Mirrors... There, I said it.
 

I have a buddy who is an old roadie and still trains as though he was racing. That's cool and all. He likes the big rides and does them often. Years ago, I purchased a mirror, the one that attaches to the bow of your glasses. He was like, "those ain't cool man..." Needless to say I never wore it. Recently, I came across it and have done a few rides while wearing it. I like it. I ride on the road and can't believe how easy it is to glance back versus the constant headturn. I still am prone to firsthand looks (non-mirror image) when maneuvering right hand turn lanes and a few other crucial and potentially dangerous situations. I like the mirror. Am I not cool anymore? Anyone else (I've seen a few in the profile pictures) wear a mirror or maybe, gasp, have one mounted on their steed? Safety first, convenience second, coolness third.

I have two mirrors, one on the handlebars, one close to the helmet visor. Honestly, all of my colleagues think it's freaking cool, though they don't seem to believe i can really see anything in that small mirror.

My commute is mostly through the countryside, at first i started to use mirrors to notice the cars early so i can get from the road back to the cycling path before they get close. The cycling path quality isn't that great and 99% of the time I prefer road riding, but the shoulders are almost nonexistant and its mostly illegal to ride on the road when a cycling path is available, so if something happens I will be the bad guy. Now I enjoy using helmet mirror every time i ride in traffic.

I would ride with no helmet, but never no mirror! :eek:
Aside from air in the tires, it is the only other thing I need for
my bikes. A glass one with mounting that can absorb bumps.
:thumb:

When I ride my bikes without mirrors I miss them.

I use helmet or eyeglass mounted mirrors every ride unless it is all off road. I often catch myself looking in the mirror when I'm walking somewhere only to realize I'm not wearing one.

I found a handlebar-mounted mirror on the street one day last year and decided to give it a shot, as I had never used one. Now I am looking for a better quality model. As for riding without one ever again, I don't think I will.

I have a Take A Look mirror, mounted on my helmet, I also have winkku turn signal mirrors. The TAL is my primary, The Winkku ones are much more valuable as turn signals.

Eyeglass mirror every time. Yes it is geeky and uncool. Welcome to being a bike commuter.

I do the same thing (helmet mounted mirror for me). My wife keeps telling me that I'm crazy, but it's nice to know that someone else does it as well!

Nope, but it may save your bacon someday. Mmm, bacon...

I'm old enough that it doesn't matter what I do.. I'm not gonna be "cool" at my age.

I could try and the younger guys will do one or all of the following:

1. Wonder who that old guy is "trying" to be cool.
2. Laugh at the "struggling to be cool" old guy while he races in full kit against his midlife crisis. (I'm really still 25 deep inside!.. I'll show them dumb kids!)
3. Pity the old man with the big bucks riding the young mans ride.


Therefore, I can do what I want which includes being as safe as I want. Besides, I can't friggin turn my head around like I used to.

I've got two Mirrycle MTB mirrors that I use for my own well being. One on my Ebike.. the other on my MTB commuter.


I don't care what people think.. but that's because I'm an old geezer. I've even got my old PX-10 hangin on the wall downstairs in the bikeshop dagnabbit!

dork,

well somebody had to say it...


I hate mirrors while riding. they distract me. I look at my feet, wheel, the center line, the bird, etc. I hate it ADD strikes again

Actually, to a certain point, being uncool is actually really cool! I have a PeeWee Herman style mirror on my handlebars, and you can't get more uncool than that! I've been thinking of getting a helmet or glasses mounted mirror.

I need a mirror. I find that it always seems that when I look back a car is RIGHT THERE and I tend to swerve over a bit in the direction I'm looking. Not safe for the other people on the road and certainly not me so I find myself pulling way over to compensate. A mirror would really help.

A few weeks ago I installed a handlebar mirror on my bike. Maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance, but I found that it took a second or two to look directly into the mirror and fully register what was behind me. By contrast, when driving a car I'm instantaneously able to glance into my rear view and side view mirror and see what lies behind me. There was just something about the bicycle mirror that didn't work for me; I can't really explain it. The other thing I didn't like about the handlebar mirror is that it got in the way when carrying my bike up my stairs, and sometimes even when locking up at bike racks. The mirror doesn't look large, but it actually extends 5 to 6 inches beyond the end of the handlebar (I would have guessed 3 inches). I also found that I looked into the mirror more often than I really need to (I've always wondered if I have ADD *shrugs*). Spending more effort worrying about what was behind me ended up taking some of my focus off of what was ahead. Needless to say, I got rid of the mirror. I've never tried a glasses or helmet mounted mirror, so I can't comment on those. I plan to just stick with the old "head turn."

Glasses-mounted mirror for me. Take-A-Look rocks.

Wear your mirror . . . and when your buddy/racer friend gets near you, keep an eye on him; when he gets within 6 feet, pick up the pace . . .
repeat as necessary!
Seriously, been wearing a mirror mounted on my glassess since the 70s when I used a dental mirror wired to glass frame.
Been using the Take-A-Look mirror for a couple decades.
Oh, am 80 years old and still ride 6 days a week.

[QUOTE=merkong;15443043]I have a buddy who is an old roadie and still trains as though he was racing. That's cool and all. He likes the big rides and does them often. Years ago, I purchased a mirror, the one that attaches to the bow of your glasses. He was like, "those ain't cool man..." Needless to say I never wore it. Recently, I came across it and have done a few rides while wearing it. I like it. I ride on the road and can't believe how easy it is to glance back versus the constant headturn. I still am prone to firsthand looks (non-mirror image) when maneuvering right hand turn lanes and a few other crucial and potentially dangerous situations. I like the mirror. Am I not cool anymore? Anyone else (I've seen a few in the profile pictures) wear a mirror or maybe, gasp, have one mounted on their steed? Safety first, convenience second, coolness third.[/
QUOTE]
Yep I got them on the end of my bars and love them. I like the bigger mirror pose to the little helmet ones

It nice when you are on a narrow street and you have an obstacle ahead of you adjust your timing better. You get use to it. I kept want to look over my shoulder right after I mounted it .

I found mirrors too scary on a bicycle. Drivers always drive as if they'll run me over, then turn at the last few meters. Too much stress for little gain - took them off. On the motorcycle, they are very useful, but bicycle - nope.

Right on, good to hear. Ride on.
I like the mirrycle mtb mirrors. Have them on three rides.

I could care less about cool. Couple of weeks ago I rode a bike for 2 days with no mirror. Felt like I was naked. Like 8 said, I would rather be without my helmet. I used to use a handle bar mounted rectangular mirror from sunlite. It was big and I could see very well. It did stick out beyond the handlebar. PIA when going through doorways. On the new ride I put one of the mirrycle mtb mirrors. Turned it over and mounted it under the handlebar so it does not stick out beyond the bar. Much better for navigating doorways and...it looks cool!!!:rolleyes:

The main reason i wear a helmet is to have an attaching point for a mirror - since the mid '80s. Saved my @$$ plenty times. Dont think i would look very cool with a broken spine.

I just started using mirrors very recently after riding without one for the last 6 years. I have both the eyeglass and handlebar mounted one.... So far I like them a lot on rural roads and other open roads in the suburbs where the traffic is faster and more sparse . But I don't like using them in downtown areas and urban/city areas with very heavy and slow moving traffic.
I find mirrors very useful in certain situations but not an absolute neccessity in all situations. JMHO based on my limited experience with them.

You're an adult on a bicycle. You've given up on cool, no matter what you tell yourself. Safety first, second and third. Cool is about #3255.