Best rear reflecter and light positions for this bike? -Pics

timez

Hi,

I will be using the roads a lot now i have a new bike at last .

my question is how best to place the rear light and rear reflector for how this bike is layed out?

I want to be as visable to cars as possible using these 2 things (dont worry i also have a front light and reflector too but have no placment problems with these)

also i know there are many more things i can do to be even more visble but for now this is all i have.

swapping the reflector and the light around is possible (do you maybe reccomend this?)

at the moment i only have space for one thing under the saddle (where the reflector is) and a much bigger space under the frame as lots of seat post is sticking out (where the light is)

My thinking is the rear light might be a little low down to be seen well (because of the wheel) or the reflector is too high - as you may see from the pictures - i have no idea about locations.

Thank you for your help in advance

Photos:





Timez[

ShutUpLegs

What about mounting on the seat stays?

arthur_scrimshaw

First thing is to see if you can get more seatpost showing, is the saddle set at the correct height? (if it is the bike frame is probably too big for you)
see http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... ight-14608

If that's the best you can do you would improve visibility by swapping the light and reflector positions.
Look at attaching lights to clothing, helmet, or back/saddle pack (if you use one)

timez

wow that was a nice link - im just going through it now and then will see what the seatpost is like.

how did you find that link? and are there any others? such as handlebar setting etc? im a complete begginer in terms of how to do all this stuff properlly - and after not riding for ages i seem to get some sort of sadistic pleasure out of having everything 100% lol.

Thank you

Timez

timez

never mind i found that stuff - im also about to swap the reflecter and light over - my saddle is way too low atm but i found out my handlebar stem is too short so after rasing it i had to lower it again or the handle bars felt way too low.

next item on my list - longer handlebar stem lol

thank you for all your help

timez

delstron

Stems come in a variety of lengths and ANGLES. If you need to raise the bars, look at a stem that has a reasonable rise.

arthur_scrimshaw

True

Or if you want a range of adjustment you could opt for an adjustable stem like

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=39260

cheaper version from Halfords

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_230508

arthur_scrimshaw

on reflection, might be worth seeing if you can adjust to the new riding position before spending more money. It's quite ok to have the saddle higher than the bars along as you feel comfortable, all my bikes are setup that way (including my mountain bike) but it doesn't suit everyone.

getonyourbike

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

on reflection, might be worth seeing if you can adjust to the new riding position before spending more money. It's quite ok to have the saddle higher than the bars along as you feel comfortable, all my bikes are setup that way (including my mountain bike) but it doesn't suit everyone.

mine's set up with the saddle higher than the bars too, its fine for me

timez

i might be able to have them slightly lower than the saddle but the way they are atm is crazy low lol.

i dont even know what lengh to get i might re-raise the saddle and then work out how much longer it needs to be

(also i think its the pole i need not the stem) (head pole?)
timez

p.s - i now use a high vis yellow vest for my night riding - i might possibly use it in the day too - till i can get better stuff - what do you all think of this? lol

arthur_scrimshaw

timez wrote:

i might be able to have them slightly lower than the saddle but the way they are atm is crazy low lol.

i dont even know what lengh to get i might re-raise the saddle and then work out how much longer it needs to be

(also i think its the pole i need not the stem) (head pole?)
timez

p.s - i now use a high vis yellow vest for my night riding - i might possibly use it in the day too - till i can get better stuff - what do you all think of this? lol

I don't think you can do much about the 'pole' which is normally called the steerer tube unless it's a quill arrangement. If your stem has two bolts clamping it to the steerer (as in my links above) you can't normally raise it as the steerer is part of the fork assembly. Only time you can move the stem up is if there are spacers fitted onto the steerer above the stem. You can then swap them and put them under the stem. If it's the quill type you may be able to raise it.
they look like this http://www.evanscycles.com/products/sys ... m-ec023427

Re Hi Viz Lot of debate as to if it helps being seen or not, I wear one for my daily commute but then most of my gear is black (including the bike) so every little helps. If I had brighter gear I might not bother, best to make sure you've got your lights on if you want to attract the attention of the sleepy drivers. In the morning I run both f&r on flash, in the evening rear flashing, front on steady, but a lot of my ride is unlit roads and need to see were I'm going (use a Hope 1 front light)

timez

yeah i use a lot of dark clothing too - and also my bike is a dark blue.

im sure it must help a tiny bit - all in all im looking to slowly upgrade alot of the bike and that defo includes visability stuff - i saw a bike go past me last night that had blue flashing lights instead of wheel reflectors - looked amazing! not just for visability but so had the cool factor.

i defo wanna get something like that - but are blue flashing lights on the wheels even legal?

Timez