Hoping to increase driver passing distance at night, I've glued front and rear reflectors to my wing mirrors.
- Thread starter guerney
- Start date
What a total cyclepath. I guess he'll have to wait for skin to shed, or very slowly chip and file it off, or some combination of both? Reminds me, I must recycle a lot of glass jars. We saved a large patch of land from development over 20 years ago - big protest, occupation and eventual eviction. Eventually the discovery of a rare and unique fungus protected it through a EU law, and the developer had to sell it to the Council for 1p. It's nice to see the middle and upper classes protesting.
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It broke
...on a doorway. It's time for superglue + baking soda! Or I might leave it dangling on a ziptie as below. And one of the reflecors also broke off tonight while folding the bike, and while doing so distorted the side endbar mirror it was Araldited to. It's still usable, but I'll replace it sometime.The good news is that my bright flashing 1800 lumen red rear light, continues to make drivers allow me more room at night. Which is something I'm very pleased about.
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By the end of this year you'll be able to fit a compact fusion plant in the trailer to power it all.
I wouldn't put a bet on it , plenty of folks driving with very poor eye sight.Well, at least the next time someone knocks you off you will know it was deliberate.
TTFN
John.
Some are so short sighted they can't see anything pass the wing mirror.
Well some level of light must get through. Maybe I should double the lights? I've just ordered this Minoura Space Bar (size S, now out of stock because I bought the last one for £7.76. I hope it doesn't loosen and droop when it rains, like the last one I tried) to hold my cellphone older for navigation, but those could easily be used to add additional of the same front and rear lights, to be vaguely detected by almost blind drivers. There's already room for another big red flasher on the rear rack.
Out of hundreds of cars which whooshed past last night on my 28km ride, only four passed close, but none uncomfortably close - perhaps the world for those is very foggy, or maybe they're just dense? Methinks it likely they don't like my big bright flashing red rear light, but time will tell. They could just be dense.
Out of hundreds of cars which whooshed past last night on my 28km ride, only four passed close, but none uncomfortably close - perhaps the world for those is very foggy, or maybe they're just dense? Methinks it likely they don't like my big bright flashing red rear light, but time will tell. They could just be dense.
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Thanks again for the superglue + baking soda tip! It fixed my fridge freezer: door of the freezer wouldn't stay shut, because the top part of the frame within the freezer body was sticking out slightly, so the gasket on the door wouldn't sit flush against the top, because the screw-in plastic bit on the frame had broken one side, which resulted in the door being kept slightly open
My freezer is sooo old (2002) and finding that exact plastic part would have been impossible. My first attempt didn't go well at all... ended up with a couple of fingers on both hands encased with extremely hard and hard to remove superglue + baking soda... acetone was required, rather a lot to dissolve that... and then some thinking time later, I was onto the second superglue tube (2 for £1.51 from ASDA) and a successful outcome: Voila! 'Tis fixed! Bloody hell that stuff is strong, stronger than the original plastic - only needed a bit: two layers along the top, even though the rest of the broken tiny plastic bit, to screw the top strip into the fridge body, for the door gasket to rest against, had disintegrated. Set within seconds.
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They could have dissolved it with acetone... a heck of a lot of acetone, if my experience is anything to go by. And it would have taken ages...
That is a great idea!
I might make a desperate attempt and try to sneak into headquarters of local Deliveroo Kamikaze Suicidal Squad. Armed with superglue and some reflective tapes. Black faces, black bikes, dark clothes, no helmets, no lights. They really put my driving skills to ultimate test.
I might make a desperate attempt and try to sneak into headquarters of local Deliveroo Kamikaze Suicidal Squad. Armed with superglue and some reflective tapes. Black faces, black bikes, dark clothes, no helmets, no lights. They really put my driving skills to ultimate test.
Hit one and they sue you for your house? Is there a personal injury claim angle which leads them to dress like ninjas? Do these ninjas carry cameras? There are supposed to be harsher penalties now:
Causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving offence: What commercial fleet operators need to know
Causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving offence: What commercial fleet operators need to know
What is the new offence of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving? In June 2022, a new offence of causing serious injury by…
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I remember my father telling me when I was learning how to drive:
"Be careful, you kill an idiot on a road and you will be held responsible for killing a normal person"
Ironically many years later he hit a cyclist. He didn't face any consequences as there were witnesses and doctors couldn't believe alcohol level in cyclist blood. They said this guy shouldn't be alive after drinking so much. Nonetheless emotional impact of an accident was devastating.
I couldn't agree with you more. Stay visible, stay safe.
Having a conscience can be crippling.
My right Zefal Dooback II got broken (mirror therein) and the reflector holding the red LED flasher also broke off (and the flasher mount had broken off earlier in a doorway) while I was hurridly folding my bike to get into a lift. ... So I decided to buy Zefal Cyclop foldaways - perhaps I should have bought those in the first place, but they seemed too small for my eyesight - time will tell...
...after a nasty experience trying to get off a lane leading to a expressway (shortly after being passed at speed by a Police van, which allowed adequate passing space [this was only the second Police vehicle I had seen at night in a week - my lights were ignored!]) ahead of a roundabout I needed to get to, when I couldn't judge how far away the car behind me was, because the broken mirror was concave and made the car look like it was directly behind and about to run me over (luckily it wasn't and it didn't).
Of course I had to apply white and yellow reflective tape to the back of the Zefal Cyclop, showing width of the bike when illuminated from the front. My LED flasher is now dangling 80's furry dice-style from the end bar mirror - I think the dangling motion of the light might even be useful in terms of visibility.
The Zefal Cyclop were easy to fit - the trick is using diluted washing up liquid as lubrication, for easier insertion.
Sticking that reflector onto the back of the Cyclop would be very tricky, because of it's very pronounced convex curve (could be done using epoxy or hot glue, then baking soda + superglue all around between both), so I don't think I will because my bike needs to fold. I have decided that wiring lights and sticking those to the side mirrors, wouldn't work well for my folding bike. They'd just break off! That sort of thing would probably be fine on a normal bike.
My right Zefal Dooback II got broken (mirror therein) and the reflector holding the red LED flasher also broke off (and the flasher mount had broken off earlier in a doorway) while I was hurridly folding my bike to get into a lift.
... So I decided to buy Zefal Cyclop foldaways - perhaps I should have bought those in the first place, but they seemed too small for my eyesight - time will tell...
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...after a nasty experience trying to get off a lane leading to a expressway (shortly after being passed at speed by a Police van, which allowed adequate passing space [this was only the second Police vehicle I had seen at night in a week - my lights were ignored!
]) ahead of a roundabout I needed to get to, when I couldn't judge how far away the car behind me was, because the broken mirror was concave and made the car look like it was directly behind and about to run me over (luckily it wasn't and it didn't).Of course I had to apply white and yellow reflective tape to the back of the Zefal Cyclop, showing width of the bike when illuminated from the front. My LED flasher is now dangling 80's furry dice-style from the end bar mirror - I think the dangling motion of the light might even be useful in terms of visibility.
The Zefal Cyclop were easy to fit - the trick is using diluted washing up liquid as lubrication, for easier insertion.
Sticking that reflector onto the back of the Cyclop would be very tricky, because of it's very pronounced convex curve (could be done using epoxy or hot glue, then baking soda + superglue all around between both), so I don't think I will because my bike needs to fold. I have decided that wiring lights and sticking those to the side mirrors, wouldn't work well for my folding bike. They'd just break off! That sort of thing would probably be fine on a normal bike.
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That superglue + baking soda combo has saved me money again! This time a prong had broken on my Crosstour Action 4K waterproof case, and superglue by itself wouldn't have held... still needs a bit of filing away of the excess, but this will be strong enough. As usual Poundland superglue spurted upon opening - that doesn't happen with ASDA cheapo superglue, which costs twice as much, and isn't as runny..
@guerney, love the ideas.
I've read reflective tapes work best straight on. The videos and photos I've seen are with a light shining directly at the bike, the ideal situation.
But how well do the reflective tapes work at an angle, like going past a car's headlights that's stopped at a side junction? Will it reflect as you approach the junction, say 45 degrees, or when you're practically in front of the car?
I've read reflective tapes work best straight on. The videos and photos I've seen are with a light shining directly at the bike, the ideal situation.
But how well do the reflective tapes work at an angle, like going past a car's headlights that's stopped at a side junction? Will it reflect as you approach the junction, say 45 degrees, or when you're practically in front of the car?
I can't rely on the reflective tape on the back of the Zefal Cyclop, even though the back is quite curved (looks flat when illuminated from the front). Reflectors don't work terribly well at an angle; practically invisible, and after this almost caused problems a few times at junctions and roundabouts at night, when drivers only noticed me last moment - one car braked hard immediately after accelerating, almost ran me over when I appeared to suddenly manifest directly in front of his bike ("Fscking hell!!" said shouted the driver)... I decided to point a headlight backwards at myself wearing a yellow high visibility blouson, which has reflective tape. Installing two bright 1800 lumen headlights (= 3600 lumens pointing forwards) has also improved matters considerably. I must look quite unusual riding my bike at night, and must take a photo using a timer at some point to see what pedestrians are laughing at - "Better looked over than overlooked", as they say.
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I was thinking of covering the whole bike and wheels in reflective tape, the really good microprismatic type, but it sounds like it won't actually help in real life.
Wheel lights maybe, but they use button batteries. I saw one product that has fluorescent wheel rim strips with a light mounted to shine on the rims to make the strips glow.
Or wear a helmet mounted light so drivers see it when you look at them?
More practically I was thinking of taking a front light, add red film over the lens and aim it downwards to create a red pool of light at the back of the bike.
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Your ponderings sound very familiar - I ran through various similar permutations myself.
Although I've seen cyclists doing this, unfortunately it's illegal, else I'd be at that too.
"Note that, to stay on the right side of the law, the lights must also be fitted to your bike and not your helmet. The law states explicitly they should be mounted to your bike and they cannot be higher than 1,500mm from the ground in any case."
Bike light laws in the UK: what you need to know
Flashing or steady lights? How bright is too bright? We explain everything you need to know about bicycle light laws in the UK
www.bikeradar.com
That's what my rear light is, using heat-resistant red acetate sheet:
Heat Resistant Colour Transparent Stage Lighting Filter Gel Acetate Sheet Crafts | eBay
The lighting Gels are a (paper) thin sheet of polycarbonate/polyester and can be placed in front of lights to give a nice colour effect. Filter Gels are made so that they can withstand high temperatures.
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...however, it's so bright that even when pointed a little downwards, it still looks very noticeable when viewed horizontally. Two sets of Police vehicle occupants have ignored my bright rear red light at night so far while overtaking, maybe third time's the charm? Drivers avoid that pool of light it seems, so far, mostly this measure works better than anything else I've tried. So until I'm clapped in irons, thumped with telephone directories (they don't leave bruises) and accidentally fall down a flight of stairs at a Police station, I'll keep using it.
...and that's after I dimmed it down with two sheets of acetate, instead of one (using one sheet led to a bit of an orange-ish looking light, prefer a solid red for legality)
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