urbanknight

I was about to respond to each individual statement you made, but realized that if you think someone passing a slower vehicle by veering out of their lane and directly behind an even slower vehicle is "good driving", there isn't a snowball's chance in hell of talking any sense into you.

retswerb

I'm still relatively inexperienced, but this has been exactly my question regarding the Varia that so many people seem to love. I ride with a mirror, but I just don't know what I would do with the additional information a Varia would give me.

urbanknight

Just last month I happened to be riding with someone who uses one. He claims he has found it useful and that he "moves to the right" every time it alerts him, figuring it gives him a less close pass at the least. I guess that's something, but I would say that just makes you "feel" safer more than actually safer.

Steve B.

In only started using a mirror 2 years ago, but wonder why I waited. Very useful to see if there are cars behind when I need to make a left, see where fellow riders are, etc... cheap enough.

FBinNY 

Yes, mirrors are handy when needing to move or turn left. It's the only time I find myself thinking about them.

OTOH - after 50 years my neck has almost the mobility of an owls.

Among the various road skills, I consider the ability to look left, or over the shoulder, without drifting left absolutely critical.

urbanknight

A little trick I learned from racing... you can dip your head down and peek under your armpit. It won't be as clear a view as turning your head, but it will tell you if a competitor (or car) is coming up and it won't influence you to drift.

Of course, we also did drills where we had to ride an entire lap around the velodrome looking over our shoulder, so every chooses what works best for them.

FBinNY 

I look under my arm when on the drops. Also, if I need a really good view in heavy traffic, I can take one arm off the bars and turn my whole body, while still holding my line.

GamblerGORD53

Speaking of too close, what about the tornadoes near Joeybike last night. You OK there??

JoeyBike

Yeah, pretty exciting for a while there. Missed me by 7 and 20 miles. The closest one took the exact same track as the big one last year. Poor people just getting their houses back together. We had big lightning and downpours for about 30 minutes as all that passed on both sides. Not a scratch tho.

Thanks for the concern.

JoeyBike

I got my first mirror in 1988 and never looked back! (That's a joke Son!)

If I blast off to work within one minute I'm looking in my mirror on my helmet visor. If I forgot my helmet at home I'm going back immediately just for the mirror! I'm not so sure about helmets doing much good except for holding my mirror which absolutely does me good.

Speaking of mirrors and helmets, no two things are more controversial here. And when it comes to politics, religion, sexual orientation, mirrors, and helmets I pretty much mind my own business (besides the fact that I couldn't care less who votes, worships, or loves who. 100% apathy on all counts). But since you mentioned your love for mirrors I figured supporting you wouldn't hurt anything. I couldn't drive my car without mirrors either. Yeah, I'm a fellow mirror guy. Cheers!

livedarklions

That's a completely illegal pass, city or country. What the hell "major collision risk from behind" could there have been? There's no one behind the car.


Sorry, but this post is idiotic and I would be appalled to see that move whether I was cycling or driving.

bhiter010

i like your photos. really

njkayaker

The real point of a mirror is making it easier for you to check for traffic before you move to the right. It's mostly useless to tell if vehicles are about to run you over.

njkayaker

???

urbanknight

Makes sense. I’m flexible enough to just look over my shoulder or under my armpit, but I can see myself trying a mirror again when that gets achy.

That threw me as well, but I figured it was just a misunderstanding of the term. My guess was they meant a constant stream of traffic with few or no breaks to get into.

Mtracer

I ride with a mirror and Varia radar. The Varia is a relatively new addition. I find the mirror absolutely critical for me. I simply do not have the flexibility to rotate my head around and my ability to hold a line and turn my body is not that great. Also, I can glance in a mirror with much less effort and much faster than turning my head or body.

Just as in a car, having situational awareness from all sides is helpful. Will a mirror or radar allow me to dive for the ditch at the last moment if a car suddenly veers towards me? Of course not. But with a mirror, I can certainly see that a car has made an effort to move to the other lane or at least pulled further away. This is a clear sign that they have seen me. They almost always do this well before getting near me, giving me plenty of time to move as far to the side as possible if needed.

Since I use a mirror, the radar isn't nearly as important to me. But it occasionally brings my attention to a vehicle before I check my mirror. It's very much an unconscious thing now. I think the Varia radar is most useful to those that don't use a mirror. It gives them some idea that something is coming up on them.

JoeyBike

Steady stream of commuter traffic on a narrow 2-lane highway with a 50mph limit. One-inch shoulders with a ditch beyond that. Uphill. Meaning I would be doing 7mph while cars are trying to break the 50mph limit. So they would either be trying to squeeze past me or just infuriated behind me. I crave neither scenario. And it's just rude to do that IMO.

Just because you can doesn't mean you SHOULD.

urbanknight

The point is “bumper to bumper traffic” generally means cars going very slow because it’s so congested. That made it confusing to readers when you said bumper to bumper traffic at 50mph.

JoeyBike

Ah. I didn't realize the inference.

Ever drive on the freeway in Los Angeles area? Want to see "bumper to bumper" traffic do 70 mph? I have. Not literally NASCAR bumper to bumper but at 70 mph the gap between cars lasts a fraction of a second. So their bumpers are a fraction of a second apart even tho there may be two or three car lengths of space. Semantics.

urbanknight

All the time

Yeah I know exactly what you’re talking about. I don’t know if it’s residual from when the traffic is slow or just simple ignorance, but half the people don’t leave anywhere near enough of a gap when speeding along at 70.

Schweinhund

I've been in traffic doing over 70. come drive in San Jose, Oakland, the back way (280) from SF to SJ, and traffic is fast.

mcours2006

The real knock against a mirror is the dork factor. It's high. But most people who don't ride with a mirror underestimate the usefulness of it. I've been riding with one for the last eight years, and I couldn't imagine riding without one for just the reason you stated--that it gives me a more complete, real picture of the cars behind me. Is that useful in avoiding a rear ender? I don't know. Maybe. If there is a 1% chance it could help me evade a collision, I'll take it.

Mirror also very useful in getting into left turn lane, as well as avoid being right hooked by vehicles coming up from behind you trying to make right turn.

Clyde1820

Yup. But that'd have inconvenienced the little blighter. Can't be having that, these days. Bless their deadly-driving hearts, each and every one.

Passing a truck on the right's one of those things that is well worth doing in order to avoid being in a blind spot with a vehicle multiple times larger than most vehicles. But heading into an occupied lane in order to accomplish the feat, putting lives at risk while doing so ... that's essentially criminal. I suspect the sheriff and/or highway patrol (whomever gets tasked with these things in the state) would be very interesting in meeting the person to discuss the documented threat he/she committed.

Strange, that so many haven't gotten "the memo" regarding people having recording devices all over the place. If for no other reason than self-preservation, one would think such idiots would keep it zipped until they're all by themselves on the roadway.

rumrunn6

or my back yard. yesterday I saw some suspicious characters around my condo unit, via my WYZE security camera. saw them loitering & also entering/exiting the woods behind our place. one time, one of them came back out of the woods w/o his coat on. I could see he was wearing overalls. called the management company & asked if they had ppl on the property & after they put me on hold & asked around, turns out they were painters & "probably went into the woods to take care of business" well, OK, I do the same all the time, when cycling alone in remote woodlands, not someone's backyard. so I understand, but it's not a good look for the workmen when they have many other options, like our pool house, or a nearby McDonalds, etc.

Mtracer

I agree, the dork factor is likely a reason many do not consider it. I also agree that it isn't just to see traffic coming up behind you. While I think there is value in seeing the approaching traffic, if you're already riding to the side or shoulder, there's really nothing else you can do. But I find I often prefer to ride closer to traffic in the shoulder due to debris or often a drop-off of pavement. But if I see a car coming in my mirror, and it doesn't look like it will pull away from me, I'll then move far to the side to create more space.

But as you said, other things like, crossing traffic lanes to get into a left turn lane, or to simply see if a car is coming up that might right hook me.

As for dork factor, I use the type of mirror that clips onto my glasses. Pretty much maximizes dork factor. There are some glasses with a mirror integrated as well as tiny ones that stick on to the inside of glasses. I haven't tried those yet. I'm basically not that concerned about what I look like. I wear tight Lycra clothing, though I don't have the physic for it but it's more comfortable. I wear hi-viz yellow jerseys, jackets, and shoe covers in winter. I use daytime lights.

I'll do whatever I think makes me safer and more comfortable. Though I do remove the dork disc from my rear wheels. I do have some limits!