Bluish Green

Here's a photo of my bike with both taillights on:



[It's a hazy day, not the brightest sunshine, but the lights seem effective even in direct sun]. The top light is a PDW Danger Zone, which I leave on steady all the time. The bottom light is a PDW Radbot 1000, which I use on blinky mode. I agree with the thought that two lights is optimal - the blinky gets attention, the solid gives good direction and velocity information, and having two means if batteries get used up on one,you still have the other one going. Both of these use AAA batteries; I keep a rotation of 8 AAA rechargeables and a battery charger in regular use at my desk. I like both PDW lights a lot, but I think the Radbot 1000 is best because it is brighter and has the supplemental rectangular reflector (which allowed me to replace the rear reflector on my rack and still be legal with the light off). I'm sure there are other effective lights from other manufacturers too - any light is better than no lights in my opinion. I go with panniers on the sides of my rack to carry my work clothes, lunch, etc., so both of these lights are always visible from the rear.

I also agree with the concept that we should do our best to give regular drivers every opportunity to see us clearly and drive accordingly. We can't do much about the drunks and texters other than keeping off the roadway ourselves or vocally supporting law enforcement, and I choose the latter.

hubcap

I have purchased some before from an eBay retailer. It is reflective, but not nearly so as the traditional colors. If you value safety over aesthetics, go with the more reflective colors.

Bluish Green

I also think retroreflective tape on your bike and/or helmet is very effective for nighttime visibility from vehicles. Retroreflectivity is when light from a source (car's headlights) reflects back in a tight angle to the viewer (the driver). 3M Scotchlite is effective - it uses tiny glass beads in its surface to reflect light back to the driver. The newer retroreflective material that you see on newer highway signs is high-intensity micro-prismatic sheeting. You can get it in the form of rolls of retroreflective tape if you want to go with the newer stuff. I used blue and white prismatic tape from Reflexite on my bike:


And I used the same blue and white prismatic tape (plus a little red prismatic tape on the back) for my helmet:
Here is a photo of my bike taken at night next to my wife's mountain bike that has no retroreflective tape on it (also note the STOP sign in the upper center [hopefully the photo will be large enough to see it, I am new to uploading photos here]:

And here is a photo with the helmet in it (both nighttime photos taken with flash on camera, which only approximates what a driver sees, but gives you some idea):


I actually had a motorcyclist drive by when I was taking these photos, slow way down, and say "man that bike glows!"

If you can get access to some retroreflective tape, putting it on the helmet is probably very effective (it is high up and can be seen from all angles), and it won't make a permanent change to your bike. If you are feeling Fredly, you can apply it to your bike like I did (the Reflexite stuff I used is really super-adhesive, so consider it somewhat permanent).

Again, I'd rather ensure that I'm at least seen by the honest drivers who are trying to be safe. Drive as defensively as possible to account for the other types of drivers....

EXCALIBUR

Q: Could we get a photo and some tips on how to best fasten the PBSF to the back of your helmet? Thanks.

Yo Spiff

Plenty of them. The PB Superflash is one you can't go wrong with. I became convinced of using a blinky during the day earlier this year on a club ride. I stopped to take some photos and the guy I was riding with got about 1/4 to 1/2 mile ahead. I could still clearly see his blinky. (A PB Superflash) I have a few other models and I have been planning on doing a daylight visibility comparison between them.

Mithrandir

I've had two go out on a long ride before.

I've also broken one of the attachments in a crash.

I'm a cautious person, and I like to have redundancies in case of bad scenarios.

smasha

glow in the dark tape? useless! take some glow in the dark tape, attach it to a tree or mailbox, and walk away from it, about 50-100ft. can you see it? even if the tape is fully "charged" it'll be invisible even from 10-20ft within a few minutes.

reflective tape is good, especially DOT or SOLAS grade tape. don't forget reflective ankle-straps! they are probably the single best bit of passive hi-viz there is.

+1 on multiple good lights. PBSF-turbo, PDW danger-zone and radbot, hotshot, moon shield, TL-60, etc.

but why do people mount those lights on their helmets? they've got a very narrow, tightly focused "beam". those lights need to be attached directly to the bike and aimed properly, or they're no better than a dollar-store bike-light. mounting them to saddle-bags, helmets, backpacks, clothing, etc is a big fail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tckl9f3T5xc

even if it's not obstructed, there's a 99% chance that it's not aimed at anything useful.

for mounting on a saddle-bag, helmet, backpack, clothing, etc i'm gonna suggest the red zone 4 - https://www.niteflux.com/Products_RedZone4.aspx

there's really no need to have that "aimed". if it's more or less pointed in the right direction (and not obstructed), you'll be seen.

fdmsiv

Velocity now has some rims powder coated with the Halo paint mentioned earlier. Looks very interesting.

https://velocityusa.blogspot.com/2010...cing-halo.html

https://www.velocityusa.com/default.asp?contentID=747

GaryinLA

I am new here and dont commute much but do ride at night.
This is what i do:

Minimum of 2 lights front and back on the bike
PB Superflash on my messenger bag

Messenger Bag is the Nite Series from Chrome, has reflective finish

Construction vest I got at Home Depot (i have one in yellow and one in orange)

3M Reflective tape all over the bike, white on front and sides, red (or red and white striped) in back.
Got the tape at hardware stores

Reflective velcro straps on pant legs

I still dont feeel particularly safe, i plan on getting another PB Superflash to use on the bike (in addition to one on messenger bag) and plan on getting some sort of yellow jacket so my arms are in yellow

Also i want to get the spoke/wheel reflectors sold by Rivendell

One of my bikes has Marathon Plus tires with reflective strips but i dont like to ride that bike with those tires, it is a heavy hybrid bike with flat bars and tires are heavy too.

windhchaser

o i meant reflective tape

ItsJustMe

Glow in the dark stuff is incredibly dim. I bet if you put some on a mailbox by the side of the road then drive by it at night, you won't even be able to notice it glowing.

Reflective tape is the way to go. Or active lighting.

smasha

reflective tape AND active lighting. for the win!

Bluish Green

+2

10 Wheels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwjZ...layer_embedded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f38K...1&feature=plcp