Mirrors on Road Bikes

stevenmh

In another thread somewhere I mentioned I have mirrors on all my bikes. I could not imagine going out for a ride without one on each side.

I specifically use zefal spin mirrors.

However I do see a lot of riders not using any. So, I am curious do you use mirrors on your bikes?

Stewie Griffin

Absolutely not, never ever. Cant beat a proper look over your shoulder.

fast as fupp

no

they are for tourers

Woodchip

No. You have a neck that moves for a reason. Plus, by looking back the driver behind will presume (I hope) that you're going to do something in a minute.

Infamous

If you need mirrors, you shouldn't be riding on the road.

stevenmh

If you need mirrors, you shouldn't be riding on the road.

I would not say it is a question of need. As a car has mirrors, I find that when I am on my bike I am constantly aware of what is going on behind to my right, back letf and in front. Without mirrors you need to take your eyes off the road in front, look back and calculate all you see.

I can understand why it may not be fashionable - or "cool" - to use mirrors but they are so small, weigh next to nothing, and give you so muich additional info that I personally find them invaluable.

Of course, I am not saying I do not look back too. I do, but a lot less than if I did not have mirrors.

I really would ask those that do not use them. Why not?

keef66

same reason I don't have an ashtray on the bike: no need.

I ride only country roads, so 99% of the hazards are coming at me from the front, often very quickly. If I do need a glance behind, eg when I'm turning right, I am still sufficiently bendy to to take an exaggerated look over my shoulder and make eye contact with anyone who might otherwise try to kill me.

Furry dice, however, I wouldn't be without.

Woodchip

keef66 wrote:

same reason I don't have an ashtray on the bike: no need.

I ride only country roads, so 99% of the hazards are coming at me from the front, often very quickly. If I do need a glance behind, eg when I'm turning right, I am still sufficiently bendy to to take an exaggerated look over my shoulder and make eye contact with anyone who might otherwise try to kill me.

Furry dice, however, I wouldn't be without.

I prefer the scented boxing gloves personally.

Why, on something designed for speed, would you want to put two lumps of plastic with the same drag coefficient as a brick on it?

chuckcork

For me the same reason I wouldn't rely solely on mirrors when driving: they only give you part of the picture. Given that in cycling your safety is considerably more affected by your actions, and that a glance behind you will pick up considerably more visual information (car/trucks/buses behind and how many, how far behind, relative speed, position on the road for passing you etc) than a tiny shaking mirror will, I can't see that shoulder checking can be avoided.

I also learnt from motorcycling not to rely on mirrors...

Also as noted a shoulder check lets the driver know that you know he/she is there and therefore forms a part of the communication/negotiation process that is so important when out on the road and mixing it with traffic.

Infamous

stevenmh wrote:

I would not say it is a question of need.

well you say that but you also say...

stevenmh wrote:

I have mirrors on all my bikes. I could not imagine going out for a ride without one on each side.

You need more confidence/competence IMO.

penugent

I put a single mirror on my road bike to enable me to keep an eye on the Mrs when she was drafting me as she had a habit of dropping off my wheel without asking me to slow down. Once I used a mirror I liked the additional info provided. I have the mirror fixed so that it drops down from the drops on the bars, rather than having it sticking out at right angles,and I find that this makes it less noticeable and it probably doesn't create much drag as it slopes away from the bars.

Anonymous

Sorry I think mirrors on road bikes are wrong, look naff, cumbersome and something else to stick into you, should you come off.

1892

No, not for me. It doesn't take a second to look over your shoulder

Bhima

dmclite wrote:

something else to stick into you, should you come off.

Yeah, and you'd get 14 years bad luck.

blu3cat

but useful for sorting out helmet hair (or cap hair).

stevenmh

stevenmh wrote:
I have mirrors on all my bikes. I could not imagine going out for a ride without one on each side.

You need more confidence/competence IMO.

Probably on both counts. But what I meant was we do not need mirrors in the same way we do not need microwaves. They can be useful although I only have the former and not the latter.

Perhaps there is less road discipline here in Bangkok. We have cars buses, motoboikes coming from every direction all the time.

While I agree that an overshoulder look is better, I do not need to "communicate" with a driver that often, nor do I want to take my eyes off the road in front for too long as anything could appear, a dog, a car going the wrong way, an elephant even!. I just need to keep my eye out for idiots that are weaving across the three lanes of the road at over 150kmh, motorbikes that are hugging the kerb and considering coming up on my inside.

I wonder how many people who are so against them have actuallu given them a try?

Weight, they weigh next to nothing and can be twisted around to prioduce hardly any drag, they fit into the bars and can even be flattened so you can hardly see them for when you do not need to use them.

Crapaud

stevenmh wrote:

... I wonder how many people who are so against them have actuallu given them a try? ...

Over the years I've tried a number of different types of mirrors. They have universally been crap.

stevenmh wrote:

... Weight, they weigh next to nothing and can be twisted around to prioduce hardly any drag, they fit into the bars and can even be flattened so you can hardly see them for when you do not need to use them.

IME they "twist around" and "flatten so that you can hardly see" all on their own. Either they shift from being bounced around on bumpy surfaces or get knocked out of line when the bike's leant against a wall or given a slight dunt when moving the bike. They rarely pointed in the right direction. I spent more time readusting them than looking at the road.

The one exception is glasses mounted glasses, they were good when you got used to them. A slight movement of the head and you could see everything behind / see what's in the blind spot that they produce. On the downside, you do get neds pointing and 'yuck yucking' in their vaccuous, braindead fashion, muttering about the 'Borg'.

Headhuunter

stevenmh wrote:

If you need mirrors, you shouldn't be riding on the road.

I would not say it is a question of need. As a car has mirrors, I find that when I am on my bike I am constantly aware of what is going on behind to my right, back letf and in front. Without mirrors you need to take your eyes off the road in front, look back and calculate all you see.

I can understand why it may not be fashionable - or "cool" - to use mirrors but they are so small, weigh next to nothing, and give you so muich additional info that I personally find them invaluable.

Of course, I am not saying I do not look back too. I do, but a lot less than if I did not have mirrors.

I really would ask those that do not use them. Why not?

Cars have mirrors because it's impossible to flick a look over the shoulder to see what's behind. For start, cars are much longer and they have a big metal frame which interrupts the view. Mirrors are essential.

On a bike using mirrors forces you to refocus your eyes onto the mirror then look back up and only shows you a small section of what's behind, there are blind spots. A look over the shoulder gives you a very clear view without blind spots, of everything behind you and communicates to people that you have checked and that you are likely to make a manouevre. I would never use mirrors on my bike.

REF123

Definitely.
I prefer safety over fashion but I can’t say that this has come easy because I have tried many variations for some time now and have only hit upon one type of mirror that solved most problems – a variation of the “Italian Mirror” which replaces the end cap of the left side of my drop bar.
It’s is light enough to appease most weight weenies, relatively aero, adjustable, can be installed or removed in a second, has a wide view despite it’s streamlined design and, overall, it gels well with the look and feel of my bike which may, or may not, shut down the endless snobs this sport/activity has for participants.
I can get a reasonably good feel for what’s behind me at all times without so much as moving a muscle and, when I need to make a change in my line, I’ll back this info up with a quick look over my shoulder… then go.

Crapaud

Headhuunter wrote:

On a bike using mirrors forces you to refocus your eyes onto the mirror then look back up and only shows you a small section of what's behind, there are blind spots. ...

This is wrong! You don't focus on the mirror - all you'll see is the mirror with something blurry in the middle - you focus on the image in the mirror.

Headhuunter wrote:

... A look over the shoulder gives you a very clear view without blind spots, of everything behind you and communicates to people that you have checked and that you are likely to make a manouevre. I would never use mirrors on my bike.

Again, wrong! Your blind spot has simply moved; you can't see what's at the front now.

stevenmh

This morning I had an experience where I found the mirror invaluable. I am on my 25kms loop on a busy three lane (in each direction) highway. There is a bridge that crosses a branch of the Chaoprhaya River. At the bottom of the bridge, the road becomes 5 lanes as there is a two lane u-turn bridge that runs under the bridge. Still with me?!! Those two lanes take about 1kms to converge into the main highway and become just three lanes again. Anyway, right - and I mean right - at the bottom of the bridge where all the white markings and cats eyes etc are, there is also a small road on the left. Now no normal driver would ever consider coming off a busy highway and doing a left turn across two other lanes of traffic. It is illegal even here, but people still do it, A LOT.

So there I am plodding along doing around 40kmh and I see in my mirror a van out in the third lane with his left indicator on. This is unusual and I immediately knew he was planning to come in from the fast lane across all the lanes and try to make the turn which is right at the bottom of the bridge.

I know he is going much faster than me, I also know he is an idiot just for attempting this move. So he has two choices, one is speed up and pull up in front of me, stop suddenly and then stay there in the middle of the road waiting for a gap to cross the other 2 lanes that converge with the road - giving me an enormous problem - OR he has to pull in behind me and allow me to ride on.

As it happens, he started coming in from the fast lane, got into the inside lane while we were still coming down the bridge, sped up and got right in behind debating whether to pass or not. He eventually realized I was going too fast to be able to stop if he pulled in front of me, plus and probably more important by the time he had over taken me now he would have missed the turn.

So the mirrors allowed me to see this coming. I was able to monitor what the idiot in the van was doing, I was able to watch the road in front, check the road coming in from my left and make sure I did not stray and hit a catseye or anything else.

I did turn my head once, but only when he had decided to sit on my wheel, I then "communicated" with him through a glare he could not see through my glasses. So the mirrors allowed me to ride safely, monitor all this be sort of prepared in case something happened.

Still awake? I understand why people are against mirrors. I used to be I guess, but now I have them, I realize how much more fun I can have riding, as I am so much more aware of my surroundings.

And for those that go on about blind spots, please remember if you have been monitoring what is happening, you will also know what has just moved into your blind spot. I do look when I turn and on a few other occasions, but viva the mirror!

kevinglennrhodes

Try a mirror for your helmet and you'll never feel safe riding the roads without it. It's ALWAYS good seeing what's behind you.

Headhuunter

Crapaud wrote:

Headhuunter wrote:

On a bike using mirrors forces you to refocus your eyes onto the mirror then look back up and only shows you a small section of what's behind, there are blind spots. ...

This is wrong! You don't focus on the mirror - all you'll see is the mirror with something blurry in the middle - you focus on the image in the mirror.

Headhuunter wrote:

... A look over the shoulder gives you a very clear view without blind spots, of everything behind you and communicates to people that you have checked and that you are likely to make a manouevre. I would never use mirrors on my bike.

Again, wrong! Your blind spot has simply moved; you can't see what's at the front now.

You do have to refocus to look into a mirror! Not only that, distances are harder to judge so a direct look over the shoulder is far better.

When you look into a mirror you're not looking ahead either, so you not only have blind spots at the rear, your attention is off what's ahead!

Homer J

Are the 12% women who use them to do their makeup at the lights

stevenmh

Homer J wrote:

Are the 12% women who use them to do their makeup at the lights

brilliant, gotta love the humour.

I reckon mirrors are getting the same reaction to what boxes did when cricket was invented. Some guy was heading off to bat, and a rather advanced dude, willing to try new stuff without fear of recrimination, threw him a funny looking thing.

Cool Dude: here mate, stick this down your pants and save the crown jewels

Not as Cool Dude replied: LOL - wtf is that?!! What do i look like a ******. Don't need that mate might get in the way of my swing.

You can guess the rest.......

singlespeedexplosif

I really would ask those that do not use them. Why not?
because they're right up there alongside mudguards and baggy shorts in the big long list of cycling things which are totally pointless

desweller

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

I really would ask those that do not use them. Why not?
because they're right up there alongside mudguards and baggy shorts in the big long list of cycling things which are totally pointless

Mudguards are great. Especially if your commute takes you past a lot of farmyards!

Never tried mirrors though. I had a bout of wry neck a couple of weeks ago, they would probably have been quite useful then!

antfly

I used to have a tiny mirror stuck on the inside of my cycling glasses. It did actually work and best of all no-one could see it. I don`t need it anymore, it was a bit of a distraction really and It`s more important to look where you are going and just look behind when you have to.

pottssteve

Infamous wrote:

stevenmh wrote:

I would not say it is a question of need.

well you say that but you also say...

stevenmh wrote:

I have mirrors on all my bikes. I could not imagine going out for a ride without one on each side.

You need more confidence/competence IMO.

InFamous - have you ever driven in the Far East?! It's like this: :shock:

Having said that, I don't use them either - I glance behind. I also never ride with an iPod on; you can often hear vehicles coming from a long way off.

stevenmh

I glance behind. I also never ride with an iPod on;

Yes, I rode for a while with music and it was quite nice, but living is better, and being able to hear when something is behind you or screeching across the tarmac on its roof heading towards you is much more important!!

I understand the negative reaction to mirrors, they are hardly cool. I just like knowing what is going on behind me without looking all the time.

It doesn't stop the morons, it just means I might see them coming a little earlier.

If I can be bothered I might take some pictures ...... not of the morons, the mirrors.

antfly

I had a go at i-pod wearers on here once and the vitriol I got was quite unpleasant but so many people seem to ride with them these days, they are just everywhere.