What kinds of rear-view mirrors work for bicyclists?
This post about rear-view mirrors is third in a series about basic equipment and skills.
Should a bicyclist use a rear-view mirror? My answer is a qualified “yes”.
No law that I have been able to find requires a bicyclist to use a rear-view mirror in any North American state or province. And, unlike a motorist, a bicyclist has nothing blocking the view to the rear.
CyclingSavvy has no official position on legally optional equipment. Still, I personally feel that a rear-view mirror is a good option for a beginner, and convenient in certain situations for everyone. If you are unable to turn your head without swerving (more on this in an upcoming Beginner Skills article), you definitely need some way to see behind yourself. Hearing a vehicle approaching from behind without easily being able to check on its position is disturbing. This is a main reason that people hug the edge of the road, or avoid riding on roads.
You still need to turn your head!
With a rear-view mirror, it is convenient to take a quick glance to the rear — without turning your head, and without losing sight of what’s in front of you. Be aware, however, that all mirrors have blind spots.
Just as when changing lanes in a car, you should always turn your head to look before moving to a different road position — though you may not need to turn your head as far. There could be a car, or a bicyclist, about to pass you, in your mirror’s blind spot. So again, you should definitely learn to look behind you without swerving!
You can purchase a rear-view mirror that attaches to the handlebar, to your helmet, or to eyeglasses. Any of these takes some getting used to.
Choosing a handlebar mirror
Handlebar mirrors vary. Some mount with a clamp around the handlebar and others with an expander plug at the handlebar end. Which model works depends on the type of handlebar and the other hardware mounted on it.
Many handlebar mirrors are convex, and as the saying goes, objects are closer than they appear. Unless the mirror extends vertically like the one in the photo, it works best from a single riding position. Your body blocks the view to the opposite side of the bicycle and so, in right-side driving countries, mount the mirror on the left.
Some handlebar-mounted rear-view mirrors, including the one shown, have a ball joint and are adjustable while riding if the joint is left a little loose. That can be useful if the road curves or you change position on the bicycle.
Can a helmet or eyeglass rear-view mirror work for you?
Getting a helmet or eyeglass mirror to work well requires some attention to detail.
These are flat mirrors. You focus on the view in the mirror, not on the mirror itself. You look into it with one eye.
To varying degrees, people are either right- or left-eye dominant. If you point a finger at a distant object and alternate closing one eye, then the other, the finger still points at the distant object when the dominant eye is open. If one eye is strongly dominant, place the mirror on that side so your brain will show rather than hide the view in the mirror.
The mirror should be placed as far to the side as possible where the opposite eye still can see ahead. Check by closing one eye, then the other. John Allen has more detail on this topic. Larger helmet mirrors can be placed farther from the eye; only these are compatible with big hair.
The mirror should look directly to the rear or nearly so. Tilting the head can bring the road behind you into view in any riding position other than a racer’s low aerodynamic crouch. You scan right and left by turning the head while continuing to look into the mirror.
Expect to take a couple of weeks to figure out which way it is looking. This is easier if the ear, helmet strap or hair is just visible at the edge of the mirror as a point of reference.
Different rear-view mirrors have different advantages.
A helmet mirror is always there when you put on your helmet, but take care that it attaches securely. A hot melt glue gun can be useful to secure some helmet mirrors.
An eyeglass mirror is easy to misplace, unless you leave it attached to eyeglasses you use only for riding. The mirror can pull your glasses down on your nose, but it works if you wear different helmets or none, not that we recommend that!
A handlebar mirror can break if the bike falls over. No mirror is perfect, but they all can work well.
Our next article is about bells and other options to alert people with sound.
Thanks to John Allen, Pamela Murray and Karen Karabell for their assistance with this article.
John,
Thanks for your post on mirrors for bicyclists, and for linking to my post on helmet mirrors. I am a total fan of mirrors for bicyclists, as my post attests, for cyclists of any experience level, beginner to expert.
You make a good point that turning your head is critical, even when using a mirror. It not only gives you a full look at what’s behind you, it tells motorists “Hey, I’m human and I want to do something.” I often do a head-turn as I approach a right turn only lane, even though I’m not intending to change lanes (I want to still go straight). This head turn tells folks behind me that I am watching for motorists who might want to overtake me and change lanes in front of me, potentially right hooking or sideswiping me. It’s amazing how this kind of nonverbal communication works. Almost always, motorists slow down and wait to get into the right turn only lane.
Mirrors provide me with greater situational awareness, and allow me to read traffic situations in real time with a glance. I recommend that people try em out.
Thanks again for this post, and your others, John!
Hi John – Good article but I don’t like your image of the left & right eye views…
See my edited version at http://sellin.com/beerview/MirrorPosition.png
I added a link to this post and quoted you on my BeerView Mirror web site.
Thanks!
Thanks for your attention to this. I provided this illustration for John Brooking’s article. It may not be as clear as possible, but it is correct with the mirror I use. The mirror is placed as far left in the left eye’s field of view as the right eye also can see, so that it is possible to shift attention to the right eye and see “through” the mirror — the mirror does not create a blindspot. A tiny mirror mounted on the rear of the eyeglass lens has to be farther left in the field of view or its view to the rear will be obstructed by your head, so I see the point you are making. Whether the blindspot is a problem depends on the mirror’s placement on the lens. If it is high up so it only obscures the sky, no problem.
I’m glad John mentioned “disturbing”. RV mirrors do give a cycling user greater awareness about what is going on behind. But. If that mirror is missing (or broken), that cyclist could become awfully disturbed. I’m glad there will be a discussion of turning one’s head to look behind without swerving. Use of a RV mirror helps immensely when merging. A wide open gap can be detected without having to look behind over and over again. But the skill of actually looking behind can become weak. Now my question. I’m also glad that John discussed the matter of law and the predominant cycling practice of hugging the edge. With regards to the “law”, particularly the “rules of the road”, is there any requirement for a road user to be aware of what’s going on behind? Except of course during merges or the special case of emergency vehicle presence? “Slow moving vehicle?” “Slower than the speed of traffic?”
to edge riding Gary Madine… It is not legally my task to move out of the way – in California at least it may not be practicable to ride far right; pavement issues, door zone, reduced visibility to cross traffic, on coming traffic and following traffic… that being said, I still use my mirror to defensively ‘catch & release’ or just see when some other road user – motorist or cyclist – is coming up fast & might not give me my ‘3 feet for safety’… so as a habit I will pick & choose – take & control the lane or pull out when space allows of my choosing & yield my lane to passing road users. Bicycles are not Vehicles in California so I don’t believe the slow moving vehicle code 22400 that requires using turn outs when I am holding up 5 or more others applies, and if there is someone honking & flashing lights to pass, again I am not a vehicle so CVC 31753 does not apply. I won’t split a narrow lane to share side by side or ride an unsafe shoulder.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=22400.&lawCode=VEH#:~:text=22400.,or%20in%20compliance%20with%20law.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=21753.
The law specifically lays fault on the overtaking driver in sideswipes or rear-end collisions except:
* If the overtaken driver (bicyclist, here) swerves (easily possible) or speeds up (well maybe with an e-bike but not by much!).
* If a “far right as practicable/safe” law or bike lane applies. As has repeatedly been explained on this site, there are many exceptions to this rule, even where they are unstated, and the only person who can make the appropriate decision is the individual bicyclist.
There is widespread misunderstanding with the public and with police of when it is appropriate (practicable) to keep right and allow overtaking vs. control a travel lane or change lanes to prepare a left turn etc. What is safe and also efficient (e.g., to turn left as a driver rather than to make a two-stage left turn) is at odds with many people’s perceptions. This misunderstanding is usually manifested as harassment, but it becomes a serious matter following a crash, when it can affect the bicyclist’s ability to collect on insurance or reach a settlement in a lawsuit. I go with what is safe and efficient (which does include sometimes but not often making a two-stage left turn, etc.) and it helps that I use a mirror to make that work better. I know that I run a risk of my decision’s being held to be inappropriate or illegal, but then also the one time I was ever issued a traffic ticket while riding my bicycle, I was riding on the shoulder! (I beat the rap in court, but that is another story.)
Good stuff, but I guess I’m “old school.” I’ll never use a mirror, unless physically necessary.
That’s fine. It’s a personal choice. Truthfully, I often don’t either. But I do recognize there are situations where a mirror would be more convenient, and as teachers, we need to present the considerations.
I have ridden a long-wheelbase recumbent bike for 35 years. The seating position puts me in the same position as when driving a car. Just like when driving a car, a mirror is not optional because turning your head far enough to look behind while seated with torso upright is very difficult or impossible. A mirror mounted on the left side on my glasses frame works just fine. Riding with a mirror allows me to know when it may be necessary to take greater control of the lane by moving further left to discourage motorists from passing too close within the same lane.
Great article John. I once convinced a manufacturer of bicycle mirrors (I forgot which company) to remove the tagline “No looking back” from their promotions.
I use Bud’s Helmet Mirrors (https://budshelmetmirrors.com/) and have for many many years. They are light weight so they down weigh down on the helmet and once adjusted on the helmet, it is easy to return it to the same spot when you return it to the helmet and put the helmet on your head. He makes both oval and round shaped mirrors and come with many designs. You can even sent a template, and if he can make it fit it’s yours!
Shameless promotion? No! I owe my life to one of them. While riding on a rural road in my area, I was nearly clipped by a motorist too impatient to let oncoming traffic pass, before he decided to pass me. I saw him coming up and wouldn’t make the pass in time and he headed back to the travel lane. Had I not seen this and moved to the fog line, I would have been pickup grill toast.
Thanks, Hal. I’m glad you worked with that company regarding their advertising.
I’m a huge fan of mirrors, and always end up making my own.
But I have to disagree with the comments about the limited field of vision. If you simply look into a mirror, your view is limited. But, by turning your head and/or moving your body (depending on how your mirror is mounted), you can easily see everything behind you. To any extent that your view is blocked – you know that it is blocked and that there might be something that you can’t see. And, you can take your time to be sure, which you can’t do when you turn around.
We seem to be in furious agreement. Quoting the article: “You scan right and left by turning the head while continuing to look into the mirror.” Now, this applies to a helmet or eyeglass mirror. Not so much to one mounted on the handlebar.
Your advice to not allow a mirror to substitute for turning your head ignores the fact that many people, through one infirmity or another, have a reduced range of motion for either the torso or the neck, or both, relative to their younger days. Learning to use a mirror, compensating for the blind spots, in addition to audio cues (another benefit not every rider has) allows them to maintain a sense of awareness to the rear that can no longer be obtained by turning the body.
That’s an excellent point. Thank you. I’m middle-aged, but I can certainly foresee a time when turning my head might be harder for me than it currently is.
It reminds me of similar question related to deaf cyclists, whom you alluded to. We generally recommend against using ear buds, but we also understand that deaf cyclists exist (I had one as a student), and we don’t wish to exclude them from the activity for something which is not a law.
I think the takeaway in both cases is that there is best practice, but there are also situations in the which the best practice is not possible. Even if the limitation is not legally disqualifying, it is still helpful for cyclists to understand the risks and how to compensate for them.
I find that I can use the mirror to look directly back, but I still turn my head to look to the side and to let the driver behind know that I am looking. This is possible with a stiff neck! This is not a black and white issue, and I hope that the article did not make it appear to be one.