Leisesturm

It isn't necessary. In most cases, motorists give the cyclist much more than 3' and when they do not, they do not. Now your flag is a hazard. The cyclist may also inadvertently hit a pedestrian or animal with the flag as they navigate a constriction. A bumper is an answer to a question only fear fueled nutbags are asking. I can't think of any activity that promotes so much anxiety as vehicular cycling that people still engage in anyway. I'd get it if we were talking about running with the bulls in Spain, or something... I suspect a bumper flag is about equally useful to a participant in a bull running as to a commuter in downtown traffic. That's just a guess though...

H

PatrickGSR94

Whether it's necessary or not I believe is up to the person riding the bike. I'm just saying that's what it is/does.

Curious, though, how do you figure a small stick with a flag is a hazard to a passing motorist? If they hit the stick and it damage's their car's finish, well that's their problem because they did not give the proper clearance while passing.

And a hazard to a pedestrian or animal? Please.

Bike Gremlin

Some 20 years ago, uncle brought me (from the USA) something like this:



Though mine was white plastic. It had a safety patent to bend when hitting anything hard, so no problems for pedestrians. Was some 30 cm long. It worked very nice, cars did leave me room, no problems. You could easily bend it at the place it was mounted, to make it parallel to the bike (alongside kickstand), so you could ride through tight narrow places.

The bike was stollen long time ago.

Leisesturm

Now be honest. Try and recollect... before your uncle got you that flag... how many times did anyone pass you closer than 30cm? Did anyone ever hit the flag?

Leisesturm

Sigh... I'm not imagining that the damage will be to the car! And, as for pedestrians and their pets... anything, on your bike that swats a ped or their pet is going to produce a reaction that borders on a nuclear meltdown. Just saying. I've witnessed one, it isn't pretty.

H

Buzzatronic

See now I'd totally use something like this if I had a switch or a button on my bars to move it up and down. I'd only "deploy" it when I'm on the road and keep it vertical when I'm on the MUP so I don't swat peds or other bikers with it.

PatrickGSR94

Think about this for a second. If you have one of these devices, it should NEVER stick out while riding in an area where peds or animals are on your left side. I'm thinking along the lines of an MUP. MAYBE a car parking lot or something. If you're riding on the road, a pedestrian or animal on your left side would be out in the street/road, where they shouldn't be anyway. I don't see the problem here.

Bike Gremlin

There are people who like to pass too close - it happens every day. When I had that flag, no one hit it - ever. Probably works the same way as fluorescent red panniers I have nowadays - for some reason drivers give me more room when I pack my Ortliebs:



This is not my bike, but that's what panniers look like. Not wider than my bars, but still make drivers give me more room. That's not the reason I pack it, but a good side effect.

J.C. Koto

^^^ I can not for the life of me figure out that rack on the bike with the red Ortlieb. What's the main part that connects to the seat post from?

If someone's got enough cash for Ortlieb panniers they can probably afford a real rack...

Leisesturm

I am sure no one ever hit that flag, because, to be honest... to be worth the trouble and effort that flag would have to be another 12" long. Its way too short for what it aims to be!! If someone is going to pass close, they are going to pass close. Like you say, it happens every ride. But "close" is a lot further than the end of that flag I'll bet. And now you've got this flag hanging out from your bike. And you have to remember its there. You will forget and ride on an MUP or other place where you shouldn't have something like that on your bike. That's just the way it is. That's prolly why you don't use it anymore. It proved to be more hassle than it was worth. No one killed you before you got the flag and no one has killed you since you stopped using it. I wear a fluorescent jacket/jersey and I get all the room I need... mostly. There will always be idiots. In Oregon they are less idiotic than some other places I have commuted. Maybe its me, but I kind of feel that a device to tell drivers to do what they are already doing will make some decide to push some of your buttons since you have gone out of your way to push some of their buttons.

H

Doohickie

How about strapping a pool noodle horizontally on your rack?

Bike Gremlin

Flag was used 20 years ago. But today, when I use panniers, they give me more room. Panniers stick to the side, are fluorescent and are about 30 cm to the left - like that flag. That seems to work - drivers give me more room when passing. There are no MUPs in my city - only cycle lanes and, where there are none, you use car lanes. Stil, that flag shouldn't be a problem on a MUP, since it is not wider than bicycle's handlebars.

A better thing would be a flexible wooden stick, some 50 cm out, with a piece of red cloth tied on the end of it.

rumrunn6

I picked up some extra courtesy room when I added a strobe to my left drop bar. I never ride without it. these pics are from past bikes but gives you an idea of how I mount it. it is the same PBSF that I have on my rear rack. so the two in conjunction with each other do a nice job. there must be something about the extra strobe up front that lets them know it's not quite time to zip over to the right yet.

Buzzatronic

Hrmmm this is an interesting idea for sure. Do you find these attachments get in the way when you drop down off the brake hoods?

Hawkeye22407

I know this is an old thread, but I stumbled across it while looking for the same thing - while Leisesturm apparently sees no need for a device such as this, I definitely do, as drivers here have 2 choices on narrow roads - 1) slow down, wait to pass, pass, or 2) keep going and give you only inches of spare room.

Now I'm all for "owning my lane' and "granting the right to pass", but when they DO, I want them to see something that keeps them away - especially as they don't want their paint jacked up. However, I want to deploy it when I see them coming in my mirror and "fold it back" when not. So, did anyone find something like the above that is motorized or "deployable"? Thanks!

JacobKinsella

Surely cyclists who don't feel safe enough without a stick coming off their bike shouldn't really be on the road? It's not as if you see cars/motorbikes with the same thing.... All you should have to do as a cyclist is ride within the highway code (not sure what it's called in the US).

I can see where you're coming from though. However, when I'm riding, if I feel like I need more room I take it - if it is safe to do so. As a road user, a cyclist has the same rights as any other traffic. Yes, they should provide room for faster traffic, and ride in a place where they can be passed safely too. Drivers should only pass when it is safe to do so, leaving the cyclist enough space.

As previously said though, there are people who just don't give you enough space, but the majority of people do!

Just my two pennies worth.

Bike Gremlin

Motorbikes don't go at 20 km/h. Car drivers are already in cages.

Lovely, but when drivers pass too near, it can be bad. I was pushed to the side, off the road once. Having a flag sticking has a psychological effect - the flag needn't be wider than the bike's handlebars. But it still works, makes drivers give you more room. Which IS nice.

CrankyOne

There's a bit of geometry missing from this discussion. The 3' is from the leftmost element of the bicyclists (usually shoulder, elbow, or left handlebar) to the rightmost element of the vehicle (usually mirror though could be some part of a trailer). In the case of many vehicles this could easily be 5 - 6 feet from the bicyclist's rack to the body of the vehicle. Many pickup trucks could easily clear a spike sticking out 4' from a rear rack and still nail your shoulder with their mirror.

So, you'll need three or four spikes sticking out to 3' past your shoulder to adequately cover everything. :-)

Then, given the condition of many of the trucks that have buzzed me and whom I'm sure would find the game of getting the flags to jiggle a bit more fun than one more scratch on their truck, you'll need a couple of cameras to show the cops that he jiggled your flags.