-
I thought all bikes had to have pedal reflectors?
Yes, all bikes do when used at night. I was just pointing out that it's specifically pointless for recumbents.
For upright bikes they make sense and work because the pedal has a roughly horizontal orientation throughout the pedal stroke (it doesn't need to be exactly horizontal to reflect light back, see the pics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroreflector ) so lights shining at them from somewhere behind or in front will make them look bright.
For recumbents the pedal orientation is nearly vertical. From in front the angle to the pedal is tiny, so only a very small of light will be reflected back (if any). From behind they're utterly useless, not only from the oblique angle, but the pedal is obscured by the rider's legs (or the bike/fairing).
Greenbank-
That's obvious now that I think about it, thanks for clarifying.
-
Yes, all bikes do when used at night. I was just pointing out that it's specifically pointless for recumbents.
Surely that's just because they're classified as bikes, rather than there being a specific recumbent-reflector regulation?
And recumbent riders are too, ahem, laid-back to have sought an exemption.
Drano
Scilly.Suffolk
I thought all bikes had to have pedal reflectors?