Originally Posted by
proileri
edit: No-one would choose
just one over another
Sure, plenty would.
Plenty of people choose just lights, often people who very much know what they're doing and know how important being seen is.
And plenty choose just reflectors for whatever reason (often because their batteries are dead, they can't afford lights, their lights were stolen or they're just riding the bike they way they bought it.)
And plenty choose nothing, just to be complete.
By the way, I'm planning to take some reflectors out on a dark road and see how far away my car headlights can hit them. I have some DOT/E-approved vehicle / bike ones and a bunch of soft ones and tape around. Anything specific you guys would like to see?
Reflectors do well under ideal conditions. It's the
less than ideal conditions where lights do so much better than reflectors do.