I know about the obvious stuff like a bright vest, blinking rear light and wearing light colored clothes but is there anything else that I need for when nightfall hits?
As a commuter, a big upgrade for me was getting a peircing loud bike horn. Despite having multiple bright lights and high-vis, I still have multiple close calls a week with cars not looking before turning. Having a way to get a driver’s attention without needing to rely on them even looking at all has been a huge benefit.
Additionally, this might be a controversial opinion, but I’ve found the wearing high-vis clothing often makes the issue worse. As a general rule, I try to select high-vis clothing that makes me look more like a motorcycle than a pedestrian. For example, I wear a reflective helmet and neon gloves, but not vests or shirts. When a driver waiting to emerge sees me, I want them to think “rapidly approaching vehicle” and not “slow moving pedestrian”.
I use my bike like a car, and I live in a rural area. I regularly ride 20-30mph to fit in with traffic, so my experience may differ from yours if you ride in a slower, more urban environment.
A silver spear to protect from werewolves and other supernatural predators.
Make sure you have enough battery capacity to power your lights until your destination or use a dynamo and have a headtorch with you for backup. Your lights failing in the middle of nowhere on a cloudy night is no fun!
Go big on reflective clothing. Rather than having small reflective patches on your clothes or bike, you can get jackets where the whole garment is made of reflective fabric. When a car’s headlights hit you that jacket will light up like the sun.
Ortlieb’s high-vis panniers are similar.
My suggestions, in no particular order:
- Front and rear lights, obviously. You can get lights that offer side visibility and get a front light with a cut off lens so you aren’t blinding oncoming peoole.
- You can get vests or jackets that are basically one big reflector. The brand proviz makes a ton of options, but you can find them cheaper. I had one from a brand off Amazon and had peoole come up to me to ask about it because it was so visible.
- Ankle reflective bands are one of the best types of reflectors you can get.
- Tires with reflective sidewalls are awesome.
- If riding during dusk or dawn, wear high viz with reflective elements. High viz colours alone aren’t very visible in the dark or by vehicle headlights at night.
- Ride in well lit areas, if possible.
- Ride slower than you would during the day.
