jethro00

Is anybody using spoke lights?
We don't ride at night often.
But, sometimes we come back from a concert in the park after dark.
The ones we have seen look like they help with visibility and look fun.
Amazon has a bunch for under $20.
Does anyone have a recommendation?

djedgar

We ride at night weekly and we have the MonkeyLectric lights on the wheels of one bike. They are super fun and always available if you are out later than planned and darkness comes on.
https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...0-monkey-light

The other favorites are the NiteRider rechargeable head light and tail lights. We've had a Lumina 750 for years, great light, easy to recharge (USB) and super reliable. The Lumina Micro 550 or 600 is a great compact size to carry as a flashlight. On the tandem without the monkey lights, I use 3 of the Solas or Sabre taillights. The mounts are super easy to put on where you want (such as the down tubes, so light reflects off shoes and helps with side visibility). Two others are just clipped on my (stoker) gloves to make our presence larger (arms outstretched and moving when traffic is coming up from behind us) and signals more visible.
For occasional use, the USB rechargeable Nite Rider products can't be beat (and no, I have no connection to the company other than having had great service from the product).

The sabre model rear light is flat and easy to carry. When we do ATV rides in the desert at night I carry the bicycle lights with me. One night when my ATV quit, I had to wait in the dark for someone to come back with a vehicle and tow rope. I used the tail light in the flashing/strobe mode, which made it much easier to find me.

wingless

Yes, the spoke lights are a huge improvement for side visibility, over just using a headlight, tail light, plus all the standard reflectors.

The 32 LED spoke lights (16 per side) are available on eBay from many sellers. The domestic sellers are about $8 each, with in-hand time of about a week. The Asian sellers are about $4 each, with in-hand time of over a month.

gracehowler

We use nite ize (rei), battery life is good in flash mode, also found out 2016 x 2 is recommended, but 2032 x 1 dimmer, but great battery life
R&J

sch

FWIW the multi-LED spoke patterns pictured only show up at 15-20 mph and they will chew through the AAA batteries
pretty fast, but are highly visible. The full wheel patterns rely on persistence of vision to work, hence the need
for speed.

jethro00

Our riding while dark mostly occurs on city streets or a paved bike path in a park. So, our speed is likely less than 15 to 20 mph. Since we always ride alone and don't have a speedometer, I really don't know how fast (or slow) we ride. What spoke lights would be better suited to riding at less that 15 to 20 mph?

Binky

On my winter bike (it gets dark early in this part of the world) I have an antique plastic disk about 14 inches across that mounts on the rear axle, between the left chain stay and the wheel. It has a set of magnets that rotate with the tire and a stationary disk that surrounds the magnets. The spinning magnets induce a current flow and a bunch of blue & red lights flicker brightly inside the plastic disk. No batteries required. There is no name on it and I have no idea who made it.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5jtrwb4vri...59.34.jpg?dl=0

conspiratemus1

Although lights dancing on the spokes are fun (I suppose), remember that "side visibility" is important only insofar as it helps motorists at a side street or driveway see you coming, so that they don't pull out in front of you. For this you really really need a headlight. It is not necessary that a motorist see you from the side when you are broadside to him (unless you are going very very slowly such as walking across a crosswalk.) This gets back to the uselessness of spoke reflectors and reflective tire sidewalls, which has been discussed to death on previous threads. Agreed, lights on the spokes are sort-of visible to a motorist who is looking down the road at your approach because they don't depend on his headlights shining on them.

You must still have a good headlight and a tail light for safe riding after dark. Please aim the headlight down a little, even if you don't need it to illuminate the road to see, so as not to dazzle-blind approaching motorists. I hate people who brag, "My light is so bright it positively blinds drivers!" A blind motorist might not hit you but they might hit another cyclist. And no strobes after dark!

Extra reflective material to the rear is good too. I like the stoker's gloves idea. My wife sewed some reflective chevrons onto the rear face of the sleeves of my dark-season jacket to make my turn-signalling arm more prominent. I'm glad I'm retired and don't commute by single bike any more -- we've never liked riding the tandem in the dark, creeped out at the thought of two of us getting killed at once.

linberl

Where I live I find, as a driver, that the wheel lights are really helpful when cyclists ride through intersections where I'm going to make a left turn. Their headlights are not aimed at me, so I get a minimal side view, but the wheels lights are incredibly visible. Woth every penny just to prevent that kind of collision.

jethro00

We use a head light and tail light. We would like to add spoke lights when we are going to be out at night. They should help on the paved path in the park where people sometimes walk onto the path and for cars pulling out of driveways or crossing intersections. I am still hoping someone can recommend spoke lights that are effective at low speed.

wingless

This topic shows my spoke lights.

LV2TNDM

I disagree pretty strongly with the assertion that sidewall reflective tires are "useless." Motorists in an urban environment are oftentimes encountering cyclists from side angles. Front and rear lights, regardless of lumen output, offer limited visibility from a 45 degree or more angle. I've been surprised by their effectiveness at revealing cyclists from side angle, from acute to perpendicular. Although they are no replacement for effective front and rear lights, they are very impressive. They're far more revealing at night than the mandated spoke reflectors. And wheel/spoke lights offer yet more visibility that well complement a good front and rear light set up.

I've been using high-quality lights and night riding for over twenty years, so I'm familiar with everything from NightSun onward. I'm also an urban driver who encounters night riding cyclist regularly. I can't keep track of the times I've had difficulty seeing cyclists from the side. And pretty much every time I find a night rider with sidewall reflectors or wheel lights, I'm impressed with how visible they are. It's like a Christmas tree riding down the street! If you want to be EXTRA visible, this is a pretty good way to go. "So I'm gonna have to disagree with you here."

Sprout97 

I don't know if I want to muck up our Spinergys on the Speedster, but I've toyed a bit with the notion of Revolights ( https://revolights.com/ ). They're a bit pricey at $149, and $249 for version with turn signals. Per their website, 11g per wheel. Weight weenies won't like that. Definitely under consideration for our neighborhood (hybrid/beach crusier-mountain) half-bikes. But as always, it's easier to spend other people's money.

TheNormanRider

We put GlowRiders on our tandem. Here's a link to them on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Lights-...e+spoke+lights

You can also view a demo of them on my vid. It's within the first 2-3 minutes so no need to watch the entire thing.