Mirror?

thelawnet

Got knocked off my bike today by a car overtaking from behind.

Anyway just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on getting a mirror, are they useful?

jeremyrundle

I fitted one on the handlebar, terrible as even small movements mean you see nothing, tried a helmet one, again even the smallest head movement you see nothing, gave up

3 RAV

jeremyrundle wrote:

I fitted one on the handlebar, terrible as even small movements mean you see nothing, tried a helmet one, again even the smallest head movement you see nothing, gave up

Can they not be attached to the frame? It should be possible but I can only imagine them being big and ugly if they can.

RufusA

3 RAV wrote:

Can they not be attached to the frame? It should be possible but I can only imagine them being big and ugly if they can.

The bike eye is one such mirror - not too ugly or big IMHO:

http://www.bike-eye.com/

However the disadvantage is that you need to "look" in to it, rather than it being a constant part of your periphary vision. So IMHO would not have prevented the OP's accident any more than a quick glance to the left would have.

Rufus.

jeremyrundle

Yes, as I said I attached one to the handlebar, but where on the frame would you place one with a 3' extension!

shouldbeinbed

I have them on all my bikes and have experimented with many to get the right ones rather than the Jeremy model of tried 1 and it was cr@p so they all must be.

Straight bar: Zefal Dooback

Any bar type: Zefal spy

Drop bar - sprintech bar end

All of them are directly plugged / tightly attached to the bike without arms or solid metal / plastic sleeves that do introduce vibration and wobble. I ride a 1/4 mile of cobbled road with no vibration or loss of vision. I've got a bad neck injury and couldn't ride where and as confidently as I do without my mirrors. Don't ever forget your ears or lifesaver shoulder look though.

jeremyrundle

shouldbeinbed wrote:

I have them on all my bikes and have experimented with many to get the right ones rather than the Jeremy model of tried 1 and it was cr@p so they all must be. .

I clearly stated that I tried (for three weeks) handlebar mounted and helmet mounted, we are all entitled to our opinion, and mine is that they do not work, perhaps to me your comments are what you say, but as this is an open forum I would not say so as you are entitled to your opinion, are you not :!:

Also for your information, I also tried and found the best to be a £1.99 car rear vbiew mirror, attached to the bike with velcro, in any position you wish, a lot less than the similar £15 one on offer, the car rear view is also slightly convex giving good views, and can be held firmer with cable ties.

Why spend £15 on something you can make better for £2. From a car accessory shop.

BDFun

Would using a mirror be the best method to ensuring things like this don't happen?

In my opinion, I think regularly looking over your shoulder is more useful and you see everything behind you whereas a mirror is going to have a limited view.

shouldbeinbed

All the mirrors I quote are convex and give excellent fields of vision. The Dooback the best but its quite a bit bigger than the others so QED.

they're also unobtrusive enough or designed to fold in that they've all survived crashes and trips to the floor directly onto them.

jeremyrundle wrote:

I clearly stated that I tried (for three weeks) handlebar mounted and helmet mounted, we are all entitled to our opinion, and mine is that they do not work,

all of 3 weeks, WOW what comprehensive testing. (not using rolleyes smile cos I hate the thing) I've been using them daily since 1997.

jeremyrundle wrote:

perhaps to me your comments are what you say, but as this is an open forum I would not say so as you are entitled to your opinion, are you not :!:

I don't understnd what you're saying here? we're all entitled to my opinion but with respect I've been using mirrors for a lot longer and seemingly with more success at finding the decent ones, I feel that you were unneccesarily dismissive of them and was simply putting a counter argument based on my personal necessity and many years of successful usage.

but I'd agree on helmet mirrors, I've never found a one that was any more than a gimmick.

jeremyrundle wrote:

Also for your information, I also tried and found the best to be a £1.99 car rear vbiew mirror, attached to the bike with velcro, in any position you wish, a lot less than the similar £15 one on offer, the car rear view is also slightly convex giving good views, and can be held firmer with cable ties.

Why spend £15 on something you can make better for £2. From a car accessory shop.

I didn't spend £15 on any of them and am happy to spend £7-10 on something bespoke to fit a bike costing several hundreds rather than bodging to save £5. I'm not rolling in it by any means but can stand that sort of price differential once in a blue moon for something designed for purpose.

I've found velcro quite useful on (particularly poor) ones on the past but only by glueing velcro to the bike and mirror to be sure of no slippage or unneccesary movement in whatever weather. its a sod to get off though if you change mirrors or grips/tape. so my 13+ years experience with mirrors has been to avoid the stuff. 2 of the ones I quote plug nto the bar end and the other has a flexible and infintely adjustable rubberised grip, negating velcro in all instances. I've also tried to bodge terrible mirrors (Blackburn) with grub screws and metal joint bracers, but in the end found that the research spent getting something designed and fit for purpose has worked best.

Did your car mirror adaptation flex or fold if you hit the deck or would it have smashed or skittled off across the floor? that is another consideration for the OP and on-costs.

BDFun; have you tried a range of mirrors to come to this conclusion? but otherwise agree, mirrors don't replace all shoulder looks, but decent ones do mean that you can keep your eyes pointing in the direction you're going for more of the time whislt still be ing more aware of whats creeping up on you in your peripheral vision. A flick of movement spotted in the mirror is a good prompt for the sort of rearward glance that may have saved the OP their off.

To the OP: they can take a few trips to get used to and there are some utter dross ones out there that will put you off and give you the sort of jaundiced view of them that appears a lot on BR but once you've tried, tested and fitted the right one for you in the right way it'd be a very useful addition to your armoury for keeping yourself aware of whats going on around you.

jeremyrundle

Nothing I have ever fitted has ever come off, if velcro does not work then you simply drill small holes where possible in the mount and use long cable ties with rubber to stop the mirror moving.

And three weeks are adequate for ME when testing. It is easier and faster to turn round and look.

bumpitybump

Using mirrors regularly for about 3 years. Like shouldbeinbed my initial reason was a neck injury although now I wonder why more people without neck issues don't use them. Another regular commuter who cycles with me tried one and now wouldn't be without it.

Used a helmet mounted one with-out much success as you had to make an effort to look up and into the mirror to see what was behind you. Another issue with helmet mounted mirrors is that if you move your head you immediately change what the mirror is viewing. So helmet mounted is not something I'd recommend.

Bar end mounted mirrors work a treat though. Have a couple of different types of Zefal mirrors and again like shouldbeinbed find them very good. One has lasted 3 years, regularly getting bashed when the bike falls over in the garage and still works very well.

Can't say for sure would have allowed thelawnet to avoid getting knocked off from behind but may have given him a better understanding of what is going on behind him prior to getting knocked off.

Find invaluable in heavy traffic as I can rapidly check what is going on behind without losing sight of the road ahead. Very useful when descending at 35 mph plus on hills if you want to see what cars 50 metres to 100 metres behind you are planning to do. Still use a shoulder check when making right hand turns as mirrors can have blind spots.

Runoutofgears

Sprintech mirrors on drop bars, very good when dark for spotting car head lights in the distance, long before you can hear them. No substitute for turning your head to look proper, but a great addition.

NukeThemAll

bar-end mirror...on my commute bike for, I dunno, decades. Absolutely wouldn't be without one - I can monitor the ebb and flow of the traffic, especially when I'm rendered deaf in cold weather by skull cap beneath helmet so I can't hear the cars coming (especially those electric/hybrid ones). And if I notice a car approaching rapidly with it's left indicator on - forewarned puts the odds more in my favour of avoiding the collision.
Yes, you can keep looking round, but in this area you need all your concentration to avoid the potholes (and discarded beer bottles) so a quick mirror glance/monitor works fine[/b]

Blue Meanie

The only reason I can see for equipping a mirror is for SCR, those pesky fixie rider's with their silent bikes...

Stone Glider

Have a Zefal mirror fitted to the drop bar end on the tourer. Very useful but took a time to get used to. Not fitted one to the hybrid yet as the more upright posture makes the look back much easier.The first time I tried the mirror (a gift from my daughter) I managed to ride off a straight, flat road :? Practice makes master.