Bike Forums - Ankle lights

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 2_i (Post 23170079)

These are likely the foreign markets, more focused on practical safety and utility, that encourage or even enforce, by regulations, such designs. In my recollection, I managed to get Shimano Saint platform pedals equipped with reflectors for myself in the US, but when my wife wanted the same, only the ones without the reflectors were available. I ordered the reflectors separately from Germany.

That's the impression I got when I searched for some of the reflector part numbers, and mostly got hits from European shops.

I did something similar once upon a time when I wanted to buy a roller sharpening guide for a Husqvarna chainsaw chain. It was a relatively new type of chain, and I couldn't readily find the sharpening guide from a U.S. source. No problem getting a couple of them from a German shop that was happy to ship!

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2_i (Post 23169572)

From riding behind others, I can see that pedal reflectors are effective. However, manufacturers often omit them, especially on the higher-end pedals, and customers do not seem to care either. Myself, I do not buy pedals without them.

None of my pedals come with reflectors, that's why I wear ankle reflector bands.

An ankle light that also shines forward and to the side may well help you with left turning on-coming drivers where most reflectors are not very effective. Yes, you don't encounter those left turners often. But the death rate when it happens is impressively high. And as no-glider pointed out above, that up and down leg light looks like nothing else out there. It gets noticed.

I rode for decades in the days before any good lights with just a good reflecting vest, minimal reflecting stuff on the bike and religiously, an ankle light. First decade around Boston. Never hit. (Yes, I put myself in a few situations a good headlight would have kept me out of. But the good batteries and bulbs hadn't happened yet. The bright systems were big, heavy and expensive. Night Rider's halogen headlight with the WB battery, real runtime, bright and reliable? I was on board fast.

US regulations for bicycles offered at retail to consumers:

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-1...er-C/part-1512

The pedal reflector section:

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-1...12#p-1512.16(e)

Note: these federal regulations for new retail sales can be and probably are different from the various states' requirements for legal use on roadways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 79pmooney (Post 23170600)

I rode for decades in the days before any good lights with just a good reflecting vest, minimal reflecting stuff on the bike and religiously, an ankle light. First decade around Boston. Never hit. (Yes, I put myself in a few situations a good headlight would have kept me out of. But the good batteries and bulbs hadn't happened yet. The bright systems were big, heavy and expensive. Night Rider's halogen headlight with the WB battery, real runtime, bright and reliable? I was on board fast.

So did I, I'm 70 now, but back in those days we didn't have distracted drivers like today, today you need to be lit up. I never wore a reflecting vest in those days, but I did have a Berec lamp, which all it was good for was to be seen, I replaced the bulb with a halogen, while brighter it wasn't much good for seeing the road. I then had a Vistalite tail light Xenon strobe, that was about as bright as a candle. I then graduated to a Cygolite Metro dual beam 13.5 watt light that ran on 6 D batteries, but replaced the long range bulb with a higher powered bulb that bumped the wattage output to 16 watts, it had halfway decent light output, could actually see where I was going. Of course times have changed and now I have LED lights that those old lights couldn't come close to comparing to.