Reflective wheel strips.....

[Spanky's Monkey]

So is this a fashion statement or will it really improve saftey at night? I'm interested in anything that will marginally add to my safety but I'm really not into blowing money on stupid stuff.

 

[bro_paul]

So is this a fashion statement or will it really improve saftey at night? I'm interested in anything that will marginally add to my safety but I'm really not into blowing money on stupid stuff.

Mate, not trying to be a d!€k, i think it's cool your're trying to be safe and what not. But you can have all the high vis gear and shiny reflective gear in the world and you're still going to get smashed by that girl and/or guy whose more interested in whats on their phone. Or "He came out of nowhere", "I just didn't see him!", sadly it has a lot to do with how our brains work and what we as car drivers ( and most people are car drivers) are looking for when driving. And that is cars! Or objects that are shaped like cars. Our brains really like patterns. They get used to picking out solid blocks shaped like cars. Now throw in a bike shaped object in the mix and the brain will go that's not a car shaped object and ignore it. Which is why concentration is so important; now that's where the problem starts. People don't concentrate!

To be safe on the road you need to be the one who makes you safe! Ride like every car or vehicle on the road is trying to kill you. And i don't mean be scared of them, be confident that you are in control. Eagle eyes. Looking at every car, every intersection, is that car going to pull out on me? Because chances are the answer is yes. Vocalise! Ask yourself questions, out loud. Is that car going to change lanes on me? Whats he looking at? Will that kid on the sidewalk run out to get the ball.

I wear full gear every time i go out. All my gear is black and so is my bike... that's silly i her you say. But is it? I am a big black solid object which is much easier to see than something that is a whole lot of different shapes colors and sizes. Why? Because what do you call something that is a heap of different colors, shapes and sizes? Camouflage.
In a cityscape multi colored objects blend in to the surroundings. Now i'm not saying you shouldn't have the gear your have. But i am saying it is not going to be the thing that saves you (well it will if you fall off). But as for being safe on the road the only thing that will keep you safe is you. So you have to think/act/react and ride like it's your life on the line because it is and it's in your hands.

One last thing is that our eyes/brain judge distance by the change in width of a moving object not the height. And what does a bike look like to on coming traffic? Tall and skinny... which again is why people pull out and then say "he was flying", "he must had be speeding", "he wasn't there a second ago!". Well yes, yes he was and no he wasn't speeding. You weren't concentrating and your brain that likes patterns and judges distance by the increasing width of an object told you that it was safe to pull out when it wasn't. End result dead or badly injured biker.

So i say get the shiny reflective rim tape. Why? Because it looks sick as shit! And who doesn't want to look sick as shit. But please please please don't buy it because you think it will keep you safe. Because it wont, it may help... but the dumb person who likes those shiny ring looking things still going to plow over you because they were to interested in trying to work out what those shiny ring looking things are, even after they have driven right over the top of you.

Wow, that was a little bit of a rant.
Ride safe and enjoy the best thing you'll ever do. But your safety is up to you!

 

[bro_paul]

The above post was not just a reply to rim tape question. I've read a few posts from you asking about gear and safety.

 

[Spanky's Monkey]

All good bro. I love being straight up and your response was in no way offensive. I got no misconceptions about the idiots on the road. I come from a street racing background laying rubber on Chicago's roads in excess of 130mph. I'm accustomed to noticing danger and potential threats at all speeds so I already keep my head on a swivel. I know the hi viz wont bring me to everyone's attention but in a game of percentages I'll take every 10th I can as long as the gear in question covers my *** in a slide.

 

[Scott_Thomas]

So is this a fashion statement or will it really improve saftey at night? I'm interested in anything that will marginally add to my safety but I'm really not into blowing money on stupid stuff.

I put the rim stripes on my bike mainly because they were red and looked good on my raven. That said, they do reflect light VERY well. They almost look lit up when a light hits them.

 

[jgelack]

Mate, not trying to be a d!€k, i think it's cool your're trying to be safe and what not. But you can have all the high vis gear and shiny reflective gear in the world and you're still going to get smashed by that girl and/or guy whose more interested in whats on their phone. Or "He came out of nowhere", "I just didn't see him!", sadly it has a lot to do with how our brains work and what we as car drivers ( and most people are car drivers) are looking for when driving. And that is cars! Or objects that are shaped like cars. Our brains really like patterns. They get used to picking out solid blocks shaped like cars. Now throw in a bike shaped object in the mix and the brain will go that's not a car shaped object and ignore it. Which is why concentration is so important; now that's where the problem starts. People don't concentrate!

To be safe on the road you need to be the one who makes you safe! Ride like every car or vehicle on the road is trying to kill you. And i don't mean be scared of them, be confident that you are in control. Eagle eyes. Looking at every car, every intersection, is that car going to pull out on me? Because chances are the answer is yes. Vocalise! Ask yourself questions, out loud. Is that car going to change lanes on me? Whats he looking at? Will that kid on the sidewalk run out to get the ball.

I wear full gear every time i go out. All my gear is black and so is my bike... that's silly i her you say. But is it? I am a big black solid object which is much easier to see than something that is a whole lot of different shapes colors and sizes. Why? Because what do you call something that is a heap of different colors, shapes and sizes? Camouflage.
In a cityscape multi colored objects blend in to the surroundings. Now i'm not saying you shouldn't have the gear your have. But i am saying it is not going to be the thing that saves you (well it will if you fall off). But as for being safe on the road the only thing that will keep you safe is you. So you have to think/act/react and ride like it's your life on the line because it is and it's in your hands.

One last thing is that our eyes/brain judge distance by the change in width of a moving object not the height. And what does a bike look like to on coming traffic? Tall and skinny... which again is why people pull out and then say "he was flying", "he must had be speeding", "he wasn't there a second ago!". Well yes, yes he was and no he wasn't speeding. You weren't concentrating and your brain that likes patterns and judges distance by the increasing width of an object told you that it was safe to pull out when it wasn't. End result dead or badly injured biker.

So i say get the shiny reflective rim tape. Why? Because it looks sick as shit! And who doesn't want to look sick as shit. But please please please don't buy it because you think it will keep you safe. Because it wont, it may help... but the dumb person who likes those shiny ring looking things still going to plow over you because they were to interested in trying to work out what those shiny ring looking things are, even after they have driven right over the top of you.

Wow, that was a little bit of a rant.
Ride safe and enjoy the best thing you'll ever do. But your safety is up to you!

Excellent advice!