Stix Zadinia

..That will see commuting use, sometimes at night, that is. Or is it considered rather kitschy?

I know lots of road riders even detach stock reflectors from their road wheels (why is that btw, anyone knows?)



Thanks much for your opinions

flippinsweet

If I am riding when it is dark, I add spoke lights to my front wheel. It is better to be seen, than to be hit. ( no matter what 'road riders' think )

Mr. Hairy Legs

I don't believe spoke lights are any more useful than reflectors. I used them for a while in the winter, but it wasn't long before they were so covered in grime that they weren't emitting any light anyway.

I keep the wheel reflectors off my bikes in the summer because... they look goofy! When I start riding in the dark again this fall, they will go back on.

wphamilton

Even I, who cares nothing for fashion, will remove the reflectors. They're goofy and do little to improve your visibility - for rationalization purposes the aero drag and extra rotational weight (not that it truly makes much difference).

rms13

I don't know if I count as riding a road bike because I have a Surly CC and a Dolan track bike but when I ride at night I put on a spoke light along with my front and rear lights.

Apparently my city has the 5th worst drivers in the country so I'll do whatever I have to in order to be seen:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorze...-drivers-2012/

I had a car that was behind me pull up at a traffic light in Glenadale and tell me I was completely invisible on the road when I have a rear reflector and rear blinkies to go along with front reflector and light, spoke light, spoke reflectors, reflective sidewalls and a topbag/panniers with reflective piping.

wilfried

I got a set of those reflective stickers you put around each of your spokes as an impulse buy; I think they were these. Since I'm on the bike when I'm in the street, I have no idea what they look like in a car's headlights. I don't know if they count as dorky, but at least they weigh nothing, and are nearly invisible without a light shining on them. Can anyone attest to whether they're at all effective?

noglider 

I get compliments on my spoke light from drivers, so I happen to think they are a very good idea. Kitschy? Sure, but if it enhances visibility, that's much more important. The annoying thing about them is the expensive batteries it eats. And yes, I know how to get them cheap, and I buy them cheap, but it's still annoying.

PaulRivers

The biggest reason I don't use spoke lights is because it seems like a major pain to always be dealing with charging/replacing batteries. I do have both a front light (dynamo on my cheaper commuter and battery powered on my more expensive road bike).

JoeyBike

If you have a bike with a rear wheel reflector, hang the bike by two bungee cords - one from the handlebars and one from the seat - so the bike weight is completely suspended by the bungees. Grab a pedal and crank on it until the rear wheel is spinning fast. No need to let go of the pedal - the bouncing bike will yank the pedal out of your hand.

Wheel reflectors waste tons of energy at higher speeds. If you ride a beach cruiser to work with big, heavy tires and average 9mph, don't worry about it. If you want to be as fast and stable on your road bike as humanly possible, ditch the reflectors.

fietsbob

I was given one,.. valve cap flashing light , colors are red and blue, alternating ..

Like I was getting pulled over, for a traffic citation.

noglider 

I have a pair of spoke lights that flash blue and red. They turn on when it is dark and they detect motion. I think I saw an oncoming car pull over to the side of the road, perhaps because the driver thought he saw a police car. So I'm not sure if it's a good idea. I got it directly from one of those Chinese web sites and now Amazon sells them. On the package, it says: ALARM LIGHT OF BICYCLE.

ItsJustMe

Sounds like you didn't take the time to balance your wheels. I have a thin reflector that weighs a bit more than a valve stem. Since it's closer to the rim, it balances the valve stem perfectly, and the wheel is BETTER balanced with the reflector on it.

Shimagnolo

My night bike has reflective sidewalls.
(Schwalbe Marathon Supremes).
Continental also makes some tires with "reflex" sidewalls.

Stix Zadinia

Is this somewhat true?

The reason I ask is I was planning on keeping the reflectors (well, actually add them, since I'm building the bike from scratch and the Mavic wheels didn't come with reflectors, but the LBS dealer told me had MANY to spare ), AND place four spokelits on each wheel (coincidentally, two red and two blue ones on each wheel, for a total of 8).

I had four red spokelits on my mtb (two per wheel), and got compliments from drivers on occasion.