Commuting - Reflective tape. It's a DISEASE. :)

My winter bike is a blue-&-silver Gary Fisher Ziggurat frame with a rigid fork. I decided to give it the full reflective-tape treatment using a mixture of blue and silver reflective tape.

Without camera flash, the colors aren't too far off the original colors, other than the fork, which was black and now is silver on the front:
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff237/mechBgon/kitchen.jpg


Here's a before-&-after animated GIF with medium camera flash.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff237/mechBgon/tape.gif
^ The blue reflects strongly enough that it looks almost silver there...



http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff237/mechBgon/weak.jpg
^ ...but this is probably more representative of what it'll look like in low-beam headlights.


Note the tape on the wheels. You can tell it's two different types. The weaker tape is glass-bead 3M Scotchlite that I got at an auto-parts store. The stronger tape is prismatic tape (Reflexite V82, in this case, which is also what I used on the frame). Either one is far better than nothing, but if you want stronger reflectivity, use reflective tape that uses prismatic technology. It's basically a sheet of cube-corner reflectors with a metallized back surface so it'll reflect from severe angles.

As a bonus, my living-room carpet has reflective speckles after one of these projects :D

Looks Great!

I know exactly what you mean by tape being a disease, you can always find one more spot that needs covering...

Don't the long strips of tape along the frame tubes tend to peel at their edges then turn tacky and dirt attracting?

I think its cool looking, keep it up.

My bike is matte black all over. I found black relfective tape online and put everywhere possibe, almost. It's invisible in daylight. At night, when a car's headlights shine at me, the driver is going to know I'm there. I love riding by police cars at night when they have all their lights flashing too.

nice neat job! I added some recently but I also re-installed the wheel reflectors because of potential legal issues

Nice tape job. And I'm envious of your Bull LED.

Where did you get your prismatic tape? Is the tape on your fenders the same kind?

Lets see pics of the carpet.

Lets see pics of the carpet.

That's what he said.

Don't the long strips of tape along the frame tubes tend to peel at their edges then turn tacky and dirt attracting?

I had peeling problems with thick tape (3M Diamond Grade) because it has enough inherent stiffness that it tries to straighten out. I was eyeballing some Nikkalite Crystal Grade for this project because it also has high reflection specs, but then I Googled to find out if it was thick & stiff, and found it was described as being thick like a credit-card. Great for making street signs, I'm sure, but not for sticking to sharply-curved surfaces.

So I went with some more Reflexite V82 here, which is the premium 10-year grade (V92 is the 5-year grade, not as reflective but still very good prismatic tape). I've been using this stuff on my road-commuting bike for a while without peeling or any noticable dirt-attraction problem, so it seems to be a good pick.


Where did you get your prismatic tape? Is the tape on your fenders the same kind?

The Reflexite V82 I put on the frame last night is from night-gear.com. The DOT Conspicuity version is 2 inches wide, and the blue stuff is the 1-inch wide. It's thin enough that it doesn't try to peel itself off. Tip: don't try to put any stretching force on it when sticking it to the frame, just lay it on. It's infuriatingly sticky :D

The tape across the rear of the fenders in little strips, and up the rear of the seatstays, is Peterson Manufacturing DOT Conspicuity tape. It's a good prismatic tape you can find at Fred Meyer and auto-parts stores in a package like this:

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff237/mechBgon/PM_tape-1.png

Identi-tape.com carries the Reflexite Daybright V92 in lots of colors, that's another good pick if you don't mind the triangle pattern.

The tape along the forward arch of the rear fender, and near the fork on the edges of the front fender, is 3M Scotchlite glass-bead tape. It's vinyl and has juuuust enough 3-dimensional flexibility that I was able to arch it along the edges of the fenders (prismatic stuff doesn't stretch like that).

The rims are a mix of the silver 3M Scotchlite glass-bead tape and the Reflexite V82, but I think I'm going to just lay Reflexite over the Scotchlite because it's sooooo much more reflective and I have plenty left :)

Cool

Nice job, and neat work with the tape.

I love the clear reflective tape and what you done with it...LOOKS great!! .My Mother works in the business of shipping everything from bikes to old Japanese subs and uses alot of the tape..A 2"x50yrd of DOT C2 is $150..She was nice enough to get me some bits and pieces.. :)

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff275/Cfx-131/Forums/DSC01237.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff275/Cfx-131/Forums/DSC01239.jpg

I completly understand what you're going through...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2697188369_0b3069323e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/2697188369)


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3576/3637559113_b3f06b27f6.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/3637559113)
Now with reflective sidewals on both front and back tires

I'm sorry about the attachments, I'm still figuring out the new PUMPKIN* forums editing forms
K'Tesh

*PUMPKIN substitue for foul language word of choice.

I completly understand what you're going through...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2697188369_0b3069323e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/2697188369)


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3576/3637559113_b3f06b27f6.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/3637559113)
Now with reflective sidewals on both front and back tires

I'm sorry about the attachments, I'm still figuring out the new PUMPKIN* forums editing forms
K'Tesh

*PUMPKIN substitue for foul language word of choice.

Duuuuuude!!! :beer: NICE work! We should sit together at the next Reflectaholics Anonymous meeting! :D

Wow, you guys make reflective tape on bikes look pretty sweet. Thanks for sharing. :thumb:

I need more reflective tape.

Duuuuuude!!! :beer: NICE work! We should sit together at the next Reflectaholics Anonymous meeting! :D

Sure... I'll take a Henry's (Root Beer).

Abyssina there
K'Tesh

very neat, and thanks for the explanation of the differing types.

I always wondered why the roadies don't upgrade their bikes with tape. It's retro, it's cool and it doesn't weigh that much.

I always wondered why the roadies don't upgrade their bikes with tape. It's retro, it's cool and it doesn't weigh that much.On the contrary, it's ugly and so not cool.

Thanks a lot. Now I know what my next project is going to be.

I hate you.

Those sticker jobs look great! Now I want more reflective tape on my bike.

Excellent ideas!

Nice work! That's a disease that could save your life. The 900 candlepower tape I used on my mudflap (http://www.veloweb.ca/garagepages/mudflap.html) is great stuff.

Reflective tape can really crap up a bike if done inartfully; good job on this one.

Oh, by the way, a couple of questions came to me. When a bike has reflective tape on it, are you able to wash and clean it normally with no damage to the tapes you're using? Do the reflective tapes cause any damage to the frame's surface underneath?

I consider reflective tape permanent. The glue doesn't hurt the metal but I can't imagine trying to remove it would be good for the paint. If you bike is expensive and precious, you consider applying the tape t other surfaces such as you clothing instead.

Oh, by the way, a couple of questions came to me. When a bike has reflective tape on it, are you able to wash and clean it normally with no damage to the tapes you're using? Do the reflective tapes cause any damage to the frame's surface underneath?

Basically the reflective tape/film is just like the stuff you see on traffic signs. There's films that are labeled as three year, and stuff that's seven year. Now traffic signs stand out 24/7 in the elements and they hold out well. My bikes spend at least 8 hours a day (minimum) indoors, so weathering isn't an issue. There is no difference in cleaning.

The films could conceal damage on carbon fibre components, but I doubt that it would cause it. However, if I was applying it to carbon fibre I'd make sure NOT to cut it on the part, and I'd only use a narrow trim (as opposed to a complete wrap). My bikes are all metal, so I don't fear tape caused damage. As to the finish of my bikes, I did decide to replace panels of the film on a couple of occasions due to crash related (cosmetic) damage. Actually, the films protected the factory paint job. Removal required a lot of "GOO Gone", and some elbow grease, but I lost no paint from peeling it up.

Rubberside Down!
K'Tesh

Your bike looks amazing! I've been wanting to get some reflective tape, and I've never been able to settle on a brand (if only someone sold PINK tape to match my spray painted baskets!!!). But I think I'm going to go ahead and get the Reflexite :)

Lets see pics of the carpet.


. . must resist dirty thoughts . . must not think that it's . . oh God just let us see the carpet :D

I gave my Mom's bike the reflective treatment too. She didn't want the finish to be hidden by a complete wrap, so I stuck with narrow strips. As you see, you don't need to completly wrap a bike with retroreflective films (and possibly muck up a nice finish), to get a nice result.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3191/2922857839_1dac974136.jpg
Daylight photo after I applied the films

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/3091339917_38434de2bb.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/sets/72157607858717173/)
And the results.

I highly doubt that anyone can even notice the difference, unless they saw her bike next to another one of the same year/model.

For safety, you can't argue against reflective tape.

I tell you, though, getting that stuff off of the bike is a real bugger. It chips and has to be removed with heat and chemicals. Reflective tape chips like paint as it gets older and more miles on it. Eventually, you will want to re-paint or re-glam it somehow and that reflective tape is going to be a bugger to get off.

whoa, very nice job, i remember seeing some at the store, but i didnt have a black bike, and they only had it in black so i didnt get any, now i do have an all black bike.......

whoa, very nice job, i remember seeing some at the store, but i didnt have a black bike, and they only had it in black so i didnt get any, now i do have an all black bike.......

Lightweights makes a "Stealth Tape" (http://www.lightweights.org/store/product.php?productid=5&cat=1&bestseller=Y). It's black, and sold in 100 inch rolls of 3/8 inch wide 3M Scotchlight film. In daylight it's just a glossy black strip (when clean), at night, It reflects a muted gold color, but it does show up. I haven't used it, but I do use their "Lightweights for wheels" (http://www.lightweights.org/store/product.php?productid=1) on my spokes.

I even got a coupon code (Rok3g) from them to share with people who were interested in my bikes. I dunno if they still use it, but you're welcome to try.

Rubberside Down!
K'Tesh

This is the stuff I've been using:

http://shop.reflectivestore.com/product.sc?productId=21

just received my fix, can't wait to apply. I'm eying my snow pants & hi-vis day-glo lime-green cycling-specific vest-jacket convertible windbreaker. I think I'm over-hyphenated.

I think I'm over-hyphenated.

:lol:

127486127485Here is mine it came out great

I would never put that stuff on my road bike, but I don't ever ride my road bike in the dark so it is not required there.

But my commuter bike - ah, now you've infected me with your disease - I want that on my commuter! Time to drop hints to my loved ones asking me "So what do you want for Christmas?"