I was at our annual Bike Bash, yesterday, when I saw this guy walking around. Everyone that saw him seemed to have the same puzzled face as I did and wondered what was with the rake mounted to the back of his bike. So, I asked him.



The paraphrased answer: I live and ride in the city and got tired of drivers not obeying the 3 Foot Law and coming so close as to almost hit me with their mirror. It's no longer a problem. (I'll let you figure out why.)

You gotta love this guy's ingenuity, even if it does look weird. Originally, the rake was inline with the frame but he swung it into riding position for the photo.

Aren't rifles about 3 feet long?

Elegant in its simplicity. Wonderful. I don't really care for the idea of riding with one, but if it works....

I would be afraid some guy would hit it, knock me down plus sue for scratching his car

That's hilarious! Thanks for sharing.

A friend of mine has a light weight red flag sticking out like that. He has thought about attaching a nail to the head of the staff.

Here in New York City; most commercial van drivers
and taxi drivers don't own the vehicles they're driving
so wouldn't care about scratches. Although I do like it

Clearly he doesn't live in a city in the Northeast. That rake would have lasted about one ride...if that.

A better (?) solution might be to mount a GoPro and get a video and the offenders plate on camera.

That rake idea is so uncool. I love it.

Could also be recommended for the MUP rider who prefers to keep the sharp left bends of his path tidy.

Sell the rake, invest in some chain lube.

He most definitly got everyone's attention yesterday. He said that ever since he's had the rake sticking out from the bike, that most cars give him way more than 3 feet when passing. Definitely something you don't see every day.

They used to make a flag designed to hang out the left side of your bike. It was mounted on a spring-loaded pole, so even if a car hit it, the pole would just bend.

I don't like putting such gimmicks on my bike. Plus, you may want to ride within three feet of your friends. Expert cyclists can ride alongside each other really close, even bumping arms, with no problems.

I wonder what this guy does entering bike paths, where there are bollards designed to keep out vehicles wider than bikes?

Luis

It can swing to the back making a 'shark fin' like they had on F1 cars...

If some guy hit it and knocked me down he better run,,

If he raises hell about the scratches, An ass whuppin he will get and for FREE !


LOL Love the rake Idea XD

Um, no. Glad it works for him.

Sheldon Brown's finger pole X-20

+1, beat me too it...

I would not do this. I think it would increase your chance of getting hit/knocked over by a passing car. BAD IDEA!

That chain does look pretty bad, doesn't it?

Considering that the few times I've been "Buzzed" in the past couple of years it was by $30,000 to $45,000 SUV's.....Yeh, I would do it if I got frustrated enough.

I can't imagine that a vehicle scraping that pivoting leaf rake would cause me to fall.

Bad idea, don't like it, I would forget to fold it back before riding up the driveway past the wife's car.

Oh yeah, lots of wind resistance too.

I'm guessing he doesn't go fast enough to generate much wind resistance.

I like the spring loaded flag idea but I would be tempted to weld a carbide saw tooth to the end of it.