Mirrors - talk to me

[luvmyguys]

The title says it all . . .

On the helmet? On the bike (with drop bars)? Advantages and disadvantages of each?

[tealtreak]

I put a mirror on my road bike because i use the same helmet for mountain biking- never seen anyone mt biking with a helmet mirror but I would be the one to snag it on a tree and wreck!!!! haha (maybe they are quickly detachable- didn't check)

I have drop bars, ride in the drops most of the time other than sitting up to stretch or for visibility- it barely needs adjusted for the different positions......

[OakLeaf]

Mine attaches to my sunglasses. Chuck Harris just passed away a few weeks ago :( - I don't know if his widow has mirrors left for sale.

[DebSP]

I tried the helmet mirror but I am far sighted and the mirror was just a fuzzy blurr!:cool: I haven't found anything that works well that I like yet.

[AppleTree]

I also like my "third eye" mirror that attaches to my sunglasses. I tried the mirror that attaches to the drop bars and it was too far away for me to see the road and what was behind me clearly. And I always felt like my knees were in the way too. The sunglass mirror can be switched easily between glasses...plus I like that I can move my head and REALLY see what is going on behind me if I need too.

[soprano]

Love my helmet mirror. Wouldn't ride in town without it. I like a helmet-mount mirror specifically because I can turn my head just a little and sweep out the entire area behind me.

I'm very nearsighted and can't make out cars at all without my glasses, so the trick is to set it up so that I can see it through the very left edge of my eyeglasses. The light waves have to travel from the object to the mirror, and then to the eye. So, if a car was 100 ft behind the mirror+cyclist, the image in the mirror would look like it was 100 ft + 5 inches away to the cyclist's eye.

[Melalvai]

Another for the sunglasses mirror. If it's cloudy or dark I have clear goggles (since I don't wear glasses). It took me about 30 minutes to get used to it. My daughter didn't like it but she didn't give it 30 minutes, maybe 5 minutes. Give it a chance.

[smittykitty]

I like the sunglasses mount. Tried on the helmet, but with our wonderful chipseal, there was too much jiggling around. Once you've decided you will never get used to it, try it a couple more times. Takes the brain a while to adjust to it.

[luvmyguys]

I see the "Take a Look" mirror on Amazon. Is that the one everyone is referring to? And if so, do you have the compact or normal size?

[Sky King]

We offer the ultra lite german mirror (http://store.biketouringnews.com/bike-mirrors/). Is very adjustable so works on most bikes.

[Catrin]

I love my bar-end mirror, I've no desire to attach one to my helmet. I have this one (http://www.modernbike.com/itemgroup.asp?igpk=2041166883&TID=367&gclid=COLQlLnnj7MCFVBgMgodfVsARw) for road use. It is solid, and I've only managed to break one of them. They are inexpensive, high quality, and you can just replace the mirror itself if you break it. They do have a road bar version, but my bikes all have flat riser bars. As time goes on I use it less and less, but I doubt that I will stop using it.

[smittykitty]

I like the Take a Look mirror (purchased from TE). I think REI and many lbs have them. Made from REAL glass, much clearer. Light weight. They look really fragile, but seem to be very sturdy.

[azfiddle]

I use the Take a Look too because I always need to wear glasses (prescription sunglasses or regular glasses). I like how it can be tilted just about any direction you need.

[Kiwi Stoker]

There is also a rounded mirror that has a band around your wrist. So no blind spots.

[OakLeaf]

I hadn't thought about it, but that's an advantage of a helmet or glasses mirror over bike mounted - when you turn your head to clear your blind spot, you don't have to turn it all the way around, just enough to change the mirror position.

[Catrin]

I hadn't thought about it, but that's an advantage of a helmet or glasses mirror over bike mounted - when you turn your head to clear your blind spot, you don't have to turn it all the way around, just enough to change the mirror position.

True, but for me the attraction of a mounted mirror is that it is much larger and easier for me to see that massive pickup blasting down the country road before I would probably see it with the little mirror. I could be mistaken of course, so be kind if I am :)

[tealtreak]

True, but for me the attraction of a mounted mirror is that it is much larger and easier for me to see that massive pickup blasting down the country road before I would probably see it with the little mirror. I could be mistaken of course, so be kind if I am :)



It comes down to what works best for you!! To be safe, we all should use what best helps our vision. I have a fairly large mounted mirror, I love it for quiet cars and giant trucks. Some folks would be disturbed by the reduction in aerodynamics. To each his own (:

[goldfinch]

We offer the ultra lite german mirror (http://store.biketouringnews.com/bike-mirrors/). Is very adjustable so works on most bikes.

This is a very good mirror. I have it on one of my bikes and like it a lot.

[OakLeaf]

It comes down to what works best for you!! To be safe, we all should use what best helps our vision. I have a fairly large mounted mirror, I love it for quiet cars and giant trucks. Some folks would be disturbed by the reduction in aerodynamics. To each her own (:

FTFY :) But yeah. Not only personal preference, but riding position too. Some people clear their blind spots by looking under their armpits, others by rotating their heads around. Whatever works for you!

[deanywalker21]

Eyeglass mounted mirror for me. I have tried the bar end mount and a helmet mount, neither worked for me. I kept hitting the bar end mount with my knee and never got the helmet mount in quite the right place. Read a tip awhile back about using those tiny zip ties to secure the eyeglass mount to the eyeglass frame should the little brackets fail. Tried it this summer and it worked well, saving a mirror from the trash.

[pll]

I have considered the helmet or sunglasses mirror many times and always end up on the side of caution: I do not want any additional objects (particularly any form of bar/stick) close to my eyes in case I fall.

[OakLeaf]

A decent helmet mirror is no more likely to wind up in your eyes than your sunglasses themselves (and good impact resistant sunglasses will help with that).

When I did my 21 mph face plant I landed on the center left side of my face. The noise I heard while I was briefly skidding along the ground - what I thought at the time was my brand new helmet - turned out to be my Chuck Harris mirror. The only damage it had was a few scratches on the mirror proper, and the soft coating was scraped off the attachment part. Besides the general wonderfulness of Chuck Harris mirrors, even if new ones could still be easily had, one of the things that makes me so sad about losing that particular one is that it survived a crash that I might not have.


Like you, I'm a little skeptical about helmet mirrors and the extra torque and pressure they could place on the EPS liner in a crash. Most helmet manufacturers will tell you not to attach a mirror, out of liability concerns. But I don't know how real a concern this is. As far as sunglasses mirror, I'm not concerned at all.

[Giulianna23]

I bought a sunglasses one a few months ago and havent tried it yet while riding but I did put it on for a minute and just didnt feel comfortable. I guess I will have to really try it to get use to it. I ended up with drop bar mirrors on both of my bikes my commuter and my Roadie...the roadie one is bigger than the commuter. The few times I rode without them I felt so weird... kind of nude...lol... I am so use to using them that I can't imagine going for a ride without them

[cosc]

My favorite is the" take a look" on my sunglasses. Riding on the road it is a safety must for me. I like the bigger sized mirror in this brand. Pluses are less vibration, real glass, and very adjustable. I only use sunglasses for riding so I don't have to take mirror off and on. Only down side is the rubber tips fall off, but it is not a big problem, just be mindful when moving or mounting.
It does take a while for your brain to adjust to the mirror close to your eye, but it will, just be patient.
After being on the bike several days in a row, I keep looking up to see what is in back of me!

[Geonz]

I've got a Chuck Harris... I was wondering whether he was still on the planet and was hoping soembody or bodies would pick up where he left off. (Makers, makers, where are ye?)

It's a personal preference thing -- for some the adjustment from mirror to the wide world is onerous. I change bikes rather often so I prefer it on my helmet (and I bang my bike around more than my head ;)).

[pinsonp2]

Here's a link to a Chuck Harris clone http://www.hubbubcustom.com/store/products.asp?id=18&pg=3. I have one and haven't been able to rweak it just right.

P2

[luvmyguys]

My Take-a-Look mirror came in today. I'm a mom and it's official - I really do have eyes in the back of my head - bwahahahaha!!!

[OakLeaf]

Hubbub only does the helmet mirrors, not the sunglasses version. :( Same with Monkey Mirrors that someone else linked to.

Lots of cool old photos on Chuck Harris' Facebook memorial page, if Geonz or anyone else is interested. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chuck-Harris-The-Mirror-Man/434695303248672?ref=ts&fref=ts

I may have to get one of those Take-a-Look mirrors even though the attachment doesn't really impress me. I think the plastic one I got is Cycleaware brand (?) - it definitely seems sturdier than the Third Eye brand, which isn't saying much, but it still can't be adjusted up and down the way a metal stem can.

[redeyedtreefr0g]

I was headed to the fabric store to pick up some emergency supplies to finish up a costume, but the store didn't open for a full 45 minutes from the time I arrived. So, I cycled the extra mile or two to the bike shop, which only too about 5 minutes to open it doors :D

I assured the man opening the door that I did not have a issue with my bicycle that needed fixing, and proceeded to waste time looking around. We chatted about studded tires, how a man in a fabric store likely feels a similar sensation to a woman in a bike store (or at least me in a bike store).

Anyway, I found the Take-a-Look mirrors. The man let me open up the package for one and put it on, and I was immediately hooked for a sale- that thing is awesome!! It was only a few dollars more than online prices (as opposed to double the price for other items such as chain lube) so I bought it. I didn't even care about trying the compact version, I just got the regular one. These can attach to a helmet too, instead of glasses.

This thing looks flimsy, but after touching it, I feel that its very stiff and won't likely break on me. Even if it does- there was a note on the back of the package that explained how my mirror will be replaced for shipping cost if it breaks for any reason. I was actually more afraid of hurting my glasses (which get knocked around quite often) than the mirror, since I have plastic earpieces which are a little bit fatter than your average wire pair. The mirror attaches very firmly between 3 little rubber-tipped feet. I can move it almost any direction I feel like, but it wasn't hard to get it set just right.

I don't have any trouble seeing the mirror at all- its far enough from my face to make focusing on it just like glancing at a paper or book. Low light conditions take me an extra minute to realize what I'm looking at due to the difference of mirror image versus the light just behind the mirror. I've decided not to wear it during my morning commute in the darkness because car lights behind me continually ruin my night vision, and there's no one out on the roads (definitely not the bike path) at 5:30 in the morning.

What DID take a little bit of adjusting to is the fact that the tiny square of visual area that is blocked by the mirror is seen without the benefit of binocular vision- there is no depth perception there. I can see what's in the mirror if I look at it with both eyes, but if I'm looking past the mirror, its a strange sensation. I can simultaneously see what is in front of me and behind in my peripheral vision. It's a very cool effect, I think. Technically the mirror blocks none of my vision at all- it only grants extra.

I've tried a cheap handlebar mirror (Bell, mounts to the handlebar grip with a velcro strap), and I hated it. The thing stuck out so much that I constantly hit things with it trying to park, or knocked it out of adjustment, and the thing was hard enough to get pointed in the right direction. It also vibrated too much to be able to make anything out when riding on regular concrete, and my hand was uncomfortable on that strap. In contrast- my eyeglasses vibrate very little and are obviously stuck on my head, so the Take-a-Look mirror is perfect. It shakes very little- enough to where I thought it didn't move at all at first. I was concerned about the extra weight, either because it would pull my glasses down, or maybe the lopsidedness would do something. I needn't have worried. The weight doesn't seem to make a difference, and other than the feel of the wire pegs on the earpiece I could shut my eyes and not realize I was wearing it.

I LOVE my new mirror!
I'f you're not sure about the eyeglass mirrors, try one out at your local store.


luvmyguys, that was my first thought too, and I'm not even a mom! I wonder if I should take it on the school bus with me to better watch the kids... (I'm currently a special needs assistant, not the driver with that lovely array of glass)