BIKE: More on reflectivors/ives

[Librik or Babich]

elizabeth gray wrote:

> Great information; thanks for starting the thread.  But I'm a little lost:
> so the "jewelled" reflectors aren't so great--you mean the  attachments with
> red plastic faceted cover, and maybe a battery-operated blinker behind the
> cover.

What I call jewel reflectors are the plastic thingies that come standard on all
bikes, in red or white, and sometimes in orange. They are fine, and they reflect
a lot of light, but only at one point, since they are small. There are a few LED
lights, such at the Planet Bike BRT-3, which have a jewel reflector inside the
light, behind the LED lamps.

> You say reflective cloth is better, but acknowledge that there isn't a lot
> of space on a bike to PUT cloth.

Unless you, the vehicle operator, take steps to supply the mounting space.

It is my opinion, and I may draw some criticism for this, that while bikes are
technically usable in traffic they rarely, if ever, leave the shop floor
properly equipped to do so. Stock bikes are designed for racing (road bikes and
most recumbents), pedestrian trails (MTBs, cruisers, and some recumbents), or
stunt riding (BMX), and are not equipped for actual needs of traffic riding.
People use them for such, but they operate at significant disadvantages in
traffic. Since that is all most cyclists ever use, they have no clear sense of
just how much they sacrifice and are a little baffled when I talk about the
inherent shortcomings of bikes in traffic. Visibility problems, difficulty in
making sustained signals, and difficulty in stopping and starting are simply
accepted by the cyclist as normal parts of bicycling, when they are in fact just
results of unremedied deficiencies in the bike.

> Well, what about lime-green-colored vests with reflective tape on them--like
> the constructin workers use?  (I have been using an orange one when I
> commute, but I think the green ones are more visible, so I am looking for a
> new one. )  Isn't that a good compromise?

In my opinion one should get everything one can. I do not see how compromise
comes in, as there is no benefit at all to not having some safety or visibility
gear (outside of the short-term problem of paying for it, and the fairly
unimportant problems of the weight or aerodynamic drag of it). Heat retention is
a problem with extra clothing, but at least we getting in to the cooler time of
year. As noted before, the effect of vests may depend on the rider's posture.
Vests sits the reflectives up high, but they will still catch some light to
throw back. Why not take your old orange vest, cut it up, and install it on
one's saddlebags?

The critical consideration for the long run is that if ever one encounters a
situation where a motorist either did not see the cyclist, or did not see the
cyclist soon enough to suitably restrain their driving, then the cyclist needs
to take responsibility for gearing up to insure that this does not happen.



--
Mike Librik, LCI #929
Easy Street Recumbents
512-453-0438
45th and Red River St., thereabouts
Central Austin
info
www.easystreetrecumbents.com
www.urbancycling.com

"Is it about a bicycle?"