OT? bicycle tires

[micky]

OT? bicycle tires

1) I thought, starrting about 1978, that bicycle tires had to have a reflective strip on each side, so the tires would show up in headlights. I've seen tires for sale without that. ???

2) Bike tires could be twisted into three rings, easier to carry than one big ring but still pretty bulky. Now Bell and maybe others sell tires where the tire is rolled up, and from left to right, including both beads, the tire is flat. These are sold in boxes where the front of the box is cut out and one can see the surface well and touch it.

Now isn't the middle of the tire longer than either bead? Does it stretch when it's rolled up? What about the side wall? Does the middle get shorter?

[micky]

For example

' This 26" tire can be used as a spare tire, because it folds and unfolds with ease.

Bell Sports 26" Road Tire:

Carbon-steel bead DuPont layer Does not fit comfort, cruiser or mountain bike'

[Frank]

Used to cycle back then but never heard of such a rule. I don't know about this tire but I recommend tires with Kevlar because of their cut resistance.

[Ashton Crusher]

I don't think it was the tires that needed a reflector, I think the rule required that the "wheel" have a reflector. Mine have them attached to the spokes.

[Nate Nagel]

I believe it may be required in Europe but not in the US. I assume not Japan either as the tires that I've seen with the reflective sidewalls are all European (Michelin, Schwalbe, etc.) but Panasonic tires don't have them...

You'd probably get a more exact answer asking somewhere like rec.bicycles.tech (or A. Muzi may be reading this group?)

nate

[micky]

Yes, the wheels needed a reflector, and I added them to this bike, built from junk parts 38 years ago. Red in front and white in back, iirc (My bike is upstairs, but I'm too lazy to go look)

But I had a pair of tires that also had a reflective strip, ring, circle, about 1/4 or 3/8 inch across, on the sidewall. And I remember seeing a commercial, or maybe a public service announcement, on tv that showed a bike from the car driver's pov, and the two reflective circles were very noticeable, and were enough to make it seem like a bicycle.

Now, when I needed another tire, I thought every tire would have them. Not that I plan to ride at night, but I've been starting about dawn when it's not hot out, and I can imagine waking up earlier and having nothing to do but ride.

I think they sell Michelin bike tires here, in the US. I'll look.

Thanks. I'll check with them. I didnt' get that far alphabetically before.

[Nate Nagel]

yeah you are required to have reflectors on a new bike sold in the US - usually white front red rear.

I and most cyclists hate them (they always rattle and look goofy, and there's a pic floating around somewhere of a reflector stuffed into the chainstay of a 'spensive new carbon fiber frame, apparently that happened when a reflector came loose on a test ride!) so the reflective stripe tires really are an excellent idea.

Another idea which I did on one of my bikes is if you have deep section rims you could put little patches of 3M reflective tape on the side of the rim (but obviously you cannot do that if the entire side of the rim is the braking surface.) That still looks a little Fredly but better than the plastic reflectors, and if being a Fred keeps me from getting hit by a car, so be it.

nate

[chaniarts]

[micky]

The picture here agrees with what Nate said, white front and red rear.

But that's not the way I remember the rules, and it makes more sense the other way.

If the bike is to your right, say, but headed into your path (in a car) , you really should stop, and that's why the front tire should have the red reflector. OTOH, if the bike is in front of your car already and headed, to your left, out of the path of the car, you may only have to slow down, because in a couple seconds the bike won't be in your way. So the rear wheel doesn't need a red reflector. It can be white or something.

To prove my point I went to google images of "bicycle" and most by far have NO wheel reflectors, and most of the rest have two that are the same color!!!! (white, orange, or red) I went to kmart.com and walmart.com and their pictures of bicycles have no wheel reflectors either. So now I''ll hve to go to a store that sells bikes.

[Wes Groleau]

There's no such thing as "the rule." Now if you were to say, "The rule in (place) ..."