Advocacy & Safety - Stealth reflectos did I overdo it?

I had some fun with reflective material (G) I started with the pink but then I found some black and rend that came close to matching my bike. So I could use a fair amount but it does not stand out in the daylight.
The black works better then I though. Most of the white you see is black reflective tape. The helmet pic has it as my helmet is black. I took these pics from about 15 or 20’ away.

I think that's awesome! Do you have a pic of the black tape in the light? Where did you get it? I have a matte black Specialized Rockhopper Comp. I love how it looks but I'd like to get something not totally hideous to make it more visible at night. I already have a couple of lights, and probably will buy a helmet light to boot but hell, the more visible the better. I even have reflective sidewalls on my tires.

Here's what mine looks like from behind.

http://www.identi-tape.com/hi-intensity.htm
the tape is glossy but it blends in well.

Here's what mine looks like from behind.
we are going to have to work on that (G) my pics are wtihout the lights going. when they are all flashing and glowing I look like a christmas tree.

I think it's a lot, especially the colors. I believe the best place for reflectors are in the wheels, like in Slvoid's pic, and standard white/front and red/rear. Other than that, I prefer to rely on active lighting. I want to be seen but without being a distraction to drivers. I want them to identify me without being some sort of lighting spectacle.

I'm not so much concerned about drivers directly behind me as I am with drivers from the side, which is where the two huge glowing rings off my wheels come from. From behind, my one 19-LED niterider is enough to blind most drivers directly behind me from several hundred feet away.

I think it's a lot, especially the colors. I believe the best place for reflectors are in the wheels, like in Slvoid's pic, and standard white/front and red/rear. Other than that, I prefer to rely on active lighting. I want to be seen but without being a distraction to drivers. I want them to identify me without being some sort of lighting spectacle.

getting noticed is key. I have lights too one solid and one xenon flasher in back and a xenon flasher and powerful headlight in front. being different is more effetive then most other things. Just ask a bent rider about that.

I'm not so much concerned about drivers directly behind me as I am with drivers from the side, which is where the two huge glowing rings off my wheels come from. From behind, my one 19-LED niterider is enough to blind most drivers directly behind me from several hundred feet away.
I lucked out and when ig ot the new rear tire it was reflective. few tires have reflective sidewalls though.
you think your nightrider is bright you should see my xenon flasher (G) it lights up the road.

being different is more effetive then most other things.

Yes for being noticed but I want the drivers to... drive. I want to be seen but I don't want to be such a distraction that they keep staring at my weird lighting/reflector pattern instead of looking where they are going.

Yes for being noticed but I want the drivers to... drive. I want to be seen but I don't want to be such a distraction that they keep staring at my weird lighting/reflector pattern instead of looking where they are going.

I don't think that whill happen. I have not had anyone run off the road yet. but with brain dead drivers they need something (G) when I was on my road bike I never got noticed. now that I ahve my bent I am always getting looks and a lot of hey thats a great bike.
I debated on the ansi high viosiblity oarnge and green shirts. but I did not want to stand out when I was not on my bike.

That black reflective tape is the same stuff the Air Force uses on it's Aerospace Ground Equipment. It surprised me when I first saw it at night too. Good stuff

I lucked out and when ig ot the new rear tire it was reflective. few tires have reflective sidewalls though.
you think your nightrider is bright you should see my xenon flasher (G) it lights up the road.


What brand do you have? I have a Lightman xenon strobe, and while it is noticeable, it is not that bright.

I've seen the strobes at the LBS, they're bright and distracting but I prefer a really bright solid light to indicate "Hey I'm here for good" instead of a flashing mess of light.

Personally I'd try to apply reflective tape in long solid stripes that present an outline of your bike as much as possible. The more they see your actual shape the faster they'll process what you are. I like the tape on the rims, too - whirling rims scream "bicycle".

What brand do you have? I have a Lightman xenon strobe, and while it is noticeable, it is not that bright.

I have a liteman in back and a sparky in front. the problem is the light from a xenon strope is blueish. so when it is filtered through red it looses a fair amount of the brightness. the sparky when I run it on white it is really bright. on red it is less so.

I've seen the strobes at the LBS, they're bright and distracting but I prefer a really bright solid light to indicate "Hey I'm here for good" instead of a flashing mess of light.
I have both the strobe for attention and solid to show me better.

I do admit though if I did not already have the xenon strobe and have them wired for a bigger battery I would just use LED lights. but since I ahve them no use spending money to replace them. they are a bit of overkill.

HA!

only on BF.net could you find someone argumentative enough to argue with you that you are in fact "too visible" at night.

GEEZUS

True that rofl. You might be too visible.

Actually you may have under done it. The one wheel is great. Why not both wheels?

The tape on the frame may be just a tad too broken, it is hard to immediately connect the dots.

See my thread on show me your nite bike. It would be fun to have your bike there, once with lights and reflectors and once with reflectors only. Like you are in an emergency situation and your batteries have all failed.

hi yo..

Actually you may have under done it. The one wheel is great. Why not both wheels?

The tape on the frame may be just a tad too broken, it is hard to immediately connect the dots.

See my thread on show me your nite bike. It would be fun to have your bike there, once with lights and reflectors and once with reflectors only. Like you are in an emergency situation and your batteries have all failed.

hi yo..

not both wheels becasue I just got the bike and I had a kevlar belted tire put on back. I did not have the money to do both and I did not notice that it was reflective when I got it.
I did not want the tape to stand out in the daylight. Plus there are no real good straight lines on the bent. there is always something in the way. it would be hard to get a pic of all my lights since the xenon flashers are so rapid. but I can give an idea.

not both wheels becasue I just got the bike and I had a kevlar belted tire put on back. I did not have the money to do both and I did not notice that it was reflective when I got it.
I did not want the tape to stand out in the daylight. Plus there are no real good straight lines on the bent. there is always something in the way. it would be hard to get a pic of all my lights since the xenon flashers are so rapid. but I can give an idea.

I understand. I got black "stealth" tape, black in the daytime and white at night for wheel rims.
It will be a bit before I get it on as I want it to be nice looking and need a weekend when I have gobs of time.

Turn off the xenon flashers as we all want to see worst case, if all batteries die, what do drivers see.

hi 'o

I've been considering painting my frame with krylon reflect-a-lite. It's clear so it doesn't mar the paintjob in daylight, but reflects under direct light. About $15 a can, but you can't beat it for coverage. Now I just need a space to do it. Damn apartment living.

Interesting. Do you have any sites which show the effectiveness of this? Tape is easy to take off a bike if it doesn't work well. Taking off a paint overcoat is more difficult.

That is cool...just add neons :D

I've been considering painting my frame with krylon reflect-a-lite. It's clear so it doesn't mar the paintjob in daylight, but reflects under direct light. About $15 a can, but you can't beat it for coverage. Now I just need a space to do it. Damn apartment living.
this should be on all bikes. though I doubt you will have much luck just spraying your bike I doubt the paint will stick well.

That is cool...just add neons :D

I have thought of using some of that neon wire. but that may be overdoing it a bit (G)

Knight Steve,

Your fourth image is the most revealing. Question: what is tape and what is light? Your colors are so mixed, it is hard to tell what we are looking at. I finally figured out the pink bar is reflective tape.

Knight Steve,

Your fourth image is the most revealing. Question: what is tape and what is light? Your colors are so mixed, it is hard to tell what we are looking at. I finally figured out the pink bar is reflective tape.

it's all tape in those pics. red tape on the bike body (to match the body) black on the forks and helmet and the bike rack and such. (the white is the black reflective tape) and the pink was the first tape I got. I debated on getting rid of it but it does make the biek stand out (G)

Ugh, I may have to change a previous posting. That is permissible, right? It is way way too easy to get carried away with taping. I tried taping the wheel rims. Problems I noticed:
1. 1/4 inch tape is only 3/16th and so extra gap
2. silver tape doesn't exist, at least that I could find, and honeycomb just looks too much in the daytime.

The real secret is how do we get a good visibility quotion to bikes without giving the appearance of a circus coming to town, and having a bike that looks decent in the daylight hours. Still on a quest for the perfect answer. It would be nice if we had an option of getting reflective tape on the wheels before the spokes and tires were added.

Anyone make tires with buildin reflective "white walls", or something like that?

it is easy to do. mine looks a bit wierd becasue I did not want the tape to show in daylight. and it hardly does the red is close to the bike color and the black blends in well. the pink stands out though. you can get reflective tires though they are not super common. I have one. I bet you could get reflective tape to match the rims.

I did put black "stealth" tape on the rims. It looks fairly invisible in the daytime,but is hard to get on right. The thickness I ordered was about 1/8" too thin.

Michelin and Maxxis and ??? make reflective sidewall tires. I plan on ordering those when these give out. Performance is listed as a dealer for Michelin.