I have one of these on my road helmet and on my commuter helmet.

Third Eye Rear View Mirror, a micro mirror that fits inside the glasses lense like a rear view mirror of a car. After it's adjusted it works great, and you don't look like a dork, well at least not due to the mirror.

I got one of these, since they're light and my glasses are already heavier than I'd like with clip-on sunglasses. It's nice, but my only gripe is that the little rubber loops that are supposed to hold the mirror onto the glasses frame seem much too fragile, and I'm too afraid of breaking them to use them. I think the manufacturer expects the mirror to be attached to one pair of glasses and only rarely removed. The rubber loops don't seem robust enough for putting on and removing the mirror several times a day (and they take a few minutes to attach/remove), so presently I'm using some of those black squeeze paperclips to clip the mirror to my glasses frame. This has worked fine so far...

That's a cool looking one, but I just know I'd dig my knee into it all day long whenever I was out of the saddle.

I've used a helmut mirror for 4 years or so. It was ok, except in situations where a solid road bump would slightly jar the helmut, thus screwing up your review mirror image. Eventually the little "ball n' socket" joint where the mirror adjusts, became loose and it would never stay where I wanted it. About a year ago I picked up the type that attaches to your eyeglasses stem. At this point I like this style far better.

I'm not buying the car analogy. First, car mirrors are required by law. Second, it's much easier (and IMHO better) to simply glance back over your shoulder on a bike than seated in a car. There is nothing to impede your rearward glance on a bike, and when you learn to do it properly, you can take in a sweeping view of the road behind rather than a shaking, 1/4 inch view.

I can see it if you're commuting or regularly ride in congested urban areas, where it might be impractical to repeatedly glance back in traffic, but not otherwise.

Plus, on group rides, helmet mirrors jack up the Fred factor exponentially.

$15-25 buys a pair of spy sunglasses... works great both as sunglasses AND a mirror. Been using them for months.

I like the helmet mounted variety. I don't use the stickum tape that comes with them though. I cut a piece of 3m double-sided tape instead. Never comes loose.

Loss of balance, momentary disorientation, and taking your eyes off the dangerous road surface longer are big negatives to looking over your shoulder. Maybe not a problem for you, but some of us do better with mirrors.

Take-a-look.

Picked up one of these....then noticed my bar tape is wrapped starting from the bar end and going to the stem, so it's not a cinch to unravel the end of the tape to affix the mirror because when I go to wrap it back on the overlap will be in the wrong direction (hope that made sense)...life is never simple.

I suspect the Fred factor is your major issue. All the other "negatives" cited are bogus.

Have you ever actually used a mirror? The "shaking, 1/4 inch view" you describe certainly indicates that you are unfamiliar with them. In fact, with a quick glance, I can get a very good picture of what's behind me, without having to twist around and take my eyes off the road ahead.

How often do you "glance back" over your shoulder? Every 5-10 seconds? I kind of doubt you glance back that often, but that's about how often I use the mirror...same as in my car.

Whether you believe it or not, a properly adjusted mirror enhances situational awareness in exactly the same way as it does in your car. Try driving without your mirrors for a few days, and "glancing back" instead to see the difference.

FWIW, I just got back from a week of cycling in Colorado with 1500 other cyclists. I was the only one in my group of 5 with a mirror, but nobody commented on it, especially when none of them could catch me on the downhills, and I held my own on the climbs and took my pulls at the front. We all set our best century speed last Thursday when we rode 105 miles, with 5400 feet of climbing, at an average speed of 21.65 mph.

A new and innovative mirror is the frame fixing BIKE-EYE mirror look up the web site www.bike-eye.com for further info. It may be the type of rear view mirror you are searching for!! far less chance of gettting knocked or damaged if the bike falls over or is leant against anything, and the clear view is brilliant.

I use sprintech bar end mirrors. They're snug enough to stay put on even rough roads. The visibility is about a 7 if i had to rate it 1-10http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=490107

I have the italian road bike mirror and really like it. It's small, out of the way and effective enough to let me know if I have someone or something behind me.

safe zone mirror on your helmet.. because its big and so you can see stuff on the road coming up behind you better ..
EVT | Safe Zone Mirror

Oh my, you mean one would have to actually, physically turn and look for traffic while driving?? Oh wait, I do that anyways. Same way I do on the bike.

I turn my head when I drive as well, but that's in addition to using mirrors because mirrors don't cover your blind spots in a car.
I do both on the bike as well but for different reasons. Physically looking back is generally more reliable (vibrations, small mirror, etc...), but I find it a lot quicker to look down to the mirror especially fast downhill sections or narrow shoulders/lanes.

I think it's great that acceptance of mirror use is growing. To me it's an essential safety device. There was a fatality in Vermont this past season that some people think might have been avoided had the biker been using a mirror. I use a "Mirracle" mirror on both my flat bar and drop bar bikes, but it works much better on the flatbar. Once you get used to using a mirror, you'll never go back to not having one anymore than you would not have a side view mirror on your car.

Oh.....those group rides

Are these the ones where they are going to yell at you??

They've probably all died out by now, just like this thread originally did about 10 freaking years ago. How do newbs always manage to dig up these old threads?

It's part of the 41 experience.. The real question is does the bumped thread get silly/stupid and locked, or just fall off page 1?

I liked this one..

MessengerMirror

So far the major arguments all involve posts from original turn-of-the-millenium decade thread. If we get really lucky maybe these posters will make a surprise return to defend their honor, much like Pcad recently (dis)graced us all with his presence again. If not, I predict it will die another slow death. Mirrors just don't cost enough money to be aggressively argued. Shame someone's mirror and the owner has only parted with $15-20 when he sheds a tear and tosses it in the trash where it belongs. Shame someone's electronic groupset, power meter, or brand name carbon fiber frame on the other hand...