Thin Wheel Reflector for Road Race Bike

thingiverse

This is a reflector for my daily workhorse (one of my trusty old Race Bikes). Safety first, I've broken the rules by attaching a reflector to race spokes - nobody does that, but these are very thin and I need extra visibility in long winter nights. The wheels are Shimano RS501 with bladed spokes. They're elliptically shaped, measuring 1.75 mm x 2.75mm, making them perfect for my needs. The front wheel has 20 radial spokes, while the rear wheel boasts 24 double-crossed spokes. Calculating the angle between each spoke is easy - it's 360°/20*2= 36°. I'm lucky that the rear spokes are almost identical, so I only needed one reflector. I used four printed reflectors and added self-adhesive reflector film pieces from my stash to make them more visible. The device snaps into place tightly, is very secure, and easy to disassemble. It's just 3.5 mm wide! The reflection area far exceeds the required 20cm². I printed it with the long thin side down using Brim in Cura, so it wouldn't topple over. No support was needed - a simple print job that came out great. I used PLA for this one, which is okay for winter conditions. PETG or ABS would be better suited for summer use.