hi all,

after years of curiosity, i was finally able to purchase a bent -- a bike-e ct.

ok, ok, i know the company is out of business and the mention of bike-e seems to elicit all types of
reactions, but that aside, i do have a concern about safety because i intend to use this bike along
with my other "beater" for commutes.

would any of you more experienced recumbent folks recommend visibility flags? if so, where would
i get one?

do any of you know a cheap way i can swap out the stock handlebar with something that will allow me
to use different handlebars?

thanks so much...

"George Stuteville" <gstut@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:d1d2c29d.0310061222.60f7e212@posting.google.com...
> hi all,
>
> after years of curiosity, i was finally able to purchase a bent -- a bike-e ct.
>
> ok, ok, i know the company is out of business and the mention of bike-e seems to elicit all types
> of reactions, but that aside, i do have a concern about safety because i intend to use this bike
> along with my other "beater" for commutes.
>
> would any of you more experienced recumbent folks recommend visibility flags? if so, where would i
> get one?

One place is:

http://www.velomobiles.net/

Got mine at a bike shop that caters to kids, as well as serious riders. They formerly sold the
Bike-E, so maybe look for that kind of store.

Steve

George Stuteville wrote:

>hi all,
>
>after years of curiosity, i was finally able to purchase a bent -- a bike-e ct.
>
>ok, ok, i know the company is out of business and the mention of bike-e seems to elicit all types
>of reactions, but that aside, i do have a concern about safety because i intend to use this bike
>along with my other "beater" for commutes.
>
>would any of you more experienced recumbent folks recommend visibility flags? if so, where would
>i get one?
>
>do any of you know a cheap way i can swap out the stock handlebar with something that will allow me
>to use different handlebars?
>
>thanks so much...
>
>

--
Steve Fox McKinleyville, CA http://SoTier2003.crazyguyonabike.com

O \ _____,%) (*)-'------------(*)

I like the Spinsocks from http://www.catchthewind.com

__________________
Derek,
Burley Canto

You can get a flag directly from Burley or from most Burley dealers:

http://burley.com/products/burley-ge...urley+Flag&i=5

Adventure Cycling carries safety triangles and other safety gear:

http://www.adventurecycling.org/stor...fm?Category=26

Cheers!
Ben

>>>>Burley Canto>>>>

On 6 Oct 2003 13:22:55 -0700, gstut@ix.netcom.com (George Stuteville) wrote:

>would any of you more experienced recumbent folks recommend visibility flags? if so, where would
>i get one?

Here's one: http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/...sory=983911097

IMHO the BikeE is tall enough that you don't really need a flag. Wouldn't hurt though.

>do any of you know a cheap way i can swap out the stock handlebar with something that will allow me
>to use different handlebars?

Not exactly sure, but does this look like what you need? http://www.calhouncycle.com/evo.html About
halfway down the page there's a stem for the BikeE.

Ken Kobayashi kobayash@solar.mtk.nao.ac.jp http://solarwww.mtk.nao.ac.jp/kobayashi/personal/

The Flash Flags are manufactured by Bike Up Canada. You can purchase these and other reflective
safety products directly from them at:

http://www.flashback.ca/

"Ken Kobayashi" <kobayash@solar.mtk.nao.ac.jp> wrote
>
> IMHO the BikeE is tall enough that you don't really need a flag. Wouldn't hurt though.

That's what I thought, too.

Interesting though, for recumbent bikes, those low enough to perhaps benefit most from a visibility
flag are often ridden by those perhaps least likely to want the additional drag. %^)

The same may not apply as well for low trikes.

A strobe light on a pole could be more aerodynamic than a spinner or a flag.

Jon Meinecke

hi all,

thanks so much...good group, here. my new (used) bent is a ton a fun...very different perspective.

but one thing i'd like to debunk: climbing.

i put my bike-e to the test on a couple of medium grade hills in the dc area. i climbed them just as
i do on my other bikes -- slowly, but surely. i don't foresee a problem as long as i can hit the
gears at the right time and spin up 'em.

again, thanks for your responses

>Interesting though, for recumbent bikes, those low enough to perhaps benefit most from a visibility
>flag are often ridden by those perhaps least likely to want the additional drag. %^)

True enough

>A strobe light on a pole could be more aerodynamic than a spinner or a flag.

A headlight does wonders too, esp. on a lowracer. Drivers see my 3-LED headlight way before they see
my 26-LED bike light. I've clipped a red "safety" light to the rear of the headlight, so now I have
two rear lights (and reflective stuff everywhere). I feel safer in the dark than during the day...
Waering bright headgear helps; and doing sit-ups when aproaching dangerous intersections (one
benefit of commuting; you get to know where yuo're likely to be ambushed).

Mark van Gorkom.

> would any of you more experienced recumbent folks recommend visibility flags? if so, where would i
> get one?

Well, after having read all the replies till now, I just have to mention my own solution as I find
it quite good :-) I have a flag and a pole from a trailer made to carry children around. Just below
the flag, I have mounted two very bright LED's one red pointing back and one white pointing forward
and put a resistor in series with each to lower the voltage from my batterys 6V to the nominated
about 2V (for these diodes). The LED's are very visible, swaying around in the air at the flag-pole
as I drive and it is a quite cheap solution, if you know just a tiny bit about soldering.

I have also mounted some reflective tape on the flag, so it can be seen in the dark.

The light is not enough for seeing the road so for that I use something more heavy, but in the dark
I can actually just read the display on my computer from the light the LED gives.

Nice riding,

Anders

Mark van Gorkom wrote:
>
> A headlight does wonders too, esp. on a lowracer. Drivers see my 3-LED headlight way before they
> see my 26-LED bike light. I've clipped a red "safety" light to the rear of the headlight, so now I
> have two rear lights (and reflective stuff everywhere). I feel safer in the dark than during the
> day... Waering bright headgear helps; and doing sit-ups when aproaching dangerous intersections
> (one benefit of commuting; you get to know where yuo're likely to be ambushed).

I assume that you are using "headlight" to refer to a light mounted to the rider's head or h*lm*t.
In American English [1], "headlight" generally refers to a bright white light that is aimed forward.

[1] In Great Britain they have Lucas electrics, so presumably they spend most of their time cursing
the darkness.

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

ahjng@holmjessen.dk (Anders HJ) wrote in message
news:<b72ad505.0310090140.5b27c834@posting.google.com>...
> > would any of you more experienced recumbent folks recommend visibility flags? if so, where would
> > i get one?
>

I got a bike flag on a fibreglass pole for my BikeE, (about $10 canadian- most bike stores carry
them, about 6-7 feet long, they have a bracket for mounting on the rear wheel bolt. That wouldn't
work for the BikeE though.)

Trimming a couple feet from the bottom, I mounted it on the Sweet Seat brackets using a
screw-tightened metal pipe ring-clamp (sorry I don't know what they are called) at the bottom, and
nylon cable ties at the top.

Stopping by a used car lot, I supplimented the orange flag that came with the pole with an "antenna
cover" that they use in the car lots. It's a kind of plasitized foil, highly visible.

It looks a bit whacky, but is extremely hard not to see me. )

AeroMoose

In Belguim every bike shop has them. They are meant for children bike's, but they fit the bill
nicely. I even mounted 3 led's on top. On 11 Oct 2003 09:35:52 -0700, vdetour@sympatico.ca
(AeroMoose) wrote:

>ahjng@holmjessen.dk (Anders HJ) wrote in message
>news:<b72ad505.0310090140.5b27c834@posting.google.com>...
>> > would any of you more experienced recumbent folks recommend visibility flags? if so, where
>> > would i get one?
>>
>
>I got a bike flag on a fibreglass pole for my BikeE, (about $10 canadian- most bike stores carry
>them, about 6-7 feet long, they have a bracket for mounting on the rear wheel bolt. That wouldn't
>work for the BikeE though.)
>
>Trimming a couple feet from the bottom, I mounted it on the Sweet Seat brackets using a
>screw-tightened metal pipe ring-clamp (sorry I don't know what they are called) at the bottom, and
>nylon cable ties at the top.
>
>Stopping by a used car lot, I supplimented the orange flag that came with the pole with an "antenna
>cover" that they use in the car lots. It's a kind of plasitized foil, highly visible.
>
>It looks a bit whacky, but is extremely hard not to see me. )
>
>AeroMoose