The bike. This is a mean of transportation that is on the rise right now. It is enough to see the enthusiasm that local authorities have to invest in cycle paths and "soft" traffic, even if we are far behind our European neighbors.
OPENING AND DISCOVERY:
Today, we have chosen to present a very unusual product, but which particularly caught our attention: the new reflective spray (a new reflective material)from Michelin. The concept starts with a simple observation: at night, by bike, you can be seen from the front and back thanks to your light. (which in addition to become more and more powerful with the advent of LED light). But laterally, your safety is only your two small orange strips regulatory, located on the front and rear spokes of your mount. Rather light...
Michelin had an idea, as simple as it was great: why not reflect ALL the bike frame?
This is in any case the ambition of Michelin Reflective Spray.
Presented in the form of a small 150ml spray bottle quite similar to a small spray of paint, Reflective Spray Michelin is colorless and odorless. The objective is to cover your bike with a transparent and reflective layer, without distorting the design of your bike. (here is our, before, and after painting)
HOW IT WORKS?
Composed of micro-glossy balls, the retro-reflective spray Michelin reflects the least light source when it is dark. In the middle of the night and illuminated directly by car headlights for example, the painting "light up" and reflects the light of the headlights to make your bike visible up to 50m. Perfect for enhancing the visibility and safety of the cyclist on the road!
PRACTICE AND TESTING
Michelin Reflective Spray comes in the form of a small 150ml aerosol can, which allows you to make 2 bike frames (if they are small, like ours), or a complete equipment for a cyclist in every nook and cranny (frame + helmet + equipment / accessories). The product is odorless and colorless... but its application requires some clarification. Of course, it should be applied on a clean and dry surface. Moreover, we can only advise you to protect your soil with a tarpaulin or cardboard, at the risk of seeing your surface after application shine at the least light source! (In your opinion, where did we paint our bike on this photo? Rest assured, by day, it's absolutely invisible.)
Tips for using the aerosol for bicycle:
The application is a child's play. But as with any painting, here are some tips and tricks for a better result:
Protect your soil (a lot of reflective deposit)
Thoroughly clean and dry the surface beforehand
Protect chain, derailleur, suspensions (with a simple cloth)
Shake the bomb well before use
Make sprays "controlled", dynamic, about 20cm from the surface
Do not drag a point to avoid sagging and over coating.
Leave to dry for 5 minutes on the surface and overnight to heart.
Do not use on polystyrene
If the product dries almost instantly to the touch, it still takes 24 / 48h to dry to heart, depending on the temperature and humidity level in which you mount is stored. As with any painting, think about making sprays "mastered", dynamic, not to drag on a point and avoid drips and overlays.
Our test confirms that the spray is odorless. By cons, we are more mixed on the side "colorless". Indeed, it leaves on the frame a small speckled film of slightly grayish micro beads, which may tend to gray your frame in case of thick layers. Nothing really bad or very ugly, especially for a bike to white / gray like ours, but it will be necessary to be cautious if your frame is colored, to avoid overlays or layers too thick, which tend to obscure the colors and patterns behind a gray hue, as you can see in these photos:
Once applied, reflective "paint" remains - if it is invisible at 1 meter or 2 - really very discreet if you put your nose on it in the middle of the day. It has been studied not to damage the basic color of the frame, for cons, I advise you to protect for safety the various potentially sensitive elements, such as suspension, chain and derailleur during application.
RESULT:
Needless to say, we are quite amazed by this little bomb. Up close, it's just amazing.
To give you an idea of the rendering in real conditions, we took these photos only in the light of the flash, in a dark enough advanced (20h). You can realize on these 3 shots of the reflecting power of 5m, 25m than 50m. It is clear that the frame shines just as much as the small orange reflective tapes!
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