Rear View

[Loomis]

Had a real fright last weekend on my Giro 20. Combination of fault by both parties I think, but on my part, failing to properly asses speed and distance of the vehicle behind before I started to move to the centre of the road for a right turn. The problem is the convex lens of my Zefal Spy mirror giving a misleading image. I of course try to compensate for this, but on this occasion I was caught out. The incident was very frightening and could easily have been fatal. I have tried looking behind, but every body here knows the problem with that in a fairly well reclined position on a two wheeler. My question is; what sort of mirrors do other members use? I do not use a helmet at present, but I have seen a glasses mounted one that looked interesting.

[[XAP]Bob]

I use a pair of mirrorcycles, flat mirrors.

[Loomis]

What version are they Bob? The bar end ones seemed most suited for my bike.

[[XAP]Bob]

Standard issue from ICE...

You can see one on my old trike on the first picture: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=15204&p=376658&hilit=Pictures#p376658

Then Joe. B has a picture of a black ICE sprint with a little boy on it - that's how mine look now...

Then I've a picture lower down of the night view of my trike. The fronts of the mirrors have 3M diamond grade retroreflectives.

[PaulCumbria]

I've used a Take a Look mirror from Bike Peddler Bike Products in Greeley Colorado for many years. It attaches to my (clear) eye protection, and has a flat mirror surface - so no distortion. I can't recommend this product strongly enough. The arm is made of wire, not plastic, so they're both tough and wobble-free. It can attach to specs or a helmet (if you must...)

After years of good service my latest mirror is finally in need of replacement. I ordered via Amazon, forgetting that we need a special drive on the left version here in the UK. The US-style Amazon jobbie has been sent back, and I phoned the manufacturer direct to order a UK friendly one instead. I couldn't find these available on the Web.

Here's a picture of my old one :


And here http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001VTQNVO is the one Amazon is offering (don't buy it unless you want to mount it on the left of your specs!)

[manybikes]

+1 for the Mirricycle - one each side of the Trice and visibility is excellent.
Also + 1 for the Take a Look - I have two, one for UK riding and another for continental and USA riding. When on an upwrong(?) I often find fixed mirrors inconvenient as your body positions moves but with the Take a Look a swivel up or down of the head gives a very good range.

[Si]

My mirror is one of the old style no-frills chrome on-a-stick jobs that cost about £3 from a traditional little old cycle shop. Works great and the view is fine (I have it mounted on conventional rather than under the seat bars ).

I did try a zefal helmet mirror - just couldn't get on with it - difficult to focus (we did have a thread on this - for some people it's fine for others it's not, depends if you mover your head or your eyes to look in the mirror), shakey, really small view and couldn't se anything in the distance. In the end the mirror just fell out of the holder.

[Loomis]

Thanks for the feedback. So far looks like I may try the Mirricyle. Had a look at the MTB version at SJSC but the description said that it too had a convex lens. Maybe it's not as pronounced as my Zefal and gives a better perspective. The area of the reflector seems bigger on the Mirricyle as well, though it is hard to tell from just looking at the images. I will give it a try anyway I think.

[squeaker]

Mirrycle on the trike (standard ICE issue), B&M Cyclestar long stem on the bikes (but I use hamster bars, so the Cyclestar's relatively small size is not a problem as the mirror is relatively close to my eyes - might be more of a problem with the Giro's tweaners - or whatever they are called).

[BlackPanther]

Oh yes, the mirrycle. I have 2 on the Trice, and 2 on the Baron. I don't think you can get a more stable rear view, they're completely adjustable (and handily can fold out of the way on the Baron) easy to fit, and cheap at £13 (cheapest I've seen.....on ebay) They're also well built, and I only had to replace one due to a bit of 'enthusiastic' cornering on the Trice.......I'm sure that wall moved at the last moment.

Great on the road, and also for checking out all those admiring glances from peds you've just passed!

[jayjay]

Mirrcycle. 2 on the Ice, though one would cover most of my rearview wants. Only lightly convexed. View is impaired when it rains. I like them, sometimes have to fold them back on cycle gate / obstruction things.

[UpWrong]

I have a Giro 20 too. No distortion on this one, http://www.petracycles.co.uk/heads-mirror-bendable-glasses-mounted-p-67439.html

[Loomis]

Thanks UpWrong; I have ordered one this afternoon. I am a bit uncertain how I will get on with it, but worth a punt I think.

[Loomis]

Went out yesterday to try out my new Heads Up mirror. Initially I thought it looked like something you should get free with the corn flakes, but on closer inspection this is a real quality product, with a lot of consideration given to making it light and yet robust. I found that there was no position even with bending, that I could fix the lens without a view of part of the right ear, so still had to turn the head somewhat to take in a full view. Luckily my ears are smallish. I found using the mirror initially disorientating, causing moves across the road, but this improved with more miles. After a couple of miles I thought I would take it off but persevered, and after twenty miles or so found myself using the Heads Up more than my Zefal Spy, which I had left installed. The view behind is definitely more representative than the Zefal. All in all I think I will come to like it in the long run. I do feel a bit like 'The Borg' though (for Star Trek fans). I bought mine from Petra Cycles,( thanks UpWrong) but looking at their website, I may have had the last one. Prices seem to vary enormously, so if anybody is interested in one, it would pay to search the 'net thoroughly.