Need a flagpole

in article [email hidden], Joshua Goldberg at [email hidden]
wrote on 4/7/03 3:53 PM:

Quoted message said:

Jay RU sure about the Triangles being illegal? I thought (any) non motorized (Slow moving) vehicle
was supposed to use them re: St.Jacobs Mennonites use them on their buggies, farmers pulling
wagons use them. Thought they meant "Caution due to Slow Moving vehicle ahead".
-------------------Oh [censored] it is Snowing here Again------------------ "Jay" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

le.com, John Downey at [email hidden] wrote: <snip>I also attach a truck style reflective
rear triangle to the back of the seat and I wear a white or yellow helmet.

Those triangles are illegal on bicycles/HPV in Ontario. You may want to check the laws in
your area.

192.75.156.6890h08 e.htmOpen ↗

It applies to slow moving vehicles but NOT bicycles.

I ride a Vision R40. The seat has two upright tubes on either side of the back. The mesh/fabric
forms a pocket that slips over the top of the tube. There is a plastic cap on the end of the tube
also. I heated an awl and pushed through the fabric and plug, forming a hole just large enough for a
fiberglass pole. The melted nylon will not unravel there. My flag will almost hit a 7-8' ceiling as
I push it down the hall at work. I hide(?) my bike under the stairwell. I currently use uh 'Merikan
flag on there.

I haven't bothered to check average speed with or w/o the flag, but when I hold it and swish it
about it has very significant drag. Gotta be worth a mile or two per hour.

Quoted message said:

Can you fly multiple flags on it?

No, not unless you have a tandem. One flag, one person, that is the rule. :-)

GeoB

(GeoB) said:

I haven't bothered to check average speed with or w/o the flag, but when I hold it and swish it
about it has very significant drag.

Gotta

Quoted message said:

be worth a mile or two per hour.

C'mon, ya really think so?

I'n not an engineer (although I sometimes play one at work), but I'd think the surface area of the
typical bike flag and pole to the wind is insignificant compared to the rest of the bike-rider
combo. I'd guess .1 or .2 mph, if you could measure it.

My flag is at 7' height above the road. Looks goofy, but I think it makes for better visibility
behind the numerous parked SUVs lining the downtown streets that I commute on. Still gotta be
careful around street corners and parking lot exits, though...(read: close call).

Glenn 2002 Burley HepCat remove .invalid from e-mail address when replying

Seth Jayson said:

You should probably fly a large American flag on your bike. Everyone loves a nice big American
flag, (ten billion Perkins customers can't be wrong) and no one could be so unpatriotic as to run
you over while you're flying the US colors...

I suggest an airport safety flag to warn off low flying aircraft. <
safetycorporation.commerchant.ihtmlOpen ↗ >

Tom Sherman - Various HPV's Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

Quoted message said:

I haven't bothered to check average speed with or
w/o the flag, but when I hold it and swish it about it has very significant drag. Gotta be worth a
mile or two per hour.

Quoted message said:

C'mon, ya really think so?

Shucks, I dunno. Maybe not I guess. But it takes less drag to slow you from a comfortable cruising
speed of 17mph to 16, than it would from 10 mph to 9. I approached this in a very precise,
structured, scientific manner. Intuitively! :-0

I swung the flag pole about in a circle, an noted the resistance. Then I imagined my self riding
beside you, and reaching out, grabbing your seatpost, and pulling back with the same force I
experienced in my driveway with the flag pole. There! You see that? It works! It works! It DID
slow you down!

Quoted message said:

I'n not an engineer (although I sometimes play one at work),

I also.

Quoted message said:

but I'd think the surface area of the typical bike flag and pole to the wind is insignificant
compared to the rest of the bike-rider combo.

A flag flapping in the breeze has much more drag than a starched stiff flag that is like a board.
There are some dynamics involved here that I am unable to quantify. I liken it to the dynamics of
airflow of an airplane. An airplane with the engine off experiences much more drag with the
propeller spinning than with it stationary. When the plane runs out of fuel, to get maximum glide,
the pilot will pull up to slow down enough that the engine will quit freewheeling, then nose down to
get back to max glide speed.