Reflectors aren’t usually something to get to excited about. They tend to be get taken off of new bikes after making noise, getting broken, or just being more annoying and less cool than useful. But riding at night, and especially while commuting, it does really pay to be seen. The team behind FLECTR was tired of bulky, failure-prone solutions so they came up with an almost weightless and aerodynamically invisible alternate that they claim is effectively indestructible. So now they’ve taken their Flectr reflectors to Kickstarter, and have already blown past their funding goal with a few weeks to still get in on the deal…
The Flectr reflectors are essentially just a highly reflective thermoplastic sticker that you wrap around a spoke and stick to itself. That also means that each little 20x50mm silver spoke flag weights just 0.7g, so you won’t be too afraid to stick a few on each wheel. Flectrs are available over at Kickstarter in sets that include 6 flags each, enough for two wheels in a standard installation for just 20€, or in multi-set deals to save a bit on volume.
By virtue of their stick-on nature, the Flectrs work on pretty much any spoke size shape or lacing. As they wrap directly around the spoke, they barely increase the spokes profile into the wind for minimal aerodynamic impact. Plus, since they are fixed only on one side to the spoke and remain fairly flexible, they are not really impacted much by crosswinds as they look to lean out of the way a bit. That said, they were tested in wind conditions up to 100mph/160km/h with no flapping or noise issues. Even in their Kickstarter video you can see that they don’t move much, even when hit with a pressure washer.
The Flectr reflectors are available on Kickstarter through the middle of May, with delivery slated for the start of July 2016.
