Reflectors on SPD Pedals - Idea + Project (1)

[IanW]

Hi all,

Given that it is the middle of summer and the nights are light, it seemed an ideal time to consider pedal reflectors ready for winter.

I have always considered that pedal reflectors are a nuisance, but are really quite effective at identifying you as a cycle / cyclist.

However I have been a commited SPD clipless pedal user for years.

And I am aware of the various plastic SPD inserts that allow reflectors to be fitted to SPD pedals to make them notionally compliant with various local pedal-cycle laws / regulations. But I wondered if I could come up with a cheap alternative.

Requirements:

a) Fit onto the reverse ("underside"?) side of a double-sided SPD pedal.

b) Make the pedal naturally rotate round to make the usable clip side face upwards

c) Also work on recumbent trike where the front and rear of the pedals face sky-wards and ground-wards

Hence the following daft project:

1) Take a length of scrap 15mm x 15mm box-section tubing, some yellow "diamond-grade" reflective tape and a pair of SPD cleats

2) Cut 2 pieces of the tube to be 55mm long where 55mm was the width of the reflective tape and was also the ideal length to match the width of the pedals

3) Drill one side of each tube to accept the two 5mm cleat bolts

4) Wrap tubes in reflective tape (and re-cut the bolt-holes)

5) Attach cleats to tubes

6) Attach result to one side of each pedal

Because the tube is wrapped on all four sides the "underside" faces forwards on a recumbent (when in-use of course)

Hmm, ok, should the underside have been covered in *white* reflective tape for recumbent use?
Or must the only "moving" (relative to the bicycle) reflectors on a bicycle be *yellow*?

[IanW]

Ok, I know it is probably bad form to reply to ones own post,
but this is more of a follow-up.

After fitting the afore-mentioned cheap home-brew pedal reflectors to a recumbent trike,
I wondered if the resultant forward-facing underside of the reflector should really have been white rather than yellow?
After all the underside of the pedals are actually alternately the forward-most part of the trike.

So what is to stop me fitting a slightly larger white reflector on the underside of the pedal?
In fact, since there is much less of a ground-clearance-when-cornering constraint
why is there a limit on the thickness of the attachment on the "underside" of the pedal?

So daft project number 2:

1) Take a scrap length of 15mm x 33mm box-section tubing, a pair of SPD cleats and a Cateye HL-570 "reflex" light

2) Drill and machine 2 x 67mm lengths of tubing to: a) accept the SPD cleats and b) act as an alternate mount for the lights

3) Attach lights and cleats

4) Attach to pedals

So the questions are: Am I:

a) Contravening any laws by having *moving* (relative to the cycle) forward-facing white light / white reflector?
    (not necessarily such a good idea)

b) Doing something that is likely to make me more visible and more identifyable as a cycle?
    (definitely a good idea)

c) Going to now be brave enough to use the trike for commuting this coming winter?

My excuse for these daft projects was because the garage was the least hot place to be this weekend.

--
Ian

[Andybg]

Hi Ian

I must say an excellent project. I think the reflectors would probably be a better idea than the light as you may find that the light may be distracting to you as well as possibly shining in the eyes of oncoming vehicles.

Off the top of my head I cannot think of any law this would be contravening and is probably no worse/better legal wise than wearing a headtorch while cycling.

Obviously adding extra weight to the pedals is counter productive efficiency wise and will have a much higher detrimental effect than adding the same weight to the frame but in a non racing situation I would imagine the effect will be insignificant.

 Best of luck with the project and looking forward to some updates

Andy

[jags]

Testing out my new dynmo set up last winter, i was following in the Van while my son cycled the pitch black country roads, although the front and rearlights were fantastic you could not see his feet/ legs or upper body.so obviously if you had lights on all these parts you would be on to a winner to  be seen from a good distance is the trick.
best of luck with the project it looks fantastic.

[Danneaux]

Hi Ian!

I'm a little late to the meeting 'cos I was out on tour for a couple nights.

My! What a nice job you've done, mounting the reflectors in a unique location ideally suited for your recumbent needs. I'm really impressed by your approach and workmanship and the result looks very nicely developed for both reflectors and lights (!). I'm very much looking forward to your in-use reports as the days darken and the weather turns bad once again. Recumbents often don't seem to have the same visibility in the traffic stream as uprights, so it is probably wise to pursue every avenue to conspicuity.

The only suggestion I might add is to suggest some retro-reflective prism tape on your shoes as well, though I'm not sure what angle of attack they present to forward traffic. I'm thinking some tape under the arch, just between the back of the pedal and the heel of the shoe might also pick up and reflect oncoming car headlights. I've also had good luck in years past putting reflective tape on the leading and trailing edges of the crankarms. They looked much like semaphores when struck by car headlights. I even used alternating colors -- white ahead and red behind to good effect.

Best,

Dan. (...who simply loves projects like this)