legitimate use for mirrors.. consider this - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

05-02-2004, 07:43 AM

ok, i use a helmet mirror.

i like it.

i understand some of the arguments against using mirrors.

but - here is where i think they really help.

say you are in fairly dense traffic.
you do not need to look back to see if there are cars -
you know there are cars.
you are not considering changing your lane position.
but you would like to know how far back that closest car is,
and where it is in the lane.
a quick scan in the mirror tells you, faster than
turning your head.
and your peripheral vision is still on the road.

here is another one.
you are on a quiet road.
you are fairly far from the right, maybe even near the center of the
lane.
there are no cars.
you know there are no cars.
periodic scans behind, using the mirror, reinforce this
fact for you.
the reason you want to know is,
if a car did come along, you might consider moving a little farther
to the right.

thoughts..?

wle.

05-02-2004, 08:34 AM

On Sun, 02 May 2004 14:43:08 -0000, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (larry english - no
address harvesting) wrote:

>say you are in fairly dense traffic.
>you do not need to look back to see if there are cars -
> you know there are cars.
>you are not considering changing your lane position.
>but you would like to know how far back that closest car is,
> and where it is in the lane.
>a quick scan in the mirror tells you, faster than
> turning your head.
>and your peripheral vision is still on the road.

Also a head mounted mirror has little or no vibration like a handlebar
mounted mirror.

Problem is these helmet or eyeglass mounted things can be breakage prone,
typically with a three-prong attachment, and if one prong breaks, that's
it. Sometimes the mirror is mounted on a pivot that's a bit delicate, also.

There is one place on my route where I need to make a quick, uphill U-turn,
and sometimes cars like to sneak up on me and ride my tail, so closely, in
fact, that they can't respond to my left-turn hand signal. (Fortunately
we're both traveling quite slowly.) A helmet or eyeglass mirror would be
great at those times, -just- to give me a quick scan, as traffic at this
point is usually non-existent but if I zone out and miss one it could be
nasty.

So go or the most robust model you can find, and treat it with care (or buy
two, heh.)

-B

05-02-2004, 08:34 AM

On Sun, 02 May 2004 14:43:08 -0000, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (larry english - no
address harvesting) wrote:

>say you are in fairly dense traffic.
>you do not need to look back to see if there are cars -
> you know there are cars.
>you are not considering changing your lane position.
>but you would like to know how far back that closest car is,
> and where it is in the lane.
>a quick scan in the mirror tells you, faster than
> turning your head.
>and your peripheral vision is still on the road.

Also a head mounted mirror has little or no vibration like a handlebar
mounted mirror.

Problem is these helmet or eyeglass mounted things can be breakage prone,
typically with a three-prong attachment, and if one prong breaks, that's
it. Sometimes the mirror is mounted on a pivot that's a bit delicate, also.

There is one place on my route where I need to make a quick, uphill U-turn,
and sometimes cars like to sneak up on me and ride my tail, so closely, in
fact, that they can't respond to my left-turn hand signal. (Fortunately
we're both traveling quite slowly.) A helmet or eyeglass mirror would be
great at those times, -just- to give me a quick scan, as traffic at this
point is usually non-existent but if I zone out and miss one it could be
nasty.

So go or the most robust model you can find, and treat it with care (or buy
two, heh.)

-B

05-02-2004, 08:34 AM

On Sun, 02 May 2004 14:43:08 -0000, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (larry english - no
address harvesting) wrote:

>say you are in fairly dense traffic.
>you do not need to look back to see if there are cars -
> you know there are cars.
>you are not considering changing your lane position.
>but you would like to know how far back that closest car is,
> and where it is in the lane.
>a quick scan in the mirror tells you, faster than
> turning your head.
>and your peripheral vision is still on the road.

Also a head mounted mirror has little or no vibration like a handlebar
mounted mirror.

Problem is these helmet or eyeglass mounted things can be breakage prone,
typically with a three-prong attachment, and if one prong breaks, that's
it. Sometimes the mirror is mounted on a pivot that's a bit delicate, also.

There is one place on my route where I need to make a quick, uphill U-turn,
and sometimes cars like to sneak up on me and ride my tail, so closely, in
fact, that they can't respond to my left-turn hand signal. (Fortunately
we're both traveling quite slowly.) A helmet or eyeglass mirror would be
great at those times, -just- to give me a quick scan, as traffic at this
point is usually non-existent but if I zone out and miss one it could be
nasty.

So go or the most robust model you can find, and treat it with care (or buy
two, heh.)

-B

05-02-2004, 08:34 AM

On Sun, 02 May 2004 14:43:08 -0000, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (larry english - no
address harvesting) wrote:

>say you are in fairly dense traffic.
>you do not need to look back to see if there are cars -
> you know there are cars.
>you are not considering changing your lane position.
>but you would like to know how far back that closest car is,
> and where it is in the lane.
>a quick scan in the mirror tells you, faster than
> turning your head.
>and your peripheral vision is still on the road.

Also a head mounted mirror has little or no vibration like a handlebar
mounted mirror.

Problem is these helmet or eyeglass mounted things can be breakage prone,
typically with a three-prong attachment, and if one prong breaks, that's
it. Sometimes the mirror is mounted on a pivot that's a bit delicate, also.

There is one place on my route where I need to make a quick, uphill U-turn,
and sometimes cars like to sneak up on me and ride my tail, so closely, in
fact, that they can't respond to my left-turn hand signal. (Fortunately
we're both traveling quite slowly.) A helmet or eyeglass mirror would be
great at those times, -just- to give me a quick scan, as traffic at this
point is usually non-existent but if I zone out and miss one it could be
nasty.

So go or the most robust model you can find, and treat it with care (or buy
two, heh.)

-B

05-02-2004, 08:34 AM

On Sun, 02 May 2004 14:43:08 -0000, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (larry english - no
address harvesting) wrote:

>say you are in fairly dense traffic.
>you do not need to look back to see if there are cars -
> you know there are cars.
>you are not considering changing your lane position.
>but you would like to know how far back that closest car is,
> and where it is in the lane.
>a quick scan in the mirror tells you, faster than
> turning your head.
>and your peripheral vision is still on the road.

Also a head mounted mirror has little or no vibration like a handlebar
mounted mirror.

Problem is these helmet or eyeglass mounted things can be breakage prone,
typically with a three-prong attachment, and if one prong breaks, that's
it. Sometimes the mirror is mounted on a pivot that's a bit delicate, also.

There is one place on my route where I need to make a quick, uphill U-turn,
and sometimes cars like to sneak up on me and ride my tail, so closely, in
fact, that they can't respond to my left-turn hand signal. (Fortunately
we're both traveling quite slowly.) A helmet or eyeglass mirror would be
great at those times, -just- to give me a quick scan, as traffic at this
point is usually non-existent but if I zone out and miss one it could be
nasty.

So go or the most robust model you can find, and treat it with care (or buy
two, heh.)

-B

05-02-2004, 10:34 AM

I have not used a handlebar mirror or add-on helmet mirror. I have gone
through a few of the eyeglass mirrors and the tiny little ones that go
on the inside of your lense. While useful, they did have a pretty
narrow angle of vision and require moving the head to scan the needed
angle of view.

My preference is a helmet with a built in mirror. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
started building these in 2002. It works like a periscope, a mirror in
the bill that reflects back over the forehead and a couple over the top
to get the line of site to road level. I bought mine from
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] but they have been out of stock for
this helmet so look for other online retailers. I paid UK#45 and 15 for
Royal mail, converted to US$97.30 on the date I made my purchase.
Considering the mirrors I was going through, I found the cost
acceptable. I find the pictures of the rear view a bit mis-leading.
The apparent angle is about 1/2 normal size. After using for a few
miles, I got used to the size but always found the wide angle covering
you whole backside much better that the little of one side you see from
other mirrors. Like autos being able to use their center review mirros
instead of only the outside door mirror.

Badger_South wrote:
>
> On Sun, 02 May 2004 14:43:08 -0000, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (larry english - no
> address harvesting) wrote:
>
> >say you are in fairly dense traffic.
> >you do not need to look back to see if there are cars -
> > you know there are cars.
> >you are not considering changing your lane position.
> >but you would like to know how far back that closest car is,
> > and where it is in the lane.
> >a quick scan in the mirror tells you, faster than
> > turning your head.
> >and your peripheral vision is still on the road.
>
> Also a head mounted mirror has little or no vibration like a handlebar
> mounted mirror.
>
> Problem is these helmet or eyeglass mounted things can be breakage prone,
> typically with a three-prong attachment, and if one prong breaks, that's
> it. Sometimes the mirror is mounted on a pivot that's a bit delicate, also.
>
> There is one place on my route where I need to make a quick, uphill U-turn,
> and sometimes cars like to sneak up on me and ride my tail, so closely, in
> fact, that they can't respond to my left-turn hand signal. (Fortunately
> we're both traveling quite slowly.) A helmet or eyeglass mirror would be
> great at those times, -just- to give me a quick scan, as traffic at this
> point is usually non-existent but if I zone out and miss one it could be
> nasty.
>
> So go or the most robust model you can find, and treat it with care (or buy
> two, heh.)
>
> -B

05-02-2004, 10:34 AM

I have not used a handlebar mirror or add-on helmet mirror. I have gone
through a few of the eyeglass mirrors and the tiny little ones that go
on the inside of your lense. While useful, they did have a pretty
narrow angle of vision and require moving the head to scan the needed
angle of view.

My preference is a helmet with a built in mirror. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
started building these in 2002. It works like a periscope, a mirror in
the bill that reflects back over the forehead and a couple over the top
to get the line of site to road level. I bought mine from
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] but they have been out of stock for
this helmet so look for other online retailers. I paid UK#45 and 15 for
Royal mail, converted to US$97.30 on the date I made my purchase.
Considering the mirrors I was going through, I found the cost
acceptable. I find the pictures of the rear view a bit mis-leading.
The apparent angle is about 1/2 normal size. After using for a few
miles, I got used to the size but always found the wide angle covering
you whole backside much better that the little of one side you see from
other mirrors. Like autos being able to use their center review mirros
instead of only the outside door mirror.

Badger_South wrote:
>
> On Sun, 02 May 2004 14:43:08 -0000, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (larry english - no
> address harvesting) wrote:
>
> >say you are in fairly dense traffic.
> >you do not need to look back to see if there are cars -
> > you know there are cars.
> >you are not considering changing your lane position.
> >but you would like to know how far back that closest car is,
> > and where it is in the lane.
> >a quick scan in the mirror tells you, faster than
> > turning your head.
> >and your peripheral vision is still on the road.
>
> Also a head mounted mirror has little or no vibration like a handlebar
> mounted mirror.
>
> Problem is these helmet or eyeglass mounted things can be breakage prone,
> typically with a three-prong attachment, and if one prong breaks, that's
> it. Sometimes the mirror is mounted on a pivot that's a bit delicate, also.
>
> There is one place on my route where I need to make a quick, uphill U-turn,
> and sometimes cars like to sneak up on me and ride my tail, so closely, in
> fact, that they can't respond to my left-turn hand signal. (Fortunately
> we're both traveling quite slowly.) A helmet or eyeglass mirror would be
> great at those times, -just- to give me a quick scan, as traffic at this
> point is usually non-existent but if I zone out and miss one it could be
> nasty.
>
> So go or the most robust model you can find, and treat it with care (or buy
> two, heh.)
>
> -B

05-02-2004, 10:34 AM

I have not used a handlebar mirror or add-on helmet mirror. I have gone
through a few of the eyeglass mirrors and the tiny little ones that go
on the inside of your lense. While useful, they did have a pretty
narrow angle of vision and require moving the head to scan the needed
angle of view.

My preference is a helmet with a built in mirror. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
started building these in 2002. It works like a periscope, a mirror in
the bill that reflects back over the forehead and a couple over the top
to get the line of site to road level. I bought mine from
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] but they have been out of stock for
this helmet so look for other online retailers. I paid UK#45 and 15 for
Royal mail, converted to US$97.30 on the date I made my purchase.
Considering the mirrors I was going through, I found the cost
acceptable. I find the pictures of the rear view a bit mis-leading.
The apparent angle is about 1/2 normal size. After using for a few
miles, I got used to the size but always found the wide angle covering
you whole backside much better that the little of one side you see from
other mirrors. Like autos being able to use their center review mirros
instead of only the outside door mirror.

Badger_South wrote:
>
> On Sun, 02 May 2004 14:43:08 -0000, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (larry english - no
> address harvesting) wrote:
>
> >say you are in fairly dense traffic.
> >you do not need to look back to see if there are cars -
> > you know there are cars.
> >you are not considering changing your lane position.
> >but you would like to know how far back that closest car is,
> > and where it is in the lane.
> >a quick scan in the mirror tells you, faster than
> > turning your head.
> >and your peripheral vision is still on the road.
>
> Also a head mounted mirror has little or no vibration like a handlebar
> mounted mirror.
>
> Problem is these helmet or eyeglass mounted things can be breakage prone,
> typically with a three-prong attachment, and if one prong breaks, that's
> it. Sometimes the mirror is mounted on a pivot that's a bit delicate, also.
>
> There is one place on my route where I need to make a quick, uphill U-turn,
> and sometimes cars like to sneak up on me and ride my tail, so closely, in
> fact, that they can't respond to my left-turn hand signal. (Fortunately
> we're both traveling quite slowly.) A helmet or eyeglass mirror would be
> great at those times, -just- to give me a quick scan, as traffic at this
> point is usually non-existent but if I zone out and miss one it could be
> nasty.
>
> So go or the most robust model you can find, and treat it with care (or buy
> two, heh.)
>
> -B

05-02-2004, 10:34 AM

I have not used a handlebar mirror or add-on helmet mirror. I have gone
through a few of the eyeglass mirrors and the tiny little ones that go
on the inside of your lense. While useful, they did have a pretty
narrow angle of vision and require moving the head to scan the needed
angle of view.

My preference is a helmet with a built in mirror. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
started building these in 2002. It works like a periscope, a mirror in
the bill that reflects back over the forehead and a couple over the top
to get the line of site to road level. I bought mine from
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] but they have been out of stock for
this helmet so look for other online retailers. I paid UK#45 and 15 for
Royal mail, converted to US$97.30 on the date I made my purchase.
Considering the mirrors I was going through, I found the cost
acceptable. I find the pictures of the rear view a bit mis-leading.
The apparent angle is about 1/2 normal size. After using for a few
miles, I got used to the size but always found the wide angle covering
you whole backside much better that the little of one side you see from
other mirrors. Like autos being able to use their center review mirros
instead of only the outside door mirror.

Badger_South wrote:
>
> On Sun, 02 May 2004 14:43:08 -0000, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (larry english - no
> address harvesting) wrote:
>
> >say you are in fairly dense traffic.
> >you do not need to look back to see if there are cars -
> > you know there are cars.
> >you are not considering changing your lane position.
> >but you would like to know how far back that closest car is,
> > and where it is in the lane.
> >a quick scan in the mirror tells you, faster than
> > turning your head.
> >and your peripheral vision is still on the road.
>
> Also a head mounted mirror has little or no vibration like a handlebar
> mounted mirror.
>
> Problem is these helmet or eyeglass mounted things can be breakage prone,
> typically with a three-prong attachment, and if one prong breaks, that's
> it. Sometimes the mirror is mounted on a pivot that's a bit delicate, also.
>
> There is one place on my route where I need to make a quick, uphill U-turn,
> and sometimes cars like to sneak up on me and ride my tail, so closely, in
> fact, that they can't respond to my left-turn hand signal. (Fortunately
> we're both traveling quite slowly.) A helmet or eyeglass mirror would be
> great at those times, -just- to give me a quick scan, as traffic at this
> point is usually non-existent but if I zone out and miss one it could be
> nasty.
>
> So go or the most robust model you can find, and treat it with care (or buy
> two, heh.)
>
> -B