Just brought home my first road bike (Felt F75).

So, what do I do with the reflectors & the plastic cassette protector?

I plan on riding at night once a week around the city (San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, CA) so I know reflectors are good. But, do most of you just take them off regardless? The cassette protector has to go, right? I'm an experienced MTB'er and I like my mtb's raw, but not sure yet about the road bike.

Just brought home my first road bike (Felt F75).

So, what do I do with the reflectors & the plastic cassette protector?

I plan on riding at night once a week around the city (San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, CA) so I know reflectors are good. But, do most of you just take them off regardless? The cassette protector has to go, right? I'm an experienced MTB'er and I like my mtb's raw, but not sure yet about the road bike.

Your new bike has reflectors primarly beccause the CPSC requires all new bikes to have reflectors. If you will be riding at night, here's really no harm in leaving them on ...

BUT

Don't expect them to be very effective at allowing motorists to see you at night. To be seen, you have to have your own lights, both front and rear, and is good if the lights can be seen over a wide angle, so a motorist can see you far to their side, before you even enter the "cone" of their headlights. That's the problem with reflectors - they can only be seen when a bright light is aimed directly at them. If the motorist is turning, or if the cyclist is approaching from the side, the motorist may be able to see the cyclist at all until it is too late.

On my best road bike, I have no reflectors. I have several on my commuter, which I ride in the dark. The reflectors that are on my commuter are front & rear. I removed the ones in the spokes & trashed them. I went to Radio Shack & bought a pair of "fire fly lights." These are small, button battery powered lights that screw on to your valve stems. They're very noticable, & you can take'em off when you get to your destination.

Spend some time and get some good reflective tape to apply to your helmet and sparingly to you frame. A good reflective vest and some good lights help the drivers see what their almost hitting.