Added conspicuity
Today I added some reflective tapes to the panniers to increase rear conspicuity. I thought about getting one of the black reflective kits available for these panniers, but they are $30 a kit, which I think is too much.
Checking out Home Depot I found packs of red and white reflective tape pre-cut to 6 inches, and they looked perfect for the sides of the hard cases on the XT. Sure enough they seem to be at home in this installation. I put one vertical strip on each outer corner of the panniers, red on the rear, white on the front, then another horizontal stripe going through the rear of the panniers and into the inner angled surface. Now I have a lot of reflective material in the rear and some more from the front quarters. I am satisfied with the end result, it cost me less than $5 for both packs of reflective tape.
Rear view
Rear quarter view
Front quarter view (white reflective)
The reflective material from Home Depot, less than $2.50 per pack, found on the same aisle as the mail boxes.
