himespau 

That's always been my philosophy as well.

klunkrleaguenow

ive never tried a mirror on a bike, if i ever get a roadie or a city bike, i will have to try one. That being said. I drive a fullsize no window cargo van. If you dont trust your mirrors, learn. They can save your life. and rear bumper. and tailgate.

klunkrleaguenow

i like those bar ends. what brand/model are they?

daredevil

You gotta be kidding don't you? Mirrors are not a safety advantage? The ability to see front and back simultaneously is not a safety advantage?

You may not care what traffic is coming from behind 100% of the time, good for you. It's either because you don't need to because traffic is so sparse or you just don't feel a need to see everything that goes by. The first case I understand. The second requires much too much trust in cagers.

So tell me dude, little traffic, or many cars/trucks pass you that you never see coming? Which is it, it's one of the two.

And Spike, you know how wide a view a mirror gives you without turning your head, right?

Not using a mirror because you simply don't want to, that's fine. Not understanding the value of them is just plain idiocy. And the argument that I'm still alive so I must be safe is even more ludicrous.

OK...somebody can criticize my grammar now.

SPlKE 

I never kid about safety.

If a rider has enough skill, and it is a skill, to nonchalantly turn his or her head, every few seconds if necessary, to get a full picture of what's behind WHILE HOLDING A LINE, that's better than any mirror in any situation.

However, if the rider cannot look around, regularly, every few seconds if necessary without swerving around -- which describes most recreational riders for whom 'look left' invariably results in a very dangerous unintentional 'swerve left', etc. -- then mirrors should be a requirement.

I always see all traffic behind me because I can turn my head more than 90 degrees either right or left as many times as I need to in order to maintain full situational awareness... while holding a line (key concept here, in case you haven't gathered that thus far).

I've had mirrors before -- handlebar and helmet mounted. I found them to be nothing more than a distraction.

I'm not anti-mirror. With all the swervey bikers I pass on the roads and MUPs, the ones who can't turn their heads without almost injuring themselves or others, I wish they did use mirrors, huge mirrors. You probably know the type: You say "on your left" and they look to their left to see you, and swerve directly into your path because their bikes follow their heads.

Bekologist

being proud about ones ability to hold a line while glancing behind does not translate into better situational awareness than a mirror.

I ride both with and without mirrors. mirrors unequiviocally allow better monitoring of traffic approaching from behind.

UNEQUIVOCALLY better situational awareness with a mirror. Even if a rider can hold their line while looking over ones' shoulder.

ability does not translate into "better", it only translates into "boasts".

daredevil

Oh my. Maybe this is proof that mirror use is a developed skill.

I guess I shouldn't act surprised. As far as road users are concerned, there are both good and bad drivers. What differentiates them is usually not the ability to handle the car, it's the knowledge of knowing when and where to look. That situational awareness is learned. Young drivers pay higher insurance because they haven't developed the skill. Some drivers never do learn. Much of their safety is left to chance.

Now before somebody tells me a bike and a car are different, as far as sharing the road is concerned, we do the same things.

SPlKE 

incorrect

SPlKE 

incorrect

z90

I ride in urban traffic without a mirror. There are always cars passing me. If I looked in the mirror, I'd pretty much be guaranteed to see a car behind. If I looked in the mirror and saw a car head straight up my backside, I don't guess there would be much I could do about it. Mirrors are a convenience to some, and others find them a distraction. There is no one size fits all answer, and unless you have some statistics to back it up, we will just go round and round with conjecture. And as to cars and bikes, the difference in the visibility from a car, and the size of the mirrors on a car make them very different indeed. My ability to see and hear traffic from my bike without a mirror is far better than my ability to see and hear traffic from a car with multiple mirrors.

Leebo

You guys got it wrong, use the mirror to drop the hammer on the cat6 commuter racers and lance wannabee. Got to get a good jump on them. They get so upset when they can't catch the commuter in mt bike shorts, sandals and on a beater bike

gmt13

You got that right. A mirror is a real advantage. The one time that I was passed in the last 12 months, my mirror failed me. It was dark and a ninja came up from behind. He was past me before I could react, but then ran through a red and got on the sidewalk so I could not return the favor.

How many pages will this thread go on?

-G

SPlKE 

Until it is unanimously agreed upon that everybody who thinks that mirrors are an improvement to all riding situations for all riders are as follows:

flipped4bikes

Really? We're still arguing over this? Man, I knew mirrors was a polarizing issue, but more of a style argument than anything else. To each his own, but IMHO (emphasis mine) I find mirrors very useful.

Camilo

Two intractable positions:

"Using mirrors is absolutely safer than not using them." (note global statement - applies to all riders, all situations).

vs

"I have been able to ride perfectly safely without them in all the riding I've ever done, and therefore have never had a need for them nor do I think that if I were to use them I would be absolutely safer than not." (note individual statement - applies only to the writer and only the situations she/he has ridden in)

Neither side believes the other and both are intractable. But only one thinks their opinion applies to others of whom they have no personal knowledge.

Style has nothing to do with it.

noisebeam

The only statement I'll stand by is that a mirror can make it more effective/efficient/easier to maintain situational awareness.

I would never argue this makes it an essential tool or that it alone improves safety.

I ride both ways: Group ride, no mirror. Solo, always w/mirror (except for travel to start of group ride.)

CB HI

In past post, I have described how over many years, the use of a mirror has allowed me to bail off the road early enough to avoid being hit from behind. In one case, I still got hit, but it was with a folding side mirror rather than the bumper up the ass that would have otherwise occurred.

Ride enough miles, and eventually a mirror will help keep you out of the hospital.

lineinthewater

"that's better than any mirror in any situation"?

My mirror has potentially saved my life on multiple occasions, incidents in which your "better than any mirror" technique would have likely failed. I could debate you endlessly on how inaccurate this statement is, but I really don't care if you wear a mirror or not. Just had to speak up - cracks me up when people make such naive blanket statements.

daredevil

Exactly. You should listen to CB.

You can leave it all to chance and fate by not paying attention to overtaking traffic, I mean, why bother, right? Or you can ride as defensively as possible to hopefully leave yourself an out when something wrong happens.

Funny, that's the same thing drivers should do.

daredevil

Many have talked about the necessary skill of holding a line while looking back and I don't disagree. Here's another skill to develop.

Holding a straight line by using your peripheral vision on the fog line while looking in your mirror. And I'm not talking for a second or two. As long as you want. And be able to process what you are seeing behind, not just looking to look.

Rx Rider

chapter 12 "I've been eaten by sharks . . .
but my mirror told me everything I needed to know before it happened".

daredevil

got anything substantive to add?

SPlKE 

Heh.

This thread just keeps getting better and better.

daredevil

You too dude, how about some substance and specifics in replies. One word and one sentence responses are lame man. It kinda makes you look ignorant and I don't think you are, are you?

btw, what does heh mean? Is that a laugh? At what exactly?

Rimmer

lol

would've spooked me