Bike Forums - Mirrors

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Slaninar (Post 16519941)

Of course.

We are in complete agreement on the blind spot thing, but I guarantee you that there are folks who claim...................

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregjones (Post 16519955)

We are in complete agreement on the blind spot thing, but I guarantee you that there are folks who claim...................

.......with a helmet- or glasses-mounted mirror, with just a slight swivel of the head, there is no blind spot.

I also like the Take A Look mirror. I think it's the best of its type. It takes a lot of practice at first.

I don't use it on every ride, because some rides are so short, I just want to get out of the door fast. Then when I don't have it, I miss it.

1. Yes, a cheap big convex mirror I got at Dick's Sporting Goods. It's mounted to my handlebar. (http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/pr...uctId=12749870)
2. I've never seen one mounted to an arm. It would take away the mirror while I was signaling left turns...so maybe not too practical.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregjones (Post 16519789)

… I'm NOT going to put one [mirror] on my sunglasses, I don't wear a helmet and don't really have anywhere on the bars on my commuter that one wouldn't be in the way.

I can't see having the time to do anything about a car hitting me from behind with a 40 mph+ closing speed and I've never wrecked glancing behind me to check traffic in a car, big truck, motorcycle at twice speed limit or a bike.

Even if I had a mirror I still believe that I would "check my blind spot".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slaninar (Post 16519941)

Of course..

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregjones (Post 16519955)

We are in complete agreement on the blind spot thing, but I guarantee you that there are folks who claim...................

Hey. I resemble that remark! I recall replying to a similar opinion a few months ago, and when I found the thread, to my surprise, the exchange was then with gregjones in a spinoff on the thread, "Afraid of the dark.":

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregjones (Post 16260934)

I have driven vehicles ranging from motorcycles, sports cars, station wagons and several million miles worth of big trucks. Every last one of them has had a blind spot. It is a fool that make a maneuver trusting only his mirrors…

I don't use a mirror on a bike because I'm gonna turn and look anyway. There's no way that I would trust a mirror to move myself and bike into what at a minimum would be 10 to 15 times bigger than me and moving two to five time faster. I'll look.

Use a mirror if you care.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 16260557)

Any mirror is …better than none at all requiring a head and shoulder turn and complete loss of forward vision…

Besides just offensively monitoring the upcoming traffic, a mirror can save split seconds when you have to defensively avoid unexpected obstacles and evade approaching traffic, while still maintaining near-continuous forward vision.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 16262577)

IMO, the use of a mirror is a matter of choice, but I dispute the categorical assertion that it is foolish to make a maneuver trusting only a mirror.

As I mentioned above, as a conscientious cyclist who wears right and left eyeglass mirrors I regularly though not excessively monitor the traffic behind me and I’m usually aware of the situation, including my usual blind spot with the mirror. I determine that blind spot to be about, say 8 feet wide and about 20 feet long, to my immediate left and behind.

Just this morning on a quiet road, I did a head and shoulder turn to assess this area. Even using my peripheral vision, which is less sensitive than direct vision, I had to turn significantly to completely visualize this area, taking my forward vision totally away for a brief period. Furthermore, it seems to me that perhaps the act of twisting my upper body may slightly deviate my forward direction of travel. In my mind to turn and look, with this brief loss of forward vision and control is risky, especially if I have preemptively been checking my surroundings. I may travel at least several feet at usual speed under these circumstances while perhaps simutaneously approaching a nearby obstacle.

I think these disputes that so often arise on BF may occur because the subscribers only relate to their own cycling circumstances. I can understand why someone riding rural, lightly-traveled and perhaps well-paved roads might not feel the need for a mirror, and rely on their hearing and rearward glances. On my urban commute where auto traffic may be heavy, bike lanes narrow, and hazards frequent and sudden, my mirror is the best bet.

Even on a quiet country road though, one rearward hazard I have encountered is that when a car passes, I can never be absolutely sure that another car is not immediately behind, and briefly the road noise sounds only like one car passing. Watching in the mirror as one or two cars approach and pass makes the situation perfectly clear.

Jim’s Law of the Road: “No matter how well-paved or lightly-traveled the Road, a vehicle is likely to pass on the left as you encounter an obstacle on the right.”

I also wrote to this thread, "How Do You Check the Traffic Behind You?":

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 16394142)

Also in winter, my head and neck are so swathed in neck and face wear that turning around becomes more limited, and hearing is diminished, making the mirrors even more useful.

BTW, In June of 2012 I was hit from behind (while wearing a mirror) and was in the hospital for six weeks. I did not see it coming in my mirror, perhaps because I was on a wide, lightly traveled, low-speed-limit residential road. Perhaps I may have been able to bail out, but If I had seen it, I surely would be traumatized with PTSD. Maybe I might have stiffened up and suffered more damage.

I have confidently resumed my commuting because, even as before the acccident, I am much more secure with my rearview mirrors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregjones (Post 16519789)

Even if I had a mirror I still believe that I would "check my blind spot".

sounds reasonable, because I also drive, use my rearview mirror and if I have to move over in a lane I have to "check my blind spot"...
a rearview mirror is useful in a car and also useful while biking, in my opinion.

1. Yes. I use this http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/m5.htm. They call it the "german mirror"; it's made by D + D Oberlauda. Neither of my bikes can use a bar-end mirror; one has bar-end shifters and the other has rubber grips.

The "german mirror" can be mounted anywhere on a handlebar, on any handlebar, and even on the fork, rack, or frame. It has a huge mirror that shows a lot of what's behind you. It looks super dorky, like any mirror.

I don't like helmet mirrors because they're too small, get whacked out of alignment too easily, and I couldn't find one that doesn't vibrate itself out of alignment after a couple miles. I don't wear glasses and change out my sunglasses often, so glasses-mounted doesn't work for me either.

2. An arm-mounted mirror just sounds really sweaty to me. Gross. Plus it doesn't look like it's really in the field of view without turning your head.

I wear a mirror 24 x 7 so I can see what's going on behind my back. You'd be amazed if you knew what kind of crazy antics are happening all around you all the time.

A mirror is one of the best additions I ever made to my riding kit. Feel naked or something if I don't have it. I actually just rigged up a telescopic engine inspection mirror I had in my toolbox to my helmet. It really works great being able to see what's coming up behind me so I can be proactive, or have more time to react or whatever. I can also monitor people riding behind me.

One of these days I'm going to get a TRUE helmet-mounted mirror, just haven't gotten around to it.

I also like the idea of that one that mounts to the frame by the head tube so that you basically look down to see between your leg and the frame behind you. But having a mirror on my helmet allows me to see a much wider area with very little head movement. I can even see the area to my right rear if I turn my head left just a bit more.

Looks like this without the red part. I just zip-tied it to one of the vent slots on the left side of my helmet.

http://contentinfo.autozone.com/znet...25195/image/4/

Quote:

Originally Posted by alan s (Post 16522851)

I wear a mirror 24 x 7 so I can see what's going on behind my back. You'd be amazed if you knew what kind of crazy antics are happening all around you all the time.

A few BF correspondents have posted that when walking, sometimes they glance at a "phantom" rearview mirror; I have done so too.

Once while in biking gear I was chatting with a radio talk show host doing an an outdoor remote broadcast. As I was facing him. he mentioned to his sidekick about a couple of cute girls standing behind me, and I just pointed to my rearview mirror. :innocent: :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 16523008)

A few BF correspondents have posted that when walking, sometimes they glance at a "phantom" rearview mirror; I have done so too.

Me, too......

I always ride with a helmet-mounted mirror. I like being able to check for the next wave of traffic; if it looks particularly bad on a busy stretch of road, I can pull over and wait. And since I have some neck issues, I don't like turning my head around just to see what's behind me. Like Jim from Boston, I feel like I drift slightly if I turn my neck too far, and I like the option of doing a quick mirror-check.

Seriously, until they develop an on-bike radar system, whatever works for you is fine. I like a mirror, but I also like lights, bike computers, a place to put my phone, etc. If you feel better riding with a mirror, figure out if you want a bike-mounted one or a helmet or glass-mounted version. See how you like it.

I once wore the Bell Metro helmet which had all kinds of great accessories, one of which was a mirror. I have to say that I loved that thing although it was a bit fragile. I had two, when the first one broke they replaced it no cost to me. When the second one broke I didn't even call, as they stopped making the helmet. Anyways, I just bought a new drop bar mount mirror and I think the helmet mount provided a much better view of what was behind you. It may be a case of just getting used to it, but my opinion now is go with the helmet mounted mirror.

Take-A-Look mirror on the helmet. Invaluable.

Eyeglass and mirror on both bikes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12EyzRuPlZA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 16523008)

A few BF correspondents have posted that when walking, sometimes they glance at a "phantom" rearview mirror; I have done so too.

Me too, and I also suffer from ringxiety.

I'm a fan of helmet mount. I used to use Take-A-Look until I kissed pavement one day and the rigid rod went into my face and the sharp edge on the mirror gouged my nose open about an inch. Now I wonder why I thought it was a good idea having a very rigid metal rod an inch from my eye.

I'm now using a Cycleaware Reflex. The mirror edges are protected and the holder is "gumby" wire.

I heard a similar story, which is why I went with the third eye mirror... mirror has plastic edges, has plastic arm that can pop out of the joint so no real risk of it gouging your face.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ItsJustMe (Post 16532484)

I'm a fan of helmet mount. I used to use Take-A-Look until I kissed pavement one day and the rigid rod went into my face and the sharp edge on the mirror gouged my nose open about an inch. Now I wonder why I thought it was a good idea having a very rigid metal rod an inch from my eye.

I'm now using a Cycleaware Reflex. The mirror edges are protected and the holder is "gumby" wire.

I'm currently a satisfied Take-a-Look eyeglass-mounted mirror user (I wear prescription eyeglasses) and right and left mirrors. However I avoided a Take-a-Look for years with that fear in mind, long before I joined BF and heard IJM's story. I kept dislodging helmet mirrors and broke handlebar mirrors, so I went with eyeglass-mounted. I think I broke a couple plastic Third-Eye mirrors and eventually settled on the Take-a-Look.

I've gone down on about four serious falls without injuries from the mirror. I looked up Cyclewear Reflex and found they make a plastic eyeglass mounted mirror, so I'll "take a look" for one, or a similar alternative.

I juxt had the take-a-look mirror arrive ordered from Amazon. Can't wit to try it if it ever warms up.

Well...after reading this thread and getting pretty tired of being surprised what shows up next to me, especially the electric cars (I don't hear them at all!)...I opted for this one. I am not sure how well a mirror on my head would work while riding through traffic. At least now, I am hoping I can mount this thing somewhere to help.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=366433

Quote:

Originally Posted by g0tr00t (Post 16534888)

Electric cars? if you listen while riding you can hear the sound of the tires on the pavement, this is true with any car. Having said that, I'm in no way arguing against using a mirror, I use one, just saying people maybe need to pay more attention to their surroundings, it's amazing the stuff you can hear...assuming your hearing is not impaired of course.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rekmeyata (Post 16535178)

Slight hearing loss, yeah, its kind of busy on the 4 lane roads, I can hear the tires, but just get surprised when they show up next to me. I usually glance around and assume the noise is from the 2nd lane and not on my ass. I need to assume less :)

I just never thought about throwing a mirror along with all the other stuff I have on. We'll see :) . I noticed in some reviews that the helmet mounts don't work too well when on a road bike. I am going to look around here and see if I spot someone using a helmet mirror.

I am also looking forward to seeing a drafter behind me. When I am on the bike trail, I get into that zone and can't stand when I go to avoid something in the road and hear "WHOA WHOA WHOA!!!" Well...get the hell off my ass man...I'll save that for another thread though :)

What mirror do you have?

I ride a road bike almost exclusively and use a helmet-mounted mirror. I just adjust it to be able to see from my normal position on the hoods. If I'm in the drops and looking ahead I can still usually see what's behind me.

With a bike-mounted mirror, you're only going to see what you can see in the mirror's field of view. With the mirror attached to your head in some way, you can scan around and see a much wider field of view behind you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by g0tr00t (Post 16535220)

I have the Take A Look sunglass mounted mirror. Keep in mind mirrors have a small image area, I use it only to get an idea if something is behind me and if I need to I use my head to turn and look to get a better view. Even when I drive a car I don't rely on mirrors, I use the mirrors all the time, but I also turn my head to look out windows to make sure where things are...I simply carried on that same habit with the mirror on my glasses when I ride. It's just double checking stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94 (Post 16535289)

Good stuff, thanks guys! Looks like I am adding another mirror to my list :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rekmeyata (Post 16535867)

I use a Mountain Myrricle clamped under the brake hood. I can see behind me as far as the terrain allows. The blind spot is very small, almost non-existent. I do turn my head to check it but moving my head a few inches to one side does the trick also. Heck, If i move enough, I can see the opposite side of my handlebars. My mirror is way more effective than turning my head.

Mirror position is very important. The same mirror at the end of drop bars would be too close and low. On wide straight bars, it would be too far to the side.

I once saw a car coming behind so I went on the other side of construction cones. The car swerved at the last second and barely missed the cones. As the car passed, I saw a woman with a blackberry on her knees...

It's also useful to do my make-up at stop lights. Don't wan't lipstick all over my beard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Flibble (Post 16516137)

Evening all

Two questions:

1. Do you use a mirror on your bike? I'm considering one for my commute as I can end up amongst quite a bit of traffic and feel it might benefit my awareness.

2. At the cycle show at the NEC in sept I saw a company marketing a mirror to be worn on the arm. Tried one on and really liked the concept but having searched the internet am struggling to find the company and their product. Anyone see this and can point me in the right direction?

Thanks, and happy cycling!

I use a mirror while riding my bike, I prefer a helmet mounted mirror. I use the Safe Zone mirror, mine is still rock solid and going strong after three years of nearly daily use. I really like this mirror because it is larger than all the other helmet mounted mirrors I've seen and so has a nice big field of view. It's also super adjustable, thanks to the design of the arm of it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by greaterbrown (Post 16518023)

Agreement with Slaninar. One of my bikes has a bar-end mirror and I will soon take it off.

Unfortunately, if a car is going to hit you from behind, there really isn't much you can do about it. As Slan observes, the mirror view of a car approaching quickly from behind distracts from what is in front and to the side of me- the very stuff I CAN make maneuvers to avoid.

Also, the field of view in a mirror is so small that I'd never make a lane change based solely on what I see in the mirror. I'd look back first. So then, what's the need for the mirror?

Maybe it's just because I use the Safe Zone mirror that has a big field of view, but mine kind of sits at the edge of my vision so I'm basically always getting input from it. If I know I want to change lanes and traffic isn't thick, two solid glances into it for maybe a second each, separated by a second or two, confirm that there isn't a car coming up behind me. I actually don't look over my shoulder very often anymore. Only once have I definitely had it save me from being run over, a large delivery truck was driving in the bike lane behind me and I was able to swerve over into a bus stop before he hit me. But the reason I wouldn't ride without one is how much easier it has made lane changes for me, especially multiple lane changes, like to get over to a left hand turn lane.

I ride with an eyeglasses-mount mirror. 6 years now. Wasn't happy with others (T-a-L, 3rdi) so I made my own,
pictured here. If this style mirror is your choice, please copy the design.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=366598