Helmet Reflectives Mod

brighton-biker

Hey

Dunno if this is workshop but anyhoo...

I bought some reflective tape off shebay, then cut it and stuck it to my Bell Sweep R helmet at the back. I actually did this right at the start of winter and it has survived so far!


And this is what cars see (well almost - this was a camera flash) minus the smart superflash on the back


Also stuck some to my frame too : Who needs big chunky reflectors when you've got this stuff?!

BB

KeithG

Looks great, good idea

sicknote

Nice one BB
Any chance of a link to shebay.
Thanks

brighton-biker

This is the stuff i bought:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HI-VIZ-DIAMOND-GR ... =72%3A1683

2.5 Meters of the stuff will cover a LOT of stuff in tasty reflective goodness.

A search for "reflective tape" in the eBay search box turns up a whole range of stuff.

Red:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HI-VIZ-DIAMOND-GR ... =72%3A1683

Go Nuts: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wuertele/1 ... set-294874

sicknote

Thanks BB
Will be getting some of that for sure

SafeRider

That definitely works! I might consider getting some of that stuff. For the moment I have this band which goes on my helmet. It works really well and it stands out a mile in car headlights at night!

redvee

Got some black reflective tape to hide amongst the black parts of my bike off Ebay. The seller was a fishing tackle place and uses it on the tip of rods.

brighton-biker

Nice SafeRider - Bet that thick band shows up a treat!

I can really see the appeal of the black reflective stuff (how do they do that?!) - Increasing your visibility yet still keeping your bike looking like a lean mean scalping machine.

Great big bands of white on an otherwise nice looking frame does make your bike look a little geeky! I would put more reflectives on the frame but then i wouldn't feel as happy when i gave my bike that last glance of proud ownership when leaving it locked up!

BB

ademort

I did a similar thing with my helmet i also put some Yellow and Silver reflective tape on my commute bike and it stands out when lights shine on it. I bought the tape from Halfords, if anyones interested.
Ademort

Cunobelin

On the surface (ouch!) a good idea, but use a "respectable" company like Respro and check with the helmet manufacturer as many glues and solvents can damage the helmet, and decrease the ability to protect.

gundersen

I was under the impression that white had to be facing forwards and red backwards. Yellow is usually on the sides.

But maybe I am wrong?

gundersen

I was under the impression that white had to be facing forwards and red backwards. Yellow is usually on the sides.

But maybe I am wrong?

gundersen

I have just found out that if I press backwards on my keyboard then my reply is entered for a second time.

How silly is that?

cougie

This is my winter hack bike and has been like this for years - its festooooooned in white reflective tape. No police car has ever been bothered with me.

Good plan about the Sweep though - I have one for daytime and its got no reflectives at all.

At night i do wear my old MTB helmet that has been liberally stickered - I find a big patch over the peak of the helmet was particularly good if some nobby car has its full beams on and blinding me.

brighton-biker

Interesting point about red-backwards and white-forwards. I thought that was the law too.

Yet panniers, cycling shoes, overshoes, cycling shorts/trousers, jerseys, jackets, and many "Respro" products often make use of white retroreflectives at the back, hardly ever red.

Reflecting white light will produce a significantly brighter reflection than reflecting just one colour in the spectrum, red for example. Perhaps this is a justification for all theses products choosing white reflectives when featured on the rear.

Nice one Cougie - If i had a winter hack bike i would blatantly cover it head(set) to toe(clips) in retro reflectives (heehee).

IMO, Respro products are a little overpriced for what you get.

With regard to sticker glue/solvent damaging helmets, I believe that the benefits from extra night time visibility outweigh the chance of the sticker damaging the helmets shell, then that weakened area of the shell having an effect on future impact protection. The vitally crucial "crush zone" part of the helmet (stiff foam) can in no way be effected by the sticker unless either placed directly onto the foam, or the solvent melted through the whole outer shell. However this stiff foam is held together in an impact by the outer shell, so perhaps weakening in the shell might allow it to crack more easily and allow the stiff foam to split and move after initial impact, lowering protection for any secondary impacts.

Cunobelin

The red and white are reflections (Ouch!) of the lighting regulations. Reflective Hi visibility clothing is not included. I would guess that the nearest to regulation that is the EN471 neatly explained here

This is the standard used on the roads for workers, emergency services and police, so certainly could be seen as applicable to cyclists


As for vehicles, the expected move is to accept UN standard ECE 104 which refers to colours, but it is still not "illegal" to have silver at the rear under this regulation.

jamiecurry

perfect, halfords do some sticky reflective labels too, so cheap for something that could be a life saver