# Mirror recommendations.



## 1bamafan14

Although I don't like the look of them I realized today that if I want to continue to live I need a rear view mirror. Any recommendations? Appearance is the only thing that matters.


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## mttklmrr1

I have tried a couple kinds of mirrors and none of them is the magic bullet. I have tried the helmet mounted mirror but the viewing spot is really limited. I have to take my eyes off the road and look in the tiny mirror and turn my head couple of times to get the whole viewing area in rear. I have tried mirror that mounts on my road handlebar. The viewing is better but when I change positions and I completely lose the best viewing spot that allows me to see passing cars. I have to make adjustment to get the ideal viewing spot every time I change positions. I have tried the mirror that mounts on my glasses and they don't stay put on that well and break easily. 

I have gave up with the idea of using mirrors. I try to stick to very low volume roads and turn my head often to check what is behind me on busy roads. I am deaf and don't hear cars coming up from behind. It would be interesting to what the others recommend.


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## dndrich

1bamafan14 said:


> Although I don't like the look of them I realized today that if I want to continue to live I need a rear view mirror. Any recommendations? Appearance is the only thing that matters.


I have this one

It is in the end cap of my left side of my road bar. Took a bit of getting used to. You have to look down towards it through your arms. Works in the uprights and the drops. Give a large field of view like a car rear view mirror.


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## Nicole Hamilton

I tried a couple different bar-end mirrors. Waste of money. They're small, with only a limited view angle and they vibrate, making it very hard to make out anything. Also, depending on my hand position, my arm often blocked my view. I decided turning my head works much better.


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## dndrich

Nicole Hamilton said:


> I tried a couple different bar-end mirrors. Waste of money. They're small, with only a limited view angle and they vibrate, making it very hard to make out anything. Also, depending on my hand position, my arm often blocked my view. I decided turning my head works much better.


The one I recommended does not do that. It is actually rather large.


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## Nicole Hamilton

dndrich said:


> The one I recommended does not do that. It is actually rather large.


One of the two I tried may not have been that exact model but it was certainly very similar and it also came from REI. I rode with it for a while, too lazy to take it off, but never really able to get much use out of it. Gone now and not missed. YMMV.


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## JCavilia

Nicole Hamilton said:


> I tried a couple different bar-end mirrors. Waste of money. They're small, with only a limited view angle and they vibrate, making it very hard to make out anything. Also, depending on my hand position, my arm often blocked my view. I decided turning my head works much better.


I disagree, strongly. Takes practice, but they work for me, very well. If my arm is in the way, I move it, a little. much less disruption than turning my head, so I glance down much more frequently. It definitely makes riding in traffic safer for me.

I like these:









Cycling Mirrors: Sprintech Rear View Mirror Set


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## Nicole Hamilton

JCavilia said:


> I disagree, strongly. Takes practice, but they work for me, very well.


Well, sure, YMMV. They're cheap enough that it's not exactly a big risk to buy a couple and see what you think. If you don't like them, places like REI will even give you your money back. You like them, I don't, who knows what anyone else will decide.


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## tnsdoc

I have to give props for the Chuck Harris mirrors; he's a legend in the Midwest area and supplies various shops and bicycle clubs in the state. You can also get them directly from him; google his name and you will find information.

Once these mirrors are properly set, they don't need any further adjustments; no wobble, no vibration and a decent view of the road behind you. Still not a substitute for being aware of your surroundings while riding, but a nice aid, IMO.


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## Mike T.

I make 'em myself and have for decades. They work perfectly and I wouldn't ride 100' without one. There are no negatives. Here's my current one and it's smaller than it looks - it's about 1/2" square and sits about 1/8" from the glasses. I've posted about them before; do a search -


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## Nicole Hamilton

I should clarify that what bothered me was that no matter what I saw in my mirror, there was always a lot more I couldn't see. Trying to use it was a little like changing lanes on the freeway based only on what you could see in your sideview mirror, but worse. It gave me a false sense of security that I had any idea what was really behind me. To be safe, I always had to turn my head to know what was in the blindspot.

But it could also matter that most of my riding is daylight, usually on the Sammamish River and Burke-Gilman trails around Lake Washington. The other traffic I'm watching for is other bicyclists who might be stealthily overtaking me as I pass a pedestrian or go around a puddle. If I was mostly commuting through surface traffic in downtown Seattle on a bike with flat bars instead of drops, dodging cars and watching more continuously what went in and out of my blindspot, it's possible I might have had a really different take on these things.

Again, YMMV. These things are so cheap and so returnable if you don't like them, my attitude is that if you're at all interested, the simple answer is to buy one that's getting high marks from the people who do like them and see what you think.


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## JCavilia

Nicole Hamilton said:


> Again, YMMV. These things are so cheap and so returnable if you don't like them, my attitude is that if you're at all interested, the simple answer is to buy one that's getting high marks from the people who do like them and see what you think.


Nicole, that's a fair and balanced response (do I have to pay Fox News to use that phrase?). 

It does take practice, and my riding is different from yours. I commute on streets with a lot of traffic, often in the dark. The mirror gives me the ability to frequently monitor what's going on behind, and to communicate with overtaking drivers. I still glance back before moving in front of traffic, to be sure of spacing - that's necessary with the reduced-size image in the convex mirror.

And to the OP, my suggestion is to try a helmet- or glasses-mounted mirror first. Those give the widest field of view, with the least interference. But not everyone can get the hang of them. I am nearsighted, and with my eyeglass correction there was just too much distortion. The bar-mounted mirrors have some limitations, but they work, at least for me. I have them on all my bikes.


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## Don4

After too many times of having a bar end mirror go out of adjustment...or fall off, I searched the interwebs go ideas and found the Bike-Eye mirror, which mounts to the frame at the junction of the head tube and the down tube.

It works very well, and I highly recommend it.

There is a video of it on the road on their website, and I believe QBP distributes it now, so you can get it in the U.S. originally, Harris Cyclery was importing it.

http://www.bike-eye.com

View attachment 251586


Here it is mounted on my bike. I have the mirror itself on the non-drive side.

View attachment 251587


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## Rogus

After riding for a while with my wife and getting really tired of turning around to see if she was still right behind me, I decided to give a mirror a try. I purchased a "Take A Look Cyclist Mirror" based on some customer reviews on Amazon. It took a while to get used to using it, but once it's set up correctly and you adjust to using it, I found it's one of the best purchases I've made. It's mounted to the visor of my helmet. Yes, I'm a road bike rider and know a helmet visor is frowned upon by some, but so is my mirror and running my lights even in daytime. Frankly I don't care. I like the visors protection from the sun and it's my opinion you can never be too safe. The mirror adds one more component to your safety. I wish I had purchased one years ago.


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## MikeWMass

I like the Mirrycle mirror. Mounts in the bar end. Is designed for flat bars, but if you leave out the middle piece of the mount it doesn't interfere with your hands. All junctions tighten with allen bolts, so it does not vibrate or bounce out of adjustment. I tried a lot of mirrors, with the helmet or eyeglass mirrors I could not get used to having something in the corner of my field of vision. I then tried the ones that are faired into the end of the bar, but found that they were too small and the fisheye was too much to be useful for me. I really liked using the Zefel Cyclop mirror, but the after mount broke on the third one after 6 months to a year, I gave up. Have now had the Mirrycle for 4 years, good as new. My wife and daughter have them as well (and I have two on my recumbent. Shh!).
I agree that a mirror is not a substitute for a quick look before moving over, but I find it very useful for keeping an eye on what is going on behind me. Wen I ride a bike without one, I feel naked, like riding in a car without a seatbelt.


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## bikerjohn64

I've been using the Italian Road Bike mirror for the last 2 years and love it. It does take little lining up when you install them but once you have it dialled in; its great. It does not bounce around or move when hit; made of real glass mirror with no distortion.
I use it to be able to see if there are cars coming up behind me or if my friend is falling back (ok; this doesn't happen too often....). I can even call "car back" when I'm pulling up front in a group. Very well worth the money and I wouldn't ride without one.:thumbsup:

Here's a link to what it looks like...
http://www.aspirevelotech.com/Listings/Mirror.htm


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## ddimick

I use and highly recommend this one. It does not need to be mounted using permanent methods, it stays where it's put, it's flexible enough to be positioned out of your way, and it's large enough to give a great field of view.

The only downside is it looks goofy, kind of like an insect antenna. But if you've decided to rock a mirror you already know the cycling fashionistas care more about how you look than how you ride. So screw 'em.


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## dekindy

I love the bikeye. However I have to lay my bike on it's left side to carry it in the car so it sticks out so far that it broke from the weight. This one is almost as good and it still allows me to lay the bike down when I need to: Amazon.com: Zefal Spy Bicycle Mirror: Sports & Outdoors Also more flexible mounting options.


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## GDTRFB

I have this on both of my road bikes. It mounts on the end of my handlebars, has a wide field of vision, and stays put.
Blackburn Multi-Mirror


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## looigi

Rogus said:


> ... I purchased a "Take A Look Cyclist Mirror" based on some customer reviews on Amazon. It took a while to get used to using it, but once it's set up correctly and you adjust to using it, I found it's one of the best purchases I've made. ....


Yep. The thing about a helmet or eyeglasses mounted mirror is that you can get a wide field of view and also scan behind you by rotating your head a bit. I find this really helpful in maintaining speed on narrow roads where I often have to take the lane to avoid hazards on the shoulder, get out of the door zone of random cars parked along the road, etc.. I have mine set up high so that it is out of my direct line of vision and also provides a line of site over my shoulder while in my normal riding position.


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## NJgreyhead

*Heads up*

+1 to a helmet-mounted mirror.

You can easily adjust them so that you don't lose sight of the road ahead, and can still be aware of what's coming up from behind with a quick flick of the eye. And minor movements of your head allow you to change your field of view, if desired. No looking down and away from the road ahead, as with a bar-mount mirror (which I also have on some bikes for short hops when I am helmet-less).

Ride safely.


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## silverbullet84

One thing to consider is how good your own peripheral vision is. Not to brag, but I am a freak in regards to this, so a simple helmet mounted mirror is all I need and I rarely look directly into the mirror when it is adjusted properly.

There are many options out there, and I do agree with some of the posters who say to try a few out, and return the ones you don't want. Think about how and where you ride, how often you are going to be looking in the mirror based on traffic conditions, and your individual habits when on the bike.


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## Helms

I'm pleased with the "Italian Road Bike Mirror". I've been using it on my commuter for about six months. It's a bit of a pain to set up since you have to remove the bar tape, but so far it has stayed put. It doesn't vibrate or get knocked out of position.


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## esldude

Does the Bikeye mirror really work in that position? Seems you mostly would obscure the view with your legs.


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## snamik1

+1 for the Italian Road Bike Mirror. Used mine for about a year now with no problems and really like it.


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## cyclist brent

I used to use a Delta Insight mirror. I loved it. Hard to find now though. It mounted to the top tube and you looked back to either side of the seatpost. It didn't vibrate and the best part was that to look at it, you would keep your head faced forward in a straight line the whole time. You would look forward and just track down the road to the mirrow and back up again. No turning the head, no unintentional swerve and the road ahead was always in view. A second best would be the little bar end mirrors. Unfortunately my new frame isn't compatible with the Delta mirror.


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## saf-t

I snagged one of these at REI last fall, and found that it made my commute much more pleasant- to the extent that I started using it on "regular" rides as well.

I tried a couple of digfferent bar end mirrors, and didn't like either of them- and my winter bike has bar-end shifters, making that a no go in any event.


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## moorer1

I'm a big advocate of mirrors; I use this and really like it:
amazon.com/Third-Eye-Lens-Bicycle-Mirror/dp/B001IHQ05S
Truly...I feel very vulnerable without it. 
Mike T...nice job with yours, though.


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## ddimick

hazilim said:


> I really don't like not being able to see cars coming up behind me - relying on hearing, to a great extent.
> I just tried one of the mirrors that attach to the glasses frame (from PB, not expensive). It won't attach to my frame, because I wear "rimless" glasses with a very thin frame side (about 1mm wide).
> I'm planning to try a helmet-mounted mirror. My helmet is a Garneau X-Lite, which doesn't appear to have very much mounting area for the mirror to adhere. How does one attach a mirror to one of these helmets? Any recommendations?


This one works great: Amazon.com: Safe Zone Bicycle Helmet Mirror: Sports & Outdoors


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## hazilim

*Not for all glasses*

I really don't like not being able to see cars coming up behind me - relying on hearing, to a great extent.
I just tried one of the mirrors that attach to the glasses frame (from PB, not expensive). It won't attach to my frame, because I wear "rimless" glasses with a very thin frame side (about 1mm wide).
I'm planning to try a helmet-mounted mirror. My helmet is a Garneau X-Lite, which doesn't appear to have very much mounting area for the mirror to adhere. How does one attach a mirror to one of these helmets? Any recommendations?


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## bikerjohn64

Here's a shot of the Italian Mirror in action. It's like your rear view mirror in your car once you have it set up. 
It's perfect when you are just riding along (JRA). You don't have to move your head into a particular position to see what's behind you. 
Whatever mirror a rider uses; it's amazing to ride without one. It's feels very odd and unsure riding without one.


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## tnor10

*Mike T. Mirrors*

Hello Mike; I was trying to find out more about your mirrors but could find any reference about them on the site. Would you please post this information again. Thank you!



Mike T. said:


> I make 'em myself and have for decades. They work perfectly and I wouldn't ride 100' without one. There are no negatives. Here's my current one and it's smaller than it looks - it's about 1/2" square and sits about 1/8" from the glasses. I've posted about them before; do a search -


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## Mike T.

tnor10 said:


> Hello Mike; I was trying to find out more about your mirrors but could find any reference about them on the site. Would you please post this information again. Thank you!


Have a look around on  *my site*.


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## tnor10

Thanks Mike!


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## Haagis58

For those who use mirrors mounted to their glasses, do they pull your glasses down or cause your glasses to need to be strapped on?


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## JCavilia

Haagis58 said:


> For those who use mirrors mounted to their glasses, do they pull your glasses down or cause your glasses to need to be strapped on?


I've never heard of anyone having an issue like that. The mirrors are very light.


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## Mike T.

Haagis58 said:


> For those who use mirrors mounted to their glasses, do they pull your glasses down or cause your glasses to need to be strapped on?


Not at all. But then my home-made ones are very small & light. There are *no* negatives.


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## Fireform

It's comical, but the typical debate that erupts from time to time here on the use of mirrors seems predicated on the idea that wearing a mirror makes it impossible for you to turn your head. Turns out you can look back through your mirror OR by turning/ducking your head. Who knew?


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## tnor10

*Who makes that mirror Italian Mirror?*



bikerjohn64 said:


> Here's a shot of the Italian Mirror in action . It's like your rear view mirror in your car once you have it set up.
> It's perfect when you are just riding along (JRA). You don't have to move your head into a particular position to see what's behind you.
> Whatever mirror a rider uses; it's amazing to ride without one. It's feels very odd and unsure riding without one.


Who makes that mirror Italian Mirror?


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## AndreyT

1bamafan14 said:


> Any recommendations? Appearance is the only thing that matters.


Huh? "Appearance is the only thing that matters"? If you really want a mirror (and the truth is, everyone does), then the first thing that matters is the ability to monitor the rear hemisphere through it. Appearance come after that, if at all. I hope that's understood.

Now, having siad that, we can immediately eliminate any mirrors that mount to the bicycle itself (be that bar-mounted mirrors or frame-mounted mirrors). On a road bicycle they are completely useless. You won't be able to see anything through them due to vibrations. Bicycle-mounted mirrors are for suspended bicycles, not for road ones.

That leaves us with mirrors that mount to your head: glasses-mounted ones or helmet-mounted ones. These mirrors work exceptionally well, once you get used to them. Firstly, they don't suffer from vibrations. Secondly, they allow you to easily look around the rear hemisphere by rotating your head. 

One serious drawback of such mirrors is the fact that they block a notable portion of your forward field of view though, typically on the left-hand side, where it matters most. You'll have a blind spot blocked by the mirror. This can be partially alleviated by positioning the mirror higher in the field of view (and training yourself to periodically look up there). Specifically for this reason, helmet-mounted mirrors are better than mirrors that attach to the frame of your glasses, since they offer much better range of vertical adjustment. (Alternative solution for this problem is to develop the habit of checking the blocked sector by rotating your head. But it is easy to forget, which makes that blind spot quite dangerous.)

Another drawback of such mirrors is that they only work in rather narrow range of vertical head positions. If you adjust the mirror for looking back when riding on the hoods, it becomes virtually impossible or very uncomfortable to use it when riding in the drops: it is hard to bend your neck back that much. On the other hand, such mirrors are typically very easy to readjust for the new head position, if you know you are going to ride that way for a while. And again, the latter is much easier to do with helmet-mounted mirror than with glasses-mounted ones.

In any case, there's no perfect mirror, but helmet-mounted mirrors are better than anything else by a large margin. CycleAware helmet mirror is a very good one.


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## AndreyT

Fireform said:


> It's comical, but the typical debate that erupts from time to time here on the use of mirrors seems predicated on the idea that wearing a mirror makes it impossible for you to turn your head. Turns out you can look back through your mirror OR by turning/ducking your head. Who knew?


Well, the even funnier part of all that is that the mirror's functionality is not in any way supposed to equate to what can be achieved by turning one's head. The whole point of the mirror is that it is present in cyclist's [peripheral] field of view at all times, i.e. it supplies information without requiring a conscious action from the cyclist.

The idea that a mirror can be somehow replaced by "turning one's head" is laughable at best. The the problem with "turning one's head" is that one does not know when it is time to turn it without significant level of clairvoyance involved 

A person riding on public roads uses a mirror, period.


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## Mike T.

AndreyT said:


> mirrors: glasses-mounted ones or helmet-mounted ones. One serious drawback of such mirrors is the fact that they block a notable portion of your forward field of view though, typically on the left-hand side, where it matters most. You'll have a blind spot blocked by the mirror. This can be partially alleviated by positioning the mirror higher in the field of view (and training yourself to periodically look up there)........develop the habit of checking the left-forward side by rotating your head. But it is easy to forget, which makes that blind spot quite dangerous.) Another drawback of such mirrors is that they only work in rather narrow range of vertical head positions. If you adjust the mirror for looking back when riding on the hoods, it becomes virtually impossible or very uncomfortable to use it when riding in the drops.


Are you talking from folk-lore and assumptions here or personal experience? To me it sounds very much like the former. As we are a binocular animal, our right eye makes up lots of the very slight amount of left eye vision that is lost. The remainder is subconsciously made up for by minute sideways head movements and as (for my mirrors anyway) require a slight head swivel anyway, the head is, when needed, in constant slight motion. But don't think for a second I'm like the nodding dog in the back window of your granpa's Buick. It's a couple of degrees and until this thread I never *ever* thought about it consciously. It just happens. And in forty years of constant use when riding, I've never lost *one* object behind the mirror. I wish I could say the same for when I'm in my car. But then we automatically compensate for the vision blocking a-pillar in the car don't we? We don't *not* drive the car because it has windshield pillars. 

You're wrong on the 2nd part too. I get full rear vision whether I'm sitting at my highest or lowest position.


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## AndreyT

Mike T. said:


> Are you talking from folk-lore and assumptions here or personal experience? To me it sounds very much like the former.


No, it is the latter. I constantly ride with a helmet mirror. CycleAware helmet mirror that I mentioned above.



Mike T. said:


> As we are a binocular animal, our right eye makes up lots of the very slight amount of left eye vision that is lost. The remainder is subconsciously made up for by minute sideways head movements and as (for my mirrors anyway) require a slight head swivel anyway, the head is, when needed, in constant slight motion.


My helmet mirror is positioned on the left in the area that is not covered by the right eye.

Also, a better example in this case would be the blind spot that naturally exists in each person's eye. One can close one eye (to eliminate the binocular make up) and yet the blind spot's presence will not become immediately apparent. So, it is not really about right eye compensating for blind spots of the left and vice versa, but rather about brain's image processing capabilities that make it "photoshop out"/"retouch" the blind spots from our peripheral vision, filling it with fake but believable imagery. This can (and will) easily happen with the blind spot produced by the mirror.



Mike T. said:


> And in forty years of constant use when riding, I've never lost *one* object behind the mirror.


More likely, in your "40 years of constant use" you never suffered any serious consequences of losing an object behind the mirror, which is why you never became aware of your losing it. So, your claim that you "never lost one object behind the mirror" is anecdotal at best. You simply don't know whether you lost any object or not. No one does.



Mike T. said:


> I wish I could say the same for when I'm in my car. But then we automatically compensate for the vision blocking a-pillar in the car don't we? We don't *not* drive the car because it has windshield pillars.


Bad example. A better example would actually be the central rear view mirror. I'm 184 cm tall and in my typical driving position I periodically find myself in situations when the central rear-view mirror blocks objects from my field of view. I'm aware of this, so I compensate for this. But in this case the blockage occurs on the right-hand side, where it is less dangerous.



Mike T. said:


> You're wrong on the 2nd part too.


Nice try, but there's no "too" here. I'm right on my first part.



Mike T. said:


> I get full rear vision whether I'm sitting at my highest or lowest position.


Well, firstly, this will, of course, depend a lot on the design, size and position of the mirror, with several trade-offs associated with each parameter. In my case the problem with riding in the most aerodynamic position is that the view through the mirror is often blocked by my own shoulder, regardless of how the mirror is adjusted. Maybe your most aerodynamic position is notably higher than mine?

Secondly, I use traditional fit on my bicycle, meaning that there's a notable difference in my back angle between riding on the hoods and riding in the drops. If you are one of those "look at me, I have attitude" riders with ultra-long stems and generally overstretched fit, which almost eliminates any difference between riding on the hoods and in the drops, then it might work differently for you.


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## Mike T.

AndreyT said:


> Maybe your most aerodynamic position is notably higher than mine?


I'll just respond to this bit. My lowest position is limited by thigh to chest contact. No-one can get lower. My mirror is fine for this as well as riding uphill on the 'bar tops. It's all in the design and adjustment.


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## Camilo

Fireform said:


> It's comical, but the typical debate that erupts from time to time here on the use of mirrors seems predicated on the idea that wearing a mirror makes it impossible for you to turn your head. Turns out you can look back through your mirror OR by turning/ducking your head. Who knew?





AndreyT said:


> Well, the even funnier part of all that is that the mirror's functionality is not in any way supposed to equate to what can be achieved by turning one's head. The whole point of the mirror is that it is present in cyclist's [peripheral] field of view at all times, i.e. it supplies information without requiring a conscious action from the cyclist.
> 
> The idea that a mirror can be somehow replaced by "turning one's head" is laughable at best. The the problem "turning one's head" is that one does not know when it is time to turn it without significant level of clairvoyance involved
> 
> A person riding on public roads uses a mirror, period.


And here we go!


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## cyclingsivells

I too use the Take A Look mirror that is supposed to clip on your glasses. My glasses have rather thick arms on them making the mirror diificult to mount. I took the rubber grommets off the hinges of the mirror and pressed the mirror down into the styrofoam on the underside of my helmet. After testing it out, I decided to put some glue around the holes to make it more steady. I love it and don't care if it's cool or not. I rode 8 years without a mirror but now I'm hooked and I am much more confident on the road. If I see something that doesn't look like its getting over, I look ahead of me to plan my escape route (off the side of the road).


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## rodar y rodar

AndreyT said:


> Now, having siad that, we can immediately eliminate any mirrors that mount to the bicycle itself (be that bar-mounted mirrors or frame-mounted mirrors). On a road bicycle they are completely useless. You won't be able to see anything through them due to vibrations. Bicycle-mounted mirrors are for suspended bicycles, not for road ones.


Bull.
Maybe they didn`t work for YOU on YOUR bike, but that doesn`t mean they don`t work for anybody. In the past I`ve used a mirror similar to (but a little larger than) that Italian mirror mentioned a few times above. Worked just fine for me.

Since all my drop bar bikes now use bar end shifters, I needed a different system, switched to glasses mounted mirrors. I had decent luck with some of those, but just recently bought a helmet mounted model that I really like for most of my riding.

Just to throw out another option that hasn`t been mentioned, my current mirror is by a garage based outfit in TX called Rearview Gear. Apparently it was based on the Chuck Harris mirror (which I guess isn`t available any longer?) with a few mods. The RVG model uses a very stiff wire with no joints or pivots. There`s a magnet on the mirror that sticks to a matching magnet on my helmet and mates with a pair of small pins to keep it from slipping. Pops off easily, goes right back on in exactly the same place. Works great. For me.

Cycling Mirrors - Home


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## mpre53

Camilo said:


> And here we go!


It did take a thread dredge, though. :lol:


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## Mike T.

mpre53 said:


> It did take a thread dredge, though. :lol:


And the bottom line is "If anyone doesn't want to use one (for whatever reason) then that's juuuuuust fine. If you do want to use one - same answer; just remove the *n't*."


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## DocRogers

I've been riding with a mirror on my glasses for years. They're fragile (I've broken at least one), they work better on some glasses that others, and they take some fiddling to get the field of vision right, but they work better than anything else I've tried. Now I'm so used to it that I just feel nekkid without one.


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## JCavilia

> we can immediately eliminate any mirrors that mount to the bicycle itself (be that bar-mounted mirrors or frame-mounted mirrors). On a road bicycle they are completely useless. You won't be able to see anything through them due to vibrations


I second rodar's "bull." You know not whereof you speak. I have mirrors mounted on all my road bikes, and I can assure you that I see many things in them, every ride. Head-mounted mirrors did not work for me, because of the distortion of my strong myopia prescription, but I've learned to use the bar-mounted mirrors quite effectively. They are an enormous help in traffic.

One should avoid making broad categorical statements without having examined all the available evidence.


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## tlg

i.super.abound said:


> now that i'm a full grown man, i've accepted that helmet mounted mirrors are for people with strong enough personalities to think beyond the point of caring what their little friends in the playground think about how "_uncool_" they look; our priorities are ordered by what really is important (*safety*); not on what "_looks hip_".


I'm not cool. But *lots *of people tell me my mirror is. I've never had a single negative comment. Maybe all the cool kids are talking behind my back.


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## dualpivot

I use a Bike Peddler Take-A-Look mirror on my helmet, clipped to the visor. It works well, and doesn't budge or vibrate. There is definitely a learning curve with a helmet/glasses mirror, however, so if y'all try one give it a few rides before coming to an opinion on it. I will definitely check out that Rearview Gear mirror when I get a new helmet, since i have a tendency to knock my Take-A-Look off the helmet and misplace it when putting away gear.

Selle Italia has a mirror too: Eyelink.


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## neolux

I used really wide variety of bike mirrors and each of them had a major drawback. In the end, I decided to construct appropriate one. I think I was able to combine the advantages of helmet-mount mirror (near the eye) and avoiding its disadvantages (small picture, vibration, generally cumbersome to use). Besides my mirror does not require installation and can be used equally well to other road users. I mean skaters, Segway-men, skateboarding, etc.
I'm curious of your opinion. See YT: unique bike mirror - this is the exact title of the video and you need to enter it inside YT - because as you type it in google it will direct you to another video. Regards.


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## DrSmile

Thread dredge Monday!


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## ghettocop

Despite this being a zombie thread, I would like to add that "the rules" clearly state that no mirror shall be attached to any part of the bicycle or any part of the rider, or the riders helmet.


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## JCavilia

ghettocop said:


> Despite this being a zombie thread, I would like to add that "the rules" clearly state that no mirror shall be attached to any part of the bicycle or any part of the rider, or the riders helmet.


Forcing me to add (for the benefit of neophytes) that any citation to "the rules" for anything other than satirical effect is dumb.


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## tlg

JCavilia said:


> Forcing me to add (for the benefit of neophytes) that any citation to "the rules" for anything other than satirical effect is dumb.


All the cool kids break the rules. Rules are for schmucks. Especially made up pretend rules. 


Ironically, anyone quoting a particular made up pretend rule is most surely violating a handful of the other stupid made up rules.


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## duriel

rules, rules,.... you know the rest!


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