Bicycle Safety on the Side

You're a safe bicyclist, right? When you ride at night you've got your front and rear lights on, so motorists can see you from the front and back. But what about your sides where your lights are not directed? You ride through intersections, don't you?

Earlier this year I was at a local bike shop and noticed a few of the tires had a reflective band on the sidewalls. "That's a good idea," I thought, but wondered just how reflective it truly was. One night a few weeks later I saw a bicyclist ride through an intersection right in front of me and appreciated just how bright reflective tires really are. With the cars' powerful headlights beaming forward, I couldn't make out the cyclist too well, but what I could make out was what looked like the world's largest pair of glasses hovering across the street.

I was hooked. I needed new tires on one of my bikes, so the following day after this enlightening experience, I rolled over to the bike shop and got a set. Reflective tires are available from many companies and the ones I got from Continental generally cost the same as their non-reflective counterparts. And the best part is they don't need to be plugged in.

Next time you need new tires or are buying a new bike, it's definitely worth a look at reflective tires. You never know when you'll need 'em and it's best to have 'em if you do.

Paul DeMaio, BikeArlington

Comments

[B McLaughlin]

Have you seen samples of FotoLum? These are combination glow in the dark + reflective adhesive patches geared toward bikes. I have only become aware of the product by their website:

http://www.fotolum.com/bikesafety.html

but would like to see the product in action. Also, some years ago I saw an article in a trade journal about a material that was flat and flexible and could be sewn onto clothing or used by itself that was (low-draw) powered by batteries and glowed as if reflectorized and hit by strong lights. I've never seen reference to this again.

[mb]

On the Specialized Hardrock I ride to work daily with, I use Schwalbe Marathon Cross tires that come with 3M reflective sidewalls and they are really good. Nice and bright.

My wife's Dahon Curve foldable comes with Schwalbe Big Apples, also with reflective sidewalls.

Excellent for visibility, these things.

[ara]

The Down Low Glow is another option for side visibility. They throw a cloud of neon light on the ground up to 10 feet in all directions, according to http://www.rockthebike.com/lights/downlowglow