I use a lighted reflective vest, reflective sidewall tires, reflective dork bands, and a Down Low Glow to take care of side visibility. I am probably going to get some Bike Brightz in the not too distant future. They appear to serve a similar function as the DLG, but, have the advantage that they use regular AA batteries.

What's a good brand for a 700x 23 reflective road tire that can take abuse?

https://www.modernbike.com/itemgroup....177499&TID=367

You could always put one of these on your head.

Great ideas all around, but whatever you go with, do NOT use reflective tape. Once the stuff is on your frame it is going to be a serious struggle to get it off. Trust me, I've done it and regretted it.

And I've done it three times and never regretted it. Sure, I've replaced damaged sections, and it wasn't necessarily fun in removal, but you have to weigh your options.

Then again, I was using films, not tape...

How long does it take to put them on the spokes? This looks like a pretty good option for my early-morning rural road rides.

I've been thinking about just rigging a taillight to put a red glow on the road extending about 4 feet to my left for the same reason. Much cheaper than the DLG, and more choices of power sources available. The BikeBrightz price tag definitely puts it in the running, with the added benefit of amber being an option.

Have added more reflective bits since this was taken... combine this with 3m stripes on my jacket, shoes, and pants as good lights and i should be hard to miss.

It's easy to get carried away with this stuff, isn't it, because there's no obvious "enough is enough" point.

I think it took about a half an hour, maybe 45 minutes total for both wheels . Cleaning the spokes took the most time and helps the stickers to adhere better. The tape wraps around the spokes completely and lines up using a guide they supply with the kit.

Night stuff--> https://www.streetglo.net/

Rim stuff--> https://www.streetglo.net/rim.shot.re...heel.tape.html

This ^...and lights bright enough to put holes in the back of people's skulls*



*As Fog Horn Leghorn says "That's a joke, son. A flag waver. You're built too low. The fast ones go over your head. Ya got a hole in your glove. I keep pitchin' 'em and you keep missin' 'em. Ya gotta keep your eye on the ball. Eye. Ball. I almost had a gag, son. Joke, that is." Do get bright front lights but be aware that some people on these forums will be offended if your lights have more output than a sick firefly.

I'll add this tip. After cleaning the spokes, put the bike on a stand, or invert it. Take a sharpie and the alignment guide that comes with the Lightweights and mark the position of all the stickers. After marking, then proceed to apply them.

Not all reflective tape applications have to be obvious. My Mom didn't want her entire bike treated, so I cut strips, and applied the Lightweights...

So are they just little tape strips, or is there something special about them? The price with shipping is 10x what a roll of reflector tape costs, (and I can get reflector tape in other colors) and I may have access to a computerized cutter if there's a special shape.

Ordered the yellow BikeBrightz tonight, so that should help a lot on my rural road night rides. I might rig it with a handlebar mounted remote so it isn't killing my eyes' dark adjustment when there's no traffic for miles, though.

Reflective tape is rigid, and prone to unpeel when wrapped around a small radius (such as a spoke). Lightweights are a very flexible (almost rubbery) material, and don't unpeel. Performance bike carries it in house, so if you're near one of them, you could save the shipping.

I also agree that the side lighting/reflectors do you little good.

I use a helmet mounted HID light that I can direct just below the drivers eyes to catch their attention if it appears they may fail to properly yield to me. Worked every time over the last several years.

Sounds interesting, but I doubt I'll pay that for each of the 4 (currently - at least two more in the near future plans) usable bikes in the family. I'm experimenting right now with three 1.5x.75" strips of amber Scotchlite spaced 90 degrees apart on the inner surface of the rims, with the 4th space being red on the rear and white on the front. The theory is that one should be in view at all times from any angle except straight ahead, behind or 90 degrees to either side (front/rear lights, reflectors, and Scotchlite pinstriping have those directions well-covered) and the broken pattern of movement should be more attention-getting than a fully covered rim.

I have thought about buying some of the retroreflective microspheres and using them to coat spokes, but I'm not sure what adhesive would be tough enough for the varying compression/tension of the spokes under load.

Absurd statement.

Agreed.

Reflective sidewall tires work great and can be seen at great distances. I have tested mine with an LED flashlight and they light up a long distance away. I've bought my Conti GP 4000s with reflective sidewalls for about $25 apiece when probikekit.com had them on sale. Worth every penny. Reflective ankle bands are an inexpensive way to add sideways (and rear) visibility. Not only do they light up well, but the motion catches peoples' eyes.

I bought mine at a bike show a few years ago for about $10. I'd buy them again at $15.

It's not a total absurd statement. It depends on the angle of incidence of the approaching vehicle as do all reflective surfaces. I can see many situations where a vehicle approaching from 90 degrees to the bicycle would not illuminate the reflective surfaces on a bike until the car was right on top of the bike. In many urban settings, with lots of shrubs, trees and other landscaping, a car could easily get within 20 feet of less before illuminating a bicycle's reflectors. This is one of the reasons that I don't rely on passive illumination, i.e. reflectors, and instead opt for active illumination, i.e. lights. A prudent rider uses both.

You know, that if you split one pack up, you could do every 4th spoke on each bike, or buy two, and do every other spoke.

Microspheres? I've got over a pound of them, don't bother. In my surface mounted applications, I found that they weren't much use. Besides, you'd probably waste more time/weight/money on that compared to Lightweights. Since then I tried marking a trail hazard by mixing them w/some fresh sprayed paint but the results were underwhelming.


Orange spraypaint and a dusting of reflective microspheres just after application.

Sure it looked good on the night I did it, but after a few weeks/rains, it greatly diminished in its value. However the paint did mark the location for me, and others, so it wasn't a complete loss. The trail has since been repaved, so this is no longer a hazard.

I might use them on the 7100, or on a more efficient commuter once I get one, but my wife doesn't like to ride at night anyway. I'm really interested to see how well the BikeBrightz will do in town, though, and I want to figure out a good way to rig a light and video camera so I can see the effect of the 4-point rim reflector strips I'm experimenting with.

IIRC, for pavement use, they're in a 2-part epoxy paint specially made to completely cover the microspheres without reducing their effect as much as typical paints and clearcoats do. Since it works on asphalt, (which needs flexible paints) that may be a good choice for spokes, so I need to find someone in the highway department and see if they can give a brand/formulation.