Originally Posted by
bearsquirrel
true reflectors do rely heavily on the angle that the headlights are coming from. But in a way ... So do lights. Those little led "be seen" lights probably cannot be seen from the side. In that case, reflectors would help. Personally, i wrap my road bike frame with reflective tape at strategic points (seat stays, seat tube, fork legs). The "round" tube ensures that any light will be reflected back to the driver. In addition i wear reflective green nathan snap bands on my ankles and wrists. Those can be seen from pretty much any angle.
I bought some "spoke-lits" that provide and active blinkie light in the wheels. Actually they're more for fun to get the "solid light" effect when they spin up to speed. They are barely visible when you shine light on them.
And myself, for night riding i definitely have another light on my helmet. It is the same tridenx that is on my handlebars and if i'm not sure if a car sees me (or they bright flash me) i put that thing right on their retinas and take it away. Do that a couple of times, and they will know you are there.
I use what my state requires for reflectors...wheel reflector and rear red reflector. Don't what a lawyer saying that getting hit was my own fault because I wasn't using the proper equipment
That said, I don't depend on them to be seen. Side reflectors are likely the least useful of the reflectors since the light hitting them may be coming from different angles (or not at all) depending on the situation. A car turning right on a yield, for example, would never hit the reflectors on a bike unless the bicyclist were in the crossing his lane. You can probably think of many others.
I do use a leg light. This, I think, is far more effective for situations where a car is approaching from the side than reflectors. The up and down motion of the light catches the attention of motorists from behind too.
I have experienced vehicles not seeing me from the side with LED lights. It's very disconcerting to have someone pull out in front of you with what you would consider brightish lights. I even tested them by parking my bike and walking across the road way to see how much light spillage there was to the side. They were totally black from across the street at a distance that I would have thought you could see them...about 100 feet. It was very enlightening
It's also one of the reasons I still run halogen. Their side spill is huge and I seldom have issues with cars approaching me from 90 degrees seeing me.
And I agree a helmet light comes in very handy for those situations where cars are approaching from your side.