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Retractable horizontal 3' flag?

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Retractable horizontal 3' flag?

Old 05-20-13, 07:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Dahon.Steve
What worries me about these devices are the following.

1. What happens if it gets attached to a passing motorist?
The only one of those that I have seen used a plastic arm that would break if a car hit it -- which is better than being pushed off course.
2. What happens if it gets attached while you're trying to lane split other vehicles?
Well, don't do that. If you like to lane split, filter, and otherwise take advantage of your vehicle's size to cut in line, this sort of device isn't for you.
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Old 05-20-13, 08:15 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by FenderTL5
I'm pretty sure I saw this guy at the Bike-to-Work day gathering with the mayor last Friday.
I know thsi photo was taken in Nashville - Here's the spot: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=nashv...12,292.89,,0,0
Ah yes the good ol' Batman building
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Old 05-20-13, 08:27 AM
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In jest, I have suggested using the top of a fishing pole for this purpose. Allow it to stick out 35" and if it takes a little paint, it's the driver's fault for being to close.
I would only need it (a flag) on about a .75 stretch of my daily route. It would be cumbersome and needless for the rest of it.

Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94
Ah yes the good ol' Batman building
Yes indeed, even with tops of the building cropped out of frame on the cyclist pic, the downtown skyline with location of the stadium were obvious.
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Old 05-20-13, 08:29 AM
  #29  
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Installed the european version (40cm long) last year and after two rides a car ran into it, tearing it from it's base. The driver, a psychotic middle age woman actual stopped to check out if there was any damage to her car and yelled at me for having it in the first place!

Now when in heavy traffic, I have my home key in my left hand, which is plainly visible to all drivers and when they see it they avoid me like the plague!

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Old 05-20-13, 08:39 AM
  #30  
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Maybe we should make these flags to look like giant keys to scare the drivers.
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Old 05-20-13, 08:48 AM
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Originally Posted by FenderTL5
Yes indeed, even with tops of the building cropped out of frame on the cyclist pic, the downtown skyline with location of the stadium were obvious.
No actually I didn't notice it until you mentioned it and linked the Street View. If the original pic had the tops of the buildings I would have recognized it right away.
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Old 05-20-13, 08:53 AM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by ItsJustMe
Originally Posted by agent pombero
Awesome, I want a flag. I'd like one 4-5" vertically coming off the rear rack.
"is inches. I think you meant ' for feet.
reminds me of the stonehenge from Spinal Tap
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Old 05-20-13, 11:33 AM
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Originally Posted by noglider
Maybe we should make these flags to look like giant keys to scare the drivers.
Hey Tom, we'll share the patents, right?




Seriously, this is probably best for touring or riding in a sub-urban environment, otherwise it becomes a hassle, especially when you want to pass narrow sections of parked cars, or other cyclists.
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Old 05-20-13, 12:01 PM
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Perhaps a spiked ball out there on the end might be more effective
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Old 05-20-13, 02:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Telly
Hey Tom, we'll share the patents, right?




Seriously, this is probably best for touring or riding in a sub-urban environment, otherwise it becomes a hassle, especially when you want to pass narrow sections of parked cars, or other cyclists.
Telly, the teeth should be facing the body of the car, not the ground or the bike.

I like the spiked ball idea, too. Make it out of sponge (Nerf?) but paint it so it looks sharp and dangerous.
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Old 05-20-13, 02:08 PM
  #36  
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Police frequently do nothing about buzzing or other dangerous behavior, as no damage was done. If we have flags out like this and cars come in contact, wouldn't that mean that the driver basically did a hit-and-run, regardless of the damage involved?
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Old 05-20-13, 03:28 PM
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Wolverine's claws might be really useful..


a flag saying "bang!" [or "don't Tread On Me"]
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Old 05-20-13, 08:35 PM
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I had a cheap retractable toasting fork I got for a dollar from Target, attached a triangle to it, but, true to form for something so cheap, it soon broke. It was handy while it worked, though. I could extend it from 12" to 3', if I wanted to. Not that I would extend it so far, or it would have hit a bollard whilst entering the bike path, if I forgot to retract it. You can sort of see it to the right of my trike, in my profile pic.
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Old 05-20-13, 09:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Vlaam4ever
My experience has been most people give the lane when I take. Only when I ride on the white line has traffic buzzing by me been an issue, actually even when white striping it I get nearly 6 feet. I hate it that so many poeple have to deal with this. but bright yellow spinners and arrows do look like a distraction. it would be nice if we had a more standard level of annoyance.
Must be NICE -- the route to get to my daughter's high school (we rode it on National Bike to School Day, and last Wednesday, as well) has a relatively short section that's just ridiculous. It's a two-way, two-lane, no shoulder, and this spring, 1 trip through there out of 8, I did NOT get buzzed! Since I know the area, I know not to hug the fog line; I'm at LEAST in the right-tire track, and with my daughter, I'm almost in the oil slick. STILL get buzzed, with ONCOMING TRAFFIC APPROACHING! The oncoming traffic begins to heel to the right and slow down, and I can hear them coming, so I'm ready for a close pass -- they ALWAYS get an earful.
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Old 05-20-13, 09:59 PM
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About the "lollipop reflectors" I posted above, they have a hinge at the rack. So if you hit something, the arm just folds. When you park your bike, you normally fold the reflector, although that wasn't done in the picture.
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Old 05-21-13, 08:00 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by noglider
Telly, the teeth should be facing the body of the car, not the ground or the bike.

I like the spiked ball idea, too. Make it out of sponge (Nerf?) but paint it so it looks sharp and dangerous.

Tom, I wanted it to look nice too! But your nerf ball sponge gave me another idea which will work nicely... seriously!!!

Pool sponge tubes can be found at any sporting shop and are dirt cheap (around 1 euro for a three foot section in various colors). Just zip-tie it to the back of the rack and trim away the excess length and you have a dirt-cheap decent quality "bumper" which weights close to nothing and will never damage or inflict pain. For night use, add a cheap blinker at the end.

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Old 05-21-13, 08:29 AM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94
Perhaps a spiked ball out there on the end might be more effective
I've thought that having two different color sharpies at the end of a pole would work nicely (two colors so you don't have to worry about writing on a car with the same color it already is...)
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Old 05-21-13, 11:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Telly
Installed the european version (40cm long) last year and after two rides a car ran into it, tearing it from it's base. The driver, a psychotic middle age woman actual stopped to check out if there was any damage to her car and yelled at me for having it in the first place!

Now when in heavy traffic, I have my home key in my left hand, which is plainly visible to all drivers and when they see it they avoid me like the plague!

Interesting... despite having a 40cm bumper on your bike, a driver ran into it, destroying it. Now you've replaced it with your left arm, albeit an arm armed with a house key... have I got the salient points? Right. Do keep in touch, and let us know how this goes. I'm betting I could take your arm off at the elbow without so much as a permanent mark on my vehicle if I really wanted to. I'm betting a sizeable number of your fellow road users also know that they could maim you permanently, in a New York minute. But they don't. And won't. And not because they are afraid of an arm, or a house key for that matter.

H
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Old 05-21-13, 12:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Vlaam4ever
My experience has been most people give the lane when I take. Only when I ride on the white line has traffic buzzing by me been an issue, actually even when white striping it I get nearly 6 feet. I hate it that so many poeple have to deal with this. but bright yellow spinners and arrows do look like a distraction. it would be nice if we had a more standard level of annoyance.
Here... let me help clean this up for you... what you have experienced is that people mostly give you the lane whether you ask for it or not. That's about the way it works. People give me the lane whether I am on the white stripe or in the right hand tire track or even way over to the right side of a wide shoulder. In every 15 or 20 cars will be one who makes no effort to pull wide while passing. And it won't matter where you are in the lane they will pass you with barely enough room for you to feel safe... ... but if you are here writing about it... it was enough room. I know someone who knows someone who was riding a horse in the bike lane. Pick-up truck hit her horse in the backside with its wing mirror. The impact was so powerful the horse had to be destroyed. Horse and rider were sumersaulted completely over and she is permanently and critically disabled. She won't be writing any forum threads about nerf bumpers or house-keys held in ones left hand... how wide is a horse?? Can some of you get a grip? Please? A bicycle is one of the most efficient, versatile, transportation tools ever invented. It works very well, as is. Don't overthink things. JUST RIDE!

H
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Old 05-21-13, 12:14 PM
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Originally Posted by DX-MAN
Must be NICE -- the route to get to my daughter's high school (we rode it on National Bike to School Day, and last Wednesday, as well) has a relatively short section that's just ridiculous. It's a two-way, two-lane, no shoulder, and this spring, 1 trip through there out of 8, I did NOT get buzzed! Since I know the area, I know not to hug the fog line; I'm at LEAST in the right-tire track, and with my daughter, I'm almost in the oil slick. STILL get buzzed, with ONCOMING TRAFFIC APPROACHING! The oncoming traffic begins to heel to the right and slow down, and I can hear them coming, so I'm ready for a close pass -- they ALWAYS get an earful.
An earful? Of what? Your Airzound? Your agitated screaming? As they pull away at legal road speeds? How well do you think the lesson registered? Motorcycles know better than to ride near the oil slick. Why don't you? And with your daughter besides? I'm half of a mind to report this post. You are no example for anyone to follow. And you still get buzzed.... I wonder why? BTW, your sig is completely wrong, most people are, in fact, rather decent. Quite a number are neither especially decent or especially mean spirited. A minority are pieces of work that people would be wise to avoid.
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Old 05-21-13, 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
Tail-gunner facing backwards..
and 2 cans of belted.
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Old 05-21-13, 03:07 PM
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BTW, I bought a pair of used ski poles to use as trekking poles while on hikes. I carried them home across my rear rack, had some bright, reflective material at the ends facing the street, and rode home. I was given a lot more room while cars passed, this time around... nobody wants to run into a pair of ski poles.
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Old 05-22-13, 12:14 PM
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Originally Posted by J.C. Koto
I like the idea of a pinwheel-like device.
I have a unit that is kind of like this except mine is reflectorized and only has two blades. It is designed to mount on the seatstays. It is called the Whizzzer, I got mine on the 'bay. I have no idea how readily available they may be else where.

Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94
I wear high vis and ride farther out in the lane than right up against the edge. I also use very bright front and rear lights. I've seen videos of how effective this is from a motorist's perspective, and so I do it. Haven't tried any other methods.
Thats the way I roll. Lots of lights, high vis, lots of reflective bits, a vertical flag, and the Whizzzer mentioned above.

Originally Posted by noglider
Useful tangent: The Take-A-Look mirror is the best mirror I've used, by far. Highly recommended. I don't always use a mirror, but ...
+ at least 1

Originally Posted by fietsbob
a flag saying "don't Tread On Me"
That is my vertical flag, aka Gadsden flag. BTW, I had the flag before the Tea Party started, it is no way a reflection of my political ideals. I chose it because of the color, because it is an American flag, and because of the phrase "Don't Tread on Me".

Originally Posted by jeffpoulin
About the "lollipop reflectors" I posted above, they have a hinge at the rack. So if you hit something, the arm just folds. When you park your bike, you normally fold the reflector, although that wasn't done in the picture.
Mine folds and I put reflective tape on the arm. White toward the front, red to the rear.
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Old 05-22-13, 12:23 PM
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Referring to the original photo: So, if the rules of your locale are that bikes are allowed within the 3ft/1m of the side of the road, having a flag stick out 3ft from the bike means that you're either riding up against the curb or your flag is outside the 3ft allowance and furthermore, forcing passing cyclists to pass even that much further into the car lane.
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Old 05-22-13, 02:11 PM
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Originally Posted by jrickards
Referring to the original photo: So, if the rules of your locale are that bikes are allowed within the 3ft/1m of the side of the road, having a flag stick out 3ft from the bike means that you're either riding up against the curb or your flag is outside the 3ft allowance and furthermore, forcing passing cyclists to pass even that much further into the car lane.
huh? I've never heard of any sort of requirement for HOW close to the right a bike must be. All I've ever heard if "as far right as practicable" with many exceptions allowing you to ride farther left. In all cases a motorist is to pass with at least 3 feet between the vehicle and the cyclist. The flag is to give a physical presence to the invisible 3-foot rule.
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