CompleteStreets

I've been meaning to do some sort of study to determine the effectiveness of pedal reflectors. Whenever I see someone biking with either pants having reflective stripes near the knees or reflective ankle straps I am struck by how well these reflectors light up when cars lights shine on them. However, I generally don't notice pedal reflectors lighting up. I'm wondering if pedal reflectors might be blocked by the heels of a cyclist's feet. Or perhaps they're just not made of a very reflective material. Either way, I'm thinking there's room to improve the design of pedal reflectors. Thoughts?

fietsbob

Yes , because they go up and down, visually.. Phil Wood CHP Pedals were Excellent VeloBase.com - Component: Phil Wood CHP

the Ergon Pedal ERGON BIKE ERGONOMICS is even better the Reflectors Larger and wrap around to have a wider angle to reflect the headlights Back.

Typical pedal the Reflector is a cheap plastic add on , they are in effective because the Break Off or are Removed..

Some Shoes add a reflective patch to the heel ... you can always add a Reflective Trouser leg strap to what you wear.





Have something in Mind for your Own design? You got funding for a Company Start Up?

achoo

I think so, too.

Because they mark you as a bicycle very quickly when someone's coming up from behind.

No long periods of staring from a driver thinking, "What the hell is that on the road up there?" as they come closer and closer at 45 mph in a 25 mph zone...

But, as reflectors, they only work for others with active light sources who are paying attention to what they're doing.

In other words, they're nice but don't count on them at all.

GravelMN

I don't have pedal reflectors. I've got a pair of reflective ankle straps designed for runners that I keep wrapped around my underseat bag. If I get caught out at night, I can put them on and they show up better from more angles than any pedal reflector would. They're handy when I wear long pants as well.

JanMM

While driving, passed a cyclist on a dark rural road recently and wouldn't have seen him were it not for his pedal reflectors.

On some bikes, pedal reflectors don't work at all. On my recumbent bikes, the back of the pedal is generally pointing at the ground. Reflective stuff on the backs of shoes don't work either.

RomansFiveEight

There's a company that makes a clear tape that is really really reflective. I wonder if something like that affixed to the back of ones jersey would be effective?

CompleteStreets

I've thought of putting reflective tape on my mittens, but I doubt tape would stay fastened. Anyone have any first hand experience? I've had reflective fabric sewn onto a backpack, but it would be great if there was a way to permanently add reflectivity without the time and skill to sew.

vol

I didn't expect them to be so visible because they are so small and dirty. However, on a few occasions when someone was riding before me, the pedal reflectors were very visible under my headlight. Once, I thought the rider had some lights on his shoes, but they turned out to be the common pedal reflectors. Maybe it also had to do with my headlight's brightness.

However they are only visible from directly behind, whereas ankle bands have side visibility.

I agree there is room to improve the pedal reflectors, e.g. making them larger and cover surfaces in different directions.

jputnam

When they're visible, pedal reflectors are ideally positioned to capture headlight beams (low beam headlights are required to have a top cutoff on the beam pattern that means rear reflectors located above the rear wheel are often above the high-intensity portion of the headlight beam.)

Studies show the pedal motion also greatly increases recognition of a bicycle.

Pedal reflectors are required at the point of sale, but generally aren't required by state traffic laws, and as a practical matter, most bicycles with clipless pedals don't actually have pedal reflectors on them as they're actually ridden.

If your pedals don't accept reflectors, or they're blocked from view while riding, you might also consider reflective tape wrapping your crank arms -- similar positioning, larger surface area, and they move in use.


Reflective Crank Tape & Pedal Reflector by joshua_putnam, on Flickr

For winter riding, my rain pants also have silver reflective trim tape at knee level, visible front and rear, which gives the same pedaling motion as pedal reflectors.


Rainy Day Conspicuity - Rear by joshua_putnam, on Flickr

jputnam

For reflective additions to gloves, Lightweights Power Reflectors are iron-on reflective trim pieces that hold up very well in my experience, and are very bright.


Winter Bicycle Commuting Gloves by joshua_putnam, on Flickr

fietsbob

Because the color, any , is a Filter, Silver- white the underlying base, is the Most Bright Reflective

You can see that above from the flash Picture of the Bike .

I got some Endura with Luminite patches in the fabric, Gloves for this winter .. So the patches wont peel off .




Seen any Iron On stuff?

jputnam

Good point. Yellow is almost as intense as white/silver, red is greatly reduced. For example, 3M gives the following coefficients for its diamond-grade reflective tape:

White 580
Yellow 435
Fluorescent Yellow Green 460
Fluorescent Yellow 350
Fluorescent Orange 175
Red 87

jputnam

If you want something larger than the Lightweights Power Reflectors pieces that I used on my gloves, they also sell it by the roll,
Lightweights Flex Tape

It's an industrial-grade 3M reflective tape sliced down to consumer-size rolls.


For larger reflective patches on jerseys where you want to maintain breathability, try 3M 5510 "slash" pattern heat transfer at
Identi-Tape.

vol

I wonder if fluorescent yellow green is better for daylight than white/silver?

rommer25

When I'm commuting at night and the lanes are not lit. I see riders coming toward me with these small front lights. The reflection of my light on their peddles is almost a bright.

pdlamb

I've noticed a few bicycle riders while driving a car because of pedal reflectors, so they work. Kind of.

I've seen other cyclists with blinking red lights at least twice as far away. Blinkies work really, really well. Even the cheap ones.

vol

Sometimes only if you are looking for them.

CompleteStreets

Thanks for this!

newbie101

This is a really terrific thread. Very educational, and fun to read.

I recently bought a neon yellow/green jacket. I bought it for visibility, but realized, as others have noted, that in the dark, the color of the jacket is irrelevant. What IS highly visible however, are the reflective strips lining the jacket at various locations. These are actually quite visible, even in relatively low light situations.

The more reflective material you use and/or wear, the more visible, and hence the safer you are. Pedal reflectors included.

For clipless users, you can still be very visible by using reflective material elsewhere obviously, and one other option is to use reflective material on your shoes as a substitute for rotating reflective material.

mprelaw

You don't notice them because most road bikes don't have reflectors on their pedals. I don't know of a single brand of clipless pedals that has reflectors. Some cyclists use reflective ankle bands, and either pedal reflectors or bands are actually legally required in Massachusetts, for night riding.

Multiple flashing rear lights are the most effective aids to visibility, but pedal (or ankle) reflectors are highly effective in addition. It defines the target as a bicycle to a viewer. Or, at least, someone running REALLY fast.

joeyduck

Tldr.

Just yesterday while driving I came across someone whose pedal reflectors really caught my eye. I rarely notice them on my bike.

I always hope my shoe covers with reflective striping works, but I never have an out of body off bike experience so I can't say.

When I use my front panniers I put one light on the rest side of the left pannier facing my foot. My hope is the motion of pedaling and the reflective striping makes me visible since my foot passes it every revolution giving a flashing effect (in my mind).

joeyduck

Those look great. What type fabric do you have them adhered on?

jputnam

Those gloves are a heavy polyester fabric, but I've also used the same reflectors on lightweight poly jersey mesh, polyurethane-coated rain gear, leather shoes, and poly/lycra winter tights, all with good results.

The specs from Lightweights don't say so, but the material is a 3M Socthlight heat-transfer material, coefficient of retroreflectivity 500 cd/lux/m^2, so not quite as bright as diamond-grade silver, 580, but brighter than diamond-grade yellow, 435. It doesn't have the hard plastic surface of diamond-grade tapes, so it's quite flexible on fabric, still adhering well to the back of my gloves after a couple of years' use.

jputnam

Any time I make a significant change in gear, I set my little pocket camera up on interval mode on a safe stretch of trail and ride back and forth a good distance away, with and without flash, to make sure things are as visible as I think they are. Takes 10 minutes, tops, and has occasionally helped me identify things that weren't nearly as reflective as what they'd replaced.

Conspicuity 3 by joshua_putnam, on Flickr

gandharv

Hey,
I know this is an older discussion, just chanced on it. The problem with that approach is that you often end up seeing a very different P.O.V from what a motorist would. In fact, Pedal reflectors (and really most other reflective material on your body) are good supplements to your lights, but can hardly be depended upon. For reflectors to work, you need the source of light to be at a good perpendicular angle, the driver to be at the perfect angle where the reflector is reflecting light to, and for the weather conditions to disperse less light. This Sheldon Brown post here does a great job of explaining the physics of how reflectors work. IMHO, most riders end up overestimating the effectiveness of reflectors. This is just a guess but I suspect most motorists who notice reflectors on cyclists tend to be cyclists themselves and hence, are more likely to look closely at a cyclist!

I mix up reflectors and lights and have a wider reflective area on my back. And, Pedal reflectors and spoke reflectors continue to play an important supplementary role in my being visible!

Thanks
Gandharv