Mirrors, tools and other fun stuff

[Craicgirl]

Ok, I know you all must hate it when newbies like myself come along and ask questions that have been asked a million times. So if these have been asked and answered please forgive me and feel free to berate me and put the link to the message thread. I'm a big girl, I can handle it. But here goes anyway...

I have found that when riding out on the road with traffic, I am always looking back over my shoulder to see what is behind me. I hate taking my focus off the road in front of me even for an instant, but I feel the need to check out whats coming up on me. I asked a local biker about mirrors and was told not to rely on them. He said I should learn to glance back quickly, that it was a better method. The LBS guy said no, get a mirror. He suggested a helmet attach one or a glasses attach model. I wear glasses but wonder if the mirror would weigh my glasses down and make them hang funny on my face. Does anyone have any opinions on mirrors? Is one better then the other? Are they hard to get used to?

Also...when riding tonight I noticed my saddle is slipping back and forth and has sunk down some. So I stopped, flipped the little handle thing and raised the seat up some. It seemed pretty tight and secure then, but by the time I had stopped riding it had loosened again and was lower. I see the little lever thing on the seat, but not any way to really tighten it. Perhaps there is a bolt and I am missing it. But I guess my main question here is, what is the best tool or tools to have for your bike? I have seen an all in one kind of thing at Walmart, but I am thinking there must be a better one out there.


Any advice would be most greatly appreciated, as always

Kerry

[emily_in_nc]

Mirrors: Do a search on "mirror" in the forum. My vote goes to the Take-a-Look, and no, it will NOT weigh your glasses down at all. It's incredibly light. Awesome product! I would never ride on the road without it.

Tools: Yes, there is a bolt under your saddle that can be tightened. You need a small multi-tool with the various sizes of hex wrenches. These can be purchased at any LBS or online.

In a rush or I'd be more detailed. I am sure you'll get other responses too. Good luck!

Emily

[Geonz]

Okay, you *should* practice being able to look behind without weaving. It's just a good skill to get to automaticity - and you might ent up someplace without a mirror.

THere are mirrors on glasses, mirrors on helmets, mirrors on various places on the bike. I love my handmade Chuck Harris helmet mirror but my eyes don't mind the switching back and forth between near- and far-point vision.

[bike4ever]

I agree you should practice quickly glancing behind you. This skill is one of the required skills the boys scouts have to do to earn the cycling merit badge. It is actually quite challenging to stay straight and not weave into traffic.

Is your complete seat sliding down while riding? It appears you need to tighten your seat post clamp. That is the lever thingy you were referring to in your initial post. Release the clamp then tighten the bolt on the other side ever so slightly then push the lever back in.

[margo49]

The trick is to look down and sort of under your arm-pit: ie not turn your actual head.

[Kano]

The trick is to look down and sort of under your arm-pit: ie not turn your actual head.

I know we hybrid/comfort bike folks are kind of in the minority here -- I'm trying to imagine how this could be accomplished without crashing on my bike! Then it occurred to me that margo49 is probably a roadie rather than an "uprightie" like me and maybe it can be done on one of those bikes...

If it weren't me crashing, it would be that guy in the car that's coming up behind me cuz he's laughing waaaay too hard to maintain control of the vehicle!!!!!

Karen in Boise