Rear view mirrors?

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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Si
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by Si »

Here's one problem with using rear view mirrors.

You are riding along, sans mirror, happily pootling. Suddenly another rider overtakes you. You say "morning" as (s)he does so and let him/her ride off up the road.

You are riding along, with a mirror, happily pootling. The mirror encourages you to look see what is behind you much more often than you would without a mirror. You have a look - several hundred yards back is another rider - looks like a keen roadie sort. Ah ha, you think, time to test my legs - see how long I can hold him/her off. So you give it some dog. Five miles later the bugger is still a few hundred yards back, you've been down dale and up hill, every turn off the main route the other rider has followed, not only are you knackered you are getting slightly paranoid....I even went up a road the loops round meaning that you end up coming back the way you went and he followed me around that! Eventually on a long windy uphill drag I managed to get enough distance that he didn't see me take a side road and I lost him. But now feel like my legs are going to drop off. All the fault of a mirror (and nothing at all to do with being over-competitive and trying to drop roadies while on my 'bent, oh no...)
stewartpratt
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by stewartpratt »

Si wrote:You are riding along, sans mirror, happily pootling. Suddenly another rider overtakes you.


No, you just lost me there. What are you on about? :)
johnb
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by johnb »

stewartpratt wrote:
Si wrote:You are riding along, sans mirror, happily pootling. Suddenly another rider overtakes you.


No, you just lost me there. What are you on about? :)



Without mirror
The lead Greyhound never has to look at another Greyhounds derrière.
stewartpratt
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by stewartpratt »

johnb wrote:Without mirror


That wasn't the bit I was qu... oh never mind, I'll get my coat.
johnb
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by johnb »

stewartpratt wrote:
johnb wrote:Without mirror


That wasn't the bit I was qu... oh never mind, I'll get my coat.



Go on then, what's the query? Might get it right this time. :D
The lead Greyhound never has to look at another Greyhounds derrière.
Mike Sales
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by Mike Sales »

johnb wrote:
Go on then, what's the query? Might get it right this time. :D

A joke explained is a joke spoiled. He
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
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Si
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by Si »

I think that Stewart is alluding to the alien, to him at least, concept of being overtaken....oh, those were the days of being young and fit :cry: .
Mike Sales
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by Mike Sales »

johnb wrote:
Go on then, what's the query? Might get it right this time. :D




A joke explained is a joke spoiled. He is boasting about how fast he is.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
stewartpratt
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by stewartpratt »

Boasting, bullpooping - one of those - still, I'm flattered that it was referred to as a joke, given how widely it evidently missed the mark :)
johnb
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by johnb »

stewartpratt wrote:Boasting, bullpooping - one of those - still, I'm flattered that it was referred to as a joke, given how widely it evidently missed the mark :)



I see, said the blind man.
The lead Greyhound never has to look at another Greyhounds derrière.
Mattie
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by Mattie »

I got it !! :D

Anyway more alarming is without a mirror - you look behind you sometime back and see nothing and then all of a sudden there is someone in Lycra - barely 2 feet away from you !!

AAHHHH !! where did he come from ? :D

I find that a bit wierd. Going slowly you expect cars to be passing you all the time and it is sort of background - then all of a sudden out of the blue there is a human only inches away from you !! it has made me jump on many occasions :mrgreen:
Malaconotus
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by Malaconotus »

Si wrote:You are riding along, sans mirror, happily pootling. Suddenly another rider overtakes you. You say "morning" as (s)he does so and let him/her ride off up the road.

You are riding along, with a mirror, happily pootling. The mirror encourages you to look see what is behind you much more often than you would without a mirror. You have a look - several hundred yards back is another rider - looks like a keen roadie sort. Ah ha, you think, time to test my legs - see how long I can hold him/her off. So you give it some dog. Five miles later the bugger is still a few hundred yards back, you've been down dale and up hill, every turn off the main route the other rider has followed, not only are you knackered you are getting slightly paranoid....I even went up a road the loops round meaning that you end up coming back the way you went and he followed me around that! Eventually on a long windy uphill drag I managed to get enough distance that he didn't see me take a side road and I lost him.


Shame. He'd been five miles flat out to catch you to give you back the keys you'd dropped.
stewartpratt
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by stewartpratt »

I gave the mirror a go this morning.

Fitting it was easy and it's certainly a good quality fit - doesn't vibrate or move under normal operation.

I did have some issues though. When on the tops, it's completely obscured by my hand. When in the drops, it's obscured by my wrist and also gets annoyingly in the way (since the joint is in the middle of the mirror rather than at the top - so it protrudes upwards). When on the hoods, I can see the mirror, but on my bars the mirror won't angle up enough to let me see anything other than a patch of tarmac just behind me. The most I could ever see from my normal riding position was the nearside wheels of cars as they passed. And when standing up it's obviously of no use. (Also it's worth noting that in this morning's mist it was clouded over for much of the time anyway - which did at least cause it to illuminate in the headlights, but there was no view as such.)

I did try to use it (by lowering my head to my right elbow when on the hoods) to see if it had any benefits. On quieter rural roads I couldn't see a situation where it would be useful. On busier roads it's a little less clear - I tended to be more inclined to take a look in it, though I'm not sure whether that's to gain a genuine benefit or just instictively gathering as much information as possible. For instance, I know on one occasion I was able to see that the reason the car behind me wasn't passing me when I expected it to was that it was indicating to turn left; but even though that's something I'd only have known with the mirror, it's not information that would have any effect on my riding.

One thing that did strike me was that looking almost straight down to see behind didn't seem beneficial over simply looking behind. In fact, since lateral peripheral vision is pretty good and upward peripheral vision is much less so, it actually seemed to be further away from a useful forward view.

So, a vaild experiment, but for my bike and riding position the design of the B&M mirror doesn't work, and I since it's so far out of my forward line of sight I don't personally feel a mirror on the bars gives me any benefit. If there is benefit to be had from a mirror then I think for me at least it will only be from a head-mounted one.

And if anyone wants a "used for 30 miles" B&M Star mirror for drop bars for a round tenner then drop me a PM... (SOLD)
Last edited by stewartpratt on 27 Mar 2012, 12:07am, edited 1 time in total.
wirral_cyclist
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by wirral_cyclist »

You've discovered the problem with all bike mounted mirrors in that they only look where the bike mounting lets them point (and can have lots of you in the way too), try a helmet/glasses mounted mirror and you'll get on much better, it is helpful to have some reference point in the reflection but at least the mirror is fully steerable (within neck limits anyway).
stewartpratt
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Re: Rear view mirrors?

Post by stewartpratt »

wirral_cyclist wrote:You've discovered the problem with all bike mounted mirrors in that they only look where the bike mounting lets them point


Actually, that aspect of it didn't seem to be a problem (other than when standing up of course - but that's not a big deal). The view behind, when I moved to use it, was good - the B&M mirror gives a good balance between field of view and level of detail. Overlooking the fact that it wasn't really usable at all for my riding position, which wouldn't be relevant to everyone, the issue IMO is more that it's so far removed from normal forward view as to be as much of a distraction as a shoulder check.

I suspect if you could bear to have one high up on a stalk mounted on a bar end then it would be a little better - but I do like to retain just a shred of dignity ;)

(I'd consider one for the tandem, since shoulder checks are trickier and dignity is out of the window anyway.)
Last edited by stewartpratt on 26 Mar 2012, 11:33am, edited 1 time in total.
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