That's a good question.

My mirror is tuned for me being on the hoods. Even so, to look back, I move my head a little bit up and left. In my normal seating the reflection of the line from my left eye to the mirror, goes through my shoulder. That's unavoidable (unless I got a hybrid or dutch bike with purely upright seating), so I have to tilt up so I can see around my shoulder. If I get down into the drops (rare), then yes I need more "up" to see around my shoulder, but it's within my range of motion. If I am expecting to be in the drops for a while (extremely rare), it only takes one or two taps to noodge the mirror so it is better tuned for that position. Less effort than adjusting the car's rear-view mirror after my wife has driven it.

Speaking just for myself I don't think that they fail to serve a function. They obviously do. But for me the benefits don't outweigh the negatives.

The consensus benefit set forth revolves around being able to see behind you as you ride. Some of the stated reasons for the need to look behind while riding are:

1. To be aware of approaching vehicular traffic and what that traffic is doing--you know is someone drifting into your path, etc.

2. Overall situational awareness.

Speaking just for myself one isn't a sell because first off you are unlikely to see someone about to run you down so to speak unless you are constantly looking in the mirror which distracts from you side and most importantly forward looking situational awareness and two even if you are "lucky" enough to be looking when that car starts to swerve in to you or toward you in most cases you don't have time or space to do much about it IMO. Situations are of course varied.

For number two I think the mirror overall on a minute to minute basis if you make active effective use of it tends as stated above to decrease your total prioritized situational awareness and road path focus.

Lastly, I'm 69 and so a helmet mirror would like be out of focus to me. It would be awkward to have to put on reading glasses to look in my mirror.

If I go from my dutch bike to my road bike it requires a slight adjustment, but offers enough leeway within the range of a given bike.

I actually don't use my mirror to look for that.

I use it more to check if the lane to the left is clear for me to switch over to it, or just move over to the left of my current lane to avoid something - eg. a door opening on a parked car to my right.

With a bar end mirror, you just flick it a little if the position is off. It becomes second nature and you don't even think about it.

The bar end mirrors which become uselessly blurry on broken pavement or cobbles, right?

My point was there's plenty of time to look behind you and check before moving over. Even with a mirror in a vehicle it's still a good idea to turn your head and do a shoulder check before moving.

Well, yeah, I don't look in my mirror unless I have a reason to do so. I'm not going to catch those texting drivers unless I'm extremely lucky. The mirror is somewhat less for safety and more for easily dealing with drivers and cyclists behind me.

A mirror won't be out of focus. It just bounces the light, and your eye focuses on the distant view as usual, not the mirror. I'm looking at the rear view through the top of my prescription lens, the same as looking forward.

Just is not an issue. You neck is an amazing universal joint that can compensate. It's not worth debating - a Take-a-look mirror is about $12 on Amazon. Get one and give it a try.

J.

I tried this too and settled on the Italian Bike Mirror for a while with it's very clean installation. Almost all of the bar mounted mirrors are convex. Convex is a major problem if you ride on roads with fast moving traffic. A car can be 5 seconds behind you and moving 60mph that would put it almost 550 feet behind you. In that convex mirror it's tiny and very hard to see. In this situation a convex bar mounted mirror is almost worthless, I went to the Bike Eye for on the bike (non convex) and back to the Take-a-Look Compact version for the same reason.

J.

Yes, I totally agree. Which is my point. My neck is so amazing that it can swivel my entire head, thus obviating the need for a mirror.

Good for you. Mine, due to an injury, is not. It swivels enough to mange the field of view, but I have to be careful when I look behind.

J.

I don't have any physical impediment preventing me from looking back.

A two second glance to the rear at 20 mph is a distance of 60 feet one has their eyes off the road ahead of them.
Most safety experts recommend a mirror check every 5 to 8 seconds, and that's for motor vehicle operators where speed differentials are far less.

So I just saved myself $12 by turning my head.

I'm not just vain; I'm cheap too.

I'm just trying to live simply. No mirrors. No gloves unless it's cold out. No chamois cremes, usually no chamois. No sweat bands. No bike computers (usually)...

You're basing quite a lot on a grainy photo-shop edited photo with lots of photo artifacts, and without any context.

Here's a little more info.
Cyclist Hit by North County Bus Reaches Settlement | NBC 7 San Diego
And a bit more info here...
https://www.911law.com/documents/Pret...r_Redacted.pdf

Apparently the driver was on a hand held cell phone (or similar) at the time of the impact. And, apparently there is no evidence of him taking evasive action.



The riders are to the right, but not hugging the guardrail. Reports indicate the rear rider had a flashing light, and they all had "visible clothing". From the photos provided, they appear to be visible as the bus is approacing.

I'm not convinced the outcome would have been any better had the riders been more central on the road, except possibly being missed by the tires if they were lucky.

Mirrors might have influenced a decision to bail off the road.

Agree.

Though in my country, drivers go as if they will run you over, then swerve in the last few meters. When I had a mirror, I was always on the edge of running off the road, every few hundred meters. You never know which one will not swerve. So I ended up not looking in the mirror - either that, or stop riding the bicycle.

Another question then - are they still as effective when it rains?

I find the image more difficult to decipher at a glance with my car wing mirrors if it has beads of rain on it - do you get the same issue with helmet or bar mounted mirrors?

It's not a problem. When the image on the mirror is distorted by water droplets, I reach up and wipe it clean(ish) with my thumb. No big deal.

A lot of the questions here, from guys who don't use mirrors, remind me that the use of a mirror is just a skill, and those of us have acquired the skill have found it to be useful. Any difficulties associated with it are long forgotten.

It's kinda like reading. There was a time when I thought I didn't need it, that it was for other people. But somehow my mother persuaded me to learn, and it turned out to be a good thing.

not a serious commuter (more a weekend path rider), but i use a mirror 'cause i have a slight but permanent crick in my neck. i can't turn it as far to the left as i can to the right. so i try to end up with a mirror on all my bikes, even cruisers.

Sounds like it would help to have a mirror!

When one is in the lane, they are dependent on a chain of events happening to prevent an incident, where as one who is in a shoulder or bike lane only needs to be mindful of the remote possibility of a chain of events causing an incident.

I don't know if it is this thread or a different one, but I saw a post to the effect that cyclists are the laughing stocks of the transportation world because of our contradictory, superstitious, and entitled posture. That poster is dead right. This thread is just one example. If I didn't have conversations with real cyclists on occasion about matters of road deportment and equipment I would write it off as trolling, but, sadly, many of you actually believe the superstitious, non-scientific and just plain stupid tripe that you venture opinions on when you are online. Stupid opinions that get you maimed and killed. It is beyond sad. It's heartbreaking actually.

And, so what are the stupid opinions?

• Taking the lane?
• Staying as far right as possible?
• Using Mirrors?
• Looking over one's shoulder?
• Riding on sidewalk vs Paths vs Roadside Marking vs Streets?

I haven't been in a serious bike/car accident in over 40 years of riding, commuting, and recreation. Urban & Rural, and in Eugene, Portland, St. Louis, and a few cities in Italy.

My lane position varies from situation to situation. Generally to the right, although sometimes in the middle of the lane of a low traffic shoulderless rural road, and I'll "take the lane" for some left hand turns.

Oddly, I'm not finding the statistics about lane positioning, mirrors, and etc + serious accidents/fatalities. So, we get inundated with anecdotes, and opinion.

While everyones perceptions are tempered by their personal experiences, and environment meaning there are few hard, fast rules, you're still fairly close to the truth.
On the plus side, most people are far more pragmatic in the real world then the tone a few set here suggests.