It seems that everyone takes them off. Are they much benefit? I use a Superflash taillight and a Blaze headlight (both usually set to blink) and I'm thinking of adding a solid taillight, but I don't know if this gives me much visibility from the sides. I also wear reflective bands around my calves (to hold the pants).

Thanks.

My current wheelset didn't come with them, but I don't actively take them off.

Go down a street and face an intersection where you now bikes pass, check out the difference you see with the ones that have, and the ones that have not. Usually dusk and later works best.

They definitely do help for visibility, and usually anything that helps is better than not having it at all.

I went out of my way to put them on; when I lost one I went to the LBS and had them dig one out of their junk box. They are VERY effective. They draw the eye like crazy; they look unique to bicycles. Pedal reflectors are unique also. A light moving up and down like either of those is visually distinctive.

Active lighting is great and necessary, but reflectors are just as necessary. Active lighting takes care of you in the situations where a car's headlights are not shining on you, but in situations where a headlight IS shining on you, there's almost nothing brighter than a good reflector.

They can only help to be noticed!

I've also used some reflective tape in various places. Some on the top & down tubes that's located to give a "flashing" effect as I pedal.

You might want to consider these instead of or in addition to reflectors.

https://www.night-gear.com/p/Illumina...y-Nite-Ize.htm

There are other spoke light products out there as well, but these are very simple and cheap. They do a pretty good job, but since I'm always riding the bike I don't really know what they look like from a driver's perspective.

what battery does this use?

The wheel reflectors are the last ones I'd want to lose.

My powered lights (two sets of red LED blinkies rear, one white LED blinkie front + HID) are all directed forward and back. As I cross intersetions and cross streets I'm really reliant on the wheel reflectors to catch the headlights of cars as I cross their paths.

That twin whirling shape is very distinctive too.

I agree with the OP that most people take them off right away, but everyone so far seems to have theirs still in place. I do feel they help to be noticed, especially when crossing intersections...

My bike came with tires with reflective sidewalls, instead of spoke reflectors. I can't see myself when I am riding to know how they compare. I was thinking about added one of those Nite-Ize spoke lights on the front wheel now that it's getting dark during the commute.

I think they help & leave them on all my bikes. When I picked up a wheelset that didn't have any reflectors, I rode down to my LBS to buy a set. Turns out they had a large box full of take-offs & I could have as many as I wanted for free. I picked out some I liked & then stopped by a few more times to get some to add to my commuter bikes. I read posts claiming they come off & jam in your wheel but this seems to me an urban legend as I never lost one in 50 years of riding. I have experienced a couple times when one came a bit loose & rattled but it was an easy fix. Don

I was driving at night along a street with no street lights. Then I saw those revolving reflectors. That was all I saw. I slowed down saying to myself, "What is that?" It was a girl on a bike but she had on dark clothes. All I saw at first was the reflectors on the spokes.

I just went down and put a reflector on my front wheel.

They do work, some angles are better than others. I really like the reflective tape on the rims though, enough that I junked the reflectors. Much more effective from more extreme angles, though not that great from the side unless you have Deep V style rims and not fairly flat like mine.

Those reflective bands you wear probably help quite a bit. Movement gets noticed.

I don't ride at night enough and don't like how I can feel a wobble at speed since it does unbalance your wheel. With a headlight and tail light that actually shine on the road with some amount of light are noticeable from the side and drivers will see those.

Reflectors are not enough at night, I'm sick of seeing people on bikes at night in the middle of the street in dark clothing and all they have are reflectors. I'm very aware of my surroundings but I see their silhouette before I see their reflectors.

For whatever reason, there's a reflector on my rear wheel. Side to Side visibility is what i worry about, i have a flashing headlight and two rear blinkies so those are covered. I really like those spoke lights, but I might just go to Target/Wally World and get some, seems like something they would have for sure.

2 - 2016 batteries. Check out the manufacturers web site:

https://www.niteize.com/productdetail...product_id=163

I took mine off but I don't ride in front of moving cars or run red lights.31 years and nobody has hit me yet,but they're still trying.....

People take them off for aesthetic reasons. I did too. I know this is a bad decision, but am adamant.

Pretty much sums it up for most people.

Don't like the way they unbalance the wheel.
So I took the one from my rear wheel, and put it on the front wheel opposite the other one. (both on the front wheel)




Then I got retroreflective tape, and covered the inside of both rims, and my frame, took off the spoke reflectors all together.

They were the only thing that kept me from nearly tagging a bike ninja when I was driving the other night. That said, none of the wheels I have came with reflectors and I'm not really going to go out of my way to get some. I might put some reflective tape on my rims though.

They are required by law here.

its the primary way i notice bikes from the side at dusk or nighttime. i definitely keep mine on for that reason.

if you get spoke reflectors, get them in pairs per wheel and put them on opposite of each other to balance them out.

but personally I prefer to just put reflective stickers on the rims. IMO works better on low profile rims compared to box sections.

put some High Intensity reflective tape on the rims, beats a spoke reflector any day. Also spoke reflectors throw a wheel out of true and round quicker than without according to my mechanic.

Ninjas....

compare...
spoke reflectors not reflecting much, HI reflective tape overly bright.

One thing that reflectors have over tape is that tape really doesn't work if it gets condensation on it. Not rain, but say you take your bike from an A/C'd indoor environment to outdoors and humid.

I think the plastic reflectors are less likely to collect the condensation too, since the stickers often have metal underneath which makes them collect the condensation more readily (faster heat transfer from metal).