Blinding Bicycle Hack

One recurring question I have is, "Why don't bike companies paint frames with reflective paint?" Readers might have more wisdom than I on this topic. Is it too expensive? Is it too difficult? It just seems like common sense to me. 

Until bike companies start coating frames with reflective paint, that leaves readers like Sara exploring their own creative ways to improve visibility at night.  Take it away Sara . . .

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Covered my commuterized Specialized Myka Elite Disc in cheap reflective tape from ebay.
Really effective and also makes it look like an undesirable rubbish bike!

Comments

[OriginalGabriel]

What I've always done is hit up the local City/County/State sign shops as they often have no problem giving away their scraps.

All those reflective road signs, in all their assorted colors, are cut from large sheets of reflective adhesive material ... one can closely match their bikes color with an adhesive material that is incredibly reflective.

[Ruben]

Many is the time I have thought of buying a can of reflective spray paint...

But an easier idea--go to a sign shop and buy a couple of feet of the reflective sheet. That should be cheaper than buying tape.

Then, buy a plastic shower rod cover at the hardware store. Spray a little water and dishsoap on the rod cover and apply reflective sheet. The soapy water allows the sheet to slip around to get bubbles out.

So then you should have a retroreflective plastic tube that will snap over your frame tubes. Maybe a couple little notches for cables and whatnot...

Somebody should try this and let me know how it works!!

[John Romeo Alpha]

Reflective paint, at least the kinds that are easy to get, seem to be a reflective disappointment compared to good tape or fabrics (like Illuminite). It would take a 3m engineer to explain why completely, I think, but it probably has something to do with multiple layers needed, reflectors on top of a substrate that you just can't easily get with paint. I recently saw a road striping project where they sprinkled on tiny retroreflective beads after painting to get the desired result. Tape is a lot easier and cheaper, I think.

[bergerandfries]

Want this powder coat BAD.

http://urbanvelo.org/retroreflective-bike-from-halo-coatings/

[Samuel Savard]

Awesome ideas! Ruben, I wanna try yours... I don't personally like to wear reflective clothes (yes, I always wear black, that's how I feel confortable), but I would totally have a super reflective bike! I'll let you know!

[Travis]

Both the Giant Seek and Cannondale Bad Boy have reflective paint jobs

[Psy]

I actually went to a powder coating place once to see if I could get a frame powder coated with the same reflective material that Velocity uses on their reflective wheels. It would be over $1000 per frame...in bulk. Maybe the price has come down since, but I'd venture to guess that maybe that's why it hasn't been done quite yet.

Sign scraps are the way to go. You can also buy a whole roll of sign vinyl on eBay for a couple bucks that will cover quite a bit of bike.