findude

You know, the triangular flag on a pole attached to your recumbent?

The first thing people say after seeing me with my recumbent is how cool it is. The second is that, with it being so low and all, I will surely get one of those flags, right?

rydabent

Actually I fly two flags on my trike.

groth

BlazingPedals

Whenever anybody implies I'm hard to see because I'm so low, I ask them if they can see lane lines. Heck, most of them can even see squirrels darting out into the road, and they're a lot lower than me - and more unexpected.

rydabent

blazing +1

NOBODY runs over a dead skunk on the road, and it is a lot lower than I am on my trike.

Philphine

i got one for my project recumbent once i got it to the test ride stage, and recently i've started getting color matched ones for my stretch cruisers. hopefully practical, but as much a style thing as anything else.

Retro Grouch 

You only have 2 choices and neither fits me.

Grishnak

It keeps the peace with her indoors

Retro Grouch 

Yeah, but what do you suppose caused the skunk to die?

delcrossv

Mine? No, but the kids have them for their Sunsets and trikes.

Shahmatt

I ride in the city without a flag.

I can't prove it, but maybe the "too low to the ground" debate is inspired by what regular upright cyclists feel about their own visibility. I don't think that the visibility of any bike on the road is a problem at all (in daylight at least) - the real trouble is that the general profile or appearance of the upright cyclist is so common that it is taken for granted and subconsciously ignored.

The distinct look of a recumbent is eye catching enough. I get much more space and respect on the road compared to my upright bike.

If you do a lot of filtering through moving vehicles and the top of your head/helmet is below the level of vehicle windows and so close that the driver cannot see you, then maybe a flag is useful. But perhaps this sort of cycling strategy is to be discouraged anyway.

Or buy a flag if you like flags in general. For sure they are fun to look at!

BlazingPedals

More often than not, walking in the road after dark, unlit, and wearing black.

Retro Grouch 

You have a point but it's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the bottom.

Juan Foote

I can't really reply one way or the other on the poll as it is according to where I ride. If I am on the street typically I will. If I am in the park/MUP no. Having ridden on the MUP with flags off trikes...they tend to be right on level with your eye hole and very irritating to be stuck behind.

JanMM

Isn't that white stripe reflective?

delcrossv

Yes, but it's in the wrong orientation.

RatMudd

I don't own a recumbent but hopefully will be riding a Catrike 700 or Expedition next year. My plans are to definitely use a blaze orange flag. I'm assuming I'll be using more streets than sidewalks because of the trike width, so safety is an issue. I like my health and life to stay as is. I also believe in blaze orange jerseys and helmets. There's a reason why blaze orange is used during non-bow hunting seasons -- It's the most visible color of any. I don't understand why "high visibility" bike manufacturers don't use blaze orange more often than bright yellows or greens.

+1 for a flag on a recumbent.
+1 for blaze orange.

P.S. I also ride going towards traffic on highways. That way I can zoom over to the shoulder if the oncoming vehicle is coming too close for comfort. Happens all the time. I have many times almost wiped out a cyclist on the highway because I was coming over a hill and there they were in my lane going 15 mph while I was doing 60 mph. I'll ride illegally on the highway, thank you, even if I get pulled over, especially on rolling hilly roads. And people wonder why us cyclists get killed -- one reason is going slow on hills with music blasting in the ears, wearing neutral colored clothing, ignoring the huge machines coming from behind at 60-80 mph.

BlazingPedals

Please don't get a recumbent. With an attitude like that, you're going to get a perfectly good machine flattened.

RatMudd

I don't believe so. I respect your opinion but if you biked my rolling hilly busy area with constant no-passing-zones, I believe you may change your mind. Other riders also do it around here. In certain circumstances, I believe it's more safe for both me and the driver. It also eases my driving when coming across such a rider on those roads.

Retro Grouch 

Consider this: Most bicycle/automobile accidents occur at some kind of intersection. When you ride towards traffic you approach every single intersection, driveway and parking lot exit from a direction other road users aren't expecting.

RatMudd

Oh, definitely. I have a fine art of coming to highway intersections on the correct side of road when it won't confuse a motorist. It's just those high speed hilly areas where I ride onto oncoming traffic. It is an art -- If I'm flying on a bicycle at 40-60 mph (not intersections lol) of course I'll be in the correct lane. It's those times coming up over a hill or curve (we have tall corn during good riding seasons) going 5-40 mph that I prefer going into traffic, for fear that somebody texting or turning their radio or yelling at their kids (or partner) will not see me at all and shut my daylights out forever. I can see or hear the vehicle before it does me. People have been known to crash into tractors and 18-wheelers -- That tells me that any slow moving bicycle or low recumbent, even with a bright flag, could be the next victim, except I would lose even if my head went flying through their windshield.

I do agree that it's a very debateable topic but I will stray away from this debate. I believe if I hadn't done my practice of riding the way I do, I wouldn't be here right now typing this. I survive with a "paranoid" sense of thinking. It's a protective survival instinct.

It works out well for me as a cyclist, and for my fellow motorists. I see it from both points of view. I hope I never kill or hurt a cyclist, but it's quite in anybody's cards for it to happen. I've cussed out too many cyclists in my head while driving, because BOOM there they were, in my lane, after going over a hill or going around a curve with tall corn. Almost have hit a fellow cyclist about every year driving back roads, however, I've never had a problem in my 36 years of existence riding the way I do, except for those times when I was forced onto the shoulder because I saw the vehicle head on and not budging an inch for me, and I had time to move over to the gravel shoulder. I didn't spare any of my 9 lives during those times.

BlazingPedals

Whether you need a helmet or not is debatable. Which chain lube is best is debatable. Which side of the road you should ride on is not. What makes the roads even marginally safe is that everyone follows the same rules. In your fear of being hit from behind (#7 cause of bike accidents overall,) you ride against traffic, which is either the #1 or #2 cause. Those who make up their own rules as they go along make things more dangerous for everyone around them.

That's all I'm going to say on the subject. No more feeding the troll, because now he's on my ignore list.

Tractortom

I do, and I don't. On my Bacchetta Bellandare commuter bike, I don't fly a flag. It seems to sit up enough that I can see into most cars, and I run BRIGHT lights on it during my daily commute. On my Catrike Annihilator custom trike, I run a flag pole with an American flag and a Utah Trikes bright orange banner. Seems to work just fine.

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

chandltp

I had one on my ICE Sprint. I still have the BROL flag that I got for it. I can't figure out a good way to put it on my Bacchetta Giro. I'd like to put it on depending on the riding conditions.

Shahmatt

Mind if I ask what is your source for these bike accident statistics? I'm curious to know the other forms of accidents.