K'Tesh

You mean something like this?



I don't think that they come with an assortment, but at $6USD/pack they seem cheaper than buying rolls of reflective tape.

Sixty Fiver

The fellow on the left... have seen him quite a few times down around Clinton and the food co-op.

Love the set up he has.

christ0ph

That is just GREAT! Love it.

no1mad 

You know something? I think this thread would make a nice addition to the 'Useful threads' sticky.

amckimmey

Don't forget to add reflective to your self to stay visible with iron on tape and hi-vis clothing. Keeping your self safe.

I wrote a Blog Post Here about it, or the my Bike Forums Post.

enigmaT120

Can you iron that reflective stuff onto a waterproof riding jacket without ruining the waterproofing coating? Think Showers Pass or my J & G breathable waterproof jacket. I'm trying to glue some SOLAS tape onto mine, no luck so far. I was planning to try Shoe Goo next.

cehowardGS

Great stuff, going to get some..

amckimmey

I would email Shower Pass them self about that question, The answer probably will be "yes" unless the jacket is nylon, nylon melts at to low of temp to safely iron things on. They are sew on reflective strips. I personally would stay away from glues other than good fabric glues. because I don't like messy looking things.

IndianaShawn

I'll throw mine in for good measure.......

chefisaac

Indiana: Thats a neat looking bike. Can you tell you have the tape on in the day time?

Also, what is the thing attached to the font fork over the tire?

IndianaShawn

Thanks chef. No its stealth tape so you can't really see it unless the light hits it just right. Here is a picture without the flash. And I just have a velo orange fender over the front tire. The rack on the front fork is a Tubus rack.

chefisaac

very nice set up indi. I got some of the spoke reflectors. The same kind ktesh has. Do you have the same kind? Were they tough to put on? I am going to put my own today I think.

unterhausen

added. Best bet is to report the OP and ask that it be added because we don't generally read every post. Report function is accessed by the triangle with an exclamation mark under every post

IndianaShawn

I used LightWeights. My frame is black so they have this tape that is black also and its called "Stealth Tape". It blends right into the frame under normal lighting conditions. I guess its probably made by the same process as ktesh's reflectors are made from. The wheels are the LightWeights made for spokes. It took be a very long time to put on all those reflectors making sure they are spaced just right and the reflectors didn't have wrinkles in them as I put them on. I have two sets of them on the bicycle. I alcohol swabbed the spokes before I put them on to make sure it was a clean bond. I also bought the large LightWeight red dot sticker package and placed the largest one on the fender with the smaller red dots on the back of the frame. Another sticker was from the Pitlock system which came with a stop sign looking sticker that is reflective as well. There are a few more stickers on the front of the bike to replace the stock reflector. From what I can remember, they came with the spoke package.

https://www.lightweights.org/store/home.php

alexaschwanden

I liked your reflective tape design on your bikes, great job.

chefisaac

i got two packs of those from Lightwerights in nov of last year and just now put them on my commuter. Just finished up but I need another pack. I did three on each spoke on the back and then will do three on the front but only got half way done when I was out

Sad to say though that my panniers in the back hide a lot of the spokes

johnr783

This is great. I am thinking of doing this to my bike. Heck, maybe we can do it to our fleet of pedicabs too.

My question, you cut out the lettering and designs on the bike. How did you do that? I know you already explained it but I dont quite understand it.

johnr783

Wait, I think I understand now. In order to save a bit of time would it be possible to cover the detail with the correct detail color first, then with electrical tape? This would let you put out the detail with an exacto knife and peel off the electrical without the first layer of detail tape. It would also eliminate the need for Goo Gone.

When adding vinyl stickers to our pedicabs for signs, we use a soapy water solution so we can take it on and off to remove bubbles and make it smooth. When the soap inside dries, after a day or so, we have no problem with peeling. Do you think that could be done with the reflective material you use?

CenturionIM

man, now I regretting getting a pure black bike. Next one: white fuji absolute so I can do all the reflective things

chefisaac

You can put reflective tape on all of your spokes. It works GREAT.

K'Tesh

My most recent bike was flat black...


2011 Trek Montare (near stock condition)


Same bike after adding reflective films



Night shot of the same bike... (Used Avery blue, white, black reflective films, and Lightweights for Wheels)

Note that the forks and the underside of the down tube are still black, but now covered with retro-reflective black (when clean and seen in the daylight it's a gloss black)

Bluish Green

Thanks for posting those great suggestions! I have some retroreflective tape on order; when it arrives, I'm going to do something similar on my commuter bike. I'll post photos when I finish the project.

K'Tesh

Can't wait to see them...

Please don't forget to have photos of the bike (day and night) before you start. I found that for the best before/during/after photos, you should find a place that you can use repeatedly, a mark on the ground that you can remember to place your feet, and a point to align the photo with (I love seams in concrete, trees, or poles for that).

This way you get consistent photos/angles to show off your work.

Medic Zero

I got black reflective tape for my helmet, I imagine they sell the same/similar in larger quantities.

K'Tesh

Sorry I missed this request for info...

I found that outlining the detail first (electrical tape *MAY* work, but my bike was black and wouldn't allow the contrast I needed to see the edges), then applying the colored film, pressing the edges with the thumbnail, cutting off the extra, then cleaning with the goo gone worked best for me.

Retro-reflective films are self-adhesive (peel and stick) and I don't think that a soap-and-water would work. That said, I've never tried it. Perhaps a small test is in order, but remember if you want to try it, don't do a ton of work on it until you're certain it works.

[EDIT]
I'm using scraps to test this right now, on a flat surface and a curved surface. However, early tests show it's not good for compound curves

In the last paragraph of this sign making blog they say...

and also in the same post...

[/EDIT]