Chacam

Which do you prefer and why? I haven't gotten one yet and am wondering which is best. Thanks

Elvo

Helmet because you can watch out for the illuminati when you are in the coffee shop line.

Fastfingaz

Chacam I want to tell you that those are two different animals and you should have at least one of each,,,,,,,

jbarham

I've never tried a bar end mirror but have been using a helmet mirror for 7 or 8 years. I'm a big fan. Fortunately, I've never used the built-in eye remover.

DeltaFoxtrtZulu

I went for bar end. I ride a motorcycle and that's what my motorcycle has so I'm used to it. I also swapped the brakes to Euro-style so it's like my motorcycle too.

jhazel

I've used both helmet and bar end mirrors. I like the bar end better because of the larger view and the helmet mount isn't as clear with my particular vision issues. I do like the ability of the helmet mirror to capture a larger picture by turning my head. I would suggest you try both and see which you like best. Or buy one and when you break it, try the other type.

doctor j

I have a Third-Eye bar end mirror on both of my road bikes.

jon c. 

I like the bar end myself. I just didn't find the helmet mirror very useful. You have to have your head in the right position to get the view you want. And I don't really like the look.

bgraham111

I hated my helmet mirror when I first put it on. But using it has become second nature. I used a different helmet the other night without the mirror and I went crazy trying to look behind me with just a little head tilt. Mine is set up so all I have to do it look slightly to the left to see behind me.

I have a bar end for a home brew recumbent, but I haven't installed it yet. So.... I don't know which is better. But the helmet mirror was cheap - just give it a try.

Cougrrcj

Both of my road bikes have Bar-end shifters, so no bar-end mirrors for me. Back in the days when bike helmets were not common and I used to wear prescription glasses, I had a glasses-mount mirror, not a helmet mount. I almost always have some sort of eye protection when riding for bugs/dust/etc, but the frames are not the same between my 'regular' safety glasses and the sunglasses, so I don't have a mirror at all. However, since I always wear a helmet now, I may get a helmet-mount mirror. Over the last 30 years, I have mainly listened for traffic.

GovernorSilver

For more opinions, check out this recent thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/advocacy-s...rror-poll.html

JanMM

Have used helmet- or glasses-mounted mirrors for about 35 years. Current fave - for several years - is the Take-A-Look mirror.

coupster

I've used a Third Eye Helmet mirror for 20+ years. Before that I used a mirror that clamped over the brake lever hoods (no longer available or compatible). I find that the helmet mirror vibrates less and allows for a wider field of vision simply by rotating my head. Bar end mirrors (or shifters) always got in my way getting on and off the bike and forced me to look down away from the road to see where I'd been or what was going to run over me.

CliffordK

I tried a bar mounted mirror... for about 10 minutes.
I know, perhaps not long enough for a good evaluation. But, with drop bars, I am leaning forward quite a bit, and the bar mirrors are just in the wrong place. I'm better off just looking behind me.

I've been meaning to try helmet or glasses mount mirrors, but haven't done it yet.

Coop500

I use a bar mounted mirror. I have been riding motorcycles for 35 years and I am just used to a bar mounted mirror I guess.

Wanderer

Mountain Myrricle, the best there is! You can actually see things with it! Bar end for me, MHO

gear64

When i first started commuting I put a bar end style on a flat bar bike. It worked very nice. When I switched to drop bar bike, it was lesser of evils between look and position of where it would go on bike vs look of having it on helmet. I picked helmet. Bonus in hindsight is that now I also have a mirror for stripped down "fun" bike which also spends a lot of time in the streets. Initial drawbacks: 1) Took a little fiddling to get the setup just right 2) Maybe just coincidental, but developed a little kink in my neck about the same time. Eventually went away in fairly short order. 3) I had difficulty locking in the view at first. Now it's second nature. For me the trick seemed to be lock onto mirror, very slight turn turn to the left. Initially I think I was trying to lock in during head turn while turning way too far (looked like I was seeing the world from a merry-go-round). Habit from always looking full over shoulder for many years. Which you should still do as final check before an actual maneuver.

I-Like-To-Bike

You wear your helmet with a mirror while inside a public establishment? Kewl!

79pmooney

Never had any desire to use a bar mirror. That and doesn't it break when the bike falls over (with or without rider)? Also I don't put anything on a bike that makes it wider except panniers when I need them, especially on the handlebars.

Helmet mirrors work really well. Better than the mirrors in my car. I use the Cat Eyes with the screw clamp and a bracket I made that screws onto the visor. (It's BS that I have to make those brackets; helmet and mirror manufacturers should get together on a standard. The brackets I make outlast several helmets and provide a very solid mount while making removal easy.) I also get glasses and sunglasses with frames with a high squarish outside corner so the mirror is completely in the field of my glasses and not in my direct vision at all. The Cat Eyes are large and sit close to you eyes so the field of view is large and effective.

NJgreyhead

One of the reasons I like the helmet mirror is it is you can still "watch your six" if you are off the bike and walking it along the shoulder (e.g. with a mechanical problem).

I've used different ones. My favorite is the Hubbub. It is a bit less obtrusive, does not use a long arm (which may increase vibration), sits close so the field of view is pretty big, and it is easy to move from one helmet to another, as it does not use a mount glued to the helmet.

Edit: for non-helmeted, local rides, I have shooter's glasses for both sunny and cloudy days (which I use for riding at night), to which I've added little self-stick mirrors on swivels placed on the inside of the lenses.

Ride safe.

Wilfred Laurier

I don't always wear a helmet so I prefer bar-mounted mirrors.
Actually I prefer no mirror, but if I have to choose a mirror mounting system, it goes on the bar.

10 Wheels

Put one on your gloves.

bovine

I use a helmet mirror and this was actually an issue before I moved from riding the drops on my cross bike to sitting fully upright on my cargo. I think it has to do with having to lift your head up to get a good view, though I suppose you could adjust the mirror so that you could view it in the drops, but not when you're more upright. Typically, on the drops your head is down and you're looking up with your eyes to view the road; this doesn't work as well with a helmet mirror, as your shoulder is in the way. You either have to adjust the mirror so that you can only view behind you by looking left, or you lift your head, giving you a kink in your neck if you do it too often.

This is just my experience. Maybe I didn't dial in the mirror optimally for my cross bike. The kink did appear about a week after I put the mirror back on my helmet, and only ended when I got my new bike.

jwse30

I wear one that clips to my eyeglasses since I don't wear a helmet all the time. I think it was made by Third Eye. The way the handlebars are shaped on my bike, I didn't think a bar end mirror would work too well.

J White

BobbyG

I use both. My glasses mounted mirror works better for me, but the bar end mirror will sometimes alert me to something and then I will take a look with my helmet mirror.