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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 08-15-22, 10:06 AM
  #101  
mstateglfr 
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Originally Posted by Daniel4
It would make more sense if the Varia gives a rear-facing notice to drivers to "Please pass safely".
I think most cyclists treat the Varia as a surrogate bully driver. When it beeps, they get out of the way of the car.
I have never felt like my Varia is a bully. I quite enjoy it notifying me of cars passing when I am on gravel since I am usually out in the middle of the road where the best line is. I can move over as the car approaches and the car is able to safely pass with both the drive and me happy. Nothing really bullying about that.
And when I am riding with friends on quiet country roads, I like it because I can pull up alongside them and talk, then slide back if needed when a car approaches from behind. Again, not bullying.

I largely ignore the Varia if I have it on while riding in town. Too many cars to rally care about- I just ride in a straight line and dont change anything about how I ride when cars approach.
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Old 08-15-22, 10:31 AM
  #102  
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Originally Posted by Daniel4
It would make more sense if the Varia gives a rear-facing notice to drivers to "Please pass safely".
The Varia does change its flash pattern when it detects an approaching vehicle.
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Old 08-15-22, 11:40 AM
  #103  
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Originally Posted by Daniel4
I think most cyclists treat the Varia as a surrogate bully driver. When it beeps, they get out of the way of the car.
When a car is bearing down on me, I do prefer to stay out of its way. What do you do?
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Old 08-15-22, 05:12 PM
  #104  
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Ergonomic Bar Ends with Integrated Mirror

I like using bar ends on my bike not only for hand positioning options, but the hollow end (where a plug would go) on many newer ergonomic style bar ends does not have the plug hole provision that the old style ones do. Therein, I'd insert a Cat Eye mirror so it is nice and up high out of the way yet still tight to the bar. If anyone knows of a good ergonomic end with that end hole free lemme know. However, TopPeak has a solution in the Bar n' Mirror which I was going to try. Anyone here use these on a regular basis? How do they perform and hold up?
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Old 08-15-22, 07:18 PM
  #105  
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I have mirrors on my rear rack basket so that I can see forward when I look behind me.
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Old 08-15-22, 09:27 PM
  #106  
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Old 08-15-22, 09:53 PM
  #107  
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Originally Posted by Koyote
When a car is bearing down on me, I do prefer to stay out of its way. What do you do?
I was honked at on Thursday. What did I do? What I normally do: held my line, took the lane and when I had passed all the parked cars, moved over to the right about a metre from the curb.

I didn't know if the honk was an 'I'm here' honk or a 'get out of my way' honk but I'm guessing the rear facing camera gave him some patience as he passed me when I allowed him to pass only for him to get into the left turn lane.

I wouldn't have done anything differently with a Varia beeping at me.

That was the first time I was honked at this year.

Last edited by Daniel4; 08-15-22 at 10:00 PM.
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Old 08-16-22, 04:55 AM
  #108  
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Does anyone mount tires on their rims so they can go faster?
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Old 08-16-22, 05:52 AM
  #109  
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Originally Posted by Koyote
When a car is bearing down on me, I do prefer to stay out of its way. What do you do?

He declares the road a bike only route.
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Old 08-16-22, 07:50 AM
  #110  
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Originally Posted by Koyote
When a car is bearing down on me, I do prefer to stay out of its way. What do you do?
Originally Posted by Daniel4
I was honked at on Thursday. What did I do? What I normally do: held my line, took the lane and when I had passed all the parked cars, moved over to the right about a metre from the curb.
In other words, you did exactly as I would've: when it was safe to do so, you got out of the car's way.

Originally Posted by Daniel4
I wouldn't have done anything differently with a Varia beeping at me.
You seem to have personified the Varia, accusing it of "bullying" on behalf of motorists...Which is odd. It's just a device that alerts a rider to a vehicle's presence, so that the rider can do EXACTLY what you do: get (or stay) out of the vehicle's way.

This may surprise you, but some riders are in different conditions than yours. I spend LOTS of time riding on quiet country roads, many of them unpaved. On gravel roads, the best line (smoothest, less potholed, etc) is often NOT on the right shoulder...In fact, sometimes its on the left side of the road. The Varia is pretty handy for alerting me when a vehicle comes up behind me. In the sort of situation you seem to be describing -- urban riding with lots of traffic -- I rarely bother to use it, since cars come up behind me all the time. I just ride as you do.
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Old 08-16-22, 09:58 AM
  #111  
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Originally Posted by Daniel4
I was honked at on Thursday. What did I do? What I normally do: held my line, took the lane and when I had passed all the parked cars, moved over to the right about a metre from the curb.

I didn't know if the honk was an 'I'm here' honk or a 'get out of my way' honk but I'm guessing the rear facing camera gave him some patience as he passed me when I allowed him to pass only for him to get into the left turn lane.

I wouldn't have done anything differently with a Varia beeping at me.

That was the first time I was honked at this year.
honk is a good thing - that means the driver sees you

when the driver doesn't see you that can be a problem
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Old 08-16-22, 10:00 AM
  #112  
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Originally Posted by bikehoco
Does anyone mount tires on their rims so they can go faster?
no - but I've considered it

very tempting
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Old 08-16-22, 10:43 AM
  #113  
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Originally Posted by Koyote
In other words, you did exactly as I would've: when it was safe to do so, you got out of the car's way.
.
I only did as the law says, to ride as far right as practical - regardless if there was a car behind me or not.

And when I approached the controlled intersection, I took the lane again.

The only time I would get out of their way would be at the left edge of the curb lane allowing cars to turn right.


So to answer the OP's original question, yes I do mount a mirror to look behind me. And then I would turn my head to check blind spots.

Last edited by Daniel4; 08-16-22 at 10:48 AM.
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Old 08-16-22, 11:11 AM
  #114  
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Originally Posted by t2p
honk is a good thing - that means the driver sees you

when the driver doesn't see you that can be a problem
Yes, that's what I said to somebody else in one other those other threads about how dangerous cycling is.
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Old 08-16-22, 11:32 AM
  #115  
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Originally Posted by Daniel4
I only did as the law says, to ride as far right as practical - regardless if there was a car behind me or not.
A Varia makes it more practical for me to adopt a default lane position that's further left, which generally puts me on smoother pavement with less debris. That position also makes me more visible than FRAP. I also believe that, seeing me move over upon their approach, drivers tend to understand that I'm aware of them and that I'm being accommodating and respond in kind; I've had FAR fewer close passes since getting a Varia.

But yeah, tell us more about the Varia, from your on-the-outside-looking-in position - it's so fascinating.
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Old 08-16-22, 12:28 PM
  #116  
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Originally Posted by Daniel4
I was honked at on Thursday. What did I do? What I normally do: held my line, took the lane and when I had passed all the parked cars, moved over to the right about a metre from the curb.
Originally Posted by t2p
honk is a good thing - that means the driver sees you
when the driver doesn't see you that can be a problem
Last June I was honked at on a rural paved road. I was 2' into the lane and riding probably 22mph and a car honked as it passed me. I was surprised to hear the honk so I instinctively looked back to see why a car would honk and that is when it passed. It gave me a ton of room, probably 10' and was largely in the oncoming lane as it passed. As I looked back ahead, my front wheel hit a large frost heave in the road, the front wheel turned, and I slammed into the pavement. Ended up breaking my clavicle and 4 ribs all because I turned to see why a car honked, and the car was just doing it to let me know it was there.

1- I dont care that the car was there. Dont honk unless there is a need to communicate. Letting me know it exists is not a need to communicate. Just pass me at a safe distance and continue on your way.
2- I have not been honked at since, good or bad honk, and dont plan on turning around when I am honked at in the future.
3- That stretch of road has since been repaved and it is now gloriously smooth.


t2p - a driver honking is not a good thing. Please tell me you dont honk at cyclists when you pass them. There is no need to honk- just pass them at a safe distance and speed and continue on.
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Old 08-16-22, 07:16 PM
  #117  
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Originally Posted by CheGiantForLife
Would you suggest helmet mount over a handlebar mounted ?
IMO, this depends in large part on the handlebar type. A bar-end mirror is harder to use on drop bars based on my experience. So I use a glasses-mounted mirror with these bars.
On a flat bar, a bar-end mirror works well.
I use "Third Eye" mirrors because the company hires people with disabilities, and their products work well.

EDIT: The Third Eye glasses-mount mirror is *much* smaller than the helmet-mounted mirror pictured above. This works well because it is much closer to the rider's eye, so the field of view is more than adequate. The rider can sweep a wide area behind by simply swiveling the head a few degrees.

Last edited by sweeks; 08-16-22 at 07:26 PM.
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Old 08-16-22, 07:54 PM
  #118  
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
Last June I was honked at on a rural paved road. I was 2' into the lane and riding probably 22mph and a car honked as it passed me. I was surprised to hear the honk so I instinctively looked back to see why a car would honk and that is when it passed. It gave me a ton of room, probably 10' and was largely in the oncoming lane as it passed. As I looked back ahead, my front wheel hit a large frost heave in the road, the front wheel turned, and I slammed into the pavement. Ended up breaking my clavicle and 4 ribs all because I turned to see why a car honked, and the car was just doing it to let me know it was there.

1- I dont care that the car was there. Dont honk unless there is a need to communicate. Letting me know it exists is not a need to communicate. Just pass me at a safe distance and continue on your way.
2- I have not been honked at since, good or bad honk, and dont plan on turning around when I am honked at in the future.
3- That stretch of road has since been repaved and it is now gloriously smooth.


t2p - a driver honking is not a good thing. Please tell me you dont honk at cyclists when you pass them. There is no need to honk- just pass them at a safe distance and speed and continue on.
I'll say it again - a honk is a good thing - because the driver saw you

The driver that does not see you - the distracted young driver looking down at a cellphone - or the senior driver squinting due to sun - or whatever - can be the big problem

of course I don't beep at / when I pass cyclists


here is just one example of a cyclist killed by a driver that did not see him

https://archive.triblive.com/news/ve...-a-gentle-man/

.

Last edited by t2p; 08-16-22 at 07:58 PM.
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Old 08-16-22, 08:42 PM
  #119  
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Originally Posted by t2p
I'll say it again - a honk is a good thing - because the driver saw you

The driver that does not see you - the distracted young driver looking down at a cellphone - or the senior driver squinting due to sun - or whatever - can be the big problem

of course I don't beep at / when I pass cyclists


here is just one example of a cyclist killed by a driver that did not see him

https://archive.triblive.com/news/ve...-a-gentle-man/

.
To recap- drivers should not honk at cyclists as they pass because there is no need to honk and it distracts cyclists, but its good that they honk because it shows they see the cyclist, but you personally don't honk when you pass cyclists.
Surely you see how absurd that is.

...I am guessing even when recapped you will look at it and think it makes sense.
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Old 08-17-22, 07:41 AM
  #120  
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Originally Posted by t2p
I'll say it again - a honk is a good thing - because the driver saw you
.

That's utter BS. When there's a honk, I have no way of knowing who or what the driver is honking at. The driver might be so distracted by rage at someone else that they don't even notice me.

Anyone who's honking at cyclists, stop it. It's the opposite of helpful.

BTW, the guy who was honking at me while speeding up to push me out of the left lane when I was taking a left turn (instead of passing me on the lane to my right which someone with a brain could easily do) definitely saw me. He was nearly a block behind me when I signaled the lane shift, he just sped up to try to make me go back. That kind of thing is a lot more typical of horn usage around these parts--an implied or overt threat.

Last edited by livedarklions; 08-17-22 at 07:47 AM.
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Old 08-17-22, 10:09 AM
  #121  
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You wouldn't honk at a car, truck or a motorcycle except to signify "Hey, watch it!" or "Screw you, idiot!". You don't honk just because you wanted someone to know you've seen their car.

Why would a cyclist interpret it any differently? It's annoying when someone is honking for no good reason.
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Old 08-18-22, 07:17 AM
  #122  
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Originally Posted by bikehoco
Does anyone mount tires on their rims so they can go faster?


"It was a simple question, either answer it or ignore it. Don’t be such an @ss."
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Old 08-18-22, 07:21 AM
  #123  
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Originally Posted by Koyote
"It was a simple question, either answer it or ignore it. Don’t be such an @ss."
Busted!
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Old 08-18-22, 07:31 AM
  #124  
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I've had a mirror on my left bar end of my road bike for about 3 years now and wouldn't want to ride without it.
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Old 08-18-22, 09:46 AM
  #125  
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Originally Posted by Branko D
You wouldn't honk at a car, truck or a motorcycle except to signify "Hey, watch it!" or "Screw you, idiot!". You don't honk just because you wanted someone to know you've seen their car.

Why would a cyclist interpret it any differently? It's annoying when someone is honking for no good reason.
sure, but you are using logic. Plenty of illogical people out there. I could see a little old lady thinking, I’ll just give that nice young man a toot of my horn to let him know I’m passing, or have dementia, or let them know I love mens butts in spandex

and to answer the OP’s question, I would only use a mirror to look backwards, never any other direction. But I use Varia and head-checks so will disqualify myself

Last edited by rsbob; 08-18-22 at 09:49 AM.
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