflectors (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=297284)

Doesn't your bike have fittings for adding a water bottle cage?
For lighting, check out Cateye LED headlights and LED flashing tail lights by many companies at your LBS or online. The Planet Bike Superflash is a great tail light.

....Also, what would be a good front/rear lighting package be for (as an example) under $100?....
As far as one-piece headlights lights--I've heard that the $40 Cateye HL-EL530 is good.

For a rear light, the $25 Planet Bike Blinky Superflash is said to be one of the brightest ones around.
However,
I have a bike with Serfas TL-2000 rear lights on it, and they are extremely bright.

I just ordered a HL-530 and a Superflash for another bike I have coming.... It will be interesting to see how the Superflash compares to the TL-2000's.
~

The seat tube and down tube both have mounting bolts for water bottle cages.

Not trying to be mean, but what did you think the bolts were for?

http://www.raleighusa.com/popup-bigimage.asp?i=/images/items/Comfort/full/2005/05-Ral_SC30-Cranberry-f.jpg&h=392&w=600

One of my headlights is a Cateye 510, which is pretty darn bright and the batteries last a good long while. (No flash mode.)

As for lights, I've got one of these:
http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/CE-EL300G.gif
one of those:
http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/CE-LD600.gif
and sometimes (when I attach it to my helmet) one o' dese
http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/CE-EL400.gif

In addition to the lights, the out and rearward surfaces of my seatstays of my daily rig are done in red reflective tape from seatpost to axle. I also have 4" to 6" (depending on location) strips of black reflective tape (it's a black bike) on either side of the fork, and on all three of the main tubes of the frame. The effect looks like this:
http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/937/stealthreflector5ls.gif
To top it all off on my wheelset I've used white reflective tape in between the spokes Click the linkhttp://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6691/stealthreflectorconceptnv0.jpg (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=297284)

I've got plenty of nighttime viability without looking like a dork during the day. My stuff blends so well that you won't spot it during the day unless you actually look. One other thing of note, I don't use plastic CPSC reflectors because they break too easily (this bike is still used offroad from time to time and I hate trail litter) and they don't have the surface area of my system

That's some real tacky bling bling. I wouldn't go there.

1) Bright clothing. Why do people bike/jog at night wearing black? Keep an old white long sleave shirt in your bag incase you are stuck out at night, or need a rag.
2) Reflectors. Reflector batteries do not go dead.
3) Unless you ride at night allot I suggest a headlight that can double as a flashlight so you will get multiple uses out of it. Consider a helmet mounted light too.
4) Rear blinky is not a bad idea but if 1-3 does not alert the driver to your presence the blinky is unlikely to ake them up.

The new strobe lights might wake people up as they might associate it with police.

...I just ordered a HL-530 and a Superflash for another bike I have coming....
Okay, my lights came in today.
Mini-reviews:
Cateye HL-530 - Compared to last year's EL-500, the EL-530 front light has a power regulator and a brighter LED, and is supposed to get longer runtimes out of the same battery types as a result.... -but the beam shapes are not the same--the EL-500 has a short but wide beam produced by a reflective beam shaper in front of the LED, and the EL-530 is just a hemisphere-lens LED in a round reflector, resulting in a tight round spot. The 530 appears a bit brighter, but not 50%. .....I'll have to get some road time with the EL-530 on this matter before deciding if I like it or not. Right offhand, I would guess the EL-500's beam would be more useful.

Planet Bike Superflash Blinky - The optic on the large LED does produce a bright viewing area, but that area is a rather narrow cone. I will use the Superflash, but I think that in practice, the Serfas TL-2000's are better even though they cost a bit more ($30ish vs. $25ish).
~

As for lights, I've got one of these:
http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/CE-EL300G.gif
one of those:
http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/CE-LD600.gif
and sometimes (when I attach it to my helmet) one o' dese
http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/CE-EL400.gif

In addition to the lights, the out and rearward surfaces of my seatstays of my daily rig are done in red reflective tape from seatpost to axle. I also have 4" to 6" (depending on location) strips of black reflective tape (it's a black bike) on either side of the fork, and on all three of the main tubes of the frame. The effect looks like this:
http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/937/stealthreflector5ls.gif
To top it all off on my wheelset I've used white reflective tape in between the spokes Click the linkhttp://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6691/stealthreflectorconceptnv0.jpg (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=297284)

I've got plenty of nighttime viability without looking like a dork during the day. My stuff blends so well that you won't spot it during the day unless you actually look. One other thing of note, I don't use plastic CPSC reflectors because they break too easily (this bike is still used offroad from time to time and I hate trail litter) and they don't have the surface area of my system
I couldn't find the CatEye CE-EL400 helmet light, but I found the first two items you mentuon. I'll check the other URL's you mention later.

1) Bright clothing. Why do people bike/jog at night wearing black? Keep an old white long sleave shirt in your bag incase you are stuck out at night, or need a rag.
2) Reflectors. Reflector batteries do not go dead.
3) Unless you ride at night allot I suggest a headlight that can double as a flashlight so you will get multiple uses out of it. Consider a helmet mounted light too.
4) Rear blinky is not a bad idea but if 1-3 does not alert the driver to your presence the blinky is unlikely to ake them up.

The new strobe lights might wake people up as they might associate it with police.
There seems to be a lot of stuff like those items you mention, on eBay, for about $10. I wonder about the quality at that price.

Sounds like no one has tried them. 7 MPH is the minimum speed for full persistance of vision. If you regularly go 14 MPH like myself I'd go for double the blink rate. I'd loke to have one of these on my spouse's car.

I douldn't find the CatEye CE-EL400 helmet light, but I found the first two items you mentuon. I'll check the other URL's you mention later.
It's not EL-400, it's the EL-410 (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=101&subcategory=1067&brand=&sku=18639&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20Front%20Lights). (-I know the image is named EL400, and I don't know why either-)

,,,,I have one of them too, but it didn't fit on my helmet (why I originally bought it). I use it as a backup handlebar light instead. It has regular-on and blink mode. It's not real bright, and the beam is not colored great (-blueish-violet in the center, and yellow around the edge-) but it's US-legal, and it's way better than nothing.

In my experience--a light that has one LED with a properly designed reflector for it is much better than a design with multiple LEDs and focusing lenses. The Cateye EL-500 is one of the first type, and the EL-410 is one of the second type.
~

It's not EL-400, it's the EL-410 (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=101&subcategory=1067&brand=&sku=18639&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20Front%20Lights). (-I know the image is named EL400, and I don't know why either-)

,,,,I have one of them too, but it didn't fit on my helmet (why I originally bought it). I use it as a backup handlebar light instead. It has regular-on and blink mode. It's not real bright, and the beam is not colored great (-blueish-violet in the center, and yellow around the edge-) but it's US-legal, and it's way better than nothing.

In my experience--a light that has one LED with a properly designed reflector for it is much better than a design with multiple LEDs and focusing lenses. The Cateye EL-500 is one of the first type, and the EL-410 is one of the second type.
~

Thanks, Doug.

As far as one-piece headlights lights--I've heard that the $40 Cateye HL-EL530 is good.
~

I've got an EL 530 and a Vista light. The EL 530 puts out enough light to see where I'm going on the side streets and MUP in the dark; I've kept the Vista light to make me more visible to oncoming traffic.

Latest bike mods:

I was bored; it's raining; and my bike's at my parents' place, so I thought I'd drive over; pay them a visit; and, while I was there, I took the reflectors off the handle bar & off the seat post, replacing them with a(n el cheapo) Schwinn halogen headlight & accompanying red tail light. Oh, I also got the bottle bracket & bottle put on. Most of these little projects were a piece of cake...except for the tail light. That thing had me twisted into all manner of odd contortions & swearing like any Browncoat worthy of his membership.

::::::::waits to see how many are familiar with the Browncoats reference::::::::

Has anyone tried these?:

http://hokeyspokes.com/


Back to the Hokey Spokes--I saw someone using these a few days ago. They were indeed quite visible! Still, for $90 per wheel....I don't think I'll get any.

East Hill

I've got an EL 530 and a Vista light. The EL 530 puts out enough light to see where I'm going on the side streets and MUP in the dark; I've kept the Vista light to make me more visible to oncoming traffic.
I put up some beamshots of these lights I mentioned:
http://www.norcom2000.com/users/dcimper/assorted/inanities/recumbent/general/stuff/bikelights.html
Regarding the tail lights--in the photo the Superflash appears way brighter than the Serfas, but it's not--the Superflash is just a bit more orange, and my aging digital cam picked it up way better. Both these lights appeared to be about the same total output to my eyes, but the Superflash was all in one round spot, where the Serfas was a smaller center beam with a wider angle.

Regarding the headlights--the 530 has a round beam about the same brightness as the older 500.... but the 530's spillbeam is way brighter and wider. The EL-530 wasn't held farther away,,, all these beamshots were taken with the lights the same distance from the wall.
~