Help with mirror please

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Old timer

Über Member
Location
Norfolk, UK
My wife and i use Blackburn universal end of bar mirrors on out MTB`s but she has just aquired a Euro/dutch type styled bike and handlebars. I want to fit her a mirror and feel that one attached to the actual bars would be A. more in keeping and B. much better on these swept back bars.

Any advice on type please

This is the bike http://www.synergiebikes.net/page8.htm

Thanks Dave
 

HJ

Cycling in Scotland
Location
Auld Reekie
To be honest, she would be better off without the mirror and just look round when needs be. Looking round is a useful signal to anyone following that you are thinking of doing something and that they should not to get too close.
 
OP
OP
Old timer

Old timer

Über Member
Location
Norfolk, UK
HJ said:
To be honest, she would be better off without the mirror and just look round when needs be. Looking round is a useful signal to anyone following that you are thinking of doing something and that they should not to get too close.

Hiya
We ride around very tight rural lanes in North Norfolk and at my age of 65 my neck won`t take too much swivelling:biggrin: we also use our mirrors to keep check on each other. As you say, when a vehicle does approach we always make sure they know we have seen them and wait for the right place to wave them by. Most of the time there isn`t enough room for them to overtake till we get well over so a mirror is a must. Before I fitted a mirror on my bike I was for ever thinking that the wind noise through trees etc was maybe a car and my neck ached more than my legs:biggrin:

I tend to pull more into the centre of the road when a car comes up behind till it`s ok to let them pass just to take control.

No! mirrors are a must in my book
 

PatrickPending

Legendary Member
Location
Leicester
Old timer said:
They look smart

they are pretty good - I'd not be without them on my commuter - use them like a rear view mirror on the car and you can be awaree as to whats coming up behind you (looking behind every 10 secs is impractical and a bit daft) of course turn your head for manouvers etc but I find this mirror to be rather useful.
 

potsy

Rambler
Location
My Armchair
Old timer said:
They look smart
I like the look of those too.Have been toying with the idea of getting one on the drop bar bike,they look ideal.Not having a mirror is the only thing I miss when I change from the hybrid.
 

Norm

Guest
I bought some of these yesterday and fitted them to both my drop-bar bikes. I've only tested them round the garage so far but the seem to work as advertised. I rather like that they don't stick out, as the width of my bike storage area is an issue, and I can still lean my bike against walls.
 

potsy

Rambler
Location
My Armchair
Norm said:
I bought some of these yesterday and fitted them to both my drop-bar bikes. I've only tested them round the garage so far but the seem to work as advertised. I rather like that they don't stick out, as the width of my bike storage area is an issue, and I can still lean my bike against walls.
Hey norm,let us know once you've been on a ride how they are,seen them on another thread and was concerned about how much you could actually see with them,cheers.
p.s. any chance of a pic,either here or in our 'club'
 

Norm

Guest
potsy said:
Hey norm,let us know once you've been on a ride how they are,seen them on another thread and was concerned about how much you could actually see with them,cheers.
p.s. any chance of a pic,either here or in our 'club'
I tried them on a turbo and they were fine. You need to time the glance with the right knee being up but it seemed to show the road behind very well. Not a broad field of vision, obviously, but, to keep that weather-eye on distant objects and for someone who has mobility issues and can't look directly behind themselves, they seemed pretty handy.

Note that I would not advocate any mirrors as an alternative to a shoulder check before a manoeuvre but they're well placed for a general safety check.

I'll go try them (and take pix) now...
 

HJ

Cycling in Scotland
Location
Auld Reekie
Old timer said:
Hiya
We ride around very tight rural lanes in North Norfolk and at my age of 65 my neck won`t take too much swivelling:biggrin: we also use our mirrors to keep check on each other. As you say, when a vehicle does approach we always make sure they know we have seen them and wait for the right place to wave them by. Most of the time there isn`t enough room for them to overtake till we get well over so a mirror is a must. Before I fitted a mirror on my bike I was for ever thinking that the wind noise through trees etc was maybe a car and my neck ached more than my legs:biggrin:

I tend to pull more into the centre of the road when a car comes up behind till it`s ok to let them pass just to take control.

No! mirrors are a must in my book

Fair enough if it works for you ;)
 

shouldbeinbed

Rollin' along
Location
Manchester way
I have to use a mirror since breaking bits of my neck 15 years ago. It is the primary way I see behind, only doing the turny neck thing before an actual manouvre and quite rarely now when rolling along - I've spent loads on them and discarded anything that was no good or didn't let me feel safe. I've not crashed or veered into the path of anything and I know exactly when stuff is going to come by me because I've always got a weather eye out behind as well as never losing sight of the road in front.

The only two I really rate are

Zefal Dooback
is the absolute bees knees of mirrors IMHO. They are designed for flat straight bars and have a clever ball joint adjustment that pugs directly into the bar, they have a 90 degree ratchet to lock them in position or flush to the bike for parking. but the will fit onto a moustachio'd type bar and by the looks of the link in the OP would fit fine onto that bar. I have a Cannondale Street Ultra with similar raked bars and it fits fine.

the mirror size is great, the field of vision is brilliant, it is vibration free as it plugs direct into the bar and it is a robust mirror surface. They are side specific though so make sure you pick a right hand mounting one.

The only downside is that it does stand up proud even when folded in and I've lost my most recent one to some numbskull in the busy bike shed managing to snap it off in some way. it may be because I'd got it bolted so tightly in though that there was no play in it.

the one I've always used on my proper moustache or dutch style curve bars is the Zefal Spy Mirror, its a bit smaller so has a slightly more convex face but still gives a realistic image and excellent field of view. they grip and bungee on, are infinitely adjustable for rake, tilt and pivot and sit pretty much anywhere on the bike. They're small, unobtrusive and would sit perfectly on the end of the bars for that bike and wouldn't spoil the aesthetics at all.

I've got one on both ends (OTT, one is perfectly adequate, but it makes for a nice symmetrical look to the bike) and have absolute vision all round and no blind spots at all.

again they attach directly to the bike so no vibration or blurry image and are extremely robust if you drop the bike or have to park it against a wall etc, they'll not break or get scruffy with scratches.

Drawback - the rubber fixing can be a little lacklustre after a while. I've put a bit of sticky velcro on my bar and inside the mirror clip just to help it out.

overall though compared to the many mirrors on arms that I've tried, whether helmet or bike mounted that wobble and vibrate at the first sign of a bump these two are head and shoulders (no pun intended) better than the rest.

sorry for the long post, trying to give a full road test to both for you, I'd highly recommend either.
 

Norm

Guest
potsy said:
Hey norm,let us know once you've been on a ride how they are,seen them on another thread and was concerned about how much you could actually see with them,cheers.
p.s. any chance of a pic,either here or in our 'club'
Tried it, love it.

The view behind is surprisingly good. It looks back along the top tube, so a large saddlebag or something on a rack may interrupt the view but it worked fine on my Secteur with a large Topeak Wedge Pack and the view was clear and unobstructed.

Looks tidy too, IMO.

I tried mounting the mirror as suggested, at the junction of the headstock and the downtube, and it worked pretty well there. The angle I need it at is the same as the angle of the downtube, it is pretty much disappears from the sideview.
th_DSCN2176.jpg

Closer side view of the cockpit
th_DSCN2177.jpg

How the mirror looks from above. The red is the reflection of my fleece, which I put in there to make the mirror stand out.
th_DSCN2178.jpg

From the front to show where the cable ties sit on the Secteur.
th_DSCN2179.jpg
 

potsy

Rambler
Location
My Armchair
Cheers norm,glad you like it I'll put it on my to do list.I have a Blackburn road mirror that I bought when I first got the bike but it sits on the outside of the drops so widens the bike by about 6 inches,which was a problem in tight filtering moments.Now I work shifts again and travel during quieter times of day am putting it back on as an experiment.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=79&ModelID=12923
Sorry for the thread hi-jack oldtimer;)
 
Top Bottom