Here in Australia the minimum legal passing distance is one metre (at up to 60kmh / 1.5m at faster speed limit) from the edge of the bike which includes the edge of the handlebar mirror. For this latest development of the “courtesy passing flag” it’s now mounted on the pannier rack with a “Railblaza” brand marine accessory mount and pivot which allows it to quickly and securely lock in range of positions from horizontal to vertical. Length is 1350mm which means it extends just 950mm from the handlebar mirror edge. The shaft is thin and flexible bamboo which bends safely when it’s hit. Previously the “courtesy passing flag” was mounted on the handlebar. I appreciate the feedback from many people here on Reddit about the destabilisation risks of mounting on the handlebar which has led me to trialling this new mounting system. Will test it and let you all know how this one goes. What are your thoughts about this development?
by Narrow-Economist-795
12 Comments
I think this is the sort of entitlement that makes some drivers hate cyclists. Ride safe, stay in your lane and move on with life. Don’t make it a whole thing. I think this’ll just result in more aggression.
I think you should colour the part black that is within the space between the tip of the handlebar and the bike. Because from this angle it looks much longer than a metre and people may think you’re being especially obnoxious. Other than that I think it looks difficult to ride with but hopefully it achieves what you want
You’ll be dead in a week.
How do you overtake? How do you squeeze through tight spots?
Marine accessory mount is genius. Stay safe and Godspeed
I’ve seen these flags in various versions on Reddit and in person.
Two questions.
Doesn’t the flag count as part of the bike and then mean the car would have to pass 1 meter around the flag too?
And one of the biggest benefits of riding a bike is agility.
Doesn’t this just make you stuck in traffic just like a car?
Seems filtering or even sharing a bike lane with other cyclists would be impossible.
I was stuck behind some guy riding with a pool noodle sticking off his bike. He eventually pulled aside to give way, but even on the side of the road, his “courtesy” noodle still blocked the bike lane.
Good on you for the ingenuity, but I’m not sold on the concept
Consider diamond/carbide drill tip on it. Evidence manufacturer
I love the iteration and improvement! Keep it up and hope this ends up being a million dollar idea.
Will it break away if caught on something? Tough balance that it doesn’t fall off for no reason but does break away instead of causing harm to you or your bike.
If this makes you feel good that’s great but I wont be using one. All you need is for that to get snagged and suddenly your bike is connected to a death machine.
Make sure it’s breakaway so some driver doesn’t put you on your ass when you drop a flag in their grill in a tight road or something
I would be worried that this would make some drivers angry. The tradie driving a ford ranger may just be tipped over the edge by the sight of this flag