acnyc

Hello folks,

There will be a local bike rave promoting greenway around Brooklyn in NYC which i am participating, the event suggest riders to decorate their bikes with all sort of lights and speakers to "dazzle" the entire ride. I have never put anything on my bicycle besides a head/tail light. If you do have a magnificent-mega-lit-out-of-this-world-rave-ready-tron-inspired bicycle would you like to share a few pictures? The spoke/ valve/ money light seems pretty good but how fast do you have to go to get the desire effect? The rave itself is a slow paced event so anything requires fast spinning would probably not perform that well.

Thank you.

chaadster

I have a lot of fun with what are automobile wheel well LED light strips. I bought a 4 piece set of "million color" units off eBay, branded LEDGlow.

They're multifunction, multicolor, programmable 12v LED strips in a durable, clear, tubular casing, which wire into (plug-n-play) a CPU. I just use an 8 AA battery block from Radioshack to power them up, which I stash along with the CPU in a homemade "job box" I repurposed from Chinese carryout! Works great, though you do need the space for the CPU/batteries, which are not big, but you'll need a rack trunk, pannier, or similar.

The cool thing is that they can be easily zip-tied on, and the light colors, patterns, brightness, and flash speed can all be controlled from a wireless remote. It's nice to be able to switch it on and off, and change the scheme over the course of a ride so easily.

Here's a video of 2 rows of them flashing away while mounted on a sidecar. I don't think I went through the "chase" function in this video, but these have it, so you could, for example, have the lights jump from each of the four strips in a designated sequence, like left to right or whatever. The bike has original Monkey Lights and a Knog Boomer.

https://youtu.be/NH-ykQjIyuc The other two LED strips are on a trailer; I just unplug the CPU and move that and the battery pack between the two, so it's easy. You can see what the pieces look like a little better in this video:

https://youtu.be/_6OYlKpILHU It was a few years ago, but I think the set was $80-$90, plus a small amount more for the battery pack and plug ends. It would be easy to hook up something like that on a bike, and more lively than any bike-specific unit I've seen, and there are many of those.

noglider 

I use a single spoke light in the rear wheel of my bike. It may not be super dazzling compared with other people's bikes at your event, but I have received compliments on how effective it is at getting attention. I recommend these lights to everyone. They are cheap and use very little energy. A little battery lasts for months. I use the rear wheel because when I use the front wheel, it distracts me too much.

I've also started using spoke reflectors of this kind. They are extremely lightweight. They snap on the spokes and stay put. I put one on each fourth spoke so I can outfit several bikes with one package. I haven't tested these yet by observing my bike roll by while I stand a distance away. I need a volunteer to ride my bike.

Where and when is the event? I'm close to Brooklyn.

acnyc

thank you all for the information

@Chaadster those lights are awesome, i will definitely check them out.
@noglider the reflector strips are pretty awesome as well, Also the event is called Brooklyn Bike Rave hosted by Brooklyn greenway initiative.
Upcoming Events | Brooklyn Bike Rave |

Hopefully the weather will cooperate this time around.

rm -rf

How about glow in the dark bracelets, like you see at July 4 events, etc. Loop around the frame tubes, handlebars, around the hubs. And on the riders, too. Looks like you'd want a lot of them!

For example, here's 100 8-inch bracelets for $10 + $6 shipping. These would make a circle about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
8 Inch Glowstick Bracelets - 8 Color Assorted Mix

or 300 for $22 at amazon.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few years ago, I saw a story about EL wire, that glows in the dark, with a battery powered electric inverter at one end of the wire.
For instance, see this youtube example.

1nterceptor

Chance of thunderstorms and hail cancelled the event; in the end - it didn't even rain.
Organizer said they would try to reschedule around the end of summer.

I was going to be one of the volunteer ride marshals. I was going to use all of my lights;
but was going to point some of them downwards. I also have a lot of those reflective
ankle bands; one of them lights up(Planetbike). I was going to put the bands on both of
my ankles and wrists; as well as all over my bike. I would advice against those throw away
glow stick thingies; we don't need to add anymore to our landfills. Although they do look
nice; while the glow lasts.

Please consider buying multiple head/tail lights instead. Can be used as back-ups or additions
to your current lighting. Same thing with reflective clothing/accessories.

Lights on my Brompton by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

NITERIDER by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

1nterceptor

Was rescheduled from last Sat. due to threat of thunder storms:

https://www.brooklyngreenway.org/event/brooklyn-bike-rave/

corrado33

They have battery powered christmas lights as well. They also have those cool things that you put in your spokes to make designs while riding the bike. You have to be going decently fast though. You can get them pretty cheap on amazon and elsewhere.

1PCS Bike Light Bicycle SpokeLit LED Safety Light for Bike Wheels 32 Patterns (3xAAA) 400814 2016 ? $9.99