unkchunk

Glasses mounted (Take-a-Look) Tried a handlebar mount but the road vibration irked me.

Sirrus Rider

I politely disagree. They're the heaviest glasses mounted mirror around..

SSP

I just weighed my standard-length Take-a-Look on a digital scale - it came in at 9.2 grams. The compact-length would weigh less.

That's pretty light, and after tens of thousands of miles, and thousands of hours, I can honestly say that I've never noticed the weight of the mirror.


Some other advantages of the Take-a-Look are its secure mounting to the glasses, its rectangular mirror that provides a wide field of view (compared to round mirrors), and its ability to be easily adjusted on the fly (yet stay "set" after doing so).

GCRyder

Helmet mount. I'm a little suprised at all the votes for various forms of bar-mounts. I tried several of those, but they all bounced so much that everything just looked like a blur. They also had too narrow a field of view, except when it was stopped and could swivel the bars. With a helmet mount, I can swivel my head anytime I want.

I had one eyeglass-mount that worked even better at showing a blur-less view, but I lost it somewhere on day 2. I guess you technically CAN keep a mirror mounted to your eyeglasses at work all day, if you're into that look, but I wasn't. At least now I have to lose my helmet to lose the mirror (not yet).

tarwheel 

Bar-end mount. I've tried the helmet mount and eyeglass mount and didn't like them -- they got out of adjustment easily and I spent too much time with my eyes off the road trying to adjust them or get my bearings. Bar-mount mirrors also get out of adjustment when you hit bumps, etc, but are easy to realign. I use a Third-Eye mirror on my commuter bike because it has the largest mirror. On my faster road bikes, I use a mirror similar to the Italian bar-end mirrors (can't remember the brand). They are very sleek and almost not noticeable, and easy to install. The mirror image is small but still very functional.

littlewaywelt

bar end

noisebeam

I tried Take-A-Look twice for extended periods - once for a month. I could not adjust to the peripheral vision blockage, nor get it set up to see over my backpack strap, which mean sitting up to use mirror which was annoying. I also switch glasses sometimes during my commute and always at the end of my commute, so there was a lot of mirror switching and storage needed.

The handlebar gives a great field of view (Blackburn, an oval shape). Sure it vibrates a bit and a lot on rough road. But that I found is more an aesthetic issue than a functional problem. Even with vibration I can still see other vehicles and still assess distance and lane position when closer.

Al

sping

Funny - my feelings are the exact opposite. My experiments with helmet mount had just those problems, and I've never had that issue with the bar mount Mirrycle, though I mount it without its second arm. I had a little of that problem with the Third Eye, which uses a rubber mount inside the bar.

Probably quality is the big issue for both types. Whatever helmet mount I tried, it vibrated to the point of unusability, and I couldn't get it in a good position to both see it, and see back past the helmet and/or my body. Perhaps I should try again some time.

Intheloonybin

Sorry I did not use the poll function correctly. I tried to set it up that way, but this is what I got.

I bought a bar end last night, and am glad I did as today was my first ride in snow.

I chose the bar end due to wearing ski goggles during cold days. I know if I had one on my helmet, it would get broken off. The bar end worked pretty well for me.

I appreciate all of the feedback on this. It was interesting to see what people used and why!

mmerner

#5

steeef

Another vote for Take-A-Look. I always have some form of eye protection on, even if it's safety goggles. I like being able to turn my head around to see whatever I need to.

devianb

5. I don't use a mirror. I try to keep as few accessories on the bike as possible. I manage just fine looking over my shoulder for a second.

jwbnyc

I've been re-visiting mirrors. Haven't had much luck with them in the past.

I've been using the long Take A Look and the Bell Metro visor mirror. The Bells don't have a great reputation. I'm liking it after figuring out how to use it to best advantage. It's nice that it stays on the helmet. The Take Look works well. I don't like having to constantly install and remove it though. It might be better in the warm weather when I do not use a visor.

Seems I've joined the mirror crowd.

GCRyder

I actually don't like having a mirror hanging off my helmet, so I'm certainly open to considering a bar mount if I could find one that gave even a moderately useable view. That Mirrycle is one I didn't try. Does it have some way of mounting on drop bars with aero levers? The road version instructions on their site don't look like the mirror would fit that application.

My helmet mount is not perfect, but as long as I keep the chin strap fairly snug, it gives a much clearer view than any of the bar mounts I tried (I couldn't distinguish a car from a building with those). One thing I have discovered about the helmet mount, though, is that I started out adjusting it wrong. At first, I instinctively set it so that a small part of my shoulder and backpack was visible, like the way most of us adjust a side mirror on a car so that a small amount of the car is visible. It turns out this instinct is wrong on the bike, at least for me. If I adjust it so that I'm "looking into space" over my left shoulder, it actually works better. The view of the roadway behind is so clear that there's no need to have a reference point closer to me.

Allister

I've got a couple of these.



Reasonably vibration free, and give a nice field of view.

I tried a helmet mount mirror, but I didn't like only being able to see in it with a single eye. Made it much harder to judge distances. The handlebar position feels more natural, and on the recumbent they're in a very similar position to the mirrors on my car.

sping

Bah, looks like a problem. I have flat bars + the Mountain Mirrycle.

The "mountain" version could go on your bar ends (diameter permitting), but that would put it a long way from your forward field of view, and/or be obscured by your arm. I think it has enough articulation for that - First leg would go outwards, second leg forward and up, then mirror can twist side-to-side.

That's probably the crux of the different vibration experiences. In the bar end, mine's very firmly mounted. Adjustment requires an allen key.

SSP

Of all the bar mounted mirrors I tried, that one was the best. I think it's manufactured by CatEye, and sells for around $6 or so.

Still not as good, IMO, as the Take-a-Look, but a strong second place.

noisebeam

I use this mirror on the bike bike with 'bullhorn' handlebars:

And this one on my bike with drops:


Al

Sir Bikesalot

+1 I use this one too; I like it. Except for the fact that it sticks out a little.

CMY

CatEye..

noisebeam

That's one thing I like about it. Since it sticks out it prevents my body from blocking any part of the view, With the wide oval shape I can see from curb to curb on a 5 lane arterial with a steady glance.

Al

ch9862

I use glass-mounted take-a-look. Every now and then I'm tempted to attach it to helmet though, so that I can use my other glasses - take-a-look does not work with all frames.

thebulls

I use helmet-mounted Take-a-Look.

Handlebar-mounted mirrors vibrate too much and were always getting broken.

Eyeglass-mounted mirrors do no good when you have to take the glasses off because they're fogged up or covered with rain, or when you have to switch between your day-riding and night-riding glasses. Or when you just don't want to wear glasses.

Of the helmet-mounted, only the Take-a-Look's are vibration-free and easily adjust and then keep their position on the fly. But ... about every six months, on average, I have to re-glue the mount, as it gets jostled enough or whacked that it comes off. But it's always been easy to re-glue, using whatever glue comes to hand.

GCRyder

It's reassuring to know I'm not the only one who's had that experience. I did try that Cateye, and it was the "last straw" basis for my decision to use the helmet mount, which hardly vibrates at all. Or, at least, my eyes vibrate along with it. With the Cateye, I couldn't tell a light pole from a gas truck unless I was stopped. The experiences of others make me wonder if I was doing something terribly wrong with the bar-mounts.

energyandair

We have Mirrycle, bar end mirrors on all our bikes. Of the mirrors we have tried, these are easily the best. They bgive the best and most stable view. They also seem tougher and we set the allen head fasteners so that they are firm but we can still turn the mirror in when space is tight. They come with two different inserts to cope with bars that have large or small internal diameters.
David