Banned From Bike Shops

Old Reflectors Looked Like This One, Which Was Made in the USA

Way back when, people bought rear reflectors for bikes like the ones in the photo above. It was all that was available. It was basically made to the same SAE standard as automotive reflectors. Unfortunately, these reflectors had poorly engineered attaching hardware that caused the metal to fail as shown in the photo below. In addition, reflector technology is better than it was 40 years ago. In the normal course of events, this would have been no big deal, since better combinations would have evolved. Unfortunately, government got involved, namely the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. Instead of doing the sensible thing and requiring a rear reflector using an existing standard, they required ALL new bicycles to be equipped with their own standard which compromised rearward reflectance in favor of “all direction” reflectance. You can see discussions about reflectors here, here, and here, as well as many other places. I’m not going to repeat all that.

 

Old Reflectors Failed Like THIS

The practical effect was that every manufacturer and every bike shop stopped selling SAE reflectors in favor of the CPSC variety. I have never seen a SAE reflector at any bike shop. It’s sort of like the Snell bike helmet standard, which has been eclipsed by the inferior CPSC standard. I can’t say that I’m happy with an inferior standard legislated for cyclists when better exists, but government DOES get influenced by industry as well as the public, and we might not always endorse the outcome. Perhaps I’ll cover this in some future post or posts.

 

However, things are not all bad for those that are willing to do a little extra work. SAE reflectors are readily available at auto parts stores and RV supply stores. In Ocean Shores, people also frequently buy them to stick to posts and mailboxes. Following is the story of how I adapted better reflectors for my bike. Better reflectors than you can currently buy at almost any bike store.

First off, current SAE reflectors are not configured to make them real easy to attach to a bike rack or rear fender, much less any other bike part. Fortunately, I was able to find a “Tie Plate” that was just big enough to mount two reflectors and even had holes in it that matched the spacing I needed. The only item I needed to buy that cost over $3 for two reflectors were the tin snips I needed in order to cut the tie plate to a “good for a bike” size. Interestingly, the tie plate was located for me at Ace Hardware by a clerk that caught on after he realized I did not want to attach my reflector to a car, RV, or post. Thanks, Ace! You may not have a bike rack, but your people know their stuff.

STEP 1: Cut the tie plate in two with the tin snips.

Tie Plate is Cut into Two

STEP 2: Cut each half of the tie plate with the tin snips so that the sharp metal edges won’t extend past your reflector. A Sharpie pen helps here to mark enough of the metal to trim, while leaving a lot left for the reflector adhesive to stick to.



Tie Plate Trimmed to Suit the Reflector. Excess is at Upper Right. Fasteners are at Upper Left
Ace Hardware Part Number is on the White Tag

STEP 3: Attach the modified tie plate to your rear rack. The photo shows it attached to a Topeak Explorer rack which has two holes that conveniently EXACTLY match the holes already in the tie plate. If you have an old Pletscher rack, it’ll only have one hole, so you’ll have to make a choice between a less solid fastened installation, or reinforcing things with glue. If you have other racks, you’ll have to improvise, or not. Either way, it’ll be FAR better than either an ancient reflector or anything the CPSC would endorse.

Tie Plate Installed on Topeak Explorer Rear Rack Prior to Reflector Installation

STEP 4: Stick the reflector to the tie plate. I used nails as a guide, as in the photo, to ensure that the holes lined up before the adhesive contacted the tie plate. That ensured I’d be able to put fasteners in afterwards. See “Belt and Suspenders” post recently.

Reflector Getting Stuck to the Tie Plate - Nails Act to Line the Holes Up

STEP 5: Install the fasteners and you’re all done! A better reflector than is available in any bike shop, or from any bike manufacturer, all for about $2 in parts per reflector. This reflector is installed strongly enough that I expect it to last for decades to come.

Finished Installation on Topeak Rear Rack. Cowabunga!

NOTE: I selected a RED reflector. If you read literature, such as here, you might wonder why I picked a RED reflector, rather than an AMBER one that has double the reflectivity of a red one. Well, it is because most local laws require RED. While I typically ride in the dark with a red rear light as well as my reflector (meaning I comply with the law even if I had an amber reflector), should the light fail (not uncommon with bike lights), only a RED reflector would comply with all state and local laws. Sigh…