Lighting Help for Night Side Visibility
 

I just upgraded my lighting to have 45 degree visibility on the rear triangle on my road bike, but I'm looking at options to do the same for the front. I wear a neon green vest or jacket so that takes care of the middle of the bike. I just ordered a set of Lit 360 Ultra-Reflective tires. I already have 2 L&M Urban 700's(usually set on low) on the inside of the drops so the amber side lights illuminate the bottom of my white bars and my wheel sort of. Part of my commute has the extremely tall light stands that illuminate the highway and service road which I use, and that reduces the effectiveness of my current lighting setup. Last winter there was a few times when cross traffic didn't see me right away(and I had the right of way). It's just a timing problem. When cross traffic approaches the intersection right before I get there, they don't see my headlights, and if they do a rolling stop, that is when it raises my heart rate. I do have a Metro 550 to mount on my helmet which should help substantially to alert the driver, and then to alert me if they see me, or if they're talking on a cell phone which would make me very cautious!

I'm thinking about 2 options. My primary option is 2 L&M Vis 180 Micro's attached to the fork hopefully between that and my amber side lights that will be enough to illuminate the Lit 360.
The second option would be the Knog Blinders, but you don't get the side illumination of my white/silver forks, plus the strap is not very good per reviews. Any other suggestions or pro/con arguments between the Knog and L&M ideas?

Retro-reflective film that complements your bike's paint and a decent helmet light.

You might find some helpful info here- http://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/...down-road.html

Wait until you get those tires and then see what you think you might need.

My GP4000 on the rear is a "Reflex" model. It lights up beyond what I expected. Admitted, it's passive and has to have headlights to shine onto it but it lights up when they hit it.

I'll probably get one for the front when tire time rolls around. The strip really doesn't look too bad on my white/silver bike. I think it's in the PedalRoom pics.

Strategically placed ( to cover a big paint scratch right after I painted it ) , color coordinated blue 3M reflective tape on Duplicolor Metalcast blue metallic paint.

Daytime.........

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps60bf7207.jpg

Night time............

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps73fefe9d.jpg

The almost perfect daytime color match was purely coincidental but now that I know I'll do it again.

Does the light source have to be perpendicular to the tire, or will they light up well at a 45 degree angle?

That got me thinking about the GP4000s II that was suppose to be available in Reflex on the 25 & 28mm tires. I I just did a search and they are available in 25mm Reflex at Wiggle on sale for $49.77 and free shipping if you bought 2 of them. I don't know why they're so hard to come by. You could move your GP4000 to the front and get 4000s II for the back. Almost as puncture proof as Gatorskin and way more traction in the wet.

I put reflective sidewall tires (Kendas, I think) on my daughters bike and they light up like flaming hula hoops when a light is shined on them, doesn't matter what angle. A great thing for night time visibility.

I have reflector tape on the spokes, but I find the wheel needs to be clean often , to get full effect, and then is just reflective. I have been looking at Monkey lights (maybe to much?) and Nori lights (so far the best looking). I'm subscribing to see what other use for side illumination.

Double O

They reflect at almost any angle. They even work from the rear since the tires are concave,you're usually to the right,and the driver is seated on the left side of the car. My reflective sidewalls have photo-bombed numerous nighttime pics with friends.

Here's a good source for reflective tapes. Many grades,widths,and colors.

I just wear a Parka or Sweatshirt (Carhartt) made with a lot of reflective Tape on it. like a Roadside service guy - tow truck driver..

more square footage of Me than on the Bike anyhow.