??Reflectors??
 

I am fairly new to road cycling and have noticed when I am out, other road cyclists bikes have ALL of there reflectors removed from their bikes. Is this the unwritten "rule" for road cyclists? I'm sure this topic has been covered in the past, but I can find very little here on the subject.

Thanks,

Yes, it is.

We all know looking cool is way more important than riding safe.

Taking all the reflectors off shaves, like, 25 grams off the bike. It's totally worth it.

Until you get hit by a car.

True. Don't forget the aero drag from reflectors too.

If I'm riding at night, I bring lights which are much more effective than reflectors anyway. For all the money I spend getting my bike as light and aero as possible, leaving the reflectors on when 95% of my riding is during the day makes zero sense.

agreed. lights on at night, but im usually never on the bike at night. but when it happens, its like christmas in july with the amount of lights on me.

Nope. That statement works for the "Dork Disk" topic, but not reflectors. Reflectors provide a false sense of security...keep them on if you like, but they provide little saftey in comparison to lights. If you want to be safe at nite, don't rely on reflectors....put lights (tail and head) on your bike.


Good read on the topic here

The first thing any self-respecting cyclist does when he purchases a new bike is to immediately strip all safety-related items.

They look cheap, come loose, rattle, add a touch of weight and drag. And they don't work.

If you're going to ride at night you need much more than reflectors.

I rarely ride at night, but if I do, its with a front light, rear light, and wearing illuminite clothes that light up like a christmas tree. Way more effective than the cheap reflectors tossed on by bike manufacturers to comply with CPSC regs.

This isn't just road bikes BTW. Mountain bikes are the same way. With MTBs though, I consider it more of a safety/ecology thing because the reflectors, if left on, will invetably fall or brake off on the trail. This causes littering, distracting little reflections when riding at night, and, of course, potential flats on the trail with all the sharp plastic laying around, amongst other things (potential injury comes to mind).

They're practically useless as has bee stated above. Bike manufacturers put them on to cover their a$$ in case of a law suit.

Aside from the practical and logical reasons not to use them, they're not cool, and many many roadies are heavy into looking cool while riding. Including meself.

Don't know about others but I removed the one on the seat post because I couldn't fit the bag on there otherwise (also have bottle cages behind the seat), and I removed the ones on the wheels because they were rattling and suck in a crosswind.

(And I never ride at night)

The basic rule for riding a road bike is: pretend you are a pro cyclist and do what the pros do.

So, even if you ride at night, it is FORBIDDEN to have reflectors or lights on your bike on a road bike.

If you need to ride at night, your are required to ride a bike that in no way resembles a road bike. A Dutch commuting bike is acceptable.

Anytime you have a question about a bike, bike equipment, or clothing, just ask "What would Lance do?

Also, you need to be considerate of drivers. A few nights ago, I was in a car around midnight. Pouring rain. Could barely see the front of the car. And, then, I was distracted by two bright yellow circles spinning around in front of us. It looked like we were driving into a circus. Had to slow down to figure out what it was. Turns out it was the reflectors on the pedals of a bike that was directly in front of us.

It was VERY rude and distracting for this guy to be flashing his pedal reflectors directly into our eyes. Have some consideration for motorists, please. Try to be invisible on the road.

I have a better rule: What would the safest thing to do be?

Answer: Use lights.

Yeah, I filed the lawyer's lips from my dropouts first thing.

Sounds like my first BMX - I stripped off everything. Even the brakes. :eek:

-DR

I use Knog Frog lights in blinkie mode front and back and clothing with lots of reflective bits. If you go to the Commuting forum, they discuss reflectors and lights quite a bit.

Thanks for all your replies!!! It has made for some interesting reading!! Again, thanks for all the advise.

Just cover your body in glitter like I do. It's much more effective than bike reflectors.

Anytime. We're always here for you. :D

I think it's that most high end road bikes don't come with reflectors for the above reasons of drag, weight and looks, but as the guys said, theya re good things to have to avoid getting creamed by cars.