RadS

Hi, I just got a brand new bike and am looking for ways to make it visible at night. I'm a bit obsessed with safety and visibility, so my old bike was equipped with:
- good front and rear lights
- a few 3M armband reflectors mounted on the rack, seatpost, fork
- reflective tyres
+ Hi-vis jacket for bad weather and winter

Mind you it didn't look like a blinking Christmas tree Just lots of reflective things here and there + really good lights.

Now that I have a new bike which is almost fully charcoal/black in color, I'm looking for ways to make it visible to drivers without compromising appearance too much. Of course I'll install the lights, but I feel that's not enough, especially since the bike is dark and the tyres are not reflective.

I'm planning to add:
- 3M black reflective tape on seatpost and perhaps cranks or other places
- diy this, probably in white or neon yellow

Do you have any other ideas on what I could possibly add and where?

TenSpeedV2

They make black reflective tape.

jpescatore

Trek put out some good data that moving parts create the highest visibility - so, something reflective on your shoes, ankles, legs gets the biggest bang for the buck. Hi-viz colors or accents on your back, helmet, gloves next - goal is to have drivers recognize a human being, more so than a bike.

RadS

Sorry, somehow I'm unable to edit the first post. The "DIY this" point I mentioned refers to the Flectr 360, it's an overpriced reflective tape patch that you stick on wheel rims. So I'll just DIY it with white 3m diamond tape.

TimothyH

Oralite conspicuity tape comes in rolls several feet wide and as long as you want. Any color.

I have ordered a 2'x4' sheet of black Oralite from H&H Sign Supply. It is extremely reflective when light is shined directly at it but almost flat black otherwise.





This is the result.



-Tim-

Philphine

and your bike being charcoal black it'll probaly be invisible when it's not reflecting light.

pesty

I'm a big fan of the reflective tape. I ran a strip of the black tape up my seat stays and forks and then put smaller strips around my rims. I generally try to stay as day-glow or reflective as possible as far as what I wear goes, but I go for more of the "lit up like a Christmas tree" route.

I have a small bright light on the back of my helmet, a Cateye X2 Kinetic and a Fly6 CE on the back, and a Fly12 CE along with an even brighter headlight on the front.

Tourist in MSN

I put red reflective tape on the left side crank arm on several of my bikes. Left because that is the side where the drivers are. I do not have pedal reflectors.

I like to have two taillights. One is mostly a backup in case the batteries in the other are low. But sometimes I have both turned on if I think visibility may be poor.

wphamilton

Anyone tried using another bright headlight at the back of the rack, pointed forward to illuminate your back and/or the bike with its reflective tape?

Aubergine 

I like to use Salzmann spoke reflectors made from 3M reflective tape. You can see the reflectors in this broad-daylight pic:
I use these on all of my city-riding bikes.

And recently in Paris at night I saw a fellow riding a bike that had some sort of illuminated light on his wheel, which really stood out from the rest of the traffic! There are quite a few options for electrified spoke lights.

TimothyH

Flouro shoe covers get motorists attention very well.


-Tim-

Velocivixen

I use what @Aubergine uses it n my spokes front and rear. Not too noticeable in day, but stand out at night.

The rain jackets I wear are bike specific and have lots of reflective bits designed in (Showers Pass or Endura).

On the back side of my helmet mirror I have 3M reflective tape so oncoming drivers will see it.

prathmann

If you don't want to affect the appearance of your bike too much just put the reflective material on yourself.
Reflective material on moving parts is most effective, so ankle bands are a good substitute for pedal or crank reflectors. I've also added reflective tape all along the outer edge of my shoe soles to improve visibility from all directions. Reflective tape or patches on your cycling clothing can give you larger areas and therefore a greater amount of light reflected back to drivers.

Aubergine 

Oh, and one more suggestion. When I first bought a helmet light, it was obvious how much more easily drivers saw me. Especially drivers on side streets. Helmet lights sit high enough that they do not get blocked by parked cars and the like, so those drivers can spot you more easily.

BikeLite

Best ankle bands?

angerdan

How good visible to what and who?
How far does your obsession let you increase the budget or is it limitless?
How do you define "good lights" / "really good lights" ?

Why don't use reflective tyres like Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB?
schwalbe.com/en/tour-reader/marathon-plus-mtb.html

Do you already have excellent lights like a category 6/7 model?
bikeforums.net/electronics-lighting-gadgets/435347-best-headlights-under-50-thread-33.html#post19987793

Do you also plan to increase the radar signature of your bicycle?
kickstarter.com/projects/ilumaware/ilumaware-shield-collision-prevention

TimothyH

I don't know if they are best but this is what I use.
Cheap enough and reflect very well.


-Tim-

RadS

Thanks for the replies

Good idea, I'll put some reflective tape on crank arms. As for batteries, my taillight only needs replacing every ~3000km or so, so I think I'm fine (with mixed day/night use).


Good point, I'll keep that in mind when I'll be buying another pair of shoe covers.

Making shoes reflective is also a good idea. My Shimano SPD shoes do have some reflective material on them, but I guess I could add more in the heel area.

Those are good questions.

How good visible to what and who?

• As visible as reasonably possible without blinding others and looking like a 3M hi-vis ad
• Visible to drivers, both in urban and rural setting
• Visible at night and also during the day. I tend to use lights whenever I'm sharing the road with cars, and that includes sunny days in July if the trees are casting shadows on the road
• Bonus points for added visibility from the sides, as most cycling-related traffic accidents in my area occur on bike path crossings

How far does your obsession let you increase the budget or is it limitless?
Safety first, but of course there are limits. Let's say I'm considering spending max 5-7% of the value of my Fuji Jari 1.3 on upgraded lights and reflective tape this year, so that would be about 100-150 USD/EUR. I'm also looking for smart/cheap solutions, like sticking some reflective tape on crank arms, remembering to buy fluorescent stuff the next time I'm shopping for gloves/shoe covers/shirts, and so on.


Do you already have excellent lights like a category 6/7 model?
How do you define "good lights" / "really good lights" ?
Not yet. On that scale, my headlight would be Category 3 (500 lumens). I mostly use the 200 lm setting in the city/on roads, and 500 lm for light offroad conditions in total darkness. In the second case, I can easily go 30km/h and see everything some 50-100m ahead of me. Where I live, people rarely use headlights of this brightness. Both drivers and pedestrians take me for a motorcycle every now and then In my city I've only seen bikes with similar headlights, and never seen anybody with brighter lights. Those who have them tend do hang out in the nearby forest . I'll post a link to photos in the next post (finally reached 10!). The bottom line is, (1) I think my current light is good for the time being, and (2) I might upgrade it this year anyway.

As for the taillight, I know from experience it can be seen from at least 500m. I was once driving with my dad and he thought we're approaching a weird police car with red lights or a construction site, but I knew that blinking patter very well. The cyclist had the exact same light model as I do.


Why don't use reflective tyres like Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB?
I have a new gravel/road bike, and don't really want to change perfectly good unused tyres. I might buy reflective ones when these wear out.

Do you also plan to increase the radar signature of your bicycle?
I think it's too early for that. Maybe in 5 years.

BobbyG

That is brilliant! (literally)

BobbyG

On my old roadbike I mounted the front blinky on the front fork so the light would dance off the spokes. I also put the rear blinky on the rear seat stay to do the same thing. I also have front and rear helmet lights and reflective tape on my helmet and backpack. I also hear a reflective vest at night. All my bikes have front and rear blinkies that have 180-degree coverage, and my rear helmet light has side-firing LEDs. My front helmet light is just a small, round handheld flashlight, but it has an orange plastic tube (and old orange platic perscription bottle) that I fastened to it so it lights up orange when viewed from the sides.
(The 2nd video is much older, and I noticed my backpack didn't have a reflector yet).

Tourist in MSN

I usually replace my batteries in my taillights after maybe 30 to 40 hours, even if they are still working because by then they are getting dim. I run NiMH rechargable AAA batteries in most of my taillights. I bet your lights are pretty dim and hard to see long before you get to 3000km.

rm -rf

Black reflective tape:
Years ago, I got a sheet of this black reflective tape. It wasn't nearly as bright as the usual reflective tape.
I recently used some of it to cover the garish logos on my helmet, and got a little reflective surface at the same time.

Red and White trailer reflective tape
I was given a couple of those red and white reflective tape sections, used on trucks and trailers. I've cut small pieces of both the red and the white for various bike uses. They are extremely reflective, and the adhesive is strong.

Reflective tape on rims
Try a pair of small reflective tape blocks, perhaps 3/4 inch x 1 inch each, on both sides of the rims. Just those two small spots is enough to show a good spinning wheel image to drivers off to the side. For aesthetics, I've even used small reflective circles about 3/8 inch in diameter, and they are very visible.

I have two of a different style of REI leg band. They are sturdy, very comfortable, and extremely reflective. Visible in any direction, front, back, or sides.
Jogalite wide band

from the REI comments:Reflective tape just bounces light back to the source. Drivers are near the line of sight of their headlight beams, so they see the strong reflection. It wouldn't work with a light source on the bike itself. Hold a flashlight near your eyes, you'll see very bright reflections, and less bright if it's held to the side at arm's length.

Lighting up the rider might be useful, but tricky to find a position for the light--off the back of the bike somehow.

~~~~~~

My 150 lumen Cygolite taillight is aimed slightly downward, so part of the beam goes straight back to motorists, and part of it makes a pool of red light on the road.
That tail light is visible even in noon sunlight. Recommended. In daytime, I have it set to a single, short flash, repeated once a second for really long run times, or twice a second to immediately catch the eye of a really distracted driver.

drewguy

I bought samples from here:

https://www.identi-tape.com/samples.htm

You can choose your colors and the samples are big enough to make several strips (I put white on front fork and stem, yellow on sides of fork and rear stay, red on back of rear stays).

canklecat

By far the best trick I've seen for enhancing our visibility at night is colorful spoke lights. Several friends use these and in our weekly and monthly casual night rides their bikes really pop without being excessively bright. Unlike flashing taillights and headlights, which can be piercing and annoying, the colorful LED wheel lights just glow brightly and enhance visibility from all directions.

Best example I've witnessed occurred last year when I was a passenger in a vehicle. It was weekday rush hour traffic at twilight, the trickiest time of day for bike commuting. Lots of distractions from competing lights: vehicles, stores, streetlights, and the residual background sunset light. It's easy for a bike to blend in, even with the usual headlights and taillights.

At two different very busy intersections within a couple of miles, we saw two groups of cyclists. The first group of three riders had the usual headlights and taillights. As they cross in front of us (properly, we had the red light, they had the green), I could barely see them or their lights. They just weren't visible from the side.

At the next light we saw what appeared to be another group of three cyclists. These were kids. All three bikes had colorful LED wheel lights. As they rolled across the intersection in front of us (again, appropriately -- we had the red, they had the green), they really popped against the busy urban background.

Then, after those three very visible bikes passed, we just barely noticed a fourth tailing the end of the group. He had only the standard head and tail lights. He was practically invisible.

The fellow I was riding with is also a cyclist and commented on how visible those LED spoke lights are. He refurbishes and flips bikes and said he might begin offering that as a value added incentive on some of the comfort cruisers and hybrids he resells.

I plan to get those for the hybrid I use for errands and casual group rides, most of which are at night.

I'm not sure I'll add LED wheel lights to my road bike. I try to ride it only in daylight, but to be honest I still ride a lot at night. It's cooler in summer for workout rides, and on short winter days even if I leave at mid-afternoon, I might be out after dark if I'm feeling good enough to keep riding.

However I've done a few things to enhance visibility on my road bike. I modified my Light & Motion Urban headlight by making a homemade hood from a translucent white plastic pill bottle (generic ibuprofen). It serves two purposes:

• A cutoff to help minimize blinding oncoming pedestrians and cyclists, both in my neighborhood and on the MUP.
• The white translucent plastic glows like a frosted light bulb, enhancing side visibility. It also lights up my hands, front tire, etc., so it even enhances visibility from behind a bit. But to protect my dark adaptation as much as practicable, I used black tape over the top of the hood to shield my eyes. I've used this for months and it works very well, better than the pair of amber side lights already on the L&M Urban lights.

For now my road bike has platform pedals and I wear Merrell cycling/walking shoes with bright reflective heel and side counters. These glow like crazy when illuminated from any direction. Much more effective than typical reflectors. Especially when I'm pedaling.

However I'm switching to clipless on the road bike next week. So I'll add some similar reflective material to the shoes and pedals -- these are older Delta style Look pedals, so there's enough room to add some reflective tape.

And I'll add some of the tape mentioned above to the road bike's and hybrid's frame.

But check out LED spoke lights. If you don't mind adding something to your wheels there's nothing better for enhancing visibility from the perspective of a driver.

noglider 

Yeah, I use a spoke light, the NiteIze Spokelit. I get compliments on it. Reflective stuff is OK sometimes, but you never know when it will work. It's OK as a supplement to lights, never as a substitute. The Spokelit isn't bright, and it doesn't need to be. Also consider attaching a light to one of your cranks.

I'd use two spoke lights, but the one on the front is too distracting for me. I think the one on the rear is sufficient.