Poles that stick out from the bike to prevent close pass.

Duckjob

Eleven Benevolent Elephants wrote: »

That means neither vehicle is being driven with due care and attention.

It's either a pool noodle or cycle in the middle big the lane at pinch points.

The pool noodle just isn't a practicable solution to the problem.

Taking control of the lane works for me. Occasionally you get someone going crazy behind you but that doesnt bother me because they're flagging that they are one of the s**t drivers that would have passed dangerously given the chance. The good drivers would recognise that it's not a safe time to pass a cyclist and hang back anyway, so taking the lane isn't a problem with them.

Jonesy101

a driver passing too closely is better than it driving too closely catching your "protection" and sending you flyinging. unless you'd rather die but be correct in principal.

Hoboo

Buy a zorb, sorted. Mental, but sorted.

Bass Reeves

TheChizler wrote: »

None of that seems likely, it's a flexible piece of foam bungee corded to a carrier, not a grappling hook.

You would be amazed by what happen when a 1-5 Ton object moving at 40-80 KPH touches anything. Even a flexible piece of foam will cause a cyclist to be unbalanced.

Eleven Benevolent Elephants wrote: »

That means neither vehicle is being driven with due care and attention.

It's either a pool noodle or cycle in the middle big the lane at pinch points.

Maybe but its immaterial if things go wrong being right in that situation

tdf7187

This is a windup, right?

Meathman12

ted1 wrote: »

You can get lights which project lines into the ground

https://ride.lezyne.com/products/1-led-23r-v104

Also the 1.5m law never came into effect

Much better solution but will it be effective during daytime.

GreeBo

o1s1n wrote: »

It bends too far and get stuck in your wheel spokes, causing your back wheel to stop suddenly and you going over the handle bars.

A car goes by, it gets stuck in a wheel arch and pulls you towards the car, causing you to lose your balance and come off the bike.

A cyclist tries to overtake you, it gets stuck in their wheel and they come off.

How can you not see the multitude of potential problems?

For it to bend too far someone would have had to pass less than .75m from you, which probably has you in the ditch anyway.

GreeBo

Bass Reeves wrote: »

If a car in traffic even tips that at speed it will cause you to wobble. You can end up.in the ditch or side of the road if lucky, if you are unlucky you end up in front if the next car along

It really wouldnt, unless they somehow tipped it perpendicular to your direction of travel (i.e. they t-boned it) which probably has you dead anyway.

o1s1n

TheChizler wrote: »

None of that seems likely, it's a flexible piece of foam bungee corded to a carrier, not a grappling hook.

GreeBo wrote: »

For it to bend too far someone would have had to pass less than .75m from you, which probably has you in the ditch anyway.

My worst case type scenarios aside, at very least, if you are cycling along and a car hits it, it's going to shunt your bike. There's a high probability you will then end up off the bike.

Thinking that you can have a piece of material attached to your bike, have a car interact with it and it will in no way impact your cycle is mind boggling.

kenmm

Eleven Benevolent Elephants wrote: »

That means neither vehicle is being driven with due care and attention.

It's either a pool noodle or cycle in the middle big the lane at pinch points.

pool noodle or contraptions aside, you should be doing that anyway.


Adding extensions to the bike - (other than the reflectors and lights, shown above, that are handlebar width) is madness. It will also restrict you when it comes to lane filtering, securing your bike, bad weather (rain will probably knock it off) and a whole other list of reasons that would make it impractical.

Macy0161

You've missed the order deadline, but the earlier iteration of the gillet below is the single most effective "hi viz" clothing I possess. And it isn't really hi viz or even reflective.

I've actually taken to holding my phone as if I'm recording on the stretch of (rural) road I have to walk to get to the footpath. It is noticeable the difference doing so makes, in terms of close passing, slowing to pass, indication, waiting until it's safe to pass with vehicles coming the other way.

Basically, there's a significant proportion of motorists who only care if there's a potential consequence of not driving appropriately. Vulnerable Road Users lives aren't enough of a consequence, only potential enforcement...

Duckjob

Just one of the dangerous scenarios I can envision involving a noodle:

A car drives too close (within the noodle width) and because the noodle is flopping about a bit, it ends up going under the wheel of the car. At the same time, the bike is moving forward at let's say 25-30kph and happens to pull against the noodle which at that moment is pinned under the car wheel. I'll let you imagine the rest....:eek:

It's definitely one of those solutions that causes more potential problems than it solves.

GreeBo

o1s1n wrote: »

My worst case type scenarios aside, at very least, if you are cycling along and a car hits it, it's going to shunt your bike. There's a high probability you will then end up off the bike.

Thinking that you can have a piece of material attached to your bike, have a car interact with it and it will in no way impact your cycle is mind boggling.

It's a highly flexible, highly deformable, highly lightweight thing, its not the iron bar you seem to think it is.

If someone hitting that ends up with you off your bike I have no idea how you manage over potholes, branches and drains, not to mention the wind.

CramCycle

While i don't like the idea, having seen one in action in London, it was mounted on top of a pannier rack. It couldn't reach the ground unless the bike was turned over. They are highly deform-able having tried to beat lumps out of each other as kids with them. In these wildly unlikely scenarios where people get pulled under cars with them, the attachment that had it would likely release it. The wind resistance would have them bend back in most scenarios anyway.

Just to clarify, I am not in favour of them, I think they look stupid and serve no purpose but if someone wants to use them, fire away, I don't see any great danger except for to your self respect.

kenmm

CramCycle wrote: »

I don't see any great danger except for to your self respect.

ye - lets not ignore that fact you would look like a dick :pac:

Although there is a serious point there - it would be almost like putting a target on your back..and might piss off more people.

GreeBo

kenmm wrote: »

ye - lets not ignore that fact you would look like a dick :pac:

Ahem, bib shorts.

kenmm

GreeBo wrote: »

Ahem, bib shorts.

And what if you were riding all day in the sun and the noodle cast a shadow on your tan lines? what then!??

breezy1985

Just tape some nunchucks to your right arm and extend as required

Dravokivich

Macy0161 wrote: »

You've missed the order deadline, but the earlier iteration of the gillet below is the single most effective "hi viz" clothing I possess. And it isn't really hi viz or even reflective.

I've actually taken to holding my phone as if I'm recording on the stretch of (rural) road I have to walk to get to the footpath. It is noticeable the difference doing so makes, in terms of close passing, slowing to pass, indication, waiting until it's safe to pass with vehicles coming the other way.

Basically, there's a significant proportion of motorists who only care if there's a potential consequence of not driving appropriately. Vulnerable Road Users lives aren't enough of a consequence, only potential enforcement...

How do you know people are responding to your clothes? There's an awful lot of information in that. Easy to read on a phone or a pc, but not something i'd expect to catch at a glance.

CramCycle

Dravokivich wrote: »

How do you know people are responding to your clothes? There's an awful lot of information in that. Easy to read on a phone or a pc, but not something i'd expect to catch at a glance.

If they caught any of it its the speed camera sign, that will get alot of people being more mannerly very quickly.

Macy0161

The "Recording my Journey" with the big camera picture is obviously what i was getting at ffs.

Can't remember the last close pass wearing it. It's anecdotal obviously, but, like holding the phone while walking, it seems to make motorists think twice. But sure we know it's only the threat of prosecution that impacts all motorist behaviour - slow down for known gatso van spots, accelerate as soon as they see it's not there. That's why we need presumed liability.

mamax

CramCycle wrote: »

While i don't like the idea, having seen one in action in London, it was mounted on top of a pannier rack. It couldn't reach the ground unless the bike was turned over. They are highly deform-able having tried to beat lumps out of each other as kids with them. In these wildly unlikely scenarios where people get pulled under cars with them, the attachment that had it would likely release it. The wind resistance would have them bend back in most scenarios anyway.

Just to clarify, I am not in favour of them, I think they look stupid and serve no purpose but if someone wants to use them, fire away, I don't see any great danger except for to your self respect.

I met 2 germans using those pool noodles mounted on their panniers while touring here and they said they actually do work, on inspection you could bend them and it would have no impact on the bike, it's a spatial awareness thing to draw the bikes attention to the motorist and hopefully something will click in their minds as to why they are there and not close pass.

breezy1985

Macy0161 wrote: »

The "Recording my Journey" with the big camera picture is obviously what i was getting at ffs.

Can't remember the last close pass wearing it. It's anecdotal obviously, but, like holding the phone while walking, it seems to make motorists think twice. But sure we know it's only the threat of prosecution that impacts all motorist behaviour - slow down for known gatso van spots, accelerate as soon as they see it's not there. That's why we need presumed liability.

Do they sell them in non gilet form?

tomasrojo

marvin42 wrote: »

In the early eighties these where were popular in Germany, Not so much for keeping cars a full 1.5 meters away from you, but to make your bike appear "wider" so cars would be a bit further away while passing.
https://www.decathlon.at/abstandhalter-fur-fahrrader-id_8176064.html

Yeah, you sometimes still see these things (very, very occasionally), which was in one of the links back on the first page.

tomasrojo

BrianHenryIE wrote: »

I made this sidecar:

Very nice!

You can get off-the-shelf sidecars but they're not that common. They used to be reasonably common in the 20s and 30s. This sort of thing:


https://oldbike.wordpress.com/1930s-watsonian-juvenile-sidecar/

Jonesy101

blackbox wrote: »

Does the passing rule not apply to cyclists as well as other vehicles?

no it certainly doesnt have you ever ridden a bike?

Macy0161

breezy1985 wrote: »

Do they sell them in non gilet form?

They had jerseys, but the pre-order has finished now. You could try contacting Spin11 or Phil himself whether they ordered a surplus.

Thelonious Monk

I saw something about someone cycling around Ireland with a "pool noodle" thingy to keep close passers at bay.
Big neon flashing arrows on your back with 1.5m please lit up too might work.
If any of you are familiar with Fairview and North Strand, the close passes I get from buses there is absolutely ridiculous. They seem to think staying over the white line is all they need to do, I swear the wing mirror misses me by millimetres sometimes, it can be really scary. The plastic bollards seem to have made it even worse too.

Bombaby1974

Eleven Benevolent Elephants wrote: »

Is there such a thing as a pole that protruded 1.5 metres from the right of the bike. I'm aware it'll cause wind resistance though.

Far too many close passes lately. It's not on. Some at ridiculous speeds from professional drivers such as taxi drivers and couriers.

I think that's chariots you're thinking of!!

plodder

marvin42 wrote: »

In the early eighties these where were popular in Germany, Not so much for keeping cars a full 1.5 meters away from you, but to make your bike appear "wider" so cars would be a bit further away while passing.
https://www.decathlon.at/abstandhalter-fur-fahrrader-id_8176064.html

They were very popular here as well. I've often wondered why they died out ..