Visible reflective strips

[SadieKate]

Now that Bubba and I are toodling about after dark, we are fiddling with reflective bands and tape and whatnot - not lighted stuff, just reflective. So, what do you find the most visible? I think there are some real differences but I'm not sure if it is me or everyone in general. If you mark other, what color?

I've set the poll to allow only one choice, but tell us if you think something is a close second.

[Irulan]

most types of reflective stripping are rated by "candlepower" I'm not sure what this means exactly but more candlepower = more seen. When I order strips for add on, I can choose how much candle power is in the silver reflective part.

irulan

[SadieKate]

Good to know! Where would us ignoramuses find such info?

[CorsairMac]

Have you looked into anything by IllumiNITE? It's clothing that is reflective and it's the greatest thing since sliced bread! I can't really tell anything when lights hit me the material just turns a dull gray - but I've noticed there isn't this "roaring up behind me and then swerving at the last minute" thing going on anymore. One night I was riding home in the dark with my IllumiNITE gear on, plus the headlights, blinkie rearlights etc etc and a police car shone his spot on me - don't know what he saw but he turned the spot off fairly quickly after it hit me. I must've lit up like a Christmas Tree!

I wear a jacket and leg warmers in this material. I also bought a pair of overtights.

[Irulan]

gosh, I dont know! Since I'm always buying by the roll, the catalogs will usually say. I'd ask LBS guy to find out the rating from the manufacturer!

[SadieKate]

We're only looking at things like arm/leg bands and pennies. We're not riding in traffic and we've got the cold weather clothing nailed so I don't want to mess with it. I really don't like the Illuminate stuff I have because it is stiff and noisy. I'd rather just add some stragically placed strips and lights to get us through the very few areas where there are cars.

As it is I'm rather awed that the few cars we have dealt with are nicer than in the daytime. I think that since we can't see each others' faces, we're each waiting for the other to make the first move. They're almost being too nice and there we'd all sit waiting for the other to go first.

[Irulan]

I think the best color out there is that neon green stuff. But if you can get something with reflective properties in addition to color, that's the best.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Actually, the Illuminite that I have is not stiff and noisy. I wonder if it's possible that your experience with it is with an older version of the stuff.

I am not riding at night, but I do walk at night. And given that there either aren't sidewalks or they are ice-covered, I usually walk in the road. I think some of what I use may translate into cycling.

I start with an Illuminite jacket. Then I wear a reflective belt that I got from www.roadid.com. Attached to the reflective belt in the back is a flashing light I bought from TE: http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=13124. Clipped to the flont of the belt is a Firefly Supernova (flashing blue) light. And then I wear an armband on my right arm - the side facing traffic as I'm walking in the road - with another Firefly Supernova light. The belt, armband, and lights from roadid.com can be seen on this page: http://www.roadid.com/firefly.asp. (http://www.roadid.com/firefly.asp) And while the forward facing lights don't work as well for cycling as they do for walking, backwards facing lights are a good thing.

I agree with Irulan that the brightest of the colors is probably neon yellow. But having reflective stripes in addition to a bright color is a good thing.

I have seen cyclists on the road at night who were very visible, and those who were not. In my experience the cyclists who were visible had flashing lights in addition to their neon colors. I know you said you don't want to deal with lights, but I really think adding a light or two would make it easier for you to be seen.

--- Denise

[SadieKate]

Thanks, everyone. Maybe I should clarify my question. It doesn't pertain to lights, only to reflective strips which don't have a bulb. I've got tons of lights on (4 totalling about $400 worth). I have windproof clothing which is far superior to Illuminite for my purposes. I don't need to use Illuminite with where I am riding off-road.

I'm just trying to figure out what color arm/leg/body bands and tape is best, not lights or clothing. I thought that these days all reflective strips, except maybe white, are neon. We have several colors of bands/pennies which I have used over the years runninng by myself. For the first time, I am with someone and paying attention to what shows the best and am trying to gain an opinion from a wider field than me, myself and I. If you have a product you think is good, great, but I'm really focusing on the specific reflective band color that is the most visible.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Oops, sorry - I didn't mean to stray so far off track, didn't realize that you already had the lights covered.

I think that the color that is the most visible is that neon yellow/green. Of course it's quite possible that is nothing more than personal preference...

--- Denise

[SadieKate]

Thanks, Denise. I just thought from a couple of the responses that my question wasn't clear. I was very surprised New Year's Eve that the penny with blue tape that I use when running didn't show up at all. Bubba was wearing it and I could see the white mesh better than the reflective tape. A couple of things need replacing and blue will NOT be on them! I didn't want to mention it because it might have biased the poll.

Interesting how much orange stuff there is out there, but yellow/green seems to be mentioned the most, at least at this early date.

Illuminite - hmm, TE has a headband which looks intriguing but I'm not a light blue kinda gal. Wonder if it comes in other colors.

[costarica95]

I believe yellow is said to be most visible reflective color (hence all our yellow roadsigns), but I voted for silver/white. That is the color tape I put on the back of my motorcycle helmet to help increase my visibility at night. That is also the color I most commonly see in the arm and leg bands added to motorcycling suits. I also know that when I've see riders wearing these suits at night, I have really SEEN them.

Stacy

[Veronica]

Thom and I went out the other night to test our new lights and look at how well we can be seen. The yellow reflective stuff we've gotten really shows up well as does the white that is on our vests. He took some pictures, but they didn't work out very well. We really should have brought the tripod. He'll probably drag me out some other night to try again. :D

V.

[SadieKate]

Perhaps, Mr. T could do a controlled environment shoot like the bike lights. That site is one of the best I know for really getting a comparison.

[SadieKate]

I'm bumping this thread because 1) I was making more observations last night and 2) it complements Denise's recent great thread about dusk/night visibility.

Watching Bubba last night, I noticed that the white reflective tape which appears to have the reflective material sprayed on such as this stuff from 3M (http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=1982) is far more visible than the tapes (of any color) which look more like gel coating. My guess is that the 3M coating is really a bunch of little beads that catch light from all angles where the gel-type tapes require directly light from almost straight on. The reflective edges to zippers on tights and pipings on jackets seem to be very similar. The white spray-type tape just leapt out no matter what the light conditions while the gel-tapes came and went from sight.

[Bikingmomof3]

I checked other: White/Silver. Check for tape made from 3M scotchlite, it is wonderful.

[LBTC]

My commute is a 2.5km walk, completely in the dark in the winter. I cover whatever I'm wearing with my yellow goretex jacket from MEC that has the 3m Scotchlite strips all over it.

I was stopped once in my old town during my commute through a mill log yard. The guy in the truck stopped me, not to tell me I shouldn't be in there, but to tell me that my jacket was great - I lit up like a christmas tree! :D That jacket was the best birthday gift from my DH in a few years...

Happy night riding!
~T~

[HipGnosis6]

OK, for the record there are two different kinds of reflective material. There's the shiny kind and the usually-grey kind that's dull but lights up when hit the right way with light. The shiny kind (called open lens - it works just like the tiny parabolic dishes that form the reflectors on your wheels) tends to crack an be a bit stiff, but it's widely available as stickers and has a higher candle output than the other type.

The other type is glass-bead reflector. It's made of extremely small glass beads bonded onto a cloth backing. This is the ubiquitous ScotchLITE by 3M that you are all familiar with; it can be printed and is the basis for IllumiNITE as well, although instead of being glass beads, IlluminNITE is created with micropartles of mica. BEWARE - this type of reflector does not work when wet!!!!! A coating of water will stop the refraction properties of the glass beads. However, it's available as tape strip by the yard at most fabric stores and is easy to sew or glue on and is more flexible than the vinyl type. I've even bought reflectorized ripstop nylon at Seattle Fabrics. It's fun stuff.

I just found a site for a company that specializes in this stuff.... it's industrial (as in for manufacturers) but that's cool. They have reflective piping and elastic. AWESOME!!!

[jobob]

Watching Bubba last night, I noticed that the white reflective tape which appears to have the reflective material sprayed on such as this stuff from 3M (http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=1982) is far more visible than the tapes (of any color) which look more like gel coating.

I just recently bought some of that same tape from TE, but in the pinstripe version. I put some on the front & back of Pokey's crankarms, on his fenders, & wrapped some on the fender stays. Looks good when I shine a light on it in the darkened garage but I haven't had a chance to go out on a night ride this week.

hmm, comparing the pictures of the 2 packages on the TE site, maybe that's not the same material. Oh well. Still seems pretty good.

[pll]

I have been looking for some good reflective tape, too, and in another forum I found a mention to 3M's "SOLAS" (Safety Of Life At Sea) tape. It is used in jackets, lifejackets, rafts, etc. There is also a version that can sowed on clothing. I am really curious about it. Anyone has tried it?

[Pedal Wench]

I just bought two - one pink, one purple. I voted 'other' because I will wear these, and therefore be more reflective. In another color, I might not be so anxious to wear it. Vain, yes, but true.:o