Bike mirror use and non use

mpre53 said:

"possible, consistent with safety" = "practical" IMO.

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Safety said:

...Generally there are bicycle-specific statutes requiring us to ride as close to the right as <strike>practicable</strike> applicable.

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Rogus said:

Make no decision about cycling based on what anybody thinks about how one is supposed to look. Unfotunately too many are worried about what someone else thinks instead of safety or common sense.

I think a mirror is a necessity, but I'm also the guy who runs flashing front and rear lights at all times. I'm sure some laugh at me, but I'd rather look stupid to some cyclists than not be as safe as possible.

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MoonHowl said:

I love it how people who have never used mirrors are experts.

I spent decades riding without a mirror; now I have been riding with a small mirror on the bar end for 3 years; feel naked without it now. The mirror unquestionably helps with situational awareness and I would no more remove the mirror from my bicycle than I would the mirrors on my motorcycle; what is the difference; oh mirrors on motorcycles are not considered uncool.

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Eretz said:

I ride in an area with trailer trucks and roads having dual lanes on each side. Posted speeds in some areas are over 50 mph with really terrible debris and high storm drains and gutters. It's as if they paved one pass of tarmac and forgot to repave at the height of the storm drains themselves. [Storms stick up 3-5 inches above road line] Very dangerous sections of roadway. I use the dot mirror on the inside of the eye wear too. Excellent. Amazingly transparent and seamless while riding. I dare not to turn a head around because of the bad road shoulders in front of me. In these cases this type of mirror warns me of up coming trailer truck traffic. We've has cyclist killed on these roads many times over the years.

I wouldn't use an ear piece clip-on mirror for fear of crashing and then impaling an eyeball with the brace-rod. That my feeling.

on a side note.

Beer Bottle cap mirror looks cool. But it could slow a person down from increase wind resistance j/k. If you turned the Beer Bottle Cap around and stared at the Beer Cap itself, it could motivate me to go faster due to the euphoric nature and Pavlov effect for brew and getting home quicker. LOL

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Mike T. said:

I think the non-users should keep silent so as not to expose their ignorance. If they have a few decades of mirror use (ok I'll settle for a few years) and have a list of negatives then I'll listen.

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Eretz said:

Beer Bottle cap mirror looks cool. But it could slow a person down from increase wind resistance j/k. If you turned the Beer Bottle Cap around and stared at the Beer Cap itself, it could motivate me to go faster due to the euphoric nature and Pavlov effect for brew and getting home quicker. LOL

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woodys737 said:

My Dad and a few of his riding buddies use mirrors that stick into the bar end. The only thing it's good for is to see whether or not you are dropping the guy behind you or not. Using it for traffic was useless ime. Some use them attached to the helmet which seems to be a little better.

I ride urban and suburb type roads with tons of cars and debris on the road. I don't ride on roads w/o a lane and have found the most dangerous facet to my type of terrain is parked cars, cars blind spots and debris. Too long to explain but looking ahead and anticipating traffic is really important. I believe seeing a car in a mirror does nothing to help safety im my situation as well as my Dad's. I really have no idea why they use them as the majority of incidents they encounter are self made like overcorrecting for a twig and swerving needlessly into traffic or causing a buddy to swerve. Not looking where they are going and hitting a pot hole. Not making small line corrections soon enough for gravel/sand avoidance. Assuming cars see them. Assuming a stopped car will stay stopped. Not being able to properly use their equipement like clipping into a pedal at a stop light and holding up traffic needlessly. On and on. It would be comical but many of the mistakes they make are dangerous. For these riders and many more I suspect mirrors are a distraction. In general they ride with the mindset like they are a car and are unable to understand there are times when it's safest to ride offensively and others very defensively.

Just my opinion. Be careful out there!

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tlg said:

On a side note... the mirror is held in by velcro, and the cap is held on by the spoke nipple. So it's easy to change out caps with the beer of the season. :thumbsup: (or beer of the week... YMMV)

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Love Commander said:

Did you cut the mirror yourself or were you able to find something that already fit in a bottle cap?

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GearDaddy said:

Never used a mirror cuz I don't need it. Is that a good enough reason?

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tlg said:

Do you have health insurance? Cuz you really don't need it.
I guarantee there's LOTS of stuff you use every day... that you don't need.

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CycoBob said:

I concur, Lije Baley- after reading this thread while out on my ride today, I pretended a few times like I didn't have a mirror, and tried turning my head....

With the mirror: A split-second glance.
Turning head: Several seconds!

Amouint seen with mirror: A good view of everything behind me for some distance.
Turning my head: A partial view of just the a limited number of degrees- to the point where if a car would have been there...it would have been too late to do anything about it.

Mirror: I can check often, as it's easy and quick.
Turning head: Takes too long; distracts me; doesn't give me enough info and is not so easy.

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