Spoke lights
 

After all the money we spend on headlights and taillights, we can still be almost invisible from the side (especially to drivers who aren't paying enough attention - and there are a lot of those people out there). About three years ago I started using Nite Ize SpokLits, which I think work great. The problem is that they won't fit on wheels with spokes that are spaced farther apart, like a lot of road bikes. Then last week I discovered a new product from NiteIze call the See'Em.

It's much smaller than the SpokLit (it clips on a single spoke), and unlike the SpokLit, the light is mainly visible from just one side (so they come two per package). Mine just arrived today and they seem to be plenty bright. So for anyone else out there whose spokes are too far apart for SpokLits, this may finally be the answer.

These work well, but use lots of batteries.

Update: I used the NiteIze See'Em lights for the first time this morning and was not impressed with them at all. Even with two on each wheel (one pointed in each direction), they put off very little light. Definitely not even close to a good replacement for Nite Ize SpokeLits. I suppose you could put a whole bunch of them on each wheel for more light, but that would be expensive and sounds like a big hassle. Oh well.

Tires with reflective sidewalls are a lot less bother.
For Continental or Schwalbe, look for any model with "reflex" in the name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoNQx7gIzrQ

reflex tires help a lot, so does adding sublte stripes of reflective tape.

I've added a bar of 3m scotchlite to each side of my forks and seat stays to help along with the reflective sidewalls of my tires.

i'd suggest...
* monkey-lectric
* "light-weights" spoke reflectors
* reflective sidewall tires

bear in mind that the monkey-lectric is the only thing on that list that's conspicuous to someone who doesn't have headlights (or flashlights) pointed at you.

Yeah, Monkeylectric Monkeylights blow those See 'Ems out of the water in terms of light output. They're so bright, in fact, that I couldn't stand to ride with them on the front wheel, where I could see them, and had to move them to the rear.

I love 'em, but they do attract a lot of attention, and are therefore not suitable for shy cyclists!

I've got friends who take out the stock battery and makes a battery holder with 4xAA batteries mounted on the wheel hub and use that to power several of them -- lasts many times longer and costs a lot less to replace the batteries (or even less if he uses rechargeables.)

I honestly would love to see that.

How can he keep the cables from entangling all over the wheel or the battery holder itself and how waterproof is it?

I probably have some pictures of it, but it would be difficult to find them.

That said, the batteries are at the hub and rotate with the wheel -- everything rotates with the wheel. Being almost at the center of the wheel, centrifugal force is not a big problem, and neither is throwing the wheel off balance. Then there's wires wrapped around the spokes that go out to the four spoke lights he normally uses. As for water proofness, I don't know -- but it wouldn't be hard to make it waterproof, and really, if a little water did get into the battery pack, all it would do is cause rust.

M232 just released! - http://www.monkeylectric.com/m232-user-guide/

code "MONKEYGO" = 20% off at monkeylectric.com & amazon before 7 oct :D

looks like the code is also good for 20% off the M210.

I thought about the monkey lights a year or two ago, but I hadn't seen them in person. When I did finally see them in person I was glad I didn't get them. It's just too much.

Oh yeah, those new M232s are sweet!

I run a pair of original M133s on my rear wheel and have them balanced pretty perfectly, which kind of makes the hub mount batteries less compelling, but the new patterns and art may be too cool to resist!

I'll probably buy the new ones tomorrow and put the old ones up for sale on eBay, or I might see if I can't mod one for another application. Hmm...

http://www.monkeylectric.com/wp-cont...m232_theme.png

Reflective tape on the rim between the spokes (keep it off the brake tracks of course).

Also you can use reflective tape across adjacent spokes to make as large of a side reflector as you care to have (and very light).

do you need 2 per wheel to be visible on both sides?

No. Each unit illuminates fully on both sides. I used 2 units on one wheel so that I could get full wheel patterns at lower speeds.

ehh. just stick some 3M reflective tape on the side of your bike if you're worried about that.

having to turn each individual light on and off by hand is an additional burden that sounds more hassle than its worth.

if you have two spoke lights on each wheel, that would be four separate buttons you have to press just to get the side lights all turned on. plus two more buttons for your head and rear tail lights. that sounds like a headache. you'll go crazy pressing all those buttons.

Uh oh! Too late!!

I use a green SpokLit on my rear wheel. Having it on the front wheel is too distracting for me.

I believe it helps increase my visibility from the back and front, as well as the sides.