Recreational & Family - Need a bike mirror suggestion

After numerous times of almost getting hit from behind by ignorant bike riders who fail to signal when passing, I decided to invest in a handlebar bike mirror.

I need some suggestions as to the type and brand to buy. I am a recreational biker but I want something easy to use and that will hold up well. It would be nice if it was easily removable when transporting the bikes on the rack. I saw the cateye BM-500G but a few people said it did not mount securely and shifted while riding. Some others said it broke too easily. My bike is a Giant Nutra hybrid.

Any suggestions as to the type and model I should be looking at? I was thinking one that mounts in the handlebar end hole since that is mainly what I have seen thus far. I really want to stay away from the velcro strap-on models.

I know of four types of mounts. Glasses, helmet, bar end and brake hood. I have only seen braket mounts with velcro but there may be others.

I have read that the eyeglass and helmet mounts provide the most stable view. Although they apparently take the most getting used to with the mirror position being fixed so close to the eye. They also require the most head movement to get a good view. Of course you must also wear eyeglasses or a helmet with them.

The bar mounts can have large field of views but they do suffer from vibration. You will have larger blind spots with the bar mount from your body and bike. Your FOV will be affected by your steering direction. There won't be large steering angles at speed, but it may affect you at slower speeds.

We used a Blackburn mirror that used Velcro to hold it on the left grip of my wife's hybrid. Did a great job and was removable so that it didn't get damaged when transporting it on the car or going through doorways. (The bike was kept indoors. I have a Take-a-look glasses mounted mirror. I love it. It does not suffer from road vibrations frequently mentioned as a issue for bike mounted mirrors.

Mirrycle (sp?) plugs in the end of handlebar - very stable and highly adjustable using an allen wrench which comes with the mirror. Love it.

Mirrycle (sp?) plugs in the end of handlebar - very stable and highly adjustable using an allen wrench which comes with the mirror. Love it.

Thanks I just ordered the Myrracle on ebay as a result of a lot of positive comments about it.

Mirrycle (sp?) plugs in the end of handlebar - very stable and highly adjustable using an allen wrench which comes with the mirror. Love it.

I have had my mirror http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_info.php?products_id=2722 for about 6 months and LOVE it. Plenty sturdy and very helpful to see traffic. I know I CAN turn my head to see behind me, but with a mirror it is so convenient that I can just glance down and see what is coming up behind me. I would NEVER ride a bike again in traffic without a mirror.

Happy riding,
André

I put the mirror on and it is so much safer than trying to turn around and check for traffic. I should have gotten one years ago. I think I paid about $9 for the mirrycle mirror on Ebay. My only concern is the durability of the thing. Since the mirror attaches firmly to the end of your bars, I am afraid it will shatter if the bike falls over on the side with the mirror. At the very least I think the mirror arms would snap off since they are made entirely of a very rigid plastic material. Time will tell.

I can tell you that your mirror is a quality piece of equipment. I have had the same one on one of my recumbents for about 6 years now. They are very nice mirrors, and I recommend them any chance I can. If the bike happens to go over, yes, it is a possibility that it could be damaged, but that has not been my experience. They're pretty stout little things! :D

I have a $7 Cateye mirror (non glass) mounted in hole of handlebar of Hybrid, good for two years now. Had other more expensive mirrors prior, and broke either the glass or attachment apparatus.

My only concern is the durability of the thing. Since the mirror attaches firmly to the end of your bars, I am afraid it will shatter if the bike falls over on the side with the mirror. At the very least I think the mirror arms would snap off since they are made entirely of a very rigid plastic material. Time will tell.

Most likely the glass will break, and it can happen. I've gone through several Mirrycle's over the years. I probably break one a year, on average. I've had the wind blow my bike over. I've had my bike fall over because I didn't lean it well. I've crashed my bike. Etc. Most times it's been just the glass that has shattered. Only once do I recall bits of the plastic arm chipping off. That time the bolt through the arm got bent, and a piece of plastic chipped off, but the mirror stayed together and was usable until I got around to replacing it.

Despite my having busted more Mirrycle's than I care to think about, I really like them. That I break so many is more of a testament to my ability to drop or crash the bike than anything else.