Two brands make a great rearview mirror..

[Wetstuff]

One man's opinion, but being new to e-biking I want to see what is going on ..on-my-left. Back when I rode BSAs and BMWs I was the one squirting out to pass. Now I'm concerned as I 'am the slow lane'... The Lectric XP2 Lite Trike came with a pair of small round, bar-end mirrors. I cannot use them and get out the apartment easily. One brand has a really nice long arm with enough elevation for a good view, but a silly 'windblown/melting-plastic' shape. Another brand had a more traditional, rectangular shape with a stubby arm. So.. I married them. (luckily, the ball ends on the mirrors were the same)

Jim/Maryland

 

[spokewrench]

One man's opinion, but being new to e-biking I want to see what is going on ..on-my-left. Back when I rode BSAs and BMWs I was the one squirting out to pass. Now I'm concerned as I 'am the slow lane'... The Lectric XP2 Lite Trike came with a pair of small round, bar-end mirrors. I cannot use them and get out the apartment easily. One brand has a really nice long arm with enough elevation for a good view, but a silly 'windblown/melting-plastic' shape. Another brand had a more traditional, rectangular shape with a stubby arm. So.. I married them. (luckily, the ball ends on the mirrors were the same)

Jim/Maryland

My motorcycle mirrors were big and flat and up on stems. That's the kind bicycles once had. When i got an e-bike 6 years ago, I couldn't find any, so I got one that fit the end of my handlebar. A few minutes after I mounted it, I was on a quiet street when I heard the tires of a car close behind. I studied my mirror and saw only empty road. I was greatly relieved when it passed. It was the same shade of gray as the pavement.

I knew the problem. The smaller a mirror is and the farther from your eyes, the smaller the field of view. Little handlebar mirrors are convex to increase the field of view. The mirror was so convex that it reduced the reflection to 1/6. I couldn't even see a car whose color didn't contrast with the background. Five minutes later I threw that mirror away. I didn't like riding with no mirror, but a mirror that deceives is worse.

Over several weeks I bought several other mirrors advertised as flat, but they were convex and didn't give me a good enough picture. When I found one that was big and flat and up on a stem, I bought them for two bikes.

Later I found another that was big and on a stem. I bought it because it was advertised as flat. It was convex but at least gave a half-size reflection. I can live with that.

 

[Aushiker]

Glad you found a solution that works for you.

For me, I have settled on a Mirrcycle Barend Mirror, which I find very effective. It also has the bonus of tucking under my bar end.


Ergon GP3-L Biokork Grips by Andrew Priest, on Flickr