Fifty Plus (50+) - mirror on a road bike?

I have been used to riding a hybrid. The hybrid is a great workhorse loaded down with all kinds of dweebie cool stuff including a Berlin ampelman reflector I attached to the seat bag-

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/outwest5/Reflektor_geher.jpg

-and one of those industrial sized mtb mirrors. I have been riding the road bike without a mirror and turning my head to check behind me and listening carefully. I miss the mirror on the road bike. I just can't do that one that hangs off the helmet. I can't do the huge one that hangs off the handlebar on the hybrid.

Do any of you use a mirror on your road bike? I don't even have reflectors on the road bike. I did buy an LED seat stay blinky light for safety in traffic (that thing is blinding!). Do you get used to looking over your shoulder or under your arm? I seem to have been doing fine with that, but an inconspicuous mirror would be nice. Do they make such a thing, would you use one and where would it attach without getting in the way? Do you think they are necessary? I really don't want one on the bike, but at the same time they are pretty handy.

I use this.

http://www.messengermirror.com/

Well, that one isn't too bad. It's hardly noticeable. Any other suggestions?

Nope, I have tried them all.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/New%20Glasses/FSNMNG.jpg

Yah, that one is nice.

http://images.teamestrogen.com/ri/650/650/2010_Spring/CL-019000-BLK_detail1.jpg

There are several brands out there that look like this.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31x7oZWOO6L._SS500_.jpgThere is another by mirricycle that looks like this. The early generation of these were known to break your shifter housing in a crash however. It does put the mirror in a very useful place though, and the mirror is huge. Now I wonder how aero it is and how many rodies will hate it. I believe that it may be shifter specific as well.

The Italian Road Bike Mirror: http://www.aspirevelotech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=RBM_1001

I use these on my Masi and my gf's Fuji. The mirror is glass and totally unobtrusive. You do have to check them from time to time because the adhesive for the mirror can lose it's grip. In general I like them a lot.

And a comparison with pic on the bike: http://www.signatureride.com/PRtwomirrors.html

http://images.teamestrogen.com/ri/650/650/2010_Spring/CL-019000-BLK_detail1.jpg

There are several brands out there that look like this.

I use this as well, works great and does not look bad.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31x7oZWOO6L._SS500_.jpgThere is another by mirricycle that looks like this. The early generation of these were known to break your shifter housing in a crash however. It does put the mirror in a very useful place though, and the mirror is huge. Now I wonder how aero it is and how many rodies will hate it. I believe that it may be shifter specific as well.

Many roadies probably do hate it but it's a darn good mirror. It comes with little wedge spacers to easily fit almost all STI shifters.

The Italian Road Bike Mirror: http://www.aspirevelotech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=RBM_1001

I am using this one on my Roubaix. It is very unobtrusive and the image is never shaky. I like the way it blends in to the handlebar, being wrapped under the tape rather than mounted into the bar end.
192751

Take A Look mirror works well for me. Have to have a wide enough temple to mount.

The only problem that I had with the eyeglass mounted mirrors was the distortion up in the corner of my glasses when using progressive lenses. This may only pertain to those with big correction factors. Since my cataract surgery this has been less of a problem

http://mirrycle.com/product%20images%20large/road_mirror.jpg

Mirrycle Road Mirror for STI (http://mirrycle.com/road_mirror.php). I have them on all four of my bikes.

The point about them being shifter-specific is well-taken. They fit only Shimano, but not the newest ones (7900, 670X and 570X).

Take A Look mirror (http://www.amazon.com/Bike-Peddler-Cycling-Eyeglass-Original/dp/B000C17M26/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1299600190&sr=8-1-catcorr) works well for me. Have to have a wide enough temple to mount.

+1

It looks a bit like a high school Design & Technology project, but it works very well.

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/img/product/full/b/bppylzj7.jpg

+2 on the Take-A-Look - can be found at REI.

The only problem that I had with the eyeglass mounted mirrors was the distortion up in the corner of my glasses when using progressive lenses.

Take-a-look and progressives here and it works great for me. Mirror is high enough to be in the distance zone of the glasses outside of any distortion. But my prescription is moderate and individuals with stronger prescriptions might have issues I don't.

The mirror is "right there" regardless of which bike I'm riding and moving my head slightly allows scanning a wide full-scale view rather than a demagnifed view convex mirrors provide.

I use the Third Eye mirrors (both helmet mounted and eyeglass mounted depending on application) and they work great. Allow scanning to get a huge field of view. Wouldn't ride without one.

Take-a-look and progressives here and it works great for me. Mirror is high enough to be in the distance zone of the glasses outside of any distortion. But my prescription is moderate and individuals with stronger prescriptions might have issues I don't.

The mirror is "right there" regardless of which bike I'm riding and moving my head slightly allows scanning a wide full-scale view rather than a demagnifed view convex mirrors provide.
That wouldn't work for me. My left eye is like the bottom of a coke bottle with a bifocal + a corrective prism on the bottom (over 5 1/2 diopters difference between left and right) .
Something like what BluesDawg is using might work.

+1

It looks a bit like a high school Design & Technology project, but it works very well.

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/img/product/full/b/bppylzj7.jpg
Its the best one I've found. I would be lost without it.

I use this (http://www.cycleaware.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1&zenid=f3b4bpq57ndtl75sl00e6vi485)one.

It works well, but I had to glue some parts that wore out, and I need a tiny zip tie to keep the ball joint tight.

I used to have one on my glasses, but it makes the glasses heavier, and you have to put it on each time. Since I'm already blind in one eye, I'm leary of having rigid wires near my eye (in case of a crash).


The helmet one is on all the time. Looks dorky, though.

The advantage of the helmet one I use is that I can flip it up to do a one-nostril nose blow. If I don't flip it up, it gets stuff on it.

I use this (http://www.cycleaware.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1&zenid=f3b4bpq57ndtl75sl00e6vi485)one.

It works well, but I had to glue some parts that wore out, and I need a tiny zip tie to keep the ball joint tight.

I used to have one on my glasses, but it makes the glasses heavier, and you have to put it on each time. Since I'm already blind in one eye, I'm leary of having rigid wires near my eye (in case of a crash).


The helmet one is on all the time. Looks dorky, though.

The advantage of the helmet one I use is that I can flip it up to do a one-nostril nose blow. If I don't flip it up, it gets stuff on it.
Can't see the picture. Anyway with me, the coke bottle is for my left eye.

The advantage of the helmet one I use is that I can flip it up to do a one-nostril nose blow. If I don't flip it up, it gets stuff on it.

Come on. ;) This is a bicycling forum. Use the correct terminology, please. You are referring to "launching a snot rocket".

+1

It looks a bit like a high school Design & Technology project, but it works very well.

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/img/product/full/b/bppylzj7.jpg

+1 for me.
Tried riding without it once and realized how well it worked for me and how much I needed it.

Come on. ;) This is a bicycling forum. Use the correct terminology, please. You are referring to "launching a snot rocket".

I'm sure I wasn't the only cyclist laughing when Tiger Woods got in trouble for spitting during a golf tournament. I kept thinking "he only spit? Sheesh, you don't even have to drift out of the paceline to spit. It's not like he hit a spectator with a snot rocket." Of course, pro cyclists have to be careful where they spit or launch snot rockets, for fear of someone collecting it and sending it to a testing lab.

I have the same problem as Alanknm in that Im legally blind in my left eye and it doesn't correct very well. helmet and glasses mounted mirrors are not going to work for me. I use one of those small mirrors that mount into the end of the bar on my Tarmac, and like it a lot.

The end of the handlebar route sounds like the right way to go for me.

The glasses or helmet mount sounds like a non-starter. I also have this vision of swatting the whole works off my head when the bugs are out in the summer. :lol:

I lost a pair of prescription sunglasses in the lake once when I was fishing. My wife hauled in a pike that was flopping like crazy. The fish smacked me in the face, 3 treble barbed hooks on the plug whistled past my ear and plunk ! There go my glasses ! :notamused:

I've kept my glasses on a chain or a string around my neck ever since then.

+2 on the Take-A-Look - can be found at REI.

Another vote for the Take-A-Look. Both my wife and I use them, except we mount them to the helmet rather than glasses.

Of course, pro cyclists have to be careful where they spit or launch snot rockets, for fear of someone collecting it and sending it to a testing lab.[/QUOTE]


:roflmao2::roflmao2::roflmao2:

Sounds like an episode of CSI.

I agree with the Italian Road Bike Mirror, Have it on both my roadies, tried lots of others, settled on it because it performed the best for me.

Just so the OP knows, there are some of us out there who are perfectly comfortable using our hearing and ability to look behind ourselves to know what is overtaking us. I know that the day will come when I will either lose enough hearing or get significantly less flexible and then I will join the ranks of the mirror users.

I do wonder why so many of the people who have mirrors on their bikes/helmets/glasses don't seem to look in them. I regularly overtake people who are surprised by my presence and I wonder why they didn't see me. Maybe mirrors don't work so well for seeing cyclist-sized objects?

I've had good luck with the Third Eye Bar End Mirror. http://www.3rd-eye.com/%2809%29.htm. They're a bit larger than the aero type mirrors. They afford me a fairly wide view of the road.

Just so the OP knows, there are some of us out there who are perfectly comfortable using our hearing and ability to look behind ourselves to know what is overtaking us. I know that the day will come when I will either lose enough hearing or get significantly less flexible and then I will join the ranks of the mirror users.

I do wonder why so many of the people who have mirrors on their bikes/helmets/glasses don't seem to look in them. I regularly overtake people who are surprised by my presence and I wonder why they didn't see me. Maybe mirrors don't work so well for seeing cyclist-sized objects?

I don't really look in my mirror a lot when I'm riding unless I am planning to move in some direction other than straight ahead. I'll occasionally glance at it on long straights to see if someone is coming up behind me but not often.

My main reason for using the mirror instead of turning my head is that, around here anyway, a glance to the left seems to signal to drivers that I'm about to jump out in front of them. They will often change speeds or lanes to avoid me (even though I've made no move yet). Instead, I use the mirror until I see the break I need then I do a quick head check to make sure I didn't miss anything and go. Much easier for me to time things without freaking out drivers coming up behind me especially when I'm needing to cross 4 lanes of 50 MPH traffic to get to a turn lane.

...My main reason for using the mirror instead of turning my head is that, around here anyway, a glance to the left seems to signal to drivers that I'm about to jump out in front of them. They will often change speeds or lanes to avoid me (even though I've made no move yet). Instead, I use the mirror until I see the break I need then I do a quick head check to make sure I didn't miss anything and go. Much easier for me to time things without freaking out drivers coming up behind me especially when I'm needing to cross 4 lanes of 50 MPH traffic to get to a turn lane.

Wow, that's awesome that the motorists are so attentive and courteous where you live. I sometimes think my class 3 flagger jacket is really an invisibility cloak. (Someone else wrote a letter to the editor here last year with the same observation.)

I have tried several times to use my Take a Look, mirror, I just can't use it. I have bar end mirrors on my road bikes, and would hate to have to give them up.

...[snip]...
Instead, I use the mirror until I see the break I need then I do a quick head check to make sure I didn't miss anything and go.
...[snip]...

That's pretty much the way I use a mirror too.

A Motorcycle Safety Foundation instructor here described a mirror as having a one word vocabulary. It can only say "No". If the road behind looks clear in the mirror, you still need to turn your head and do a visual check before changing lanes.

http://images.teamestrogen.com/ri/650/650/2010_Spring/CL-019000-BLK_detail1.jpg

There are several brands out there that look like this.

My choice also. DO Not waste your $ on the $6 Topeak bar end mirror at Wally World. Junk, the mirror adhesive is crap and you will loose your mirror to the road.

Thanks everyone! Great ideas. I didn't realize they made ones for the end of the handlebars.

When I was a MSF Instructor we used to call it "the look that saves." You take that look because there are blind spots in mirrors not to replace mirrors. Thanks to a "career" of HS and college football neck injuries exacerbated by a motorcycle crash in 2001, I have no choice but to use a mirror on my road bike. I also do my best to use "the look that saves."

When I was a MSF Instructor we used to call it "the look that saves."

It's apples and oranges. You need to "take the look that saves" on a motorcycle (and in cars) because the mirrors are fixed and give limited fields of view. With an eyeglass or helmet mounted mirror, the fov is wide (the angle subtended by the mirror with it being so close to the eye is large) and you can easily scan the view by rotating your head , so there are no blind spots. And the image is one-to-one, not demagnified as with the typical convex motorcycle mirrors. I'm a very experienced motorcycle rider...even rode a Harley once or twice ;-).

A Motorcycle Safety Foundation instructor here described a mirror as having a one word vocabulary. It can only say "No". If the road behind looks clear in the mirror, you still need to turn your head and do a visual check before changing lanes.

That's pretty much the line in the UK too for motorcycles ... I do use a Take-A-Look on occasions, but never forget to actually look behind. A mirror is only a guide.

If you have difficulty turning your head, leaning forward and looking back helps.

If you have difficulty turning your head, leaning forward and looking back helps.

Or look back through the gap between the arm and torso.

+1 for me.
Tried riding without it once and realized how well it worked for me and how much I needed it.

I use that type of mirror too. I started wearing one 7 years ago after I noticed others in the club using them. I dont like to ride without one now.

I use this.

http://www.messengermirror.com/

I use that as well (much better than my third eye mirror that clips to my glasses) and like it a lot, but I should have the mirrors that fit into the bar ends at the bottoms of the drops waiting for me at home tonight and I'm anxious to try those especially for the rides in which I don't want to use my glasses.

Wow, that's awesome that the motorists are so attentive and courteous where you live.
Their "courtesy" is far from helpfull and has landed me in dangerous situations too often. When you are making a lane change and a car suddenly hits the brakes and blocks your path of travel because "OMG, there is a bicycle on the roadway!", I'd settle for invisibility.

That's pretty much the way I use a mirror too.

A Motorcycle Safety Foundation instructor here described a mirror as having a one word vocabulary. It can only say "No". If the road behind looks clear in the mirror, you still need to turn your head and do a visual check before changing lanes.


+1000

I have one of the bar-end mirrors but it just kind of plugs into the handlebar plug that comes with it, and every time I hit a bump, even a small one, it bounces down and out of position.

Has anyone found a way to keep the bar-end mirror in position? I tried using some of that gritty stuff that you put between two carbon fiber components, and that helped a little, but I still need a real solution to the problem. Any suggestions short of gluing it in place?

Rick / OCRR

I've heard that wrapping the ball that you put into the cup of the bar end in duct tape makes it s very tight fit and doesn't allow it to jostle much. I'm waiting to see how it goes when I install mine (might be a while as I'm putting new brakes on and that'll require re-wrapping the bars after I redo the cables.

The end of the handlebar route sounds like the right way to go for me.

The glasses or helmet mount sounds like a non-starter. I also have this vision of swatting the whole works off my head when the bugs are out in the summer. :lol:

I lost a pair of prescription sunglasses in the lake once when I was fishing. My wife hauled in a pike that was flopping like crazy. The fish smacked me in the face, 3 treble barbed hooks on the plug whistled past my ear and plunk ! There go my glasses ! :notamused:

I've kept my glasses on a chain or a string around my neck ever since then.

All of these posting are useful indeed and a fish story to boot. Thanks!