mountainwalker

Which visibility aids do you recommend placing on the wheel spokes? Standard reflectors? Reflective tubing?

chaadster

Can't beat active lighting, and can't beat Monkeylectric Monkey Lights.

Eveything else is a compromise.

chriskmurray

I really love the stuff from this company and have it on most of my bikes. Fiks:Reflective

They also make some t-shirts and hoodies that are reflective for commuters as well!

JAG410

Lightweights for wheels.

Lightweights for Wheels Power Reflectors 86 piece kit USA

jade408

Try spokelit as well. It is a neon light that looks super cool when your wheel is in motion. Look around, I grabbed mine on clearance for about $5.

cyclomuter

I think Project Aura will be cool, when available. I'll be getting them if not too pricy and complicated to install.

But you'll find a lot more ideas in this thread: Making your bike glow down the road

tds101 

Thank you. I use the spokelit lights, but these are reflective and don't require me to remember to turn them on. I'm probably in for at least 2 sets!

CrankyOne

I have white reflective strips on my tires (Marathons). Combined with white front, yellow on pedals and red on rear I'm very recognizable from any angle as a bicycle and this also makes it easier for others to know what direction I'm going and if I'm turning.

fietsbob

I had a ring of a plastic tubular reflective material with a wire down the middle .

that formed a ring interlaced amongst the spokes ..

I bought it in NL in the late 80's .. Havent seen them sold anywhere, since ..

advantage was being inside of the rim the road dirt and the stuff coming off the rim, braking,
didnt cloud the reflective properties .. like happens with the reflex tape-rings in tire sidewalls..

westrid_dad

Have these on all our bikes, work very well. Those Fiks products look really cool, may have to try them also.

achoo

Was about to post "Reflective sidewall tires" until I saw that. The two round circles pretty much scream, "BICYCLE!" And pedal reflectors are really good in identifying you as a bicycle. By themselves they're not all that great because in a nighttime situation with confused lighting, I don't think they reflect enough light by themselves to stand out. But once a driver has noted "something there", the presence of the pedal reflectors makes immediately clear what that "something" is.

As helpful as such reflectors can be, though, they're not a replacement for active lights - if a driver doesn't turn on his car's lights, all the reflectors in the world won't protect you. I try to have at least one of my headlights and one of my taillights be visible from the side.

Oh, and the brighter the lights, the better. Just be careful about blinding lights in places like bike trails.

xtrajack

Unfortunately my preferred side visibility option is no longer available; Down Low Glow.

wipekitty

+1

These are cheap, bright, and mine have held up for a very long time riding through all sorts of crud. Small children love 'em. They do add a little bit of weight, but nothing major.

gregjones

I just got a new tire with a reflective strip. The first that I have had. It's all bright and new, really lights up in headlights. It also looks better on the bike than I thought it would.

t x

I use these and find them very visible: Amazon.com : Salzmann Spoke Reflector Clips 36 Pack Made with 3M Scotchlite Reflective Material - For All Standard Spoked Wheels - Bike Wheelchair Cycle Bicycle : Bike Wheel Accessories : Sports & Outdoors

Bike Gremlin

This works very well, put two on each wheel:

Bike24 - Cat Eye RR-316 N Spoke Reflector


I also put reflective strips on bicycle frame and reflective ankle straps when riding in trousers.

gregjones

I just took both of the cheap, screaming Big Box BSO, CatEye reflectors off of my new Shimano wheelset. The strip on the GP4000 Reflex looks sooo much better.

gregjones

The Lightweights are easy to use, pre-cut, pieces of 3M Scotchlite reflective tape. It's available in different colors and is almost invisible, or could be a great contrasting color, on the bike until light hits it. Then it's a great reflector.

It's great anywhere on the bike, as this thread (in the Commuter Forum stickies), shows.

I bought four 4X24" pieces in black and they went quite far on a gray Trek hybrid with some left for a helmet.

It's as good as I've seen for passive attention grabbing things. Still, it falls far short of active lights in the daytime.

fietsbob

Unlimited budget? there are some really exotic electronics made now that make virtual light shows as the wheels rotate .

mountainwalker

Thanks gregjones, is it easiest to get these from eBay? Are there any colors you find that stand out the most? Would it be cheaper to cut pieces of 3M Scotchlite strips for the spokes than to use Spokelit ready cut pieces?

Booger1

Engage brain and eyeballs.....works much better than reflectors.

Reflectors make for a pretty nice show at night,flipping through the air,car headlights making them shimmer......absolutely stunning!