Mirrors For A Drop Handlebar Bike (Road Bike)

[Donger]

That road vibration is going through your hands. Lowering tyre pressures can reduce / eliminate the vibration pretty much.

Good point. It can indeed. I find that 18.5 psi is just about optimal for me using Marathon Plus 32s as anything less tends to bulge and look flat.

There is also a rather surprising reason why I don't mess with my tyre pressures. I have a couple of identical cheap cycle computers which are the variety that require magnets to be fitted on the front wheel and calibration of the computers by reference to a manufacturer's table of numbers referring to wheel size, tyre size etc. I don't know if I'm alone in this, but the tabulation never seems to work exactly for me and I end up initially having to find the magic formula by trial and error.

The first time I did this, I fitted and calibrated my computers to the suggested settings, then did my regular bread and butter ride which I knew from previous measurement by bike and by car to be exactly 20.0 miles. On completion of that ride I looked at the mileage readout and worked out the deviation from 20.0 as a percentage and then re-calibrated the computer. I have discovered that tyre pressure has an effect on tyre dimensions and therefore wheel revolutions... affecting the mileage readouts by possibly as much as 5% for each 1psi either way. I made a note of the current tyre pressure, which was 18.5psi, and of the calibration number that I had programmed in to the computer. Every time I change a battery, I have to re-program it, so I enter the same tried and tested value and adjust the pressure to exactly 18.5 on the front wheel. I then do my 20.0 mile ride and check that it registers as such ... which it always does. I'm in no hurry to experiment with different tyre pressures and have to keep calculating the necessary amendments to the computer settings, and riding 20 miles each time to confirm that the computer is accurate!!

This has stood me in good stead when riding audaxes of 100km and more, with my read-outs exactly matching the official course distance totals. As I find 18.5psi quite comfortable, I think I'll stick with that! (Bet you never saw that coming while we were talking about mirrors!)

 

[andrew_s]

The best mirror for drop bar bikes is the Mirrcycle.
It's not very popular because it only fits to some brake levers, but if it does, or you can make it fit, it's quite a bit better than the alternatives.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/accessories/mirrycle-road-mirror-for-sti-levers/
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/accesso...-for-drop-bars-fits-on-non-aero-brake-levers/

The LH mirror in post 3 is the flat bar version, but as noted, in the end of a drop bar it's well out of line of sight, and behind your arm. Also, being low down, it's quite prone to being moved round when the bike's parked.

I've given up on mirrors, and got a Varia rear view radar.
It spots cars at about 140m, tells you if there's more than one, and if they are approaching faster than normal. It also spots the occasional fast closing roadie.

 

[WILL911]

ride drop bars on a E bike gravel orientated, Have one similar to the rightmost of gunks pics set on the green background, now my bars are 50cm wide and i'm a wide guy. 46 chest 40waist. yet to my amazement i can see whats coming just outside of my thigh which would be directly in its aim.. to now i never had any success before with drop bar mirrors or the sighting of same.... don't ask where i got it ...it was a wrong 'un from a friend's lady who had me replace it with a better one on her flat barred E bike, complaining cannot see out of it, scummy , it was to me as well and i was about to replace the mirror with one stolen from a compact , when i found it had a sheet of protective clear tape over it...doh...will

 

[Lovacott]

An update. @Gunk kindly sent me a couple of mirrors, one which went straight on the MTB and has proved a godsend on my commute (much wider field of view and you can alter the adjustment tension to suit). The other is on my daughters bike.

The mirror Gunk sent me which I now have on the MTB, was a bit too big for the road bike though.

However, after reading many reviews, I opted for this one (with the intention of sending it back unless it was perfect).

It looks a bit big for a bar end mirror, but it's actually sized very well. Whether you are on the hoods or drops, you can partially see the mirror enough to monitor most things with your peripheral vision (no need to look directly at the mirror). A slight shift of the forearm either right or left combined with a quick glance down, clearly shows you the road behind.

The ball and socket joints are mechanically fixed with machine screws and the adjustment tensions are themselves adjustable (unlike the pop in ball and socket mirrors which work themselves loose or pop out altogether).

It also doesn't impede on any of the riding hand positions you might adopt when out on the road (it doesn't get in the way).

I've been making a point over the last week of looking at other peoples bikes to see how many of them have mirrors.

So far, zero.

Is it just me?

 

[GeekDadZoid]

An update. @Gunk kindly sent me a couple of mirrors, one which went straight on the MTB and has proved a godsend on my commute (much wider field of view and you can alter the adjustment tension to suit). The other is on my daughters bike.

The mirror Gunk sent me which I now have on the MTB, was a bit too big for the road bike though.

However, after reading many reviews, I opted for this one (with the intention of sending it back unless it was perfect).

View attachment 579474

It looks a bit big for a bar end mirror, but it's actually sized very well. Whether you are on the hoods or drops, you can partially see the mirror enough to monitor most things with your peripheral vision (no need to look directly at the mirror). A slight shift of the forearm either right or left combined with a quick glance down, clearly shows you the road behind.

The ball and socket joints are mechanically fixed with machine screws and the adjustment tensions are themselves adjustable (unlike the pop in ball and socket mirrors which work themselves loose or pop out altogether).

It also doesn't impede on any of the riding hand positions you might adopt when out on the road (it doesn't get in the way).

I've been making a point over the last week of looking at other peoples bikes to see how many of them have mirrors.

So far, zero.

Is it just me?

Do you have a link to that mirror, I am after one for my dropped bar bike just to give me a little more vision on the busy roads.

 

[Domus]

I use the Zefal folding mirror on my summer bike and the larger "rubber band" one on my winter bike, this also goes to Mallorca and goes on the left hand side.

 

[Vantage]

Do you have a link to that mirror, I am after one for my dropped bar bike just to give me a little more vision on the busy roads.

It looks similar to what I use. I replaced my cateye bm-300g (regarded by many as the perfect mirror) mirrors with these after they'd died.
They're not quite as good as the cateyes in that the mirrors are a little more distorted but they give me a good range of rear vision.
The oldest one is a year old and I've only recently fitted one on the left of the bike to keep an eye on my mutt. So far so good. No breakages, scratches or cracks and neither has worked loose. Used on drop bars.