I used to ride with a helmet mounted mirror. I tried a couple of different types but I could never get them adjusted so that I could see very much without moving my head around a lot. Even then I found it difficult to figure out where exactly whatever I saw was in relation to me. The mirrors are small and it's tough to get the big picture of what's going on behind you.

All that time I was moving my head and looking in the mirror, I wasn't looking forward. It was almost more of a distraction. After the last one broke off I gave up and just started turning my head all the way back to look. I can do it now without swerving.

I'd consider trying a mirror again but it's not a high priority.

I don't trust the mirror with that. If there's not enough time to do a check by turning my head, I don't trust just the mirror. Rather slow down, or move off to the side of the road and stop.

Mirror is good to avoid turning one's head multiple times. Once the situation is clear in the mirror, all it takes is one check (and then back to stage one in case there actually was a car in the mirror's blind spot).

I use one mirror. Why? I don't like turning my head 180 degrees and prefer seeing what's coming up behind me without much effort.

You must ride faster than me. When I see anything in the distance that might block my riding I look behind me. I'll do that for a car in the shoulder or at an intersection if I see someone pulling up to the stop sign. If it's clear I'll move over into the lane for better visibility. If you keep your vision up you won't be surprised very often by obstacles in front of you.

Because situational awareness. No matter what vehicle I'm driving, I want to know where every vehicle near me is and what they're doing from moment to moment. Without a mirror I'd have to be turning my head every 5 seconds or so.

While I'm turning my head, I'm not able to see much of anything (you think you can, but your brain is just blanking out and filling in the blur your eyes are sending it). If I use a mirror I can check behind me in a fraction of a second, MUCH MUCH faster than turning my head and without taking my eyes completely off the road in front of me or to my right.

Yes, of course! Best practice is to know about all the obstacles I passed yesterday before they become visible today; to see all the new ones as soon as they become visible, to see all the potential ones before they happen, and so on. Those of us who've been commuting by bike for 35+ years without incident have made this second nature. In order to do this, I use all the tools available to me; including a mirror.

No, neither do I. It's just part of my equipment, and I use it, fully aware of the itslimitations. It is an easy source of information, albeit incomplete information that I may misinterpret. The mirror is never an excuse for doing something stupid, such as becoming complacent.

When commuting in traffic—which I typically avoid by using bike lanes, side streets or (as a last resort, where legal) unoccupied sidewalks—I like a mirror to keep an eye on approaching cars.

More than just hearing and observing them with a quick backward glance, a mirror helps me know whether they're paying attention and not headed toward me.

Instead of a bar-mounted mirror, I have one that clips onto my eyeglasses temple, which allows me to see it and maintain a forward (not downward) view.
A helmet-mounted mirror would offer similar advantages.

The only issue I've had with my eyeglass mounted mirror is sometimes it gets bumped before I put my glasses on. then I'll look into it and think,
"Man, that dude is following close! At least he's good looking."

I've enjoyed reading the lively discussion.

I don't use a mirror. I haven't used one since I was 10 on my 3-speed banana seat chopper, and I can't recall how I liked it. I may try it one of these days,. As already stated a few times in this thread, it is most important to be alert and aware of your surroundings, much like driving a car. A mirror may or may not help in this regard. I've read some mixed opinions.

I leave for work pretty early so there's very little traffic on the road. When there is an approaching car behind me I can hear it coming, and as soon as I hear it I take a quick look to see how many are in line. I usually take another couple of peeks before the car catches up to me. I suppose if you have neck or back issues then this is not an option. But looking back also alerts the driver that you see him.

My commute home is a bit busier, and though you can still hear the traffic, it does little to alert you of their proximity to you. I can see how a mirror might be useful here.

In any case, your ears is another 'tool' that you can use to your advantage, which amazes me how many casual cyclists I see wearing earphones.

A bike is not a big truck with a big ass trailer...you may or may not be aware of this.

Agreed. I remember once trying ear buds on the way home, thinking that some pumping music would fire me up for the ride home. They lasted about 100yds before I didn't feel comfortable and stopped to ditch them.
No doubt about it, hearing is vital to my awareness.

Plenty of interesting views on this topic. As it's not a big investment, I may grab a mirror to try. I don't feel at all as if I need one, but sometimes you don't know what you're missing.

TN and MS also have FTR (FRAP) laws, but the wording is "practicable", not possible. I do not consider riding the fog line to be safe or practicable. As far right as practicable/safe for me is centered in the lane, when the lane is too narrow for a car and cyclist to occupy side-by-side with the required minimum clearance between them.

Because visibility.

I ordered it last night. Hope I didn't order it too late. The Pope will be here next Tuesday, and I'll be bike commuting every day he's here because Metro is expected to be overcrowded. I almost never drive to work anyway but it goes without saying car traffic will be more hellish than usual. Having a trekking bar and pedals installed on my bike but that includes losing the current handlebar mirror.

I may have to give my Zefal Spy mirror another shot. It was a fail the first time around because it kept slipping on my stock handlebar. The grips on it are wrapped with bar tape but the rest of it is bare metal. The trekking bar will have more wrapped real estate instead of being mostly bare metal, so perhaps I'll have better luck with the Zefal staying in position.

Some people can't look backwards as easily as others. Like me.

On the road as I head towards a place where I need to cross traffic to get left (left turn, or get past a right-turn-only lane), I continually monitor the traffic behind to see when a hole is coming up (or when is the end of the current 'cohort'). When it's time to turn, I do an extra actual look-behind.

Also, when I'm leading a group ride I can see the layout of who's behind me and who might be dropped. This is especially useful on trails (need to maintain attention forward), or when riding with kids in traffic.

I don't use a mirror. I just use my ears and turn my head. If my hearing or neck flexibility diminishes in the future, I may consider getting one.

I don't use one as I don't feel the need for it with one exception. That exception is when for whatever reason I want to merge from the shoulder or bike lane either across or into car lanes. I have poor spinal rotational flexibility and the only way I can adequately look behind me is to stand up and do a quick glance back. Admittedly it's not the best method and a mirror would be better. If I lived in an area not so otherwise bike friendly I would probably get a helmet mirror.

You always need to be aware of what's happening behind you even when on a shoulder or bike lane, arguably even more so. Due to the road crown, a distracted or target-fixated motorist will tend to drift to the right and over the line. I always keep a sharp eye on my mirror when using a shoulder or bike lane to watch for possible cars starting to drift across the line.

My apologies to anyone who may take exception, but most of the reasons given for not using one sound more like vanity then legitimate reasons.
A few have mentioned that they struggle with focus which sounds reasonable, on the other hand not "needing" one doesn't.
I'm sure we can all do fine without one if we have to, but is that really a good justification to limit our awareness resources?

I'm not suggesting anyone is wrong for not using one, I just don't think its wise to suggest they're don't serve a function, or that one can maintain the same level of awareness without one.

When I first got mine (helmet-mounted take-a-look), my eyesballs were major freaked out trying to focus. It took a week maybe before I found a workable mounting position, and my brain figured it out; now it's second nature.

Here's a question for the mirror users: I imagine that the angle has to be set correctly on 2 axes (x: side to side; and y: up and down). X seems straightforward enough since you're generally looking straight ahead and then you use a slight side to side to sweep behind. But what about Y? Do you only keep your head in one position? What about if you lower into the drops? If you tip your head forward, doesn't that mean the reflection is of the sky behind?

For me it helps that the mirror is only visible to my left eye. If I close my left eye, the bridge of my nose blocks view of the mirror. This helps since objects very close to your face usually appear double since their location in perspective is different in each eye.

With my Hub Bub mirror I was able to place it on my helmet so that I can look straight ahead forward down the road, or glance into the mirror and see directly straight back behind me, without having to turn my head even the slightest bit. Then by turning my head I can scan a much wider area behind me.

With my old mirror setup I was having to turn my head left slightly to see the road straight back behind me, which was super annoying.

I position mine based on riding on the hoods of my road bike. While on the bar tops my head is at pretty much the same angle. When down in the drops (rarely) I might have to crane my neck up just a bit higher to see straight back behind me, but I don't hold my head in that position.

On my utility bike where I sit almost straight upright, I do find that I have to hold my head at a slightly different angle to see straight back behind me, but it's generally not an issue.

Turn you hand.



Turn your head.

But what happens if you get deep in the drops? Or conversely, sit up?

I ride a hybrid - no drops - so yeah, head pretty much stays in the same position.

That will probably change though after the trekking bar is installed, because it has the side and far grips in addition to the near grip position. It'll be interesting to find out.