Spoke/wheel reflectors.

[steve keay]

I've been ridding my new bike for three weeks now. Loving it. Been on a few 20+ mile rides. Ive commuted to work every day this week adding extra miles as its only a short commute. First thing i did when I bought the bike was remove the reflectors from the handle bars and seat. Today I realised I still had the reflectors on the wheels. (I removed them on my other bike) just wondered what peoples thoughts were on these. I went to watch this finish of today's tour of Britain stage in Ipswich today . (great atmosphere) I noticed all the serious bikes around didn't have them fitted. (I don't mean the guys racing obviously)

 

[buggi]

I think they can help when going around roundabouts on a dark commute, although valve lights or spoke lights can be more effective as they don't rely on the beam from a headlight to be effective.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I'd leave them on.You did right in removing the front and rear reflectors as they're completely useless, but we can't put lights on the side of a bike, so every bit helps in the effort to be seen from the side.

 

[Globalti]

Take them off; they look naff and will mark you out as a beginner as well as possibly coming loose and locking up a wheel. No amount of flouro or reflectors or lights will prevent you from being knocked off by an idiot; your "body language" on the road is far more important in asserting your status and therefore someone about whom drivers need to bother. I think it was our own @Incontinentia Buttocks who reported being knocked off last week despite having all kinds of lights and flouro?

It's the modern equivalent to the St Christopher medal your grandpa had on his dashboard - a superstition. Assert your right to road space, be firm and be clear in your intentions and drivers will see you as a serious road user, not someone with whom they can take a chance.

 

[Milkfloat]

On my best bikes everything is stripped off, but on my commuter I have kept the wheel reflectors. I see it as every little helps. I have yet to have an issue with them twisting, but I guess it could happen one day as the plastic bolts get stressed.

 

[grellboy]

Useful but look rubbish. Sure lights, profile of bike and rider more than make up for the absence of wheel reflectors.

 

[cyberknight]

In winter i have spoke reflectors on the commuter but not on a leisure ride.

 

[kiriyama]

Assert your right to road space, be firm and be clear in your intentions and drivers will see you as a serious road user, not someone with whom they can take a chance.

spot on, iv been trying to word that for a while!

 

[shouldbeinbed]

The routinely fitted flappy plastic spoke reflectors are a bit naff and ok but not brilliant - I take them off and use other ways of being seen side on: tyres with a reflective sidewall strip &/or spoke straws add unobtrusive reflectivity that provides almost a wall of light when the wheel spins

*caveat: wheel reflectivity is most visible as an effective entiry side on, but say you're cycling across a junction to your left OR right turning and a vehicle comes into view round a bend etc, side reflectivity at that moment is a heck of a lot more beneficial to you than front/rear facing lights.

Marginal Gains and all that*

I disagree with Accy that front and rear reflectors are rubbish too - rear particularly as they are A) a legal requirement and B) a mix of free light when illuminated by another and an absolute last resort means of being visible if you had no other lights working - possible with the rear that you may not notice a power failure ono mid ride. (Running more than one light is best tho, partly for this reason too)

I'm also an advocate of pedal reflectors;, even putting clip on platforms on one side of my roadie SPD pedals. Pedal reflectors and their uppy downy motion are instantly recognisable to all other road users as being uniquely cyclist in the way lights, hi viz vests, even red/white reflectors aren't necessarily so.
They give you another little edge in the battle to make the rest of the world see you and recognise you as a bike, likely to be on the road that they need to avoid.

 

[Accy cyclist]

The routinely fitted flappy plastic spoke reflectors are a bit naff and ok but not brilliant - I take them off and use other ways of being seen side on: tyres with a reflective sidewall strip &/or spoke straws add unobtrusive reflectivity that provides almost a wall of light when the wheel spins

*caveat: wheel reflectivity is most visible as an effective entiry side on, but say you're cycling across a junction to your left OR right turning and a vehicle comes into view round a bend etc, side reflectivity at that moment is a heck of a lot more beneficial to you than front/rear facing lights.

Marginal Gains and all that*

I disagree with Accy that front and rear reflectors are rubbish too - rear particularly as they are A) a legal requirement and B) a mix of free light when illuminated by another and an absolute last resort means of being visible if you had no other lights working - possible with the rear that you may not notice a power failure ono mid ride. (Running more than one light is best tho, partly for this reason too)

I'm also an advocate of pedal reflectors;, even putting clip on platforms on one side of my roadie SPD pedals. Pedal reflectors and their uppy downy motion are instantly recognisable to all other road users as being uniquely cyclist in the way lights, hi viz vests, even red/white reflectors aren't necessarily so.
They give you another little edge in the battle to make the rest of the world see you and recognise you as a bike, likely to be on the road that they need to avoid.

Yes i agree that some rear reflectors are ok but don't you think that front ones are useless? In my opinion they are hard to see from a motorist point of view and they are sometimes relied on as a poor substitute for a proper front light. I have a big rear reflector on one of my bikes. I've tested it by putting the bike in my car headlights about 30 yards down the road. It shows up quite well but some i've seen are so small that they offer very little reflectbackability(my invented word)! The bike i bought the other week has Schwalbe Marathons on with reflection on the walls of the tyres, but if it'd come with the plastic reflectors as well i'd probably have left them on. My old Scott from 1999 came with wheel reflectors on and they've been on ever since. I even fitted those clip on spoke reflectors from Aldi but took them off when they became covered in oil and grime as they looked unsightly.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Yes i agree that some rear reflectors are ok but don't you think that front ones are useless? In my opinion they are hard to see from a motorist point of view and they are sometimes relied on as a poor substitute for a proper front light. I have a big rear reflector on one of my bikes. I've tested it by putting the bike in my car headlights about 30 yards down the road. It shows up quite well but some i've seen are so small that they offer very little reflectbackability(my invented word)! The bike i bought the other week has Schwalbe Marathons on with reflection on the walls of the tyres, but if it'd come with the plastic reflectors as well i'd probably have left them on. My old Scott from 1999 came with wheel reflectors on and they've been on ever since. I even fitted those clip on spoke reflectors from Aldi but took them off when they became covered in oil and grime as they looked unsightly.

Those spoke reflectors do get to look a bit grimy, don't they? I still keep them on my bikes though. They're still reflective, albeit slightly less so.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Those spoke reflectors do get to look a bit grimy, don't they? I still keep them on my bikes though. They're still reflective, albeit slightly less so.

I bet some wouldn't mind them on their bike but wont have them because of their weight.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I bet some wouldn't mind them on their bike but wont have them because of their weight.

And fill their water bottles with fizzy drinks because the gas weighs less than water, no doubt.

 

[MontyVeda]

And fill their water bottles with fizzy drinks because the gas weighs less than water, no doubt.

never thought of that!

 

[Deleted member 1258]

For years I used these on my Commuter, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aero-Reflec...1_14?s=cycling&ie=UTF8&qid=1442162638&sr=1-14
just keep them clean, like others I recon every little helps. I've seen people using these when I've been driving and they show up nicely.