Be Seen

[KLizotte]

FYI: Discovered over the weekend that Ikea is selling lightweight reflective vests (with 3M reflective striping) for $4.99 ($3.99 for Ikea members). They come in various sizes (kiddie thru adult). I was glad to see that the S/M fit me perfectly, that is, snugly – no flapping in the wind (at least not in my apartment, I have yet to try it under real world conditions).

They are in Ikea’s travel section and are not listed on their website for some reason.

Anyway, a good backup to keep at the office should you end up working later than expected. Cheapest I’ve seen anywhere and looks a little less dorky than the running vest I was using.

I wish it weren’t getting dark so early already

[WillStewart]

So we have 3 categories of visibility;

– Active lighting (including pulsing lights) for day or night

– High visibility colored clothing and accessories (mostly for day, unless also reflective)

– Highly reflective surfaces for night visibility

@OneEighth 7974 wrote:

I would specifically recommend SOLAS tape (Safety of Life at Sea). Designed to work very well in wet conditions.

It certainly does have a high degree of reflectivity, and will withstand a harsh (and wet) environment.

I’ve seen 2″ x 12″ strips for $8 online;

[WillStewart]

@Mark Blacknell 7968 wrote:

3M Scotchlite Reflective Tape. Comes in white, black, silver, red, etc. No matter the color, it lights up like you’d never believe, when even a little light hits it. I’ve been adding it to all of my bikes.

2″ x6″ about $5

[Dirt]

I like that 3M reflective tape. You can get it so that in daylight it is black, but when you shine a light on it, it lights up like you see below. Very cool stuff.

[Dirt]

Bummed that they haven’t perfected introducing the octopus genes that make cats glow in the dark into humans yet.

(PS: I’m joking…. sort of.)

[ronwalf]

My Pearl Izumi gloves were comfy, cheap and bright. After a summer of sweat and sunscreen, they’re comfy and ugly:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]402[/ATTACH]

[Dirt]

I had a nice chat with a Ninja this morning. They stubbornly refused to do anything to be more visible and got really angry at me for a) singing loudly at 0500; b) telling them that they are almost impossible to see; c) using a light on the front of my bike; and d) laughing at him because he was behaving like a spoiled child. I suppose I could have been nicer. I was polite… except for the laughing at him part.

[Greenbelt]

So last night was my first near-full dark trail commute. Tried out my new lights. Went with the Vis 360 helmet light system — very lightweight, and decent directional light (plus a very bright tail light). Lightweight enough that I’ll just leave it up on the helmet all the time I think. I like the side lights for road sections. Went with another lightweight light, a Stella 200 lumen mounted on the handle bar — it lit up the trail just fine for my speeds (16mph or less after dark). I didn’t like the velcro attachment for the battery, because it didn’t seem secure enough, like it could detach from under the stem or handlebar if I hit enough potholes or bumps after a while. So I just popped it in my bento box, plenty of room and the wire reaches fine. Plus, that makes it easy to take off the bike to recharge. Very happy customer for day one. We’ll see how they last.

[PrintError]

Dirt, I want your gloves! In the winter when commuting McLean to the W&OD all on-road, I rocked a trio of SuperFlashes set to strobe, hi-vis everything, my W&OD Trail Patrol vest (big reflective strips), a dual-halogen 25W headlight, and my infamous glowing green frame (multiple 11″ LED strips). I was a rolling traffic jam because some drivers were straight up scared to pass me.

Honestly, in the winter/dark, I had NO bad encounters with cars. No rude drivers, no close calls, nothing. In the summer/daylight commutes, it was one incident after another.

[DaveK]

@PrintError 8432 wrote:

my infamous glowing green frame (multiple 11″ LED strips)

I want to do this for this season – did you buy the setup or make it yourself?

[PrintError]

Completely DIY: http://www.oznium.com/flexible-led-strips

[Joe Chapline]

Just saw this product from MonkeyLectric. Commute by Bike has a review.

[vvill]

Yeah those sound fun for a “party” group ride sorta thing but the cons of it being heavy on your wheel and the bling of it put it out of my options.

I typically commute in the mornings with a long sleeved bright hi vis orange jersey from Performance, which often gets comments, so I’m sure it’s noticeable. I also have a similar fleece vest I can layer over a dark shell or jacket as it gets colder. I also wear white gloves (cheap softball ones from Target – at least they say “Easton”) year round as I figure it helps with signalling. For lights I currently just have a bog standard Blackburn setup (powered by 4 AAs in front, 2 in back) which works fine for low light, but not for night. Other things I’ll do are attach an extra blinky on my backpocket/backpack, and use one of my many reflective ankle straps – one even has a flashing light built into it.

This will be the first year that I plan to commute deeper into the season (I hate cold). I’ve never been much of a night rider so I recently ordered some LED lights and will see how they go. I will probably also get some reflective tape, and a reflective vest I can overlay for wet weather days.

Incidentally, I did a Contes ride a few Tuesdays ago (my first group ride) and it was pretty dark by the time we made our way back. I was one of a handful in the group who actually had my lights on… is that weird?

[Greenbelt]

I got off work late last night — headed home from DC around 9pm. Lots of bikes out — it was actually crowded on the PA Ave bike lane, and lots of bike traffic up toward Union Station. It was a warm night, and great to see all the bikes out enjoying.

However…

I’d guess that only about 1 in 5 non-CaBi bikes I saw had a rear light. And 1 in 10 had a front. I realize that there are streetlights, but it’s still fairly dark out there.

Please remind your co-workers and others that it’s really easy to get a simple fair weather blinker for front and back that’s easy to detach from seatpost/handlebar and put in a pocket or purse when you lock up somewhere?

I understand lots of urban riders might not want to invest in expensive weatherproof trail lights, but just getting more people in the habit of popping on a cheap light for night errands or joyrides in the city would be nice. Unlit bikes can be hard to see, even when you’re looking out for them.

[Dirt]

I strongly suggest singing “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport” really loud in the future. It confuses people and when they ask you to stop, you can tell them, “I’ll stop when you put lights on your bike.”

That’s the way it works in my dream world. In reality, I end up annoying most people and they never ask me to shut up. Oh well. I can dream.

[Author]

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