Wheel reflectors?

Unknown

Anyone still have them on their bike? I do [:I] when spinning the wheels lifting the bike off the ground the weight of the flectors doesn`t half make itself known!

MICHAELCYCLES

Afraid I took mine off the day I bought the bike, think that might be illegal actually..

Chris James

It is not illegal to get rid of the front and wheel reflectors. You need to have a rear one though.

The law requires the shop to fit them, along with a bell, but you can remove them.

Archcp

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by BigLee</i>

Anyone still have them on their bike? I do [:I] when spinning the wheels lifting the bike off the ground the weight of the flectors doesn`t half make itself known!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Yeah, I've got some in the rear wheel of my winter hack... On a tough heavy bike it is, you may as well have all the reflectives you can...

If I had a baby elephant, it could help me clean the car. If I had a car.

bof

Should have them if you ride after dark, means you get seen properly by someone coming at you from a side road. In the Netherlands, they are required by law and seen as a major life-saver for cyclists.

Krypton

I've just got a new wheelset. They didn't come with any reflectors, so do I need to fit some? Is it a legal requirement to have them?

--
Stopped smoking, saved a fortune. Started cycling, spent it all! - PS, don't <b>CLICK THIS LINK!!</b>

Tynancp

they must weigh diddle, cost/benefit must be fairly obvious surely, spec in winter

Chris James

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by bof</i>

Should have them if you ride after dark, means you get seen properly by someone coming at you from a side road. In the Netherlands, they are required by law and seen as a major life-saver for cyclists.
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Sheldon Brown disagrees and thinks them useless due to the very narrow angle at which they reflect light back. Basically, for a driver to see your reflectors you have to already be directly in front of his car. I don't think they do a lot but generally think every little helps. i have taken off my wheel reflectors but my commuter has refective walls on them.

pw1brown

It's not a legal requirement to have them and I don't use them, even at night.

JWSurrey

Good comments.
I believe Schwalbe and some Contis have reflective sidewalls on their tyres.
Mine are GP4000 - available with 3M reflective sidewalls in 25c size.

Check the CTC website on vehicle lighting regulations....
In addition to a BS rear reflector, you should have BS pedal reflectors - if out after dark/in low visibility.

Diogenes

Still have them on the front of my commuter (the beast). The back ones have shot off quite spectacularly as I am sure will the front at some time. Whilst I am sure they will affect the weight of the wheels on my Dale, the beast has cast iron hoops which don't suffer from the few grammes of plastic.

D[:D]

Too short for my weight!
The Bikes
A Day out
C2C 2006

Bigtallfatbloke

I have just removed the reflectors from my wheeels now I know that my schalbe tyres have a reflective strip anyway.

arn't the rear of the pedals supposed to have reflectors on them by law??

I dont plan on riding at night anyway.

Alcdrewcp

Sold mine as soon as I got the bike, made a couple of quid on ebay, for the reflector set (rear/front and two wheels)I don't see the piont in them, if I'm out in the dark then I have lights. And my pedals didn't come with any. So guess I can get arrested, although I can't realy see a police person stopping me for it.

______________________________________________________________
This is where my witty Elephant prase would be. But Zebra's are so much better.

fluff.

Pedals are a good place to have reflectors unlike wheels though, but you've likely got some on the heels of your shoes anyway.

----
The summer bike | The fixie | The sensible one

Greenbank

If you work loose they can spin round and jam in the stays/forks ripping out lots of spokes and locking up your wheel.

--
If I had a baby elephant signature, I'd use that.

Houlie

Mine flew out quite spectacularly whilst I was zooming over a road hump or 'Somnolent Constable' - The front one looked like a cheap firework. The back one sounded all clattery and nearly locked the wheel.

Tony Houlihan
Westmorland
England

doyler78

lol - like Houlie my back one broke off in half whilst on my commute in a couple of weeks ago. I seen a lump of plastic fly past me but dismissed as I couldn't think what the plastic could possibly be therefore decided that it must have already been on the road and just got thrown up by a passing car. However there was this rattling noise everytime I slowed down and started off again at lights so this started to worry me and I was paranoid for the rest of my journey that my bike was going to fall apart. Only when I arrived at the other end did I realise what it was and realised my cautious ride probably cost me best time because I was only a minute off my best and had ridden more than half the journey conservatively because of this but such is life.

A - W

My four month old bike (Spesh Sirrus Elite)has lost it pedal reflectors. They have come off themselves although the wheel reflectors have stayed on.

Every little bit helps.

bof

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Chris James</i>

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by bof</i>

Should have them if you ride after dark, means you get seen properly by someone coming at you from a side road. In the Netherlands, they are required by law and seen as a major life-saver for cyclists.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Sheldon Brown disagrees and thinks them useless due to the very narrow angle at which they reflect light back. Basically, for a driver to see your reflectors you have to already be directly in front of his car. I don't think they do a lot but generally think every little helps. i have taken off my wheel reflectors but my commuter has refective walls on them.
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(Pedant mode: the article is not by SB himself). The article points out reflectors are inadequate (ie you need lights as well) not useless. It's right that the reflector angle is narrow (true of all reflectors not just side ones) but being seen at twilight or night a fraction of a second quicker by a driver coming at you from the side to a give way junction can make a big difference.

Incidentally while it is only one of a packet of safety measures in the Netherlands, their night time/twilight fatal accident rate at junctions has halved over the last 20 years (as has the daytime rate), but the nighttime/twilight rate of fatal accidents on the open road has slightly increased, whereas daytime open road death rates have halved.

This says to me that drivers now see cyclists better in the dark at junctions - what the contribution is from reflectors or speed calming or education, who knows?

(The figures are gross rates, cycling has increased over 20% during that time).

MrKawamura

My new bike, bought five weeks ago didn't have reflectors on the wheels. If it did I would have taken them off, so I didn't ask the shop where they were (not that I was aware they should have put some on). I have also taken off the front and rear reflectors, and I didn't attach the reflectors which came with my new clipless pedals.

If I start cycling when there is poor light, or at night, they will all go on the bike, but I would not have considered buying some wheel reflectors before I saw this post. I still don't know whether it's worth it - honestly at the moment, I probably won't bother.

jjojjascp

got one on the front wheel, just noticed the one on the rear has gone? I'll probably replace it as its my commuter and I ride all year round so any help been seen is better han none I guess.
Jas

It'll be cheaper in the long run......honest

Unknown

Thinking about it the wheel reflectors are very good when on roundabouts with cars entering from the right while you`re still on. I ride at night so every little helps including a hi vis vest over the top of my rucksack & some sticky reflective tape on my cranks & frame.

Mark Alexander

I've been advised by a friend who's a LBS owner that they are leagaly oblighed to fit them but we're not obliged to ride with them.

I say use your common sense. if you're trialing/racing take them off. If you're commuting or at night, I left thm on. don't rely on thm though

my baby elephant has more memory than my PC