Best $20 I've ever spent on my bike

[Zoot Katz]

You're free to call me a liar but check your facts.

My mirrycle doesn't vibrate and it's the best safety device I have other than a fast motor and good brakes!
If those stupid looking helmet mirrors were so good, how come it is that motorcyclists do not use them?

Because, like turn signals, mirrors are required equipment.

 

[auraslip]

I was joking - good follow up post!

 

[jonathanm]

IMO, mirrors provide no actionable information so are a distraction.
Near misses and collisions are mostly happening in front of you.

I'm fitting a mirror as we speak, personally I would like to know if that soccer mom in the SUV is going to give me 3 feet or one feet when she passes me. Just a few days ago I got the one foot kind. She helpfully blasted her horn at me just as she was passing me to make sure I knew she was there....I knew she was there of course, because I heard her and looked round......I just wasn't expecting her to be so damn close....There were no other vehicles within 500 yards. so swinging out a bit to pass me would have not been a problem.

About 10 seconds after she passed me so close, she turned left into her driveway.

I'm reading the mirror recommendations with interest. If this walmart $7 one is no good I'll try another. I don't want to become one of the 8.6%

 

[jonathanm]

Actually, I just remembered one time I was knocked off my road bike when I was a kid....by an overtaking light truck.....his wing mirror whacked me on the back of the head, I swerved and hit the curb.....dunno if a mirror would have saved me, but at least I might have had a chance to look for a soft landing spot.

 

[bobale]

The fastest braking and fastest accelerating vehicles on earth have no ABS or traction control.

What about Bugatti Veyron?

 

[docnjoj]

Hey LFP! Don't Formula One cars have both?
otherDoc

 

[oldpiper]

I also can't say enough about having a good mirror. I got a Schwinn mirror at Target which I really like. It has a Velcro strap which goes around the end of the handlebar, which at first putting it on seemed like a big fail. But I quickly found that I can use this for easy micro-adjustments with my left hand (which is on the handlebar all the time anyway) to set my field of view as I ride without having to let go of the handlebar to grab the mirror or its mount.

And, I guess I could get two of them for $20, but I just have one on the left.

Cameron

 

[zap]

Not $20... but I've used this for 4 or 5 years.

A bag of mirror circles from walmart ($1.50 IIRC), about 10 minutes bending a piece of coat hanger and tweaking it to fit, and about 20 minutes for the all purpose cement to dry.

Not too difficult to bend a few for different glasses.


More than $20 but has proved to be a pretty decent bike light... and not a whole lot more than a Blackburn Flea
http://www.amazon.com/Nebo-Redline-...8I22/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309889014&sr=8-1

 

[Joe90]

ABS is much better than 99% of people ability to brake perfectly at the limit. espescially when panicked
Anyway if it were usesless manufacturers would not bother to put them in cars.

 

[richmpdx]

I commute every day on heavily traveled streets and I am amongst the group that feels naked without a mirror. Things happen more rapidly at the increased speed of an ebike and motorists often don't expect a bike to be traveling at the speed of ebikes. Awareness of the traffic around you can be I really useful. I have been using a 3rd Eye Handlebar End Mirror for a number of years. These bar end mirrors are available from REI. The small Calif company that makes these mirrors will replace them for something like $6 if broken. I have broken the mirror in two crashes and replaced the mirror both times for the small charge. The mirror mounts really solid on the end of my mountain bike style straight handlebars. I have had both a helmet mirror and the bar end mirror and for me both work and are useful. If I could have only one, it would be the bar end mirror. It just seems to work better for me. I check the mirror frequently and it gives me a good idea of what is happening behind me while I still still keep aware of what is happening in front of me. A mirror does have blind spots and I still confirm traffic behind me if I am going to change lanes, turn across traffic or cross an intersection. But it seems to me that I can check more quickly if I already have a pretty good idea of what is behind me. I wouldn't want to drive a car without rear view mirrors and I find a mirror to be very useful for a bike. If you bike in any kind of traffic and don't have a mirror, it is relatively cheap to give it a try. You might found it very useful.

Rich

 

[wineboyrider]

I would never commute with that crap on my head! A steady handle bar based mirror is far superior to a fogcicle that moves! That's the reason motorcyclists haven't adopted this stupid crap!
Install real mirrors on your machine and join the 21st century!
8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

 

[DrkAngel]

I would never commute with that crap on my head! A steady handle bar based mirror is far superior to a fogcicle that moves! That's the reason motorcyclists haven't adopted this stupid crap!
Install real mirrors on your machine and join the 21st century!
8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

I've tried several types of handle bar mirrors and found none that even come close to the:
stability;
ease of view,
field of view

Zefal Spin Mirror Price: $8.84


Helmet ............................. vs. ............................... Bar Mount
Extremely steady - objects steady ............................ image affected by road surface etc.
5 Degrees from "line of sight" ................................. 45 Degrees out from "line of sight"
View directly behind, even the curb! .......................... Nice view of elbow
Large-wide view ................................................. small-narrow view

 

[wineboyrider]

@DrkAngel: Not mirrycle?

 

[itchynackers]

DrkAngel,
I use the exact same one. It's compact, adjustable, and doesn't get in the way (unlike all the others I've tried).

 

[TylerDurden]

When I was a roadie, I used both: the helmet/glasses mount and bar mount.

21st Century tech might be a HUD in a full-face helmet with 180 degree rear-view video.

 

[Rin]

The rear view monitor and camera, will probably be priced well above $20. I guess this is still in development. However, definitely 21st century.
http://www.cerevellum.com/
In the mean time I will stick with the Mirrcycle.