billh

This caught my eye on the local listserv. Haven't seen this cyclist but sounds like a novel idea. Haven't made up my mind whether it is a good one or not!

"Recently on a couple of occasions in south city around Hampton & Eichelberger I have seen a rider with what looks a 4' length of 3/4" PVC with a blinking light on the end of it clamped somehow to his bike. He is on a road bike and this contraption hangs out roughly 3 or 4 foot on his left. Presumeably the idea is to create a safety barrier between the bike and passing traffic. When a car hits this pipe it may spin him like a top, break & impale someone or knock him into another object. I hate it when a car passes close too but this doesn't seem like a good idea."

Eggplant Jeff

I would suggest, if you want to do this, that it stick out more like a foot or maybe 2 (since cars will give it space in addition to how long it is), not 3 or 4, and that it be a FLEXIBLE object that will not injure anyone if a car hits it, but merely bend away.

Maybe a coat hanger with a reflector stuck on the end, that would be a lot less likely to get anyone hurt.

Treespeed

Or Maybe you could have it be spring loaded. I know when I'm hauling my Bob Trailer with it's big flag I get plenty of room from passing motorists. I find it funny and a bit sad that people seem to be more concerned with their cars paint jobs then risking a person's life.

-Marcus.

Eggplant Jeff

I don't think it's that they are unconcerned with your life, I think it's just that what they consider a safe gap and what you consider a safe gap are not the same. It's easy to be the guy in the car and think "I know I'm not going to run over that bicycle", but when you're the guy on the bike and do NOT have control of the car, you want a little extra space. If the cars were that concerned with their paint they'd give you MORE room because they do not have control of you swerving etc. They're looking at it more from a "I have control of whether there's a collision" because they are in the larger, faster moving, vehicle.

It's the same as when you ride past a pedestrian with plenty of room but they still yell, or dodge, or get startled or whatever . They didn't think it was as much extra room as you did.

Doesn't mean the guy in the car is right, since for example they are probably not thinking that you might have to dodge a pothole or something.

librarian

I once saw a cyclist that had taken a light piece of wood and painted it to look like an angle iron like they build shelves out of. He had the end tapered to a point so that motorists would think that it would really scratch their car if they got too close.

Must have worked, he never was hit by a car. LOL

I think I would rather rely on my mirror and get the hell off the the road. We got tired of yelling LOGGER or CHIP TRUCK coming across the Northern Tier.

Dusk

Interesting to hear. MN law is that you must have/give a min. of 3 feet clear when you pass anything and you have to be totally out of the lane of the other vehicle you are passing…but most people don’t understand bikes are vehicles… I would think pvc would just break off…

Dr. Moto

Something I was thinking about while out on a ride the other day... many motorists do have difficulty judging where the right side of their vehicle is, especially larger SUVs and such. Yet they are able to stay centered on highway lanes. What if, on roads where there are no dedicated bike lanes, WOLs or shoulders, a special line were painted about 3'-4' out from the road's edge. It could be black or some other unobtrusive color so as not to mark a lane. This line would indicate minimum safe passing distance for bicycles. I wonder if such a stripe would help motorists judge passing room, and if any would really take heed of such a thing.

halfbiked

I have considered the idea of a spring loaded arm with a flag or light to encourage motorists to give adequate room. I've also considered putting a nail on the end to get a little back on the motorists that don't.

scrantr

You mean like this one?

recursive

PVC is pretty flexible. I doubt the cyclist would go down if a 3 foot PVC pipe attached to his bike was hit.

vrkelley

You don't need a 3' pole - only the illusion of width. On the back of my bike rack I have a T-shaped PVC pipe with the tail light attached.

Footage counts at intersections and while passing. Instead of on the seatpost, it's about 2.5' *closer to the car* and aimed on the left most corner. It works very well and makes parking a breeze.

If you don't have a bike rack just clamp the light to your seat or seat-stay and aim it outward slightly.
Edited: Seat Stay
==================
Supplies
1/2" Black PVC lawn irriagation T connector .99cents - Home Depot
2 screws
2 lock washers
2 nuts
1" rubber strip from a flatted tire as a liner to keep the light bracket snug
1 zip tie (fall-back incase the thing ever did vibrate off - but it doesn't)

Drill 2 holes in the top of the T-connector and attach it to the rack with the screws.
If you're like most of us, you've probably got most of this stuff sitting in your toolbox.

lilHinault

There's a site selling "flash flags" I think they're called, pretty cool. They're a reflective flag that goes on a short pole, out to the side, imagine taking one of those "moped" flags and cutting off say the last foot and a half of it, with the flag, and attaching it on the back of your bike so it sticks out to the left. The guy doesn't charge much for them, and they look pretty neat to me.

CommuterRun

https://nordicgroup.us/s78/flags.html

Here you go, lilHinault. I don't have one, yet, but this is the one I like the looks of.

MichaelW

In the UK you can get sticky-outy reflector arms at any bike shop. The mount is a small plastic ball and socket joint so you can fold them alongside the bike.

soda

I use the same concept with my extendable baton. Whip it out and grab both it and the left handle bar to give me a buffer zone. When I don't need it, I put it away. It's not attached to my bike so it won't crash me and I've put neon duct tape at the end so that the motorists can see it better. I actually think it's a good idea.

librarian

Let's turn this around. Anybody remember getting hit in the ankle with curb feelers by a car when they were a kid. I haven't thought of those in years till I was reading this thread.

vrkelley

If you don't have the flag, I'd recommend moving the tail light as far to the left as possible.
Also see the Stop Bumper thread https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/85616-stop-bumper-3.html

2manybikes

There are many variations on this sold and approved in Europe. I had one that was hinged and it should be short enough so that when it is hit by a car it will fold in and be behind your leg and not hit you. The one I had was Swedish and had a spinning propeller blade with reflectors on it. They do keep the cars farther away.

Here's a good one.

CdCf

Ah yes!

Most casual cyclists' bikes here have those.
"Stingpinne" is the Swedish name for them.
I've no idea why it's called that. The first part, "sting" means pretty much the same as in English, while the last part, "pinne", simply means "stick" or "pole".

2manybikes

I would guess it's to prevent a "sting" or hit from a car ?

The well made ones all are hinged so that they can be folded in and so that if it does get hit by something it will fold in behind your legs without hitting them.

This is something all the do it your self ideas seem to miss.

I think this is very IMPORTANT. It is handy when rolling your bike around, or through a door too.

Can you post a picture of it?

Dchiefransom

PVC is some pretty tough stuff.

bostontrevor

I'm guessing "stingpinne" translates as "stinger" which is sort of what it is, this thing that sticks out to the side of your bike and says, "stay back!"

Map tester

I have been using a Flash Flag for about 6 months. The pole is mounted via a spring, and can be pulled/bend close to the rack (for storage) and attached with a small attached plastic hook. I don't think is has as much influence as the various poles or pipes discussed in this thread, but it does draw motorist attention. The faster you go, the more the flag waves and flaps in the wind flow--it really makes a show!

slvoid

Instead of a spring, I'd just use a thin piece of plastic that's flexible, like some kind of tubing they use in fish tanks. Paint it silver. Most drivers care more about their paint job than they do your lives.

What you SHOULD have is a shot gun aimed to the left, with a pole tied to the trigger. If a car passes you... BAM!

Rowan

Ummm... what happens when you get to a tight gap that you want to go through and you forget about this device and you scratch another person's car?

You know it's funny how someone posted how this device must work because the rider hadn't been hit yet. Funny, because I don't use one of those devices and *I* haven't been hit yet, either!

Why not use panniers to create the illusion of width?