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Does anyone mount a mirror on their bike to see behind them?

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Does anyone mount a mirror on their bike to see behind them?

Old 08-07-22, 05:50 PM
  #51  
The Chemist
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I used to use mirrors, but this year I switched to the Garmin Varia radar and I much prefer it.
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Old 08-07-22, 06:48 PM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by groth
I have several bikes and the handlebar mounted mirrors had to be mounted in different places (you can't use a bar end mount if you have bar end shifters). Also, my left arm would get in the way of seeing the mirror for some mounting positions. I tried a helmet mounted mirror several years ago and gave up. At that time I was still wearing bifocals and one has to view the mirror through the edge of the lens where there is a lot of distortion (too much to be any good in my case). Since then I have had cataract surgery and have 20/20 for distance. I still wear sunglasses (for eye protection) but they are uniform thickness and do not cause distortion.

There are several different brands of helmet mounted mirrors. I use a "Take-a-Look" mirror.

Some mirrors (both handlebar and helmet mounted) de-magnify; so if you spot a car in the mirror it's actually much closer than it appears. The Take-a_Look is flat mirror, so you get a good sense of the distance.

A couple of photos to show how it's attached:

I fixed mine outside the helmet. I don't feel safe having that pokey thing inside the helmet in case I find myself face planted on a tree.

There are problems with flat mirror. You have to mount them a lot closer to your eyes in order to have good enough FOV which means obstructing more of forward view. And the tiniest bump or buzz on the road cause much bigger movement in the reflected image making it nauseating to use, unless you ride over glass roads.

Last edited by koala logs; 08-07-22 at 06:55 PM.
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Old 08-07-22, 07:28 PM
  #53  
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On my old hybrid I had a bar-end Mirrycle mirror. It wasn't the greatest idea because it was so low. On my new Trek I have this Mirrycle mirror on a stalk, and I like this much better. They even make a version for the Trek bar ends. https://mirrycle.com/product/mirrycle-mirror/

I didn't really consider a helmet mirror, I thought it would probably bounce around a lot, and that I would have trouble focusing on it. I find a mirror essential, even riding on the MUP.

Mark
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Old 08-07-22, 07:37 PM
  #54  
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Originally Posted by msalvetti
I didn't really consider a helmet mirror, I thought it would probably bounce around a lot, and that I would have trouble focusing on it.
You'll be surprised, they don't much. I use them on bumpy urban roads with all the sewer covers and the problem is really not that significant.
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Old 08-07-22, 08:09 PM
  #55  
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I use bar-end mirrors on my drop bars. I find them essential when making left turns.
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Old 08-07-22, 08:26 PM
  #56  
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I use a left side handlebar end mirror on all of my bikes. I use flat glass mirrors as the nonbreakable metal and concave mirrors distort and haze the image. On my favorite road bike I cobbled together a barend mirror using a barend mount (I think it was from a Sprintech mirror) and a Chinese brand oval mirror similar to the one listed at #8 on that Amazon favorite bike mirror list. Been using it for 6 years now. Works well for me.

Happy cycling!
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Old 08-07-22, 09:55 PM
  #57  
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No this has never crossed anyone's mind. To prove this, do a search on "mirror" and you'll find absolutely nothing.
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Old 08-07-22, 10:01 PM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by CheGiantForLife
Very perceptive.
Yes, I ride on both sides of the road.

One one stretch, there is a 3 foot wide margin or breakdown alley only on one side of the road. (Not wide enough for a car)
So, I ride facing traffic and then need to cross over when the margin disappears to the other side. What is the right term for "margin"?

I try to avoid riding in the actual traffic lane, whenever possible
I feel it is safer to ride facing traffic, but in the margin, than to ride with traffic, but in the actual traffic, causing all sorts of problems for cars.
Riding against traffic is called "salmoning" and is generally illegal and inall cases dangerous and stupid. Drivers aren't looking for traffic from the way you're coming. Be a better cyclist.
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Old 08-08-22, 08:04 AM
  #59  
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Originally Posted by WhyFi
You sound like you haven't meaningfully ridden with vehicular traffic. n00bs are worried about being overtaken by traffic, but ride a little bit and you'll find that turning/crossing traffic is far more problematic. This is precisely why riding on sidewalks is more dangerous than riding on the road - no one really expects you there, your positioning makes you less visible to traffic turning off of the same roadway as you (crossing your path) and you've got less cushion against traffic on crossing roadways (nobody stops before the crosswalk). Riding against traffic exposes you to the same types of hazardous conditions. Don't do it - it's dumb.
Originally Posted by spelger
yo are riding like a salmon, going upstream. it may seem safer but is probably the most dangerous way to ride a bike. when a driver is making a right hand turn at an intersection and glances at you they will normally assume you are moving with traffic and heading away from them. they will pull out into traffic because it appears clear to them (bike riding away). unfortunately the bike rider usually gets hit in this situation. so, yo may feel safer but it definitely is not.
Originally Posted by Camilo
Riding against traffic is called "salmoning" and is generally illegal and inall cases dangerous and stupid. Drivers aren't looking for traffic from the way you're coming. Be a better cyclist.
Ok, so riding with traffic is safer when there is a shoulder lane.

But what about where there is no shoulder? I have a huge ethical dilemma in riding on roads like these.
If there is no shoulder on either side, I will either use the sidewalk, or walk the bike on the grass.
Or, I simply do not ride on any roads without an obvious shoulder lane.

For those who ride on roads with no shoulder, how do you deal with the fact that when you're riding with traffic, cars are constantly having to swerve half way out of your lane and you're really creating a huge nuisance on the road and potentially causing car accidents.
This accident potential increases exponentially if there are cars in both lanes and one sideswipes another while having to avoid the bike by swerving into the left lane ?
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Old 08-08-22, 08:13 AM
  #60  
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Originally Posted by CheGiantForLife
Ok, so riding with traffic is safer when there is a shoulder lane.

But what about where there is no shoulder? I have a huge ethical dilemma in riding on roads like these.
If there is no shoulder on either side, I will either use the sidewalk, or walk the bike on the grass.
Or, I simply do not ride on any roads without an obvious shoulder lane.

For those who ride on roads with no shoulder, how do you deal with the fact that when you're riding with traffic, cars are constantly having to swerve half way out of your lane and you're really creating a huge nuisance on the road and potentially causing car accidents.
This accident potential increases exponentially if there are cars in both lanes and one sideswipes another while having to avoid the bike by swerving into the left lane ?
In my state, it is clear that the position I am to take on such a road is the farthest right that is "practicable". That point is variable depending on the road characteristics, but I interpret that to mean the point at which I have decent pavement AND I am highly visible to cars coming up behind me. It is also very clear in the law that cars that can't pass me safely will have to wait until the oncoming lane is clear to do this pass. Most of these roads are not so crowded as to result in more than a few seconds of delay, and I don't believe that to be unreasonable. Generally, this doesn't pose much of a problem, but there are roads I won't ride on precisely because I've had too many cars proceed to pass in the illegal manner you describe--swerving into the oncoming lane without making sure the lane is actually clear..
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Old 08-08-22, 08:34 AM
  #61  
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https://www.google.com/search?q=mirr...&bih=617&dpr=1
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Old 08-08-22, 09:24 AM
  #62  
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Originally Posted by CheGiantForLife

For those who ride on roads with no shoulder, how do you deal with the fact that when you're riding with traffic, cars are constantly having to swerve half way out of your lane and you're really creating a huge nuisance on the road and potentially causing car accidents.
This accident potential increases exponentially if there are cars in both lanes and one sideswipes another while having to avoid the bike by swerving into the left lane ?
But if you ride facing traffic, the cars are still going to have to swerve half way out if the lane also. That hasn't changed just because you're now riding against traffic, except now it'll be much scarier because it'll look like they're coming right at you.
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Old 08-08-22, 09:35 AM
  #63  
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Originally Posted by CheGiantForLife
then this typical low IQ garbage signal to noise ratio.
Hello Pot. Meet kettle.

I mount a vanity mirror on my bike and ride on roads with no shoulder while wearing boxers and generic baggy poly shorts on a bicycle that I leased that came with a golf club mount while looking for a place to do a 100 yard dash on a bicycle.
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Old 08-08-22, 04:57 PM
  #64  
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I use this one.

​​​​​​https://www.ebay.com/itm/392283407229
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Old 08-08-22, 05:57 PM
  #65  
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Originally Posted by CheGiantForLife
Ok, so riding with traffic is safer when there is a shoulder lane.

But what about where there is no shoulder? I have a huge ethical dilemma in riding on roads like these.
If there is no shoulder on either side, I will either use the sidewalk, or walk the bike on the grass.
Or, I simply do not ride on any roads without an obvious shoulder lane.

For those who ride on roads with no shoulder, how do you deal with the fact that when you're riding with traffic, cars are constantly having to swerve half way out of your lane and you're really creating a huge nuisance on the road and potentially causing car accidents.
This accident potential increases exponentially if there are cars in both lanes and one sideswipes another while having to avoid the bike by swerving into the left lane ?
A good piece of advice would be grab a notepad, pencil, beach chair, water and perhaps some snacks. Look up on Strava heat maps or RWGPS popularity map a road which has plenty of traffic, no shoulder and frequently used by cyclists (google street view will come in handy). Take a bus to this location and set up your chair and note how your fellow cyclists are handling the interaction with cars over a few hours. Type up the notes taken and place on your refrigerator to review prior to each ride. Share your research with the Bike Forum Community, it would be a great way of giving back to a group which has been so generous to you. Problem solved, everyone wins!

Last edited by Atlas Shrugged; 08-08-22 at 06:03 PM.
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Old 08-08-22, 07:44 PM
  #66  
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I have a mirror and won't ride without it. I have a Garmin Varia....and use my mirror to see what is coming up on me after the Varia detects it
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Old 08-08-22, 08:01 PM
  #67  
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Typically ride with the on-glasses type mirror. Have used bar-end mirrors on flat bar bikes over the years but they inevitably get broken or scratched up.
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Old 08-08-22, 08:12 PM
  #68  
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I hope your eBay mirrors pan out. If the description on eBay is accurate, the mirror is glass and the frame plastic. One big piece of missing information is diameter of the mirror. Lots of these cheap mirrors from China are not glass. The reflective surface is shiny plastic and small. I bought a set just to see how good they were compared to the mirror I prefer, the Mirryicle bike mirror that costs around $20. The reflective surface is shiny plastic and it was pear shaped and about 2" across. The Mirryicle is real glass and 3" in diameter. I threw out the Chinese made mirrors as they were totally useless for seeing anything more than a few feet away. I wouldn't ride any recumbent bike or trike without a mirror. BTW, the really good mounting system Mirrycle uses allows you to adjust the mirror just right and it stays that way.
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Old 08-08-22, 08:15 PM
  #69  
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This handlebar mirror seems okay and closable at about $5 USD including shipping.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002971124711.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003424413371.html

I ride lowish so it is more like looking down chin to shoulder, or even chin to chest looking back upside-down under my armpit, rather than attempting to turn around. This method was taught in my UK motorcycle class, for checking the bar mirror blind spot, because the bigger motorbike helmets make turning around more difficult - they'd have to turn even further.

The sunglass lens glove mirror sounds like an interesting idea. Thanks. I have some mirrored sunglasses that I don't use. In Japan the right hand up gesture means turn left (the opposite of the US) but very people use signals. I just point.

Riding against the flow of traffic is against the law in Japan ("Gyakusou" now a Nike brand). As a cyclist I get scared when people do that, because it means bikes are coming towards me at the (my?) side of the road.

I am okay with cars having to move out a little to overtake me. Generally where I am they only have to move to the central line not over it.

Also (since my ears are getting bigger and Dumbo bigger as I age) I use ear muffs the whole year around even in summer because the wind in my old guy Dumbo ears prevents me from hearing cars. The ear muffs greatly improve my sonar.

Two pairs of ear muffs
by Timothy Takemoto, on Flickr

Last edited by timtak; 08-09-22 at 06:15 AM.
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Old 08-08-22, 08:23 PM
  #70  
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Left side handlebar end mirror for me.
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Old 08-09-22, 08:58 AM
  #71  
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Originally Posted by dedhed
I use this one.

​​​​​​https://www.ebay.com/itm/392283407229

Dumb people never notice the hidden charges. LOL
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Old 08-09-22, 09:00 AM
  #72  
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Originally Posted by timtak
This handlebar mirror seems okay and closable at about $5 USD including shipping.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002971124711.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003424413371.html

I've never used AliExpress.
I do not want to wait 1-2 months for shipping.
How has your experience been?
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Old 08-09-22, 09:09 AM
  #73  
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Originally Posted by CheGiantForLife
Dumb people never notice the hidden charges. LOL
Did I say I bought it there?

Are you calling me dumb? Mods don't care for that.
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Old 08-09-22, 09:54 AM
  #74  
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no helmet, but mirror attached to bars
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Old 08-09-22, 10:41 AM
  #75  
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Originally Posted by dedhed
I use this one.

​​​​​​https://www.ebay.com/itm/392283407229


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