Mirror for Brompton
 

I have tried all my go to mirrors for my Brompton and nothing is working. I'm using a helmet mirror right now but I hate it. Suggestions? I have the 2017 M bars. Thanks in advance.

Hubbub helmet mirrors are brilliant..Google them..

I use CatEye bar end mirrors on my Brommie which swing out of the way for folding. I haven't been able to use helmet mirrors in a long time due to age related eyesight issues and the fact that trifocals with a corrective portion in the upper field of view aren't made so that's something to keep in mind for the visually challenged.

+1 on that

What do you dislike about helmet mounted mirrors? The one thing I disliked about them was having to be careful how you handled your helmet when off, so as not to bang up the fragile mirror. I now use a Take-A-Look mirror velcro'd to my helmet since it folds up safely and securely out of the way, able to toss my helmet in a bag. Also use a small TAL on my eye glasses if riding w/o helmet.

Curious how barend mirror work on the Brompton M-bar when folded given that the left barend is near dragging on ground? Also, if I read your post correctly, you maybe assuming that you need to refocus ON the helmet mirror inches from your face - but you don't, you use your same distance focus for the mirror, as for looking forward - you focus 1:1 on the cars behind you. I am near sighted, use progressive lens, and helmet/eyeglass mirrors work great for me.

I think having something dangling from the helmet would drive me a bit nuts. How about the arm mirrors? Any experience with those? They certainly wouldn't hamper a fold.

I have had a Mirrycle MTB mirror on all of my bicycles for ~7 years. The clearance is close on my 2015 Brompton H6L-X when folded. We have installed Ergon GP2 grips (with bar ends) on a customer's 2017 H3L, but we have not yet installed a Mirrycle MTB mirror on a 2017 Brompton M or H. Have you tried the Myrrycle MTB mirror? If so, what are the issues? TIA!

-HANK RYAN-
Norman, Oklahoma USA

Pair of Sprintech mirrors. They integrate well with folding and keep their orientation steady.

I use this mirror, which I mount on my eyeglasses. No complaints.

https://www.amazon.com/Bike-Peddler-...dp/B000C17M26/

Nope, doesn't work. Like I said, I used them at one time so it's not like I don't know how to. You say you are near-sighted... well of course you can see the helmet mirrors then, that's what near-sighted people can do. My vision is blurry at all depths other than a narrow range of 1.5' to 2' from my face. Beyond that I need distance lenses. Closer than that I need the progressive portions at the bottom of the lenses.

My (now sold) Brompton used a bar-end Mirrycle mirror. It's a friction fit style which can be folded in and down parallel to the brake lever for folding the bike. Yes, you can easily scrape the corner of the body where it mounts to the bar if you're rolling your folded Brompton, but it's just a scrape on a piece of plastic. It works great, you just unfold the bike, then unfold the mirror without tools.

FWIW that is the definition of nearsighted, you can see clearly relatively closely (1.5-2') but need corrective lenses to see distance - no different than myself. The top half of our corrective glasses are to see distance clearly, and that's what we would use for a helmet mirror. The bottom/progressive part of our glasses are the magnified reading glasses portion which is typically required as most folks age.

This implies that you still believe you need to re-focus your eye on the mirror surface with is inches from your face, but that is not true, and the point I was trying to make. With the plane mirrors (flat or 1:1) typically used on eyeglass/helmet mirror, you use your normal distance/infinite focus to scan the road behind you, exactly same focus as looking forward up the road - you 'look through' the mirror focusing on a point whether it's 50 feet, yards, or miles away.

A very simple example is to use a regular bathroom or wardrobe mirror in your home. Focus on the reflection of an object behind you (through top half of your glasses) and you will be able to walk up to the mirror and touch your nose to the mirror with the object in prefect focus the whole time.

Agreed (to a point), point being though that your suggestion that I am focusing on the mirror and not looking 'through' it falls flat because I would otherwise be unable to use mirrors in general. Also the inability to use helmet mirrors was a gradual deterioration of picture quality not a sudden inability to redirect my focus such as in no longer being able to see the hidden image in Magic Eye pictures. Maybe it has something to do with astigmatism and such a small target as a helmet mirror, I don't know but the fact is that as much as I'd like to be able to use helmet mirrors again, not to mention save money and no longer be inconvenienced by having to adjust to different mirror locations depending on which of my bikes I decide to ride, they just aren't an option... at least not the ones I've tried every now and again in more recent years.

OK, peace...

We are all different, and I cannot assume to know what your specific issue maybe. These tiny near-eye mirrors are certainly strange things and take some getting used to, and may never be the right thing for many folks.

I've had my Brompton almost four and a half years now.I also have another folder and five road machines and I've tried a number of mirror types over the years includeing all those mentioned .The best mirror I have found for the Brompton , is the cheap(about $7.00) ones made by Bell and other companies that velcro on to the bar ends.They work very well once you get used to them and when it's time to fold they come right off in seconds and stick it in the bike bag,or just use the velcro strap to attach it some where on the frame.
One thing I do like about them is that you can adjust them easily with just a twist of the hand for a better view behind.Not to everyone's liking I'm sure but they work well for me and the streets i ride.

I'm also curious to the answer on this. I'm also a mirrcyle person vs helmet/glasses mounted solutions and thinking about a 2017+ Brompton.

Incidentally sorry for not answering... the CatEye mirrors I use have quite a large range of adjustability including being able to swivel the mirror a full 360° and just enough so that the back side would come in contact with the ground if anything.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2809/3...9a47c5c0_z.jpg
In this pic I swiveled the mirror to the underside whereas I usually have it topside while riding... an advantage of the ball and 'socket' design.

The Mirrycle MTB mirror will work with a 2017 H model. There's a little bit more than 1/4" clearance when folded. I don't currently have a 2017 M model to test.

-HANK RYAN-
Norman, Oklahoma USA

The Zefal Spin works similarly. You can search for my M6L thread to see pictures.

I'd think you put it on the right side since the left hits the ground with each time it's folded.

safe t zone helmet mirrors are big wide field of view. from EVT..




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Works for me

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f3...psr66icyaw.jpg