Making the final tweaks to my equipment and a mirror is next up.

Will ride a bike with drop handlebars and bar end shifters.

Whaddya recommend? Helmet mounted or bar mounted? I'm wide open.

same situation here (rebuilding with drops and bar cons)... I just put a B&M handlebar mirror on right at the end of the drops (only place it didn't get in the way of hand positions)... think it's going to be fine but haven't test ridden yet

p.s it's not convex which is a plus for me

Lots of people swear by helmet mirrors... never tried them, but will get round to it one day...

I had the same issue with my new Salsa Fargo. I chose to move the bar end shifters over to Kelly Takeoffs:

https://www.kellybike.com/2nd_xtra_takeoff.html

Actually, I ended up replacing the bar-end shifters with Dura Ace downtube shifters, because the levers were longer and straighter.

Then I was able to install Mountain Mirrycle mirrors on the bar ends. The pics should give some idea of how it looks. I like it so far. Complicating matters in the pics is the second stem setup which I'm trying out, which allows me to mount an Ortlieb handlebar bag a little lower than the handlebars, and also leaves more room on top for the bike computer and GPS. This is really unrelated to the Takeoffs and mirrors, though - I only mention it because otherwise people might wonder what that second black metal bar is close to the Takeoffs; it's a cut-off straight handlebar which supports the Ortlieb mount and also a couple of cans of pepper spray.

It all works very well, for me at any rate. You can change gears without taking your hands so far away from your riding position - often you can do it right from the hoods, from above or below, depending on your hand size and the shifter position. Certainly less distance to travel than bar-ends. You can see a review thread on the Kelly Take offs here (I'll be adding my own soon):

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/revie...read_id=106803

Neil

p.s. The brake lever is held in by a bungee which is part of the Click-Stand.

Neil,

I admire your creativity. Wondering why not just convert to brifters? I am still on the fence over bar end vs. brifters and decided to take the bike with bar ends and see how big a deal the hand movement from the "tops to the drops" is to execute a shift. Even more concerning is doing a double shift (change chain rings and rear gears in one move).

Ever have a problem clipping the mirror as you pass by something or when you need to lean the bike against something?

I have nothing in particular against brifters, apart from the theoretical lack of ability to use friction shifting should the indexing break. I just like levers; I guess I also don't really like mixing up the braking and the shifting in one piece of gear - when I test rode a bike with brifters recently, I found myself inadvertently shifting sometimes while meaning to brake. I did have a hand injury, so perhaps I just wasn't as dextrous as usual, but I wasn't really wowed by the concept.

The mirrors do stick out and they could be an issue for situations like leaning the bike over on the ground or against walls. That's always a thing with mirrors, they really have to stick out to the side a bit in order to get a good view. It's not a big deal to me, though. I find the bars on the Fargo flare out a bit, which helps to get the mirrors out away from behind my arms as I'm riding. Usually I can see the mirrors without having to move around.

I like the Mirrycle because it has a nice stout arm - some mirrors have very thin plastic arms, which results in vibration on some rough surfaces, and that makes the image very unclear. The Mirrycle is good, very adjustable and doesn't go out of adjustment randomly (probably due to its quality construction, which uses real metal bolts and washers to tighten everything together). You can move the mirror in three axes, which gives you flexibility for finding whatever viewing position works best.

Neil

I've tried many mirrors and have a love/hate relationship with all of them. Right now I'm using an eyeglasses mirror, but it's mounted on my helmet visor rather than my eyeglasses. It's the best I've found so far.

One problem with bar-mounted mirrors (in the U.S. anyway) is that you want to mount the mirror to the same side of the bike that you also might want to lay the bike down on. It also gets in the way if you want to lean that side against a building. And if your bike falls over, the mirror is usually toast. I also have trouble positioning them so that my hands or arms or legs don't get in the way of the view.

Of course the helmet mounted mirror has its own set of problems, and it can take quite a while to get used to it and get it dialed in. But it is also very light.

I have an old metal mirror, kind of like a dentist's mirror, that is now zip-tied to my helmet. I have tried mirrors on the handlebars but prefer one on the helmet because I can see what is behind me by moving my head instead of having to move the handlebars.

I haven't seen a metal biking mirror in years and don't think the plastic ones are very durable. If I had to use a plastic one, I'd probably take a spare with me in case it broke mid-tour.

Ray

I use a helmet mirror - and am VERY happy with it. I used a handlebar mirror for years - but I decided to try the helmet mirror. At first, the helmet mirror takes some getting used to - I recommend wearing it for several test rides. It may seem like you have a blind spot where the mirror is located. But most likely, your brain will adapt and you'll get used to it. I think the visibility is far better than a handlebar mirror. But that's my opinion.

Just dawned on me- if I had to fix a flat and wanted to lay the bike on its side (clearly not the deraileurr side) I'd have to lay it on the "mirror side". Guess I'd have to remove the mirror- maybe why some mirrors are velcro'd into place-easy on/off??

I attached a Mountain Mirrycle just under the hood using a light mount. Now, the barends are on Paul Thumbies but i like the mirror position so I left it there. I rewrapped the tape over the mount. It's rock solid but still ajustable and will bend if the bike falls down (the mirror broke once but all the glass stayed put. I still use the broken mirror). I nearly always lean the bike on the drive side but the mirror bends out of the way if I lean it on the non-drive side.

Anyone tried this: https://www.rei.com/product/752285

Some wal-mart has a special mirror for motorcycle and they fit a lot of 4 wheels too.But you can use them on a bicycle I have one here but have not install it as of yet.But I did put on one from Adventure cycling Association cost was 22.00 its the Ortlieb ultralite mirror.But I like the one from wal-mart the best I will put this mirror on when its time to do bar tape job on my LHT.Witch will be this spring.(Note) not all wal-mart has this mirror if they do it will be where they sell helmets at.Or it was down here in little rock Ar.

I have been using the Blackburn Road Mirror for many years:

https://www.velotique.com/images/mirror-b-burn.jpg

I have been using a mirror mounted on my glasses for decades. I currently use 3rd eye eye glass mirror. I have tried other types of mirrors and mounts. I always come back to the 3rd eye.

+1

Take-a-Look mirror. Classic eyeglass/visor mirror. Great field of view; great adjustability. Looks old when new; get over it. Bicycle magazine rated it best, I heard. I've had mine 30 years and it still works fine. Looks just like this year's model. ;-)

Have one. Love it. I used it on my 2100 mile trip and then every so often for commuting. Keep it on my Cycling Sunglasses. They stay attached through much stress.

Take-A-Look mirror is the best eyeglass mounted mirror I've used in over 300,000 miles of bicycling. Made in ther USA to boot!
If you own multiple bikes, you only need one mirror.

+2 works on both my bar-end and STI levers

I have one, it's great. I attach it to my helmet visor. It can take a lot of abuse.

Has anyone ever combined Paul Thumbies and this Italian road mirror?

You'd get the benefit of bar end shifters' versatility and durability with a better location, and a low profile stable mirror that wouldn't get bumped when leaning the bike against trees, buildings, etc.

I think this is a question that can only be answered through trial and error. I think eyeglass-mounted mirrors have some advantages, but I've tried and just don't like them. I have a bar-end mirror on my Allez (with brifters), an old Blackburn brake-hood mounted mirror on my LHT (with bar-end shifters), and one of the mirrors from Rivendell on my shopping bike (an old Stumpjumper.)

My ideal setup is a flat mirror, mounted on or around my brake hood, so that I look over my arm, rather than under. I really don't like convex mirrors. I can't judge distances as accurately as I would like.

Look at the Ultralite mirror from Germany at the Ortlieb site. I have on my trekking bars and it works well for me

I would not use the take-a-look mirror.

It is possible to jam the metal arm into your head in a crash. A BF member did this recently. Perforated his cheek IIRC.

I tried a helmet mirror, too shakey for me...made me dizzy. I used a glasses mounted one and am a total convert...worked great