work4bike

I ride on very busy roads, many without bike lanes and I always use a bar-end mirror, have been for well over 20 years. I can hear the cars, but hearing is not enough for me, because I don't like trusting motorists, I want to see what they're doing, it's funny some of the things they do back there, but that's a whole 'nother thread...

On mirrors being a distraction. Yes they are in the beginning, but they are a tool that one must learn to use to be effective. I look in my mirror a lot, given the heavy traffic and I've trained myself to not just look for vehicles, but protrusions, like large mirrors, things in the back of a pick up, things sticking out the windows and things being pulled on a trailer...

I do this all with very quick glances. It does take practice to not get distracted, but so does riding near the beach in my area... A lot of scantily-clad hotties and they're much more distracting than my mirror

Like I said, a mirror is a tool, just as a hammer is a tool. If you smash your fingers, do you stop using a hammer?

BassNotBass

I would never think of driving my cars or riding my motorcycles without rear view mirrors and don't understand how cyclists can.

BlazingPedals

Mirrors are pretty much required for recumbents. The more reclined you get, the harder it is to turn your head and look behind. So I have several eyeglass mirrors. That way, like my Garmin, they move easily from one bike to another.

deacon mark

The mirror is as important as helmet and I use helmet mirror. Take a look it is great.

Artmo 

My wife and I use this https://www.coloradocyclist.com/cycl...I_2GgLE7_D_BwE and would not be without one. I also have a bar-end convex one on one of our tandems, but it is bit deceptive. I've tried the glasses mounted type, but could not get used to it as it was too close to my eye.

jppe

I did another 3+ hour ride today and I got a little more used to riding with the Sprintech bar end mirror. I'll keep mine on for a while longer to see if experience using it is a factor. I have hit the mirror with my legs when standing sometimes.....a combination of narrow bars and poor technique. Today I was more intentional about when I looked back using the mirror which meant I was looking forward more than my first ride. That felt better.

From what I'm hearing some of the helmet and temple mounted mirrors have better depth vision and probably would do a better job with seeing vehicles further away. I just don't think I'd like having something like that mounted up that high----just a personal choice.

caloso

I do not. I seem to be in the minority.

Bob Ross

In fairness, cyclists don't change lanes nearly as often as automobile or motorcycle drivers do.

caloso

My bike doesn't have pillars or passengers to block my view when I turn my head.

canklecat

FWIW, I don't rely on mirrors to obsess over how vehicles are approaching me or to decide whether to bail out if they seem to be on my tail. If I'm distracted by what might happen in a very improbable situation like that, I'm not paying attention to the road ahead where the actual hazards are.

I take a quick glance when I hear vehicles behind me, but that's all. At that point they're around 100 yards away. If they're in their lane, good. If they veer into my backside a few moments later I probably won't be able to do anything about it.

I mostly rely on the mirrors for changing lanes, or when I need to veer off my line to avoid an obstruction. And I've been working on neck flexibility over the past couple of years. I can't quite turn my head properly but can lean forward and sorta peek under/around my arm, so I'll do that after checking the mirrors to be sure.

One reason I enjoy night riding is it's easier to track vehicles behind me by the shadows cast by their headlights. If one happens to be on my tail it's easier to judge by the shadow, so I'll take a peek in the mirror, maybe over my shoulder. As long as they're actually using headlights. If not, well, not much I can do about that either.

jppe

I've observed vehicles with running lights are much easier to spot even on the brightest days.

Jim from Boston

Quote:

Originally Posted by canklecat

FWIW,I don't rely on mirrors to obsess over how vehicles are approaching me or to decide whether to bail out if they seem to be on my tail. If I'm distracted by what might happen in a very improbable situation like that, I'm not paying attention to the road ahead where the actual hazards are.

I take a quick glance when I hear vehicles behind me, but that's all. At that point they're around 100 yards away. If they're in their lane, good. If they veer into my backside a few moments later I probably won't be able to do anything about it.

I mostly rely on the mirrors for changing lanes, or when I need to veer off my line to avoid an obstruction. And I've been working on neck flexibility over the past couple of years....

I posted previously, as a self-proclaimed "mirror maven," wearing both left and right Take-a-Look eyeglass-mounted ones. This post exactly mirrors how I use mine. Indeed Jim’s Law of the Road (“No matter how well paved or lightly-traveled the Road, a vehicle is likely to pass you on the left as you encounter an obstacle on the right.”) describes that need to "veer off my line to avoid an obstruction."

I also wrote that

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

While one may not agree with the utility of a mirror, it's always disheartening to me to read of active discouragement of the practice, in this case based on one incident.

IMO shoulder checks also have their drawbacks, such as limited rotation of the head and torso, distraction of forward vision, possible deviation of the handlebars as one twists; whereas a mirror does allow easy and frequent rearward monitoring to anticipate problems.

I have proposed that speeding downhill on a pothole-strewn road, with parked cars on the right and heavy traffic on the left, is most amenable to a rearview mirror, and most unfavorable to shoulder checks.

It seems most of the naysayers to mirrors just assume mirrors are only useful in a bail-out situation, or they may distract from looking forward. The only other drawbacks of rearview mirrors I could further think of are the learning curve as a distraction as one learns to use them comfortably, or the risk of getting stabbed by an eyeglass-mounted one. From my experience though, that type is the most useful, and far outweighs the risk.

Rick@OCRR

Several years ago I was riding a double century with a famous ultra-cyclist I knew, when, at about mile 145, there was an enormous pace-line crash which she was involved in; yet I (trailing about 30 ft. off the main pack) managed to avoid (just).

As I was helping the EMT guys load her onto a body board so she could be put in the ambulance, one of them took off her sunglasses, removed her eyeglass mirror and handed it to me. She was badly concussed, kept asking me, “Rick, what happened?” every ten seconds or so. I kept giving her the same answer, “You were involved in a crash, you are hurt and going to the hospital. You’re going to be okay.”

After all the ambulances has gone and the SAG vehicles had picked up the bikes of the all the crash victims I was left standing there alone, with her mirror in my hand. I did manage to summon the courage to finish the double, her mirror stuffed in my jersey pocket.

Many months later, when she was recovered, we were talking on the phone and I told her I’d gotten her mirror after the crash and I would mail it back to her. She said she had lots of extras and I could just keep it and use it.

So I did. I used it for commuting to work at first, but then on club rides and eventually on double centuries. It was the Take-A-Look brand but it worked on my glasses, I got totally used it to, depending upon it in fact, and I’ve used one ever since.

All thanks to the kind generosity of the Very Famous Isabelle Drake.

Rick / OCRR

Biker395 

How cool!

I think I started using a mirror on a tour that required it. I was hooked soon thereafter.

Carbonfiberboy 

Get her to burn a front flasher. Amazing how much shorter a glance it is to see that flasher. For your safety! We've been burning flashers at both ends all the time ever since I got turned around on a serious ride by an overzealous Park Service ranger for not having a front flasher. More and more of my riding buddies are doing the same.

Flip Flop Rider

It takes a few times or more to get the adjustment you want.

I started with this one: https://www.amazon.com/Mirrycle-MTB-...ds=bike+mirror

and could never get used to the feeling when it was attached directly to the bar, didn't like it. Through experimentation, I drilled a hole in my ergon bar end handle and attached the mirror using 2 zip ties, now I love it.

Did the same with the next mirror, and it works great too, although the view is better on the first mirror (2 bikes, 2 mirrors). Drilling the holes and attaching was the key for me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

bicyclridr4life

flat glass helmet mount

canklecat

Regarding the Mirrycle, it can be mounted without the elbow joint that runs horizontally between the mirror and upright post that connects inside the handlebar.

I did that on my bike with wide riser bars to make the profile a bit narrower. I worried that I'd snag someone along the narrow MUP, even though I ride slowly when passing or approaching people. In fact I did bump a friend riding alongside me -- bumped his elbow with the mirror. So I removed that horizontally extending elbow joint.

This does hinder up/down adjustments. So I had to take a test ride, keeping a wrench handy, to lock in the desired height. But that was easy. It still retains the side to side pivot. And the Mirrycle has such a wide angle view these adjustments aren't critical -- close enough is close enough.

cccorlew

I got one years ago when the folks running Seattle to Portland recommended it. I got a Take a Look and was used to it in an hour or less. So used to it that after the ride when I was walking and heard noise behind I'd glance left for a peek, even though it wasn't there.

I never wore one as a young rider. It's a concession to being 64 and recognizing my head isn't on the swivel it used to be that I embrace my mirror.

Papa Tom

I do the same thing...ALL THE TIME!

NVanHiker

Another endorsement of the Mirrycle, although I used to have an eyeglass-mounted one that was great. This is how good it is: I can trust it crossing the exits on the Interstate without looking around. Now that's confidence.

grayEZrider

Added a helmet mount the day I bought a new Giro helmet. Since I ride the hoods 90% of the time, I only need to adjust it to the same rear view in my drive before taking off. Then turning the head the same minor amount to get a "long view" became an easy habit and took only a few days to master. Helmet mount is far cheaper than bar mounted on nine bikes as well!

Loose Chain

I have helmet mirrors for my bikes with bar ends and bar end mirror for a couple of bikes that are DT shifting. I could not imagine not having a mirror even on rural roads.

canklecat

Mirrors are great for irony too.

Before Thursday's ride I decided to adjust my saddle to reduce back and neck strain. It was too far back and I noticed I kept scooting back to avoid sitting on the nose of the saddle. But that felt inefficient. Pretty clear I needed to adjust the saddle.

And I got one of those pesky sharp twinges in the lower back bending over to adjust the saddle.

Went for a ride anyway.

And used my helmet and handlebar mirrors a lot to avoid needing to twist around to look behind me.

Yay, mirrors.

Jim from Boston

FYA, I posted earlier on this thread about using left and right Take-a-Look:BTW the only irksome thing for me about Take-a-Look mirrors is that those rubber sleeves on the prongs of the attachment end to grip, to the eyeglasses, tend to slip off and are easily lost. I learned of a product sold at electric stores (don’t know brand name) that is hollow tubular insulating material that will shrink around those prongs when heated and becomes firmly attached.

ADDENDUM: