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Old 09-01-15, 06:19 PM
  #50  
jonc123
Ozark Hillbilly
 
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Show Me State
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Bikes: Long Haul Trucker

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Originally Posted by Tim_Iowa
Yes, that's the one I've used (and broken). I like it a lot but hate its lack of durability. FYI, it seems to be manufactured by D+D Oberlauda; only recently has it been sold under the Ortlieb name. Rivendell has stocked it for years.

Its failings are:
Clamp -- metal grub screw strips the plastic strap, making it impossible to tighten around the bar. Also, it's awkward to tighten because it's a slotted screw.
Mount -- where mirror attaches to the shaft, the small plastic plate will break if you lean or lay down the bike on that side, and/or the plastic shaft will bend

Ergo, I've broken a handful of these mirrors. However, they have excellent field of view. I still use one positioned horizontally under the Jones bars on my fat bike, but the mirror is pretty well protected in that position.

The B&M mirrors solve the clamp problem because the grub screw is also plastic, so it doesn't strip the plastic band. Also, it's easier to tighten because it's a hex head (hex key included, how German!)
They solve the arm/mount problem by using a metal shaft and much more sturdy ball joints. The mirror will flex out of the way when lain down, instead of breaking like the D+D/Ortlieb.

The B&M mirrors don't have the giant field of view, but the "903" versions do have a nicely sized 3" round mirror. When (not IF, unfortunately) yours breaks, consider a B&M 903.

I currently have a B&M mirror in the bar end of my 'cross bike, and another clamped to the drop bar on my Rivendell. I prefer a position a couple inches lower than yours, so it interferes less with the hand grip position down in the hook. I place the clamp just above where my hand goes on the drop/end.
I might just go ahead and order one. I did look closely at the Ortlieb one, it looks like you can just cut the plastic tie that goes around the handlebar and put a hoseclamp on it, it would have to be a narros clamp. Eventually I am going to rewrap these bars and leave the area where the mirror is at without tape. I gotta go look at some youtube videos to see how to wrap the bars properly. Notice the job surly did near the stem...looks like one side they ran out of tape unless that was on purpose for the reflector. Thanks, I'll go look at Peter's website.

UPDATE: I went and looked at the mirrors, which 903 do you have, specifically which type of arm and length? He has a bunch of them; it looks like the 903 refers to the larger mirror.

Last edited by jonc123; 09-01-15 at 06:41 PM. Reason: UPDATE
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