Bike Commuter Safety: Reflectives + LEDs

Finished my bike visibility upgrades:


Front light (malkoff in a FM 2C host)



Rear light (glo toob)




Reflective (normal lighting)



Reflective (light hitting it)

What are you using for reflectivity?

Also, have you seen the Planet Bike Superflash? I picked one up and now all my friends are getting their own. Pretty much the brightest blinky out there.

About 30 feet of 2" wide 3M 680-85 Scotchlite Black (+ a few inches of red):
http://www.identi-tape.com/eng-sr2.html

Thanks for the tip Carrot. Things get stolen often around here, so my first criterial is easy removal and pocketability. How long does it take to remove that Planet Bike module?

The Superflash has a quick release clip to the clamp, so it takes a fraction of a second to release it and take it.

That looks great, I like the Alfine rear hub too! I've never seen a "glo toob" before, is it illuminated by anything or is it a tritium-type glow material?

+1 on the Superflash, it's bright!

louie said:

The Superflash has a quick release clip to the clamp, so it takes a fraction of a second to release it and take it.

Click to expand...

Yes, and it is just as fast to clip back on.

I don't know why all bikes don't come covered with that reflective tape. I could use some for my bike.

Thanks guys!

One can never have too much reflective material on a bike (and yourself!) while riding.

EG - one more vote for the SuperFlash! It's FAR more visible than the Glo-Toob will ever be (think almost emergency vehicle strobe-visible type of thing).

A company is working on an surface treatment that puts the scotchlite microspheres (the magic ingredient of many of the reflective materials we see) on the bike frame.

I was thinking that it might be interesting to get some urethane spray, spray it on the frame and while it is still wet, sprinkle some of the magic pixie dust on the bike to make it reflective. Instead, I just picked up a few feet of the scotchlite tape myself and will be applying it to my commuter. I use the gray/silver tape on other bikes and on my helmet, but it definitely doesn't look as clean as black tape on a black frame.

greenlight said:

I don't know why all bikes don't come covered with that reflective tape. I could use some for my bike.

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting the tape info Electron!

Thinking of picking some up to cover my helmet and bikes, will probably have lots left over to share with friends.

ElectronGuru said:

Things get stolen often around here, so my first criterial is easy removal and pocketability. How long does it take to remove that Planet Bike module?

Click to expand...

Made a steel bracket for my roadbike, not as anti-theft, but the shape of the oval seat post profile made it hard to mount the round plastic clamp. Took a piece of steel about the thickness of a quarter and had a friend cut it into a strip that would fit between the rails. The seat post clamp bolt passes through a hole to lock in place, then I drilled two holes in the SuperFlash tab to attach to the steel bracket.

Put a ziptie around the mounting tab on my mountain bike's SuperFlash, the spot would be just above the o-ring in the pic below. I'm lucky being able to bring my bike inside most places I ride downtown, but zipties are great for taking away the temptation of messing with your stuff (allen bolts filled with epoxy too :tinfoil.

syc said:

A company is working on an surface treatment that puts the scotchlite microspheres (the magic ingredient of many of the reflective materials we see) on the bike frame.

I was thinking that it might be interesting to get some urethane spray, spray it on the frame and while it is still wet, sprinkle some of the magic pixie dust on the bike to make it reflective.

Click to expand...

Saw a hipster bike yesterday covered with glued-on encrusted glitter, your idea is much better!

Wondering if it would work on a frame being repainted? Maybe it could be mixed directly into paint somewhat like metalflakes to help spread the microspheres evenly. Not sure how much the spray gun will like that though :thinking:

Extra notes for everyone:

1) This has even stronger reflection (but no black option)
http://www.identi-tape.com/hi-intensity2.htm

2) Installation is not easy/fast. Doing my complete bike w/wheels took the better part of an entire weekend

3) The old window tint trick works wonders. Make up a solution of 1-bottle of water to 3 drops of Dawn liquid. Spray the (already) cleand framed, your hands, and the back of every strip before applying. When you miss, just peel and redo. Allow 24 hours to dry, pressing the water out every ~6 hours.

4) The tape bends easily in one direction (around a tube), but as soon as the tube itself turns, the tape is asked to bend in two directions at the same time. In these cases, cut rib slices into the tape every quarter-to-half inch, allowing the joints to open or overlap as needed.

I too wish encapsulated lens retro-reflective tape was available in black.

Hey, just because it rains doesn't mean you don't bike.

mosport said:

Saw a hipster bike yesterday covered with glued-on encrusted glitter, your idea is much better!

Wondering if it would work on a frame being repainted? Maybe it could be mixed directly into paint somewhat like metalflakes to help spread the microspheres evenly. Not sure how much the spray gun will like that though :thinking:

Click to expand...

Spray slow-acting adhesive with a paint gun and follow shortly thereafter with abrasive gun filled with microspheres.

Or use a cheap airbrush with external mixing. That will cycle paint with microspheres with no problems.

ElectronGuru said:

Extra notes for everyone:

1) This has even stronger reflection (but no black option)
http://www.identi-tape.com/hi-intensity2.htm

Click to expand...

this is the one i have. i think..
i bought some reflective tape at walmart made for trailers etc in the auto section. looks just like this and is highly reflective.

i like the idea of reflective tape. it's lighter, more aerodynamic and seems brighter than the stock screw on ones.

i'm surprised that they have a black one. that's amazing. if i had a black car that would be fun.

i have reflective tires too. some michelin commuter ones.

i wish someone would steal my rear flasher so i can get a superflash. yeah sounds weird. i can't bring myself to buy one when i have a working one.
hmm i should just give it away to a friend maybe.

greenLED said:

One can never have too much reflective material on a bike (and yourself!) while riding.

Click to expand...

I respectfully and slightly disagree.
I think that a 50% reflective tape ratio is probably the best.
Sometimes too much return light from having a 100% ratio (the frame tubes) hinders shape identification.

I love the wheel spacing, looks perfect.
and if you are using the thicker non-engineering grade tape (3M SOLAS 11 & 13mil, vs 5.5), the shorter segments helps you bend things (and covers slight flaws)

But a case can be made for 100% if you are using black engineering grade reflective tape vs. white encapsulated lens. (I have some 3M black scotchlite and white Reflexite on my dresser. you wouldn't want 100% of that white)