Riding through the woods last night I spotted a walker in front so slowed right down and waited for him to let me pass. I rode past slowly but my brakes we howling due to the mud and rain so as I passed him I said thanks and sorry about the noisy brakes. About 10 meters later he shouted something to me that I didn't understand so I stopped and asked him what he said. He said do you know you are riding an illegal bike.
I replied I didn't. He said according to the highway code I should Have reflectors on my pedals (which I knew). I replied that I'm not on a road I'm in the woods to which he replied that I must have to ride on the road to get home. I replied that I have my car in the car park so I wouldn't be riding on the road. He started to get angry so I politely said goodbye. He carried on shouting abuse until I was out of site.
Have these people got nothing better to do?
It was tipping it down with rain, the paths were inches deep with mud and wasn't far off being fully dark.
Come to think of it haven't I got anything better to do!
"Angry man gets angry shocka"
😉
Him: You should have reflectors on your pedals!
You: I know, silly isn't it?
[ride on]
😉
Technically he's correct. But I'd have still told him to go **** himself 🙂
None of my bikes have reflectors on and I wouldn't have them on if it were an option on the pedals.
So that's why they find the dead bodies in the woods, it's the pedal reflector argumentatists.
Interesting read, well it's a read, interesting is probably overselling it.
http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/regulations/lighting-regulations
As the point of that highway code rule is to make you more visible to vehicles, there is little point in having reflectors for off road.
As most MTB pedals (well the ones that most people use, at least) can't really be fitted with reflectors, riding an MTB on the road poses a problem.
When I commute to work (on the odd occasion), I use [url= http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_733069_langId_-1_categoryId_228860 ]Slap Wraps[/url] round my ankles which, In my opinion, fulfill the purpose of pedal reflectors.
Just a suggestion, for those who were worried about the situation.
Tell him you will fit them when he starts wearing headlamps to illuminate them.
I have wellgo mg1s on my hardtail because they have reflectors as I do ride it on the road between woods a lot often at night .
V8s on boinger as on it I don't.
The manufacturers of my spd shoes thought to build reflective material into the design of my shoes do this is never an issue. As the manufacturer doesn't only supply me, others must have benefited form this thoughtful additon also?
I thought it was only actually enforcable if the bike was sold new as a full bike if you get my meaning - i.e. if you built up out of parts it wouldn't be covered under the legislation linked with point of sale. Am I dreaming?
Next time I bump into him Ill lie to him and tell him the bike was built before 1985 and doesn't require reflectors.
So what do the SPD roadies do at dusk?
eddie11 - Member
The manufacturers of my spd shoes thought to build reflective material into the design of my shoes do this is never an issue. As the manufacturer doesn't only supply me, others must have benefited form this thoughtful additon also?
I'll bet the reflective material isnt amber or BSI marked.
me tooWhen I commute to work (on the odd occasion), I use Slap Wraps round my ankles
unfortunately this probably won't stop pedal reflector argumentatists or a driver's defence lawyer giving you a verbal doing over on the technicalities of it all.which, In my opinion, fulfill the purpose of pedal reflectors.
(IME most are silver or dayglo green, not the prescribed amber - ruling out shiny shoe reflectors too)
I believe the 100% legal ones use [url=So what do the SPD roadies do at dusk?
]this[/url] lovely robust looking thing
So what do the SPD roadies do at dusk?
Shimano do reflectors for road SPDs, the ones I have (SM PD 58) [url= http://bike.shimano.com/media/techdocs/content/cycle/SI/Pedals/SM-PD58/SI-PD58F-003-ENG_v1_m56577569830706616.pdf ]bolt through the pedal[/url] and are quite neat and tidy, relatively speaking. I fitted them along with a red rear reflector as insurance against a contributory negligence finding in the event that some stupid bastard runs me over.
Ooh I like the look of those reflectors, mintimperial!
It's often bothered me slightly that I don't have them on my roadie, given how effective they are.
Hmm. Been thinking of foam wrapped in reflective tape stuffed in the gaps in my Ultra Mags and DV8s but the colour and kite mark requirements have me somewhat stymied.
I had the ones D0NK and mintimperial linked to. They stayed on for about four weeks, then I ripped one off pedalling out of a corner 😛
£2 on Amazon. Worth a try 🙂
The ones I linked to are different from D0NK's, they're a bit lower in profile and sit behind the axle rather than right underneath it. I've never clipped them in a corner...
Yeah I just did a google image for spd reflectors, that pic was the first likely candidate, those shimano ones look a [i]little[/i] better. I just know they were mentioned last time this came up, as were [url= 
]these[/url] "MTB" ones, tho I think someone said they weren't sold in the UK
So when cars,truck,buses etc still manage to hit people when their wearing Hi-viz clothing,front and rear lights and other reflective bits on clothing,shoes,helmets I hardly think a pedal reflector is going to help.
Seems like another antiquated law/regulation that needs looking at.
The slapwraps are a much better idea as they at least give full 360 degree of coverage and a larger surface area to reflect from, compared to pedal reflectors.
Interesting that the guy in the woods picked the OP up about pedal reflectors. I'd be surprised if many non-cyclists knew that a BSI amber reflector was a legal requirement after dark.
It may be on the road...but what about on a bridleway?
"I did know that, and I take on board your concerns. However equally and conversely, you can bllocks mate"
I regularly see people at night riding a BSO , with no reflective clothing, lights or snap wraps.
With only pedal reflector if they have not fallen off to help them stand out.
I think if you are hi viz'd to the max without pedal reflectors I don't think the police would be bothered .
But for people who take no steps towards being seen then the law has to be good .
I stuck them on my bike in a "every little helps" kind of way - no, they're not huge, but they might help draw the eye a bit more.
The ones I ripped off were MintImperials - they're fairly low profile, but do remove a good 1cm or so from the pedal ground clearance. Still, they're mostly plastic so if you do catch them you'll probably get away without coming off!
How visible are they from the rear, given that half your foot is behind the pedal and presumably obscures the reflectors?
Er, no, I don't have any fitted.
I hardly think a pedal reflector is going to help
They are pretty good actually, speaking as a driver. They are a dead giveaway for cyclist, even when a red light is not.
Interesting that the guy in the woods picked the OP up about pedal reflectors. I'd be surprised if many non-cyclists knew that a BSI amber reflector was a legal requirement after dark.
You're assuming the guy in the woods wasn't a cyclist. Some cyclists also go on walks 🙂
He was clearly not a cyclist as he was a grumpy git .
Everyone knows you don't get grumpy cyclists. 😀
How visible are they from the rear, given that half your foot is behind the pedal and presumably obscures the reflectors?
I don't really give a toss about how visible they are. I have a selection of massive lights, reflective bits on my clothing, high-viz and whatnot to deal with that. I fitted legal reflectors so that, in the event that some tit does run me over and kill me, there's less chance of the useless bastards that comprise our so-called justice system making a finding of contributory negligence and thereby reducing either the sentence for the driver or the payout from the insurance.
This is the same reason why you should always wear a helmet: a foam hat ain't going to stop some shitbag in a 40 ton truck from killing you, but if it does happen at least your family will hopefully get as much cash as possible to keep food on the table after you've gone.
Reflectors in the woods at night?
So where's the light coming from that they are supposed to be reflecting?
I rather thought he was inferring mr mcgrumpy was a cyclist.You're assuming the guy in the woods wasn't a cyclist.
A pretty good somethingion mintimperialI don't really give a toss about how visible they are. I have...
I don't really give a toss about how visible they are. I have a selection of massive lights, reflective bits on my clothing, high-viz and whatnot to deal with that. I fitted legal reflectors so that, in the event that some tit does run me over and kill me, there's less chance of the useless bastards that comprise our so-called justice system making a finding of contributory negligence and thereby reducing either the sentence for the driver or the payout from the insurance.
I have reflectors because I like to stay the right side of the law and are not juvenile enough to consider them a slight on my street credibility, but.
If you were lit up like an xmas tree surely no court could entertain a claim such as you mention above.
Although as far as insurance companies are concerned I would believe them using any technicality to wriggle out of parting with cash.
you would hope so yes but if judges can claim not using a helmet (not legally required) can contribute to their death I'm sure some pedantic sod will say "yes you were lit up like a christmas tree but it wasn't a british kite marked christmas tree, your own fault"If you were lit up like an xmas tree surely no court could entertain a claim such as you mention above
Those who use reflectors because of a possible future insurance claim;
Have you got a BS kite mark or equivalent EU standard on your lights?
I asked about this before, because as far as I know, none of the modern bright LED lights that we all use have been approved.
I think it was only some obscure German light that I'd never heard of before that had an EU marking on it.
I think Halfords sell one (rubbish) light with the kite mark. If you wanted to be legally covered you could have one crap/approved light and then run a decent/non-approved one alongside it.
Or use one of the German lights. Their standards are higher than ours so a German approved light is legal here .
Anti-bike grumpwalkers know everything that we should/shouldn't do, they compare notes and legal reports while walking in groups of 20 filling the width of any bridleway they can find. It's why they 'don't hear' your bell/hellos or move for anyone until they really have to and then have a chance to share their useful facts as you pass. : )I'd be surprised if many non-cyclists knew that a BSI amber reflector was a legal requirement after dark.
+1 for slap-wrap ankle reflectors. I have one round my seatpost that I use on my right ankle on longer night rides on road. My winter/audax-ish/night-riding road bike is pretty well lit/reflective taped anyway so pedal reflectors wouldn't add much apart from the movement, ankle-wraps do that well enough.
The regs basically say that any light with an EU rating equivalent to BS is fine, there's something on the CTC site that sums it all up. My commuter has lights to DIN (German) standard so that's fine.
There's an upper limit to the brightness of lights allowed on bikes on the road that some of the more powerful LED systems might exceed. Doesn't help that there are different ways of measuring light intensity/output.
The law (as is so often the case) hasn't kept up with the technology plus manufacturers aren't going to submit lights for tests to multiple standards agencies. A lot of consumer electronics carries CE marks but I've no idea if there's anything similar for things like bike lights either in existence or planned.
You should have kicked him in the nuts then said you hadn't seen him as he had no reflectors on.
I think this light set looks good for the standards, although the wording might mean that only the front light is covered:
If they made commuting light sets that only flashed then it wouldn't be a problem as you could just use them - I think Boris bikes only have flashers.
"yes mate I do know it's a legal requirement but as I'm facing a charge of GBH at the moment I'm hardly going to worry about going down for no reflector pedals"
when I started night riding IIRC you could use a kite marked everready nightrider or similar which weighed a tonne with their D batteries, ran out of juice after 1 or 2 good rides (apparently audax riders needed to take spares for a single event) were pathetically underpowered and often ejected from their bracketsHave you got a BS kite mark or equivalent EU standard on your lights?
or you could get an LED flasher that weighed less than a mars bar lasted 200hours of riding and could be seen from space, but wasn't legal.
I'll take visible over (badly done) legit any day, but both would be nice.
What involves getting kite mark or similar? do the manufacturers have to pay a wedge or do they just submit sample for testing?
He said according to the highway code I should Have reflectors on my pedals (which I knew).
I assume he was wearing suitable high-viz?
[url= https://www.gov.uk/rules-pedestrians-1-to-35/general-guidance-1-to-6 ]Highway Code: Rules for pedestrians, Rule 3[/url]Help other road users to see you. Wear or carry something light-coloured, bright or fluorescent in poor daylight conditions. When it is dark, use reflective materials (e.g. armbands, sashes, waistcoats, jackets, footwear), which can be seen by drivers using headlights up to three times as far away as non-reflective materials.
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That highway code part for pedestrians is genius. I hope I bump into him again.
You bumped into him? 😯 Obviously he needs that Hi Viz
DONK:
It's both - they have to submit a set of samples and pay a wodge of cash. Remember this is per model and if they update the model then unless they can convince the standards authority that the change doesn't affect the rating then they have to go through the certification again.
Depending on what is being tested, possibly the number of regulations and laws relating to that device, then you could be looking at several thousand pounds per test/certification. I know some consumer electronics devices cost upwards of €50K and take 3 months to get certified but I'm pretty certain a bicycle light won't be at that sort of level.