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Spoke lights?

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Old 09-06-11 | 01:16 PM
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Spoke lights?

I use Nite Ize SpokeLits on my mountain bike spokes to make me visible to motorists when riding in the dark, but the spokes on my road bike are spaced too far apart for it to work on my road bike (because the light works by being pressed against three adjacent spokes). Cateye makes a similar light that also looks like it won't work because it fits the same way.

Is there a similar light that will work on wheels with spokes that are spaced farther apart?
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Old 09-06-11 | 02:03 PM
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Lights on spokes, valve stems, etc are virtually useless from a visibility point of view. A good headlight/taillight combo and reflective gear are the way to go.
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Old 09-06-11 | 07:27 PM
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Originally Posted by banerjek
Lights on spokes, valve stems, etc are virtually useless from a visibility point of view. A good headlight/taillight combo and reflective gear are the way to go.
I have to disagree strongly with that. A good headlight/taillight combo does a great job of making you visible to people in front and behind you, but without lights for side visibility, a vehicle approaching from the side won't see you until you're illuminated in its headlights, and that can be much too late. Spoke lights make a bicycle visible much sooner. The way I became aware of spoke lights was by observing someone using them in my neighborhood while I was driving, and I will definitely attest to their effectiveness.
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Old 09-06-11 | 07:32 PM
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Originally Posted by AcornMan
I have to disagree strongly with that. A good headlight/taillight combo does a great job of making you visible to people in front and behind you, but without lights for side visibility, a vehicle approaching from the side won't see you until you're illuminated in its headlights, and that can be much too late. Spoke lights make a bicycle visible much sooner. The way I became aware of spoke lights was by observing someone using them in my neighborhood while I was driving, and I will definitely attest to their effectiveness.
agreed, especially if you ride in a heavy metro area like i do. I just use those cheapy little LED lights w/ the bungee straps and strap it between a couple of spokes. I use a white one on the front wheel and a red one on the rear wheel.
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Old 09-06-11 | 07:34 PM
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From: people's republic of eugene oregon
no real comment, this just made me wonder if there was a 'Fred' sub-forum... would people use it?
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Old 09-06-11 | 10:01 PM
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Originally Posted by iiimik3
agreed, especially if you ride in a heavy metro area like i do. I just use those cheapy little LED lights w/ the bungee straps and strap it between a couple of spokes. I use a white one on the front wheel and a red one on the rear wheel.
If you're talking something like a PB Superflash or a Radbot, I could see that being quite visible. Even so, I would not recommend such a setup. For night riding, you want to be immediately recognizable as a cyclist and the light pattern people would see from a setup like that would take drivers a bit of time to figure out. Better to have headlight in front, tail light in back, real reflective gear on the body.

Spoke and valve lights have such pitiful light output that they are practically useless. They put out a little glow some people may find cool, but in terms of making you visible from any distance that mattered, they are useless -- particularly if there is fog/rain or if there is any kind of grime on the lights. Decent reflective material can be seen from further away.

Do some testing at different distances and get road reports from drivers and you'll see what I mean.
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Old 09-06-11 | 10:16 PM
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you're trying to argue with his personal experience...it's not gonna work. This was one of the first results listed for "spoke light", may be worth a try I don't know. https://www.hokeyspokes.com/index.html says "fits on virtually any wheel with any spoke lacing 24 inches or larger"
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