Cycling is a beautiful sport, and its popularity in many countries is increasing. A new cycle path is being added. However, there will never be so many bicycle lanes that cyclists will not encounter car drivers in normal traffic. This is why the cyclist is clearly visible to car drivers and other road users. The sooner the driver notices the cyclist, the easier it is for him to avoid or adapt to traffic conditions. Therefore, it is all about security.

Reflective materials improve the vision of the cyclist. Some of them are even mandatory for every bicycle. However, we recommend using other reflective elements in addition to the necessary equipment. Understand what are the mandatory reflective materials for bicycles and what other elements are recommended to improve safety.

Mandatory reflector equipment

Mandatory bicycle equipment includes:
 Front white mirror
 Rear red mirror
 Orange reflectors on wheel spokes
 Orange reflectors on the pedals on both sides

Reflective equipment recommended for cyclists

As mentioned earlier, being clearly visible is good for every cyclist because it greatly reduces the risk of dangerous situations on the road. Which materials are suitable for cyclists?

As a cyclist, you can turn head to toe. Let’s start with the most common reflection materials. You can stick reflective stickers (especially children) or reflective tape on the bicycle helmet, which is another essential part of every cyclist’s equipment.

We can go further and focus on your hands and feet. Here, just like pedestrian keychain reflectors, cyclists can use reflective tapes that are easy to stick on their feet and arms. We always recommend putting the strap on the side of the road, that is, the left leg and left hand, but it will not be lost on the right.
You can also conveniently place the reflective tape on selected parts of the bicycle frame.

Finally, we keep another material, which is designed directly for bicycles. You can install reflectors on your bicycle, any shape is fine. This will significantly improve side visibility. This is especially important at intersections and changing directions.

In conclusion

Finally, let us clearly show how important the reflective materials is to a cyclist after dark. The driver is driving in the dark at a prescribed speed of 90 km/h, and will drive another 70 m from the first time he notices the cyclist until he stops completely. This is about the length of a football field.

A cyclist in dark clothes without a reflective materials is only visible to the driver at a distance of 18 m, so the driver has about one second to react before the cyclist arrives. Bikers wearing red, yellow or white clothes are slightly better. Such clothes look better in the dark, but the maximum distance seen by the cyclist driver is 55 m, which is still a lot.

However, if there is a reflector on the cyclist’s car, the driver can see him from a distance of 200 m, and can easily avoid him or adjust his speed so as not to endanger the cyclist.