On 14/03/11 10:42, Peter Clinch wrote:
On 13/03/11 19:34, Jeff wrote:
Even though I have built a few experimental recumbents, I stil worry
about
visibility issues in traffic. Seems to me a driver just may not notice a
flag as much as a person at eye-level height. Your thuoghts?

There are 'bents and there are 'bents. Mine (an HP Vel Streetmachine)
has the seat at about the same height as a car seat. That actually
makes it easier to get eye-contact with most drivers in close traffic.

I'll agree with this - I ride the same bike. No problem seeing (edging
out at junctions is more like a car than an upright bike, but not a
problem), no obvious issues with being seen, and in a city where I've
never spotted another recumbent except those ridden by people I know
from out of town, a tremendous WTF factor. Drivers are more likely to
perform slow, wide overtakes so the passenger can get some decent video
of me on their iPhone than they are to do a close pass or left (I'm in
the UK) hook. The only special measure I take towards being visible is
that I'll be a bit more likely to use lights in daylight than on an
upright. I find a bright front light makes people less likely to pull
out in front of me, especially at roundabouts.

The only situation where I see a flag to be of real benefit is where
someone overtakes the car behind you into what appears to be an empty
gap. The Streetmachine is high enough that it or my head is visible
through the windscreen of a standard car, so I don't think a flag gains
anything. A lowracer (not that I'd want to ride one in city traffic
very much - indeed, I prefer an upright bike for start-stop city riding)
or trike will be different.

We're considering getting a recumbent trike for my partner, who has arm
disabilities, and will probably get a flag for riding that in traffic.
You don't have to have it fitted all the time.

I'd certainly want a flag on a trailer, whatever bike I was pulling it
with, as it's easier to overlook once you've spotted the bike.


Kim.
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