Reflective Taping

[SkipdiverJohn]

You can get rolls of retro-reflective adhesive tape in various colours cheaply enough off a certain online auction site.... This is not some poncey stuff intended to blend in with graphics on frames, it simply sticks to whatever you wrap it round, and two strips slightly overlapping will completely envelop a traditional steel frame tube. I use it on my hack bikes, because they get ridden a lot in the dark. I use red on the rear stays and yellow/amber on the main frame tubes. Its very effective with the proviso that the light has to strike it from the right direction. The other aspect is it makes a bike less of a theft target, because it gives a frame a distinctive and readily identifiable appearance. I know a couple of other people who do the same thing on their work/pub hack bikes.

 

[tom73]

@Phaeton

Yes, I have, but some retailers (Halfords, for example) have silly prices for them
There is a Wilkos in Wakefield, I may have a look during the week, if I get chance

Thankyou

Had a quick look today as I was pass the bike stuff. It Look's like Wilkos no longer stock them nothing on the shelves or a place marker.
Must have gone in the last stock reduction.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I've been using a similar tape on my GCR, mostly yellow (about 1.5cm wide) and a little bit of Amber (on the crank arms) 1cm wide

I take it, given the age, it's the same model as mine? ('first generation')

Had a quick look today as I was pass the bike stuff. It Look's like Wilkos no longer stock them nothing on the shelves or a place marker.
Must have gone in the last stock reduction.

Okay, thanks!

 

[the_mikey]

I take it, given the age, it's the same model as mine? ('first generation')

Yes, I believe mine is first gen, I bought it at the end of 2016 to replace my Kinesis T2.

 

[tribanjules]

Have you considered the spoke covers, I've not seen them for a while think Wilko was the last place

Edit:- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12pcs-Cy...786766?hash=item1f013d644e:g:UQUAAOSwMSdddOlU

I get mine on geek for a couple of £ A packet normally.
several couture and seem to last well.

 

[silva]

Yes, I'd have warmed it up a bit, or left it (& bike) in a heated basement room overnight, before decalling



Hence why my plan was to 'wrap' the seat-stays, fork-blades (& maybe down-tube), so that multiple 'striking angles' are covered

As for the 'Large Square'
My mudflaps are from Raw
https://rawmudflap.uk/product/ref-black-stealth-mudflap/
They appear black normally, but if any light-source strikes them (vehicle lights/low Sun) they turn reflective silver
To all intents & purposes, they glow like the stripes on a good Hi-Viz jacket, & with the movement (due to riding) they almost 'flash'
There's also a red rectangular reflector bolted through the rear flap, as an extra

Unlit (when I got the bike, as the spoke protector is still in place)
View attachment 487963


Camera flash used
Low hanging, so the first place a vehicles headlamps 'touch'
View attachment 487964


With 'Added'
View attachment 487971

Doesn't such a low hanging flap at the rear hamper the tires water/dirt exhaust?
My experience is that more the flap stops (thus bigger and especially lower), the more and the farther water/dirt will "travel" with the tire, resulting in spraying under the seat, close to the chain. At the front this matters less since there is only a light to spray on.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I get mine on geek

Never heard of it

 

[rogerzilla]

Reflective sidewalls are only useful if you're stopped or moving really slowly as a car is aporoaching from the side. Maybe at a crossroads or roundabout. Anyway, on a daily commuter, black grime from rim brakes quickly renders them ineffective.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Doesn't such a low hanging flap at the rear hamper the tires water/dirt exhaust?

My experience is that more the flap stops (thus bigger and especially lower), the more and the farther water/dirt will "travel" with the tire, resulting in spraying under the seat, close to the chain. At the front this matters less since there is only a light to spray on.

I'll answer (my perspective) in 2 parts, if I may

1. I don't find so, given the amount of water than runs off the flap
My tyres are almost treadless, just a modicum on the shoulders
(Schwalbe Durano)




2. It depends on the depth of water on road/if there's any muck present
I reckon most get spun off, before the seat-stays are reached
Quite a lot can get thrown up by the front too, bypassing the flap (& my front's fairly low)
This was from one 1/2 mile of road, that was used by trucks leaving a housing development!!
(the new Cutsyke bypass, at Castleford, if anyone knows it - between bridge under M62 & Glasshoughton ASDA)

Looks reasonable?


Look a bit closer - all from front wheel






Plus;
Granted, I rarely ride with anyone, being a member of my own 'Lone Wolf CC', but most Clubs prefer (guess some 'insist') on flaps at the rear, to keep the spray low
I've followed riders, & (have permanantly) marked jackets, due to manky/dirty water spraying off a 'guardless' (or flapless) bike
Eg, after a ride with a couple of members of Wakefield Triathlon Club, back in mid 2016

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Have ordered a couple of yards of 2" Hi-Viz yellow, & a yard of blue, from this company;
https://www.flashbacktape.co.uk/

States 3 - 4 days delivery
It ought to be here for weekend?, but, we're away next week, so it might be 19th/20th by the time I report on it

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

That's the same sort of stuff as I've been using, except mine was a bit cheaper per roll, came off the 'Bay, and I had to wait a couple of weeks while it got posted from China. It strikes me as ironic I can get small packages sent to me all the way from China, at a lower postage cost than sending a 2nd class small letter 10 miles down the road in the UK!

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Tape arrived in todays post




Have now part-taped the CGR (seat-stays & fork-blades)
SWMBOs Boardman is now in the house. trying to warm the frame up, so I can tape it tomorrow

 

[Milkfloat]

I purchased a roll of red about 3 years ago. I run a line up every mudguard and to the back of the seatpost. I am too scared to do the frame as it is a bugger to get off. I should really get some yellow/orange for the side of my panniers, but have never gotten around to it. Despite being very reflective (including a provis style jacket) I still get loads of close passes on my commute.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I purchased a roll of red about 3 years ago. I run a line up every mudguard and to the back of the seatpost. I am too scared to do the frame as it is a bugger to get off. I should really get some yellow/orange for the side of my panniers, but have never gotten around to it. Despite being very reflective (including a provis style jacket) I still get loads of close passes on my commute

I've had to peel some off the CGR (1), as despite heating it (& the frame) with a hair-dryer, it's lifting on the seat-stays
I've re-applied, but in narrower strips, rather than wrapping the 2" tape around the stay, to give as much of an arc of visibility as possible (2)

1. It peeled straight off, breaking in the process
2. It was postulated by one of the Cardiology Consultants I know, who commutes, that lots of lighting/reflectiveness, allows a better (worse!!) judgement of proximity
Hence why, so it seems. all the chumps/idiots in black, & barely any lights tend to get given a wider berth, as their position can't be judged as easily?
Maybe a topic for a thread elsewhere??

 

[Ajax Bay]

Hence why, so it seems. all the chumps/idiots in black, & barely any lights tend to get given a wider berth, as their position can't be judged as easily? Maybe a topic for a thread elsewhere??

Surprisingly enough, as part of a debate about conspicuity, it has been. Page 9 finally gets to the nub: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/how-would-you-react.239876/page-9