Your 'view' on rear-view accessories...

[GrumpyGregry]

I use italian bar end ones on my drop bar bikes that I got off fleabay. they look identical to these. adequate, letting you know what's behind and out of earshot in daylight, pretty useless in traffic at night.

bike-eye shows me a great view of my saddlebag..... and is in the bits box as a result.

 

[jefmcg]

Slightly off topic - what do you do if you need to change a tyre? I've just put a small cateye mirror on my flat bar ends, and I think the first part of emergency flat fix is now going to be "remove mirror"

 

[corshamjim]

The Blackburn bar end mirror hinges out of the way quickly and easily. My bike has even fallen on to that side a few times (sometimes with me on it) with no damage to the mirror apart perhaps from a slight scuffing.

 

[suecsi]

Anyone have any experience of using one of these mirrors (whichever one) with a Brompton? I'm getting much better at the lifesaver look, but the Brompton isn't the most stable sometimes. I've had my official notification of risk of redundancy this week, so will probably be looking at negotiating the horrid Parliament Square roundabout on the way to potential jobs in St James/Mayfair. I'd need a mirror that can be folded away with the Brompton.

 

[Mad at urage]

Bike Eye is good, it gives a long view back when you don't want to turn around, it is largely out of harm's way and allows you to check the road immediately behind, which would otherwise require a complete turn in the saddle.

It is less good on long LH bends (if fitted on the RH side of the frame, for UK riding) and doesn't show you what is just behind your shoulder (which is what the 'life-saver' is for). Doesn't work if you have pannier on the same side as the mirror but with a rack fitted you soon get to ignore that in the picture.

I like my Bike Eye.

 

[mickle]

Rear View Visionary
Friday, December 3rd, 2010

by Mick Allan

The safety benefits of a bicycle rear view mirror cannot be overstated. It takes a confident and experienced rider to look over their shoulder, judge a gap, indicate and turn across fast moving traffic. There’s a right hand turn across a 60mph road on my commute to Cyclorama HQ. To make it even more treacherous many drivers travel in excess of the posted speed limit down there. I’ve often done a ‘life-saver’ look over my shoulder just as I’m being passed too close by a speeding vehicle. Really not nice. At the very least a mirror would let me establish when it is safe to look behind for a big enough gap to complete my manouver.


Trouble is I gave up on rear view mirrors on my bikes a very long time ago, not because they were useless or unnecessary but simply because they stuck out and got bashed whenever I leant my bike up against a wall. Virtually every time I stopped the mirror would get nudged out of adjustment and require re-setting but eventually it would be smashed off all together, either by a close encounter with a wall or by my frustration with the ‘gosh-darned’ thing.

I persevered, I really did. I tried them all. Starting circa 1975 with a chrome plated number on a stalk (which wouldn’t have looked out of place on a Vespa scooter). It couldn’t be tightened up enough to stop slipping around the bar. Useless. They are still available. You still find them in the shops but never see actually any on bikes. I can only assume that every one sold gets binned shortly after purchase.

When I first saw the American Mirriycle in a magazine I thought my prayers had been answered. A high quality product, it required the installer to completely remove the off-side brake cable, carefully trim the brake lever’s rubber hood with a knife and the near impossible task of stuffing a 13mm spanner upside the then ubiquitous Weinmann brake -lever body. If you were having it done professionally the labour cost of fitting usually outweighed the RRP (£16.99 in 1985. Why do I remember that ??) And then of course it would loosen off in the first week, requiring a replay of the installation. Yawn. When it did work it worked well but I tweaked mine out of adjustment on every wall. It was the kind of thing which had to be adjusted precisely so every re-adjust took an age – a safety concern in itself – with my eye on the mirror rather than the road I invariably wobbled off line whilst manhandling the hecking thing back into place.

I tried the expensive Rhode Gear handlebar-end mirror which attached to the bar with a velcro strap (huh? are you expected to remove it every time you park the bike?), a cheapo bar-end plug mounted one, a helmet mounted one and even a sunglasses mounted one (made by a beardy weardy from Oregon out of bits of old wire). All of them worked perfectly well right up to the inevitable moment they got bashed. They all got bashed because they all stuck out.

Adjust ……. bash, OMG.

Adjust ……. bash, FFS.

Adjust ……. bash. Smash.

I wonder how many cyclists have been killed over the years whilst re-adjusting their rear view mirrors….

So, I want the safety benefits of a rear view mirror – I wouldn’t drive my car without one – but I can no longer tolerate the frustration of bashing them at every opportunity. Enter the Bike-Eye. I’ve been using one for a couple of weeks. I know it’s a terrible cliche but I really don’t know how I’ve done with-out this product for all these years. A bicycle rear view mirror which doesn’t stick out and is therefore immune to being knocked. Not so much genius as eureka, it’s such an obvious solution that it makes me wonder why it took humanity so long to invent it. The Bike-Eye attaches to the bike frame at the junction of the head and down tubes with a couple of cable ties. Easy to fit, simple to adjust with the included socket tool and well out of the way. You do need to move your leg out wards slightly to clear the mirror’s field of vision but this isn’t an issue in use and soon becomes second nature.

In addition to the mirror’s usefulness as an awareness aid in traffic Tony McGuiness the Bike-Eye’s inventor has noted some other ‘benefits’ of his product. He regularly rides out with a group and he usually is the only person to notice when a fellow has fallen off the back! It invariably falls to him to turn around and lend a hand or a new inner- tube.

It has its limitations; a pannier or a tall trailer will obscure its view and its field of vision is a bit limited but these aside it does what it sets out to do. In fact I like it so much I just bought one for SWMBE to fit on her tandem.

Highly recommended.

 

[mickle]

And.....



Bike-Eye Review pt2

Friday, December 10th, 2010 by Mick Allan

Bike-Eye designer Tony McGuiness’ response to my previous post contains some insightful comments so I reproduce his email in full:

Hi Mick,

Thanks for the blog post, your opinions mirror (sorry for the pun) mine almost to a tee. I have become so reliant on the mirror and use it in a similar mode to that of a motor cars interior mirror in that I check behind in good time before I need to make a manoeuvre and I’m almost always aware of what type of vehicle is bearing down on me if it’s a car, large van, bus or articulated lorry. Each type of vehicle can present different dangers to cyclists. With the information to hand it allows me to manoeuvre around the road safer, “fore-warned is fore-armed” as they say! I could count on at least 100 pair of hands the amount of times I’ve heard cyclist say “they would rather not know what is behind them” personally I just can’t get my head around that mentality.

Safer cycling with added rear view awareness Further to your remarks on panniers I have attached information lifted from our web sites FAQ page:-

Can you use Bike-Eye when you have panniers and/or large saddle bag fitted?
A full touring set up with rear panniers and a large saddle or top bag will definitely block the line of view through the Bike-Eye mirror. It’s possible to acheive a view above panniers in some instances, for example, if the panniers are low slung and the mirror locating point on the frame was high enough.
If you are using a single pannier bag this could be located on the opposite side to the mirror leaving the line of view clear! On most frames Bike-Eye can be mounted on the cross bar if the frame size and rider height are appropriate, i.e. there is a clear viewing pathway below the riders thigh! It’s best if you can run a line along the frame from mirror fitting location to the panniers to see if the viewing angle would be above or below the top area of the panniers.

Wide saddle bags usually get in the way, narrow saddle-stem and seatpost fitting bags are an alternative and usually allow a clear viewing pathway!

Regarding Trailers:- Bike-Eye can some times be helpful in keeping an eye on little ones in trailers or tag along bikes.

Other user benefits:- Cyclists who wear glasses have peripheral vision problems and need to turn much further to view behind due to the fact they look out of the side of their glasses as apposed to through the lens centre, Bike-Eye is hugely beneficial for them as well as riders who have lost the sight of an eye especially the right eye on UK roads and cyclist with neck or spinal limitations, physical or age related.

The fact that the Bike-Eye offers Increased riding enjoyment to thousands of cyclist who are now in tune with their cycling partners whereabouts on a regular basis I find hugely rewarding.

Best Regards Tony @ Bike-Eye

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

Aw damn, it had me convinced until it mentioned panniers blocking the view.

 

[Amanda P]

I found I needed a mirror on my recumbent, and then I got used to it and wanted one on all my bikes.

I find I don't use a mirror much in town - a glance over the shouler, involving, as it does, sweeping one's gaze out thethe side as well as behind, gives me more information and also signals to anyone watching that I might be about to do something. Or not.

But on open roads it's really useful. There, the danger is from traffic closing rapdily from behind. For each vehicle I want to know how fast is it coming, how big is it, does it have a trailer, and how close is it going to pass? If there's a lot of traffic, you can spend more time looking backwards than forwards, and that's not good for stability or for the welfare of my neck.

But with a mirror, I can see where I'm going ahead and what's approaching from behind, at the same time. Just the job.

Mostly I use these Blackburn jobbies - they work pretty well in a drop bar-end. One bike used to have these, and they've been great - and don't look too obvious on a sleek bike. They won't take much abuse though: a good knock (like, on a bike shed door frame as you go through it) knocks the mirror out of its socket, and it's all too easy then to tread on the mirror and crunch...

 

[Arch]

I reviewed the BikeEye for Velo Vision, and didn't get on with it. But then I used it on a bike with rack and panniers. I found the view too narrow (in that the mirror itself is narrow - I know it's wider now, maybe that helps), and took too long to process, because I had to filter out my leg, and the bits of rack and so on. In a cluttered urban scene, I just couldn't make sense of it without staring at it for too long - no point seeing behind, if you ride into the back of a bus. I found it worked well for keeping an eye on a companion behind me on a rural ride.

I don't have mirrors on my uprights, but I have Mountain Mirrycles on my trike, and they give a great view. I do find that when I get back on the upright after a trike ride, I look for the mirrors for a little while, until I remember they aren't there.

If you get a mirror though, don't stop looking back. A proper lifesaver look over the shoulder before any move is still vital, and frequent glances back, even with minimal head movement, serve a double purpose. They help you be aware, and they show the driver behind that you are aware. They can even act as a sort of pre signal signal, that you are likely to need to move out soon, and some people will hang back at that point to let you go. Use the mirrors to know what's going on, but use backward glances to help tell everyone else that you know.

 

[Origamist]

I used to have a "take a look" mirror attached to my sun specs. It was easy to fit and provided good rear visibility. I liked the fact that you only had to turn your head a few degrees to see what was behind.

Downside: you look a bit odd.

 

[jefmcg]

Anyone have any experience of using one of these mirrors (whichever one) with a Brompton? I'm getting much better at the lifesaver look, but the Brompton isn't the most stable sometimes. I've had my official notification of risk of redundancy this week, so will probably be looking at negotiating the horrid Parliament Square roundabout on the way to potential jobs in St James/Mayfair. I'd need a mirror that can be folded away with the Brompton.

Good luck with the job.

I just put one of these on my mezzo. I know the fold is different, but this doesn't stick out at all when the bike is folded

 

[Sheepy1209]

I know the original post was about drop-bars, but for the straight-bar fraternity I just thought I'd mention that I've been using a 'Zefal Spin' for a few weeks now - plugs into the end of the bar, and is designed to fold out of the way.

It's a rectangular mirror and is tiny, but gives (for me) a superb view across the width of the carriageway, and is pretty stable.

 

[BenM]

I have a brandless bar end mirror on the 'bent. Cost £10 fitted by the LBS. It is teardrop shaped and, as far as I can tell, when combined with peripheral vision, doesn't have a blind spot if I have it adjusted so that the natural view includes a bit of my right shoulder.
The worst thing about it is that the hinge (for it folds in on impact) is a wee bit loose so travelling at any reasonable speed tends to fold it. This is compensated for by pushing it back out using my little finger. I could tighten the joint up I guess however being an all plastic affair I am wary of cracking the mouldings and ending up with a completely floppy mirror

All in all it works rather well and I wouldn't be without it.

B.

 

[threefingerjoe]

I have been using a helmet/eyeglasses mirror for 35 years. I don't know if it's "cool" but I really don't care! Only a KID worries about looking cool when SAFETY is involved. A mature person is beyond that. I won't say that the helmet/eyeglasses mirror is the best, but after trying various bike-mounted mirrors, I think it works the best for me. I like being able to "sweep" behind by turning my head slightly. It takes a little practice to get used to, but once you get used to it, you'll find yourself looking for that mirror, even when walking on the pavement! LOL NOW...I'm coming to visit the UK for a few days, and hope I can find one for your side of the road!