M-Wave Bike Spoke Reflector with 2 LEDs

Comments about M-Wave Bike Spoke Reflector with 2 LEDs:

I bought two sets of these for my kids. None of the four worked. I imagine with some tinkering they will work. They came with batteries in them. My expectations were that I would open the package, put them on the bike and they would work. If your time is worth anything, spend a little more on something better

Comments about M-Wave Bike Spoke Reflector with 2 LEDs:

We were looking for something like this for it's active and passive design; it works as a reflector when the batteries have failed. Saw these same reflectors listed else where for a much higher price (20$+). We ended up buying 3 sets for a total of 6 reflectors. Although listed as "m-wave" these came on a black piece of card stock labeled "Ventura" with bare bones instructions on German and English wrapped in a simple, plastic bag.
I opened up and tested my 6 reflectors. only two of them worked 100% as expected. Two of the reflectors required the battery holders to be flexed inwards to operate properly (bend back or remove the little tab that holds in the battery, slide the battery out, push in, then replace battery to repeat this procedure). With the final two requiring solder for the battery terminal and led. clearly there was little QC coming out the factory these came from.
Before install, I decided to weigh and compare these to my old reflectors. Despite the weight of the batteries, these came in at 33 grams each; exactly half the weight of my passive reflectors they replaced!!! It must be due to the tiny screw sizes, and oh man they are tiny, AND EASY TO LOOSE! Especially the little nuts the you try to push the screws into. I put 3 reflectors on my front wheel, and 1 on the rear. The three reflectors are to optimize car visibility at night.
There are several draw backs that I must also mention. Because these reflectors use little pedometer switches to activate the lights, they make a clacking noise which may be annoying, but has the advantage of alerting pedestrians at mild speeds. The clacking noise does go away at high speeds, though, but at the cost of the lights turning off (due to centrifugal loads). It SHOULDN'T matter, though, because reflectors lights are meant to let motorists see you at crossways (where you should be slow or not moving, anyways). These lights also flash during the day; as there is no light sensor, but since they're led's the reduced battery life is expected nominal. the final gripe is they don't mount centered to the wheel, meaning they can throw of your wheel's balance if you're runing a high speed road bike. Fortunately, I'm not, so I could care less.
With all that said, I still like these reflectors. The look cool, they're light weight, and the cost was unbeatable! I'd have given them 2 stars,though, if I couldn't solder. You've been warned.