Mirrors?



therocket

New Member
Jul 4, 2010
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I have always used a mirror on my glasses. They do look stupid, but they work. I see they make them for handlebar ends as well.

Does anyone know: Are they banned by the Pro Racing community? Do any riders (say the pro riders in the TDF/ Italy, etc) use mirrors? I have looked at the UCI Rulebook and they aren't mentioned that I can tell.

Thanks.
 
therocket said:
I have always used a mirror on my glasses. They do look stupid, but they work. I see they make them for handlebar ends as well.

Does anyone know: Are they banned by the Pro Racing community? Do any riders (say the pro riders in the TDF/ Italy, etc) use mirrors? I have looked at the UCI Rulebook and they aren't mentioned that I can tell.

Thanks.

Riders in the pro-peloton don't use mirrors. There's no auto traffic behind them to worry about.
 
alienator said:
Riders in the pro-peloton don't use mirrors. There's no auto traffic behind them to worry about.

I find mirrors extremely helpful to monitor other riders as they are coming up on my wheel. I would think this would apply to racers. They are frequently turning around to see who is coming up on their wheel while racing (break aways,
pre-sprints, etc.).

I guess my question is: Is there a rule that bans the use of mirrors? If not it appears that Pro riders choose not to use them for other reasons [they look stupid, they're not cool, they weigh too much, etc).
 
In the US at least there isn't a rule banning the use of mirrors.

But FWIW, the few times I've raced with guys using them I haven't been impressed. There was a guy in a stage race this spring sporting a helmet mirror, he seemed to be compulsively glancing up every few seconds but since the mirror was mounted on the left of his helmet he all but ignored everything happening on his right. First he overlapped wheels a couple of times with his constant glancing up and back and secondly he probably had a good idea of what was behind him on the left but when it came time to move right he just came straight across without so much as a glance under his arms. He bounced off more than one rider by doing just that and seemed clueless when folks gave him flack for not looking before moving. After the first stage I did my best to be ahead of that guy as he was a menace.

That was the worst case I've seen in racing but have seen other guys, probably regular commuters who've gotten used to using mirrors in traffic use them really poorly in races. If you're going to ride and race in the peloton you've got to develop the skills to glance down and under your arms to know where you are, who's around you, who's making a move, where the safe holes are and you've got to be able to do this while riding up top or in the drops. A handlebar end plug style mirror might help in some situations, but you still can't ignore what's happening on your right side or what's happening outside the mirror's limited range of vision.

-Dave
 
therocket said:
I have always used a mirror on my glasses. They do look stupid, but they work. I see they make them for handlebar ends as well.

Does anyone know: Are they banned by the Pro Racing community? Do any riders (say the pro riders in the TDF/ Italy, etc) use mirrors? I have looked at the UCI Rulebook and they aren't mentioned that I can tell.

Thanks.
Agree mirrors aren't intended for racing, but they are excellent for monitoring traffic approaching from behind on the road. After riding with a helmet-mount mirror for the last decade, I believe it's a valuable piece of safety equipment.

The fact that UCI pro riders don't use them has nothing to do with what we need to use to be safe while riding on the road. They don't use bright flashing red taillights either, but lots of us veteran road riders around here do. I could care less what a pro rider uses or wears; survival trumps fashion or style any day of the week.
 
Good point and I agree.

I guess I'm surprised that Pro riders don't use them, so I was wondering if the rules might prohibit mirrors. I guess not.
 
I personally wouldn't like having an angle piece of plastic/glass sticking out of the end on my handlebar. Bar ends are usually required to stop the ends of handlebars becoming something to stab you with in the event of a crash. Not sure that extra stuff near you eyes and temples would be great in an crash either...

... Besides, aren't you supposed to be up the front and going hard enough to keep the others behind you when it's "money time?" you spend enough thinking about what's behind and you end up behind.
 
therocket said:
Good point and I agree.

I guess I'm surprised that Pro riders don't use them, so I was wondering if the rules might prohibit mirrors. I guess not.

i don't think they're need in racing, but when commuting they can be a life saver.