oops. clicked send before i was ready...
On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 1:17 PM, veganboyjosh@gmail.com wrote:
hey everyone in thinktank world.
we've been thinking about making some spoke cards for our youth earn-a-bike program, and it occurred to me that with the right materials, we could make them reflective. this way, we're making the bike visible, but with less of a dork factor that kids (and some adults) think come with reflectors. i asked around at many local paint shops, and about the closest they had was some glitter-y spray paint.
until friday. one of the old-timers suggested i contact our county's sign shop. the place that makes the road signs, street signs, etc. of course, many of these, like stop signs and one way signs, are made elsewhere and shipped in. but street names, custom "this road under construction until may of 2012" type signs are all done in house. which means they have cutoffs of various colors of sign material. i called and approached them from the angle of running the kids program, and wanting to make the kids bikes more visible and safe. they were super into it.
i have yet to get my hands on any, but they said they'd keep a box open for me, and when it gets close to full, they'll call and i can go pick up as much as i want. i don't know how often i'll be making the trip, but i am excited about this stuff. like i said, i have yet to hold it, but from the description i got, it's self-adhesive on one side, UBER
UBER reflective, (i think it's reflective to 500-1000 feet?) and now it's free.
i'll post more when i get over there and pick some up. my mind is spinning with ideas (strips on the inside surface of rims, pedals, spoke cards with designs cut out of them, helmets, etc etc.)
i encourage any of you who are interested to contact your city or county (or state, if they're in your city) road sign shop. if it helps keep us and our kids safer, i can't see how they'd say no.
i also welcome ideas or stories of successes with this or similar materials.
thanks!
josh. community cycles boulder, co