Bar end mirrors

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Amanda P

Legendary Member
I too ride recumbents, where a mirror is pretty well essential, and then when riding an upright bike, I really miss them - so I have mirrors on those too. I like Blackburn's "Multimirror" - tough as old boots, a clear mirror that doesn't cloud over, and convex so you get a decent angle of view.

Yes, they tend to get knocked out of alignment - pretty much every time you park the bike. But it only takes a couple of seconds to tweak it back and then you're good to go.

The danger is, as they are with car drivers, they become a substitute for proper observation skills.

It's simply human nature, and unless you know the drills to avoid it you'll inevitably do the same yourself and the NET result will be no safety gain.

I agree that's a danger, but in practice I find I tend to glance in the mirror to get a broad picture of what's going on behind, to see if any companions are still with me behind, and to judge the passing distance of anything that's about to pass me. I kind of subconsciously 'get' that that view isn't sufficiently detailed to judge whether it's actually safe to manoeuvre or not, so it's still instinctive to do a shoulder check or a proper observation.
 

oldwheels

Legendary Member
Location
Isle of Mull
And (according to some of the pictures on the linked Amazon page) they can be mounted on the handlebar stem too. Transparent cyclists find that very convenient! :laugh:

When I eventually kill off/lose the last of my current mirrors I will give the Spy a go.

I tried one of these. I think it is still kicking around somewhere but was it pretty useless for the advertised purpose.
 

Sixmile

Guru
Location
N Ireland
I have a Zefal Spy mirror on the end of drop bars. They are very small, but fairly convex, so the positioning is not too critical. They stay in place very well and are well insulated from road vibrations, so the view is good. It's just a secure band around the bar and I have one mirror and two bikes, so I remove it as a matter of course after every ride, which takes 1-2 seconds to remove and 3-4 to replace and adjust. That's advantageous since any knocks don't matter; you just move it back into place. Invaluable, especially when combined with a Varia radar.
Amazon product ASIN B000FY05PGView: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zefal-95293-Double-Adjustment-Mirror/dp/B000FY05PG?th=1

I use Zefal Spy Mirrors on a few of my bikes and as you have alluded to, they are a great mirror, very lightweight and easily adjustable. I wouldn't be without it now on any sort of decent ride.
 

Ridgeback Roller

Über Member
Location
Sussex
I use a mirror on all of my bikes, find it really useful on the local narrow country lanes and also when riding with the local group. Of course nothing is a substitute for turning your head and looking behind in traffic but I've found having a mirror makes social rides more relaxing.I've recently switched to Briskmore mirrors, 2 for £16, after years of using B&M ones. Find the Briskmores just as good and about 1/3 of the price ( providing you want 2!)

Amazon product ASIN B092QKJNPMView: https://www.amazon.co.uk/BriskMore-Mirrors-Bicycle-Rearview-Cycling/dp/B092QKJNPM?th=1
 
I put a cheap mirro on my ebike last summer - don;t know why I didn;t think of it sooner!

It does get knocked a lot - I have not yet found a way of putting the bike in my shed without knocking it well out of allignment - but it is easy enough to sort out and I have worked out the correct position based on stopping on a specific flag on the driveway and adjusting it until my car is in a specific place in the mirror

Alignment is not critical - in my mind - because I find I cycle in slightly different positions depending on where I am riding so I need to move my head to see in it properly anyway
what is right for coasting up to traffic lights is not right for going slightly uphill into a wind!
 

oldwheels

Legendary Member
Location
Isle of Mull
? Did you take the protective film off. That's what I used on my road bike and no problem seeing traffic approaching from behind.

You cannot see anything but your own legs without moving them out of the way. It is useful IME to be able to have a quick glance to see what is coming behind without any contortions and peering downwards.
Mebbe we are not talking about the same thing. :unsure:
 
Mebbe we are not talking about the same thing. :unsure:
Ahhhh.... Methinks you are talking about these, pictured earlier:
1705490587604.png

Whereas the reference you replied to was one of these:
Capture.JPG


I used to use the top one and agree that you do need to time when you look based on where your leg is, though if pedalling rapidly your leg effectively disappears. (I changed to the bar end for aesthetic reasons and ease of removal, rather than functionality.)
 

oldwheels

Legendary Member
Location
Isle of Mull
Ahhhh.... Methinks you are talking about these, pictured earlier:
View attachment 719045
Whereas the reference you replied to was one of these:
View attachment 719047

I used to use the top one and agree that you do need to time when you look based on where your leg is, though if pedalling rapidly your leg effectively disappears. (I changed to the bar end for aesthetic reasons and ease of removal, rather than functionality.)

You are correct that I was talking about the top one.
I used bar end and also ones mounted on top of the bars by the brake lever. I latterly used Mirricycle { not sure of the spelling } but currently a smallish but adequate one which came with my Kettwiessel trike.
 
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