The Real Bev said:Leo Lichtman said:
"Alex88" wrote: (clip) the cyclop is convex, is a good or
a bad thing?
(clip)^^^^^^^^^^^^ Convex is a GOOD thing. It's not so
much that it makes things appear smaller, which it
does, but it increases your angle of view. With a
flat mirror you would have to lean to various
positions to scan the scene behind you, which would
be difficult, and would never assure you that you
have really taken in everything. In fact, I cannot
recall ever seeing a flat bar-end mirror--I'll bet
they are not even available.
I've got one. Rhode Gear, I think, and it has a rubber
thing shoved into the bar which I have replaced with a
grommet. Unfortunately it doesn't bend far enough inward,
and it rotates in the bar way too easily so whenever I want
to use it I have to hold it with my hand. There really
ought to be a better design.
I also have the Rhode Gear, and also had the 'bend' and
'rotate' problems. I finally fixed the rotate problem by
adding some teflon pipe thread tape to the ball head
threads and then securely tightening with pliers. I then
bent the rear blades against the handlebar and secured it
first with some non-elastic strapping tape, and then
covered that with black electricians tape. Now, a week
later, both problems are gone.
Quoted message said:
I hate convex mirrors -- I can HEAR that there's a car
behind me, I just want to know exactly how far away it is,
and looking over my shoulder shifts my balance in a way
that might put me under the wheels of a cement truck one
day. No, if I haven't been able to avoid this after 15,000
miles I probably won't be able to do it next week either.
Quoted message said:A flat helmet mirror is OK, because, being close to your
eye, it provides a larger angle of view. Also, you can
scan by just turning or tilting your head.
About the same time, a week ago, as I went to work on the
Rhode Gear mirror, I retrieved a Take-a-look eyeglass mirror
that had been lying around unused for a few years. Secured
it to my sunglasses and went out for a lengthy ride.
Now with both handlebar and sunglass mirrors I was able to
make a direct comparison. The convex handlebar mirror
deceives one into believing that there is more time before
the car is alongside, and the eyeglass mirror gives an
accurate rendition of the approaching vehicle. The eyeglass
mirror is bright and gives a feeling of 'immediacy with the
ability to see behind without head movement;, whereas the
Rhode gear is tinted, smaller imaged, and takes a much
bigger sweep of the head/eyes to secure information.
I am going to continue to test both mirrors, but my feeling
right now is that I may remove the handlebar mirror. I do
find the eyeglass mirror dangling on the side of my head to
be somewhat annoying. Perhaps it is just a matter of
acclimation.
