# Reflective tape comparisons



## Squidward

I recently bought some reflective tape to use on my bikes to supplement the lighting that I use on them currently. I had bought some generic SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) tape sometime ago and, my initial impression of it was that it was just okay. After a while I actually started to like it. It has a silver finish to it and the sticky on the back of it is really tacky. It's tackier than duct tape. One thing I've found out about this tape is that the tape itself is stiff and it will unstick itself from whatever you've stuck it to if the surface is less than flat. The sticky is still stuck to the back of the tape as well as to the thing you've stuck it to but it has separated. I've tried applying it with heat with the same results. It's not a bad deal, it just needs to be applied carefully in smaller pieces.

Recently, I bought some 3M brand black reflective tape to use on a commuter bike project. I figured that this stuff would work great on my bikes because the black will disappear into the black components that I will be sticking them on to and the tape will reflect light at night. It showed up last night and here are my initial impressions of this tape along with a comparison to the SOLAS tape I already had.

I cut two three inch long pieces of reflective tape and stuck them to a five inch long PVC pipe I had laying around. Both tapes I bought were two inches wide, the 3M tape coming in 18" long strips and the SOLAS tape in a single 20' length.









Here are some closeup pictures of the two tapes. You can see that the SOLAS tape has grid markers at 1/3" increments. Nine squares gives you one square inch of reflective material. The 3M black reflective tape has no markings and actually looks like black paint with metalflake in it. You can make out some texture in the picture of the 3M tape but it was difficult to get it to show up in the picture.

































As far as reflexivity, the SOLAS tape wins hands down. As you can see in the picture, the 3M tape is reflective when the light is hitting it at a lesser angle if incidence. As the angle of the tape goes past about 45 degrees from the viewer then it fades off. With the SOLAS tape it is reflective pretty much as fas as you can see it so that even if the tape is at an extreme angle to the viewer it still reflects. Not only that but the 3M tape at the brightest part of the reflection is not very bright compared to the SOLAS tape. Pictures tell a thousand words so here are the pictures.

































The only real negative that I have found about the SOLAS tape is that it is a silver/grey color when seen in the sun and it wants to be applied to a nearly flat surface. This works fine when applied to a silver aluminum component but doesn't look all that great when applied to a black surface. Still, for the safety factor, any reflective tape would probably be better than none but I prefer the brighter SOLAS stuff except when stealth is the intent.


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## saf-t

SOLAS tape is great- I use it on my kayak and paddles for night fishing, and on my winter commuter. I've also gotten reflective automotive tape (white/silver, fluorescent yellow), which isn't quite as bright as the SOLAS when off-axis, but seems to hold better on curved surfaces.


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## Nickel II

I bought some black reflective tape a few months back at Performance and can't say I have been too impressed by it. Expensive marketing gimmick if you ask me. I can't remember the brand, but I wouldn't buy it again. It was something like $15 for about 5' x 1/2" wide. Sure it blends in with the black frame, but is useless in fulfilling its purpose.

Where did you get the SOLAS tape?


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## Squidward

I bought it, as well as the 3M tape, on eBay.


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## JCavilia

saf-t said:


> SOLAS tape is great- I use it on my kayak and paddles for night fishing, and on my winter commuter. I've also gotten reflective automotive tape (white/silver, fluorescent yellow), which isn't quite as bright as the SOLAS when off-axis, but seems to hold better on curved surfaces.


Solas is good, especially for the flexible materials it's designed for. For rigid surfaces like bike frames, this stuff works, and according to the specs it's twice as bright as solas
http://www.identi-tape.com/hi-intensity.htm
I use both in the appropriate uses. 
This seller is a great source for all this stuff, BTW.


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## Squidward

I was thinking of buying some of the high-intensity stuff to try next.

I really like putting small patches of reflective tape onto the rim of the bike in one generalized area so that, at night, you see a flash of light as the reflective tape goes around and around. Having brighter reflective tape here would work better since you'll only see a little flash of it as it goes around.


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## JCavilia

*Rim flicker*



Squidward said:


> I was thinking of buying some of the high-intensity stuff to try next.
> 
> I really like putting small patches of reflective tape onto the rim of the bike in one generalized area so that, at night, you see a flash of light as the reflective tape goes around and around. Having brighter reflective tape here would work better since you'll only see a little flash of it as it goes around.


I use the reflexite tape exactly that way on my commuter. Works great. Stays real stuck, too. But I use more than one section. If you put 8 or so pieces you get a rotating strobe effect.


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## Mr. Versatile

This is the stuff I use: http://www.identi-tape.com/hi-intensity.htm 
It's pretty amazing. I bought the white for the maximum reflectivity. Even in the daylight it's very noticeable. Another thing I like is that it's very reflective even at low angles. The adhesive backing is excellent. Mine has been on my commuter for over a year & shows no signs of coming off. I have it on my rear fender, top tube, seat tube & down tube in lengths of about a foot each. Terrific stuff. I've never seen anything better.


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## rodar y rodar

Mr V, that`s the same stuff that J Cavilia linked. How do you guys mount it to your rims? Just on the inside between nipples? It doesn`t seem like it would show up there, but maybe I`m wrong. Also, do you think that that stuff would be flexible enough to fold little patches around spokes without breaking at the bend?


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## Squidward

Between the spokes and the brake track works great. I put small 1/3" X 1" strips on one of my road bike's rims in a way that you should see three or four of them at a time regardless of the angle you are viewing me from unless you are directly in front of me or directly behind me. While riding you'll see shooting stars in front of you if you are coming up from behind me. On my commuter bike I put larger 1"X2" strips on the rims but I didn't like how it bunched up because it didn't want to stretch over the contours. In the second picture I took it direcly from the side and you can still see them.

Here's a few pictures:

































Yes, that's a small strip of reflective tape on the hub body.


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## Mr. Versatile

I don't have any on my rims. I put ~ foot long pieces on my rear fender, top tube, seat tube & down tube on both sides of the bike. I also trimmed some to fit perfectly to the contours of the rear of my helmet, and stuck 1" x 2" pieces to the heels of my shoes.


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## Squidward

The idea behind putting reflective tape on the rims, hubs, and crank arms (on the backsides) is that our eyes are attracted to movement more than fixed items in front of us. A bike moving on the side of the road looks relatively static to the driver of a car whizzing past at higher speeds. By having reflective tape on the moving parts of the bike you are creating visible movement and trying to catch the attention of car drivers even more than the fact that you are riding along on the side of the road. That's why I run both a blinkie and a fixed tail light on my commuter. The thing I tried to do was to not put too many reflective patches onto the rim in a way that the rotating rim becomes a solid reflective disk. My current strategy is to put some reflective tape in a small area on the rim and a matching patch directly opposite to it. At lower speeds you get a pulsing sensation as the patches come and go from sight. At higher speeds it'll probably blend into a solid reflecting disk.


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## bsaunder

another vote for http://www.identi-tape.com/hi-intensity.htm
that stuff works great and the colors can blend in pretty well to be unobscure until a light hits it.


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## sconway

Great article. I have some of the 1403 Solas and I agree that it is brighter than the 3m. Also, the Reflexite Solas has an incredibly strong adhesive when compared to an engineer grade. It is one of those stick once and never remove type tapes. I was told that it is a 5 mil thick adhesive versus 2.5 mils for standard tape. I am presently working on getting a 1404 Solas which is just like the 1403 but it is made to go on Zodiac inflatable boats. So it is supposed to be more pliable. I am hoping it will work on my bike as well as my rain jacket. I am told that it should work better. (for jackets) And that it is supposed to lay down better on tubes like a bike frame. I am working with the reflective store to get a small roll. If it is as good as what I have been told I will be happy.


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## Peter P.

Another source for reflective tapes is identi-tape.com.

I buy my tape from them, as well as a tape slitter, so I could make tapes in nice, straight strips. As a bonus, the tape I bought follows curves pretty well, as seen how the red stripe curves around the back of my helmet.


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