Flag or not?
 

Just wondering if I should use one of those flags that some parents put on little kids bikes to help with visibility? Haven't had any real problems as of now using my blinking rear and front lights but then again, haven't been riding in any real traffic.

If I do add a flag, my wife is going to really :lol: as she already calls the bike "the short bus transport system". :notamused:

May have to get some handle bar end streamers if I add the flag :roflmao2:

How about a stop arm like school buses have?

Depends on how paranoid you are about possibly getting hit. There are some recumbent trike riders who light up their trikes with all kinds of daylight lights even going so far as to fabricate elaborate "roll bars" to mount them on. I don't use daytime lights. I always use a safety flag but never used them on my 2-wheeled recumbents. Is that rational? Probably not. Even without a flag, motorists give me more room than on a regular bike. It does have one place where it helps and that is at a traffic light where you have right turning vehicles. Once they pull up beside me, they would never see the trike were it not for the flag.

Sissy bar so the stoker can kick back and let you do the work. :lol:

Oh wait its a recumbent tandem then , maybe just get one if you have not yet.

I had a flag on my trike because it was low enough that I'd disappear between cars if I didn't. I'd be looking at doors, not windows. This was only a problem in traffic. In the country, it wasn't a problem.. but it didn't help much there either due to poor rearward visibility. But I was unique enough that it helped.

I haven't come up with a good way to put on on my SWB.. and haven't spent much time because I'm not sure it's necessary. I have a hi-viz helmet and a yellow seat bag on it.. so I'm pretty visible since my head height is about the same as a side window on a mini-van.

I use a colorful flag-like streamer on my trike, which is rather low, but not on my TiRush.

I don't use one even on my lowracers. But then, I don't generally ride in heavy traffic either.

A flag on a Sun EZ isn't likely to add much in the way of safety-related visibility in my experience.

The classic visibility arguments for flags are for when riding in parking lots and when you are cresting or have just crested a hill as it gives approaching traffic a heads-up there's a bike on the road. Even with a flag attached while riding in a parking lot, I've been backed and turned into, so I lack confidence that flags really help bikes being visible in parking lots. That same small cross-section orange flag surface might catch my attention when cresting a hill IF it is perpendicular to the direction of travel and frantically waving back and forth in broad daylight - but it is a small cross section item and I definitely remember NOT noticing them back in the 70s when they were fairly popular.

Think about it this way. If the flag is streaming behind you, the visible cross-section to oncoming traffic is extremely small. In a parking lot, as you pass l-r or r-l directly behind a parked car, then the flag's visibility is maxed for the driver. Any other angle and the visible cross-sectional area is decreased. BUT, the height of the flag gives some possibility of being visible IF you are low/below mirror level or blocked by the height of cars/trucks. Finally, recumbents tend not to waggle like DFs for the most part. That means the flag doesn't wave side to side as much - generally. It streams directly behind you. Wait, I'm beginning to repeat myself...

Having ridden trikes, a Easy Racer GRR and 2 different Bacchettas, I only found the flag "useful" for visibility purposes when riding the trike. Maybe it worked and maybe I'm just giving in to paranoia, but I felt more visible on the trike when it had a flag - only extremely rarely when on a recumbent 2-wheeler.

Your mileage may vary.

My 2 cents - value and spend them however you will.

I have a couple of flags on my trike. If nothing else if I should get hit by a car, the flags and my helmet will stave off the usual BS drivers lawyers use against cyclist.

Flag, Lights, Reflective tape all work for your safety.

Traffic at 50-55 MPH

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=511180

I have two flags and a pennant on my trike. The first flag is the one that came with the trike, and I thought it would look nice with two flags so I bought one extra, the pennant I got as free from my recumbent clothes maker so I mounted it below one of the flags as it didn't have it's own pole

To all. Thanks for the replies to date.

I'll probably not add the flag as the only way it would be really visible is when a car passes by or at an intersection.
I'm pretty well covered as far as reflective tape and lights for reduced visibility lighting.

As with some others, I've also noted that cars and trucks give more room to my recumbent than my DF when passing. Think that this is because you kind of disappear from view.

I usually only use the flag when I'm going to be riding on the streets with drivers. When I'm riding the MUP I will usually leave it at home. Up until recently I had done my riding in Miami. Some of South Americas worst drivers reside in Miami, so I take no chances. I do everything I can to be seen. Head light, tail light and a flag. As you can see in the picture it's not that impossible see little orange flag. Now that I'm in Tennessee I will probable still use it out of habit.

Bob

I ride on roads with traffic and on paved trails shared with other active forms of transportation. I do not ride in parking lots as I feel vulnerable to traffic moving in so many different lanes and directions. I always use this flag on my trike, day and night, and have for the past 14 years. Hi Vis Safety Flag Replacement Bicycles ATV's Kayaks Recumbents 2 Flags | eBay

I play a very dangerous game,
I ride like I am Invisible when In traffic but I move and react to make myself as visible as possible.
White helmet, TWO bright rear Red LED strobe lights, bright safety colored shirt,, sure thing.

But I still assume they cannot see me at all...

When I take my Tour Easy out I try and ride when and where there Is no traffic or to the MUPS I go..
But Mostly on these long days of summer I ride my Mountain bike,,
In the woods,
with the fresh air,
no fumes,
no noise,

The tree's do at times reach out for me, try to eat me but mostly they are moving less than 15 mph so I tend to make them miss me :P

Two flags on my trike and none on my bent.

I always use a safety flag to which I've attached 3-foot streamers of orange-glo tulle. The tulle adds visibility without weight and makes no flapping noise. I use the same flag on both my Bacchetta and Catrike Speed. http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=519311

I've got a flag for stylin'.

I also have front and rear lights on the helmet, four red lights on the rear of the trike, two red lights for side fill in on the steering bars, headlight up front on flash during the day. Three of the rear reds at mounted on the holder for my HiVis Slow Driver sign.

I notice that drivers tend to give me a good wide berth. I assume they think it is some poor handicapper in his chair and they will lose points for getting me. I want to be flashing and blinking like a major police stop.

Overkill? Does it work? Sometimes. Last time I Shared the Road, I woke up in intensive care to discover that I had a neurosurgeon, an eye surgeon, a neurologist and a plain ole' MD attending me. There must be a reason I like bike trails.

I use a flag if I am going to be riding in any area where there is "active" street parking. Too low to be seen by a car backing out into traffic. (Places like town square, etc.)

I don't use one on my Bacchetta , however if you think you'd feel more comfortable with one, then it's a good idea .

One of the guys around here does it like this guy:

http://takeyourlane.com/wp-content/u..._flag_crop.jpg

I'm all for it.

We do what we must !
 

The rake,metal tines,, bet you'd scrape a car In no time ~ Kidding..

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