for city riding i find mirrors to be distracting. moreover, depending only on a mirror can be dangerous because they have gaps in coverage. i always look back before i change lanes in fast moving traffic. for ex-urban areas mirrors make more sense.

i tried a helmet mirror for a while, but just didn't like the extra feedback/distraction.

probably just due to habit. i was made to practice the "look back" over either shoulder w/o swerving since i was a kid.

Yeah, I hear you on both points...

Mirrors are cool - your roadie friend just didn't know any better.

I should try a handle bar mirror. I've got a TAL glasses mirror, but it gives me headaches and blocks my 10:30 view.

That's my strategy too. At the hours I commute, there's pretty much nobody on the MUP other than hobos and other commuters, but when I'm toodling along running errands or something, I just slow down to maybe 5-6 mph and give them a cheerful "Good morning/afternoon!" as I pass.

Mostly agree. A mirror can be another tool in your belt. You don't let it do all the work but it's just yet another layer.

Pretty much what I was thinking... Gets super grim and tries to drop people if they're not in full kit. Poophead.

Me too. People get startled and try to get out the way and it makes things worse. I only say "Passing Right!" or "Coming Left!" if the situation dictates it. Then the "Thanks!" or "Good morning!" and such.

i use a mirror on my left handle bar, i love it :)

Who gives a poo-poo what any old (or new) roadie has to say about anything related to commuting?

What, I'd kill you to ring your bell? I have a mirror, and occasionally am passed by someone who I didn't notice back there. Inevitably it happens in heavy traffic when all my attention is on the cars in front of me and the mirror is aimed at the car traffic coming up behind and to the left of me. If someone on a bike turns onto my street and passes me within a block of doing so I may not spot them behind me, and I have to admit it often startles me and irks me. Not that I'd say anything aloud though.

Back on topic: I have a Safe Zone mirror. This mounts to your helmet, has a very adjustable arm to position it just where you want it, and has a nice (biggish) sized lens. I highly recommend this mirror, very easy to adjust when you need to, it shows no signs of wear and tear after nearly two years of daily use, and I really appreciate the field of vision you get from the large mirror close to your face.

I haven't tried the smaller helmet or glasses mounted mirrors, but I was concerned my aging eyes would have a hard time switching from the road ahead to a very small mirror. Also, although I always where glasses or prescription sunglasses, I didn't like the idea of messing around with putting and taking the mirror off of my glasses every time I rode. I tried handle bar mirrors, lots of people say that they work fine for them, but most of the roads I travel over are so rough that I had a hard time focusing on the handlebar mirror. With an impact every 5' or so from seams in the pavement or just plain rough asphalt the mirror might as well have been vibrating. It probably didn't help that I ride pretty upright and so the mirror seemed pretty far away too.

The only time I'd consider riding without my mirror is mountain biking. Although I rode for years without one, now that I have ridden with one I consider a mirror essential.

I mounted mirrors on both of my bikes a few months ago, and now I wouldn't want to go without one. Definitely helps with awareness of traffic around me, especially on busy Shanghai streets with unpredictable traffic.

In NYC I don't need a mirror. I just assume there is someone right behind me as there always is. Don't make stupid moves, if you are unsure about what is behind you don't pull out. There's already enough visual stimulation on our streets in front and to the side of us. The instant I look behind will be the same instant that pedestrian steps right into my path.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm going to look into that mirror.

A buddy of mine in NYC says similar. There IS NO relaxing there. Well actually there is I suppose because it's relative but he says that all situations occur at all times.

The idiotic comments regarding mirrors and why people do not use them when sharing the road never ceases to amaze me. There is not a single good reason not to wear one. Any comment against it can easily be disregarded as nonsense.

Lastly, any mirror is better than none at all but if you truly want to be efficient with your vision, it needs to be head mounted.

I picked up one of the Italian Bike Mirrors off a recommendation. It slips over the bar ends of road bars. I had to rewrap my handlebars twice to get it right. It's ok. Like it but don't love it. Objects are closer then they appear and I can hear them before I can make out if its a car or a big truck. It's totally out of the way and not noticeable so I'll probably just leave it.

I tried a helmet mounted mirror once, and it only distracted me. There is nothing a mirror would do to make me feel safer or actually be safer. Not like a car is going to do anything different, and I already have 360 degree awareness.

Great, if you are racing or riding only in organized rides with little or no traffic to worry about. I don't care about cyclists overtaking me, its the garbage trucks, semi-drivers and school teachers on their cell phones that I want to watch for. People who ride in the real world should use a mirror.

Marc

If you can't even recognize the potential benefits, I'm afraid that only proves you don't know how to use one.

Count me as one of the mirror fans.

I tried a glasses mounted mirror about 30 yrs ago. But I found it distracting. I also seemed to have a hard time interpreting what I saw when I was actually trying to look in it.

But I'm very uncomfortable riding without a handlebar mirror. I use two, in fact.

Whether in a car or on a bike, I'm fond of thinking that NO ONE comes up on me without my knowing it. And it's very nearly true.

The very last thing I need while riding in NYC is another distraction. I've been riding for almost 50 years and never felt that I made a bad decision because I didn't see BEHIND me. I ride and assume that there is something coming and I don't make stupid moves. I wish I could say the same for other cyclists. They are the only ones that will startle me.

The location doesn't matter if you're sharing the road. You're more aware with a mirror and with peripheral vision you can see front and back simultaneously. Thing is, you need one of these devices for it to work.

I just don't understand the concept of being more visually aware as a distraction.

I don't ride with mirrors and have never tried it either..... Maybe one day.. Who knows? For some reason I think that they'll be a distraction for me.

Actually, you don't. That's what peripheral vision is, the ability to detect what's around you WITHOUT a device. With a device you have assisted vision. In a car you need a mirror because you're surrounded and your vision is cut. On a bike you still can see what's on the periphery of yourself even without looking directly at it. I can also HEAR what's coming at me, with 2 exceptions. #1 and the most usual suspect is another bike. #2 is an electric bus or car. We don't have either of those in NYC that I've seen since 1960 (really, you can look it upTrolley bus in Brooklyn). When I lived in Seattle I'd avoid the trolley-bus routes because I couldn't hear them. I haven't lived in Seattle in 30 years now, so not an issue.

So what your saying is if someone disagree with you they HAVE to be wrong? Wow, what an ego!

A mirror may work for you, but I, like others find them distracting. You can try and insist that's wrong, but the fact remains.

As for head mounted mirrors, that only really works for those that wear helmets, and even then they are still distracting. Not to mention I could never feel safe with glass that close to my eye.

I KNOW you'll disagree, but for me it's true and that's all that matters.

I know I sure feel safer with a big blurry spot in front of me!

LOL I wonder if they make prescription mirrors for glasses.

1) When I wear a hood, peripheral vision is very much reduced. As well as vision when i turn my head.

2) In a car you are sitting in a chair and changing your balance, turning etc. won't affect your steering - on a bike it takes some conscious effort and concentration to keep a straight line when turning around.

3) Hearing can be deceptive, as you've said.


So mirrors do come in handy. There are, however, 2 reasons I DON'T use them:

1) One more thing on a bike that can attract thieves - I make it plain, simple and as ugly as can bee.

2) Cars in my country always drive as if they'll run you over, swerving to go past you in the last second. So having mirror always had me scared and stressed - better not to see. Especially since most of the time in places I commute, there's a 20 cm high road side barrier - so no place to run.