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Old dog old trick
 

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

11/20/21 12:11 PM

Old dog old trick

OK, I’ve been riding awhile and I’ve never used a mirror (until now). I always just looked behind, but I have to do this a lot on my commute home, and (surprise!) I’m not as flexible as I used to be. Sometimes drift left a bit, despite my best efforts.

I came across a Berthoud bar end mirror at Rene Herse, and thought “if there’s such a thing as a cool mirror, a Berthoud must be it.” So I got one and after a shakedown ride, love it. Once adjusted, you get a very good view behind, and you just look down to see the mirror, no side to side motion.

Easy to install, though obviously you have to ride to adjust it. However you can set it so you can adjust on the fly, but it then remains in place. You tighten/loosen the mirror with a 2mm Allen key (which surprisingly I had).

Not saying it’s any better than any other, but I like it.

https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop/components/handlebars/berthoud-standard-bar-end-mirror-mk-ii/

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

11/20/21 12:41 PM

I like the smallness of that one. Most popular here are the helmet monuted on arm, and bar end which are elongated.

I have been and still use what Nate turned me onto 20+ years ago. I c/a glue it inside the lens after loosing one.. Double stick tape lasts only so long..




This in Oakley M-frame with a Heater lens still to this day.

Also still use Keywins Nate and Paul turned me onto as well.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

11/20/21 1:10 PM

Your thread prompted me, being last mini mirror is in use, to get another or two for the wall. And old fart thing I do, have more of stuff I do not want to do without at arms length.

Last two I paid like $9.95, it was 6-7 years ago.

eBay, $27-29.00, smokes! One for 15.00 with shipping, #forgettaboutta

Amazon machine to the rescue, 30.00 for two, free shipping.

I find on Amazon you gotta buy two if you ever think you will repeat the purchase. Mysteriously, seems repeat purchases on Amazon are always more than the first purcha$e. Bezo$' magic algorithm.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

11/21/21 11:20 AM

$89 for a mirror?! Not in this lifetime...

I don't use mirrors, but I have to admit that flexibility is becoming more of an issue as I get older and someday I may have to give in.

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

11/21/21 3:28 PM

A little spendy but

To paraphrase Tom Bergh “Do you have a $5 head? Then get a $5 mirror.” 😀

Anyway, my initial impression is that this mirror works great, which is a big advantage to me. I ride home after work on a 2 lane, dark rural road, with no shoulder, which gets busy with fast moving cars after work. I have to take a left off it with no marking or light, and if I check behind me and drift left at the wrong time, it can get a bit hairy. You need a very precise adjustment to get a long, reliable view behind you, and I think I’ve got that with this mirror. You may get this with other mirrors, I dunno, I haven’t tried any, but without it the mirror is worthless. The ball joint means you can dial in the adjustment in all directions. I don’t wear riding glasses to commute, so the stick ons wouldn’t help.

Plus, this mirror really looks great, it just kind of melts into the bar end. Not that I care about that 😅

What I would expect from Berthoud.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

11/21/21 5:39 PM

Not only use a mirror, I have a Garmin Varia Radar Light to tell me when to look in it. For when I happen to be where car are as infrequently as I try for that to be.

Before the Varia, I had a PU truck near hit me with his mirror. Then hit brakes and did a coal roll cloud for me to roll into. I made a right to avoid the cloud.

I decided the radar could help with the not happening to be looking in the mirror when a close call might happen. And to give me yet something else to deal with charging management... What a world...

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Andy M-S
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 3377
Location: Hamden (greater New Haven) CT

11/21/21 6:57 PM

I saw one of those radar setups this past Spring. It looked...interesting.

I've had several bar-end mirrors over the years (none as nice as the Berthoud) but my new cockpit means that a helmet-mount mirror is easier to use. Funnily enough, I've never been hit by anyone from behind. Been hit from the right side and from the front, but never from behind...

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

11/21/21 7:43 PM

I agree the Berthoud looks pretty nice.

I nearly always wear the Oakleys as I nearly always also wear contacts. On the occasion I don't, I keep looking for the mirror out of habit. It screws with me when don't use the setup, contacts/oakleys/miniViewPoint. Old habits die hard et al

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

11/22/21 8:48 AM

Andy, that's because statistically, hits from behind are quite rare. As with other types of crimes and mishaps, we hear a lot about the high-profile, most gruesome ones, which makes them seem more common than they actually are. We're most likely to get hit by drivers turning into our path at intersections.

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Andy M-S
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 3377
Location: Hamden (greater New Haven) CT

11/22/21 2:30 PM

Brian:

Concur--that's been my experience. I've been hit twice at intersections (both times, people coming in from the right), and I once hit a car making an illegal left across my path at an intersection.

I mostly rely on my ears, but mirrors are still nice to have. Especially with the rise of electric vehicles which, while not quite as stealthy as I've been told, are still pretty dang quiet.

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

11/22/21 4:54 PM

Love it

Rode home from the office today and the mirror worked great, could see headlights well behind me with a simple glance down.

I’m not concerned about getting hit from behind when I’m riding straight, but on my commute home I’ve got to pull from right to left across the lane on a narrow, dark rural road with fast moving traffic, and make an unmarked left, and I have to see what’s well behind me before I do that. And I don’t hear cars until they’re pretty close (and they’re moving fast).

Anyway, so far I’m really happy with the mirror.[/code]

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

11/24/21 9:01 AM

It seems to me that having some type of turn signal would be more advantageous if you're riding in the dark. I've seen tail light and helmet mounted options.

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

11/24/21 11:54 AM

Turn signal

I’d still have to see what’s behind me before pulling over.

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Andy M-S
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 3377
Location: Hamden (greater New Haven) CT

11/24/21 12:14 PM

Turn Signals

The main problem with turn signals on a bike is that they're too close together--though I have seen some gloves that claim to incorporate LED arrows.

For on-bike turn signals, you'd need to have moto-like stalks to separate the turn signals from the centerline of the bike. And even there, you'd want a true brakelight as well.

Speaking of which, in addition to the solid red taillight that runs off my dynohub, I now have a battery-powered light that senses deceleration and goes from blinking to solid when it does. USB-rechargeable, very bright. I don't know if it makes any difference to drivers, however.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

11/24/21 6:32 PM

My Garmin Varia when triggered by a car approaching changes up the blinking pattern. One would assume some bio-engineer contributed to the pattern changes.

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greglepore
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1724
Location: SE Pa, USA

12/8/21 7:40 AM

I really like the Varia. Its better than a mirror in several respects, the most significant of which is that you don't need to take your attention away from forward at all-the audible indication is a great alert, and the flashing lights are in your peripheral vision. I was a skeptic at first, but I won't ride without it now, and have mounts for the whole fleet of bikes.
BTW, garmin mounts are stupid expensive, but there are cool mounts on aliexpress now that rotate for use with either wahoo or garmin and attach with a heavy rubber strap-they're around 4 bucks rather than the 20 that Garmin gets. You need to wedge behind them for seatpost use but no biggie.
The one thing it doesn't do is tell you there's a trailer behind a passing vehicle, and I have to remind myself of that. Landscape rigs are really common here and usually driven quickly.

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dfcas
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: hillbilly heaven

12/8/21 4:59 PM

Electric cars are gonna change the need for warning too, since they are near silent at low speeds. I assume the tires make some noise at higher speeds.?

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

12/8/21 5:01 PM

Thanks Greg

It’s kind of weird, it took me awhile, but now I feel completely recovered and the spill almost seems like it happened to someone else. I seldom think about it, almost never on the bike.

It did take a couple weeks and a bunch of PT before I could walk normally.

My primary care doc, who treats quite a few cyclists, asked if there was any PTSD and I chuckled and said “no I’m a lifelong bike junkie” LOL.

Good to hear from you, hope you are doing well.

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

12/8/21 5:11 PM

@Dan

Good point. As an EV owner, they don’t make much noise. Anyway, in my riding, I can’t rely on noise before pulling across the lane to turn. The cars come too fast. Absolutely love the mirror, one reason being you just glance down, not to the side, never tried the Varia.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

12/8/21 6:51 PM

The noises ours make are mostly for pedestrian alert. Still very quiet compared to an ICE vehicle motor. The Bolt is louder than the PHEV. But I doubt you'd even hear it more that 10 ft away.

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