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Dropbar endcap mirror?

33K views 83 replies 45 participants last post by  GKSki  
#1 ·
I've seen a few guys riding with aero-looking mirrors that replace the endcap on dropbars, and was wondering if anyone has any experience with them and if there's a specific brand people recommend?

I've tried helmet mirrors before, but find them too distracting. The ones I've seen look nice and subtle, but wonder how well they work.

Thanks!
:cool:
 
#5 ·
I've used these
Sprintech Bar-End Mirrors at BikeTiresDirect
View attachment 293610
on several bikes for several years. I like them a lot. There are other versions that are sleeker looking, but smaller and less adjustable.
I have these as well, ordered through Amazon. They're great. Only complaint is that they move around a lot, but I've heard some put tape on the ball end to hold them in place better. Not really a concern for me, though.

And yes, they're easy to pop out if you're going racing, then pop back in again for when you need them.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I used the Sprintech mirror in JCavilia's post above for a number of years and it worked for me. Like in all small mirrors, objects do appear very small if they're some distance behind you, so I suggest that you never use it to see if you can make a left turn / U-turn or not. But it works extremely well for taking a look at a vehicle that's about to pass you to see if it's moved over to give you room.

We've had people come into shop claiming their Sprintech fell out as they were just riding along. In almost all cases, it did so because they never pushed the ball into the socket hard enough when attaching the mirror to the bar plug. It takes some force.

Bonus feature: it's easily removed and put back if you don't want / need it temporarily. I used to take it off when when riding with my old racing friends so they couldn't tell I had turned into a Fred. :)
 
#8 ·
Just occurred to me: I ruined a Sprintech bar plug once by hamfistedly banging it into the bar with a plastic mallet. The sharp edges of the bar cut into the rubber and damaged the plug bad enough for it to become useless. Point being: if the fit is very tight, lube the bar plug with some alcohol to seat it into the bar end.
 
#10 ·
Good question, but it doesn't relate to the Sprintech in which you can see a lot of crap, like a car just about to buzz you or worse. And really, you briefly take your eyes off where you're going all the time anyway while you're riding.

For what it's worth: the thing weighs 9 gram or so, so "haul around" is a bit misplaced here. Didn't mean to start a mirror-or-not debate. There must be 20 of those on RBR already.
 
#11 ·
Sprintech makes IMO the best barend mirror and I've used them nearly 100% of the time on the road since getting hit in 2008.
They really hold their position well and the convex glass gives you a good field of view that lets you see what's happening at a glance.

Is it cool - probably not but that's never been a driving factor for me.

I'm very pro mirror from a safety first standpoint and Sprintech is the best (again IMO).
 
#12 ·
I tried a bar end mirror like the Sprintech. Might have been a competitor.

I found I like it on the open road, but in traffic on my commuter I need something more wide-angle. Plus with all the stops and starts on my commute (47 stoplights or stop signs in the 9-mile round trip) I'd knock it out of whack with my knee once or twice a day.

Again, on the open road, it was just fine.
 
#18 ·
For folks that use them, is that a real issue? Is the mirrow big enough?
Road vibration was never an issue with any of my Sprintechs. I believe they're simply to light and held too tightly to be affected by that. As to size: yes, they are too small to check the traffic situation half a mile behind you. But that's not what they're designed to do. You use them to give a split-second look at something closing in on you rapidly. Out in the country, you've heard something behind you long before you take a quick look at your mirror.
 
#20 ·
end cap mirror

I have one on my bike for 2 years now and it works great. make sure you get the one that has the small ball on the end so you can adjust. I added a little duct tape to the ball end to tighten it and it worked like a charm. Doesn't vibrate or move at all. All I have to do when on the bars is look down and there it is. I hate to say it but cant ride without it now. All the guys I ride with always ask me is any cars are coming up. I wish they would get their own mirror. LOL I guess they think it looks weird on a 7000 bike
 
#21 ·
The Sprintech one is the only one of that type that I stock (and regularly sell out of). I tried a cheaper brand once. Once. I prefer only selling products that actually work. So, I carry the Sprintech mirrors.
 
#23 ·
I am getting the sprintech because I like the way it looks, I currently use a different brand of mirror and it functions ok...for the folks who claim that mirrors vibrate and they can not see in them, all I can say is that is true to a minor degree, but the fact is I am not trying to shave with a striaght razor.. I just want to see something the size of a car..and for that, they do just fine. I wear goggles too, with a prescription lense insert...I have mulitfocus glasses and I can not keep them from sliding down my nose and I am always either looking over them and can not see sh!t or looking in the wrong focus... the goggles have a single vision lense insert...my far vision focus as I am not trying to read when i am riding. for me it is not about what someone else thinks I look like, it is about what makes me comfortable and increases my sense of safety.
 
#26 ·
I've tried helmet mirrors before, but find them too distracting. The ones I've seen look nice and subtle, but wonder how well they work.
They don't. I tried two different endcap mirrors: one less convex, another more convex. Unfortunately there's no way to swing around the view cone of a bar-mounted mirror, i.e. there's no way to use it to "look around". To compensate for that one needs a wider view cone: use either a larger mirror or a more convex mirror. Large mirror was out of question on bar end, so I tried a more convex one. But convex mirror makes things smaller. It becomes almost impossible to make things out in that mirror, unless you move your head really really close to it. Now add any road-induced vibrations... Verdict: useless.

If you want a mirror, it should be mounted on your head, close to your eyes. That way it is always in your peripheral vision, it gives you a wide cone of view (despite being small), it allows you to look around by moving your head and it does not vibrate on rough roads.
 
#28 ·
If you want a mirror, it should be mounted on your head, close to your eyes.
I agree, I tried an Italian road bike mirror and found it useless. You can't see cars until they're right on top of you. Luckily the seller has a good return policy so you're only out the cost of return shipping. I'm back to my Take-A-Look mirror which I wear on the road and remove on the bike path.

I use a Mirrycle on my Tiagra equipped utility drop bar bike and do find it works well due to the large size of the mirror. Unfortunately it doesn't work on the newer Shimano STI shifters with under bar tape mounted cables.

Image
 
#27 ·
I use a Zefal Spy Bicycle Mirror. It attaches to the bar anywhere you want although I usually put it near the end of my drop bars.
The good thing is that it attaches with a rubber strap so you can attach or remove it in a few seconds. Great for use on multiple bikes.
Even with my sketchy vision, I've found it very easy to see behind me. Occasionally it will get out of adjustment but that too is easy to align.
 
#30 ·
Verdict: useless.

If you want a mirror, it should be mounted on your head, close to your eyes.
I agree, I tried an Italian road bike mirror and found it useless. You can't see cars until they're right on top of you.
Your experience, clearly not everyone's. I can see cars at least a couple of hundred feet away with the Sprintech mirrors.
 
#34 ·
[QUOTEdon'trge M;4591350]Those are nice mirrors, but I was thinking if you ever crash or lay your bike down. If the mirror hit hard enough, you break that part of the shifter off as well. I could be wrong, but it's just a thought.[/QUOTE]

I had one and I don't think that'd be a problem. There are multiple points of articulation that would give. It is a great mirror, but I got a newer bike and it didn't fit my shifters.
 
#44 ·
the sprintech mirrors came in Friday... I did not feel like messing with them so I did not mount them for yesterdays ride, but mounted them on two of my bikes yesterday afternoon. I put tape on the mirror ball for one installation and mounted the other just like the instructions say.
This morning went for my ride on the domane with the sprintech mirror with out the tape. I rode on rough pavement with pot holes, I rode over some rough dirt trails and on some smooth cement bike trails....no movement of the mirror, it stayed right in place...no noticeable vibration issues and I could see traffic coming up on me just fine..
I got the sets, so I have mirrors on both sides, but I only looked in the right side mirror a couple of times (I kept forgetting it was there, not used to having one on that side). The mirrors are much easier to see with out much in the way of head movement than I had expected. I left the Blackburn mirror on for the ride to get a comparison and even though the Blackburn was larger, I found the sprintech to be just as effective and in fact easier to see, at the end of the ride, I removed the Blackburn. I liked them well enough that I am going to go ahead and mount the third set on the wife's road bike.
as a side note, the bike looks much better with these mirrors on it than it did with the Blackburn mirror sticking out from the handlebar.