Just opened my new DMR flats and it states on the box ''Warning...for daylight use only'
Am I missing something here?
If so, what pedals would anyone recommend for darkness hours?
The world's gone mad.
Is it because they have no reflectors on them? (serious answer)
IHN has it i suspect.
Don't feed them after midnight.
Yes it's exactly that. Same reason a new bike should either come with a bell/reflectors, or a notice that it is for sport use only and isn't legal on the road.
To quote from elsewhere;
The current UK legislation on bike lights. According to the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations (RVLR), it's illegal to cycle on a public road after dark without lights and reflectors. ... It MUST also be fitted with a red rear reflector (and amber pedal reflectors, if manufactured after 1/10/85)
Health and safety has gone bonkers if they have to print that disclaimer on the box.
I suppose a lawyer in America told them they might get sued if they don't?
Mind you, in America he's probably right.
The irony is that 99% of sport road bikes are fitted with clipless pedals and none of them have any sort of pedal reflector...
An exercise in arse covering I think. Some Muppet will try and sue if they don't say that.
The irony is that 99% of sport road bikes are fitted with clipless pedals and none of them have any sort of pedal reflector…
Bikes with SPDs come with some of these in the box to make them legal, whether the bike shop remembers to fit them when building them is another matter.
I think there's a caveat in the law that allows for bikes built or modified for racing don't need reflectors.
Health and safety has gone bonkers if they have to print that disclaimer on the box.
I suppose a lawyer in America told them they might get sued if they don’t?
Mind you, in America he’s probably right.
Its not that they would get sued, you would get a fixed penalty from the police if they ever enforced it, same as riding without lights although that gets enforced more often. A lot of full bikes have similar disclaimers.
An arse covering note in the box has got to be preferable to producing more plastic junk that no one will ever use though
Bikes with SPDs come with some of these in the box to make them legal, whether the bike shop remembers to fit them when building them is another matter.
I don't think road pedals have any sort of equivalent - obviously, they don't have the second set of clips underneath, but I'm sure I've never seen any sort of reflector capability on even cheap ones. Obviously, like anyone else, the first thing I would do is to remove them anyway, but it does seem that there's a bit of a gap between the law and reality here....
The irony is that 99% of sport road bikes are fitted with clipless pedals and none of them have any sort of pedal reflector…
The majority of road bikes don't even come with pedals, once you get over a certain price point
Really? I'm desperate to find a solution to fitting pedal reflectors to my Time ATACs (for road use).
pedal reflectors make a massive visibility difference from a drivers point of view. I see them as more important than the red-rear reflector, in reflector terms..
I don’t think road pedals have any sort of equivalent
Look delta pedals used to have a little screw on reflector that mounted into the ends of the lock plate pivot, they used to last about 4 minutes before getting smashed off. Only provided as part of a complete bike, with pedals.
The majority of road bikes don’t even come with pedals, once you get over a certain price point
That used to be a loop hole to say that they weren't providing a "complete bike". You then didn't need to fit reflectors or chain guards etc (that were all part of the standard). IIRC the loop hole was closed 10 or so years back. Now they don't provide pedals, as you never know what sort of pedal system the customer uses.
I have a feeling that to stay legal at night then reflective materials on the back of your shoe can be used instead of pedal reflectors.
I say I have a feeling, becuase my brain may have just made it up!
But, having something reflective in the pedal/foot areas makes a massive difference to visibility as it is effectively moving up and down and much more likely to stand out from other more static light sources and reflections.
They're not fashionable, but I wear reflective ankle straps when cycling at night.. A lot of shoes and overshoes have reflective tabs, but the ankle straps provide better coverage.
If you're going to ride your bicycle in the dark then four pedal reflectors are required; coloured amber, marked BS6102/2 (or equivalent), and positioned so that one is plainly visible to the front and another to the rear of each pedal.
As mentioned earlier, most many modern pedals, such as clipless systems won't allow you to fix pedal reflectors to them so, technically, they should not be used in the dark. If in doubt, then reflective ankle bands are a suitable (though please note not a legal!) substitute.
from https://www.cyclinguk.org/cyclists-library/regulations/lighting-regulations
On a similar note I think I'll be using some provis reflective overshoes for commuting next winter.
Health and safety has gone bonkers if they have to print that disclaimer on the box.
TBH I'd say it's the opposite a "Bonkers" approach would be to sell the pedals with reflectors pre-installed just for legal compliance, knowing full well that 99% of your customers will remove them, a polite little note on the box makes it clear for everyone, saves the cost/environmental impact of thousands of reflectors going to landfill and (I assume) covers any duty of care the manufacturer has in relation to informing the users about the 'legal use' of their product....
They’re not fashionable, but I wear reflective ankle straps when cycling at night.. A lot of shoes and overshoes have reflective tabs, but the ankle straps provide better coverage.
I've stuck ECE104 reflective tape on both pedals and the heels of shoes in the past in an effort to be in compliance with the spirit, if not the letter, of the law...
I think a lot of people in this thread(Especially early posters) are completely missing the point.
The law says we must use them on road after dark. Manufacturers have regulations they are supposed to comply with; but they get around them in various underhand ways.
Which leaves motorists with a huge get out of jail free card if they do plough into a cyclist as they can easily prove contributory negligence or that the cyclist was breaking the law.
Let's be clear on this. It's the cyclist that will lose out here.
on a similar note some brake pads I received yesterday came with a full A4 sheet of Legal disclaimer and "customer information"....for example one gem piece of info " if the road is wet it will be slippery and you may fall"......what a laugh!
ach it's like Daylight MOTs, UK Road traffic law allows you to operate a vehicle in daylight in a different condition of roadworthiness from at nighttime.
The German StVZO however appears to be stricter as you need lights and reflectors at all times
My Focus came with a sticker saying:
Something along the lines of
Your bike may not be road legal in your country, please check before use
And the German text said "This bike does not comply with StVZO do not use on the Road", but that's basically because it was sold without all the lights and reflectors required to make it compliant.
Shimano spd-sl (road) pedals come with reflectors, they're T shaped when viewed from the side and you insert them through the bottom of the pedal.
Time MTB pedals used to come with a plastic cage that fitted the axle, didn't last long though.
Its irritating though as shimano's 'touring' pedals with reflectors cost a lot more that bog standard 520's and come with the crap multi release clips.
I guess the reason DMR etc have the warning is because the fashion now is for thin pedals, back when everyone used welgo mags they were still drilled to take reflectors despite being relatively high end pedals.
I saw the same on my box of Vaults a while back and likewise made a WTF post somewhere. The replies were much the same 😀
Probably less about advising the customer but more about preventing Evans/Halfords type shops selling bikes fitted with pedals that don't have reflectors. Anyone actually selling for MTB use will hand over without the pedals fitted, or the bike you are technically buying comes without pedals and then they'll fit them as an additional service.
Last bike I bought came with plastic pedals with clips, straps and reflectors. Would have been very wasteful if I hadn't needed some spares for one of the kids' bikes.
I've got some cheap Wellgo V8 copies on my road bike and they have reflectors.
I'm with the person who said how good they are for visibility to other road users here. I would happily have a slightly thicker pedal on the MTB or roadie to accommodate where I would be likely to be riding in the dark anywhere.
Wheel reflectors are also good but I won't put on the MTB or roadie as they don't seem to stay put on either and end up rattling around/falling off. A reflective rim would be good though...
I bought some dmr v8 pedals last year, just checked the box and it has the same daytime/competition/off road use only warning.
Mentioned it to the wife, and she instantly said ‘is it because there’s no reflectors’?
so, clearly a case of great minds think alike.