Best way to Block Blackburn Mirror from Dropping
 

The Blackburn mirror seats in the handlebars. You're supposed to turn a screw that expands the fitting inside the handlbar. Over time, the fitting does not have enough umph to keep the mirror in the bar and the bar drops out on the street. :eek:

Maybe it's me, but I think a mirror should last more then 2K miles. Anybody found a way to add some reinforcement to the mirror to prevent dropping? There doesn't seem to be any way to bold it onto the bar, so I'm thinking of drilling a hole through the carbon bar and adding a bolt.

Mirror looks like this..note the wimpy expander fitting. Fitting should be about 2" longer.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...1L._AA160_.jpg

You could probably stick something between the little parts that expand when you turn the screw. Drill a hole straight through and put a little piece of brake cable or something in there to hold them together. Then again, you may not be able to, I'm not sure exactly what it looks like.

Maybe velcro straps?

I would probably not like the feeling of the bolt under the handlebar grips.

cut a piece or two of old tube and place them around the expanding flutes of the mirror. That will increase the diameter of the plug when it is inserted, and should allow you to clamp it down a little tighter. I used to have one of those, and I think mine came with a couple of different thicknesses of rubber for just that purpose.

See now I can't blame my wife for user error since someone else is having the problem. Hers fell off on her way home from town hall yesterday and I picked it up last night and it had been well flattened by auto traffic. Hers did have the rubber fitting but eventually it just came out.

I'll have to take a look but doesn't that bolt that expands the fittings go pretty deep in there meaning it would be hard to find somewhere to drill through. I'm thinking some mid range epoxy or some sort of glue right now. Maybe even glue some sandpaper like substance to the fittings and interior of the bar to give them some grip. Oh wait hm what about velcro? If it came loose the velcro should at least stop it from falling out right away but that might be pretty impossible to get in there well enough to hold and give it a rigid fit.

I had one, and used the rubber sheath as much as I could.

The thing I've learned about pressure-fit bits like this is that they will always come loose eventually. I just kept re-tightening and occasionally reinstalling mine.

This is what I use. Google "Italian Bicycle Mirror" and you can go to the eBay store that sells them.

I haven't had this problem with my Blackburn mirrors. One problem I did have to overcome which is similar to this, is that the 'bars on my road bike are much fatter than the 'bars on my other bikes. So these mirrors just don't fit properly even screwed all the way down.

The way I solved this problem was to shim the insertion end of the mount with a doubled over piece of inner tube.

Caveat: I have found this kind of mirror to be unsuitable for that bike anyway because of the drop 'bars and my arm being in the way. The brake hood mounted mirror works much better on that bike.

Sorry, i have to take the opportunity to plug the "Take-A-Look" helmet/glasses mounted mirror. Once you get used to it it rocks. You can scan to see what's behind you and what's about to pass you (nearly beside you). If your using drop bars it only takes a minor head movement to see from any position: drops, hoods or flats.

yes, a helmet mounted mirror is the way i go, no other way! like chaser stated above, it can be hard to adjust to, but once you have confidence in use you'll probably never ride without, or loose it like eye-glass mounted, and they are more usable than h/bar mounted!
you'll see!!

Solution that failed: Add rubber tubing or non-slide matting inside the handlebar for the fitting to lock against. Lasted maybe 60 miles

Solution that may work: Keep the tubing and strap pipe hanger around the outside, so the mirror cannot shift.

It's too soon to tell if it'll work.

I have this same mirror and have used it on one of my bikes for about three years.

I used the rubber shim that came with it and never had a problem. I did tighten the "knob" with a pair of pliers to get it really snugged up, in there.

Good luck.

I have several of those Blackburn mirrors on my bike. They come with several different "sheaths" of different thicknesses, at least all of mine have. You want to use the absolutely fattest one that you can jam into your bars with the nut backed all the way out. Then it should work fine. If the fattest one doesn't work, use two of them. If the mirror was installed by someone else and you don't have the other sheaths, you'll need to use some inner tube or something stretchy (not electrical tape).