Mirrors and panier racks - advice please!

[Nick]

Am I right in thinking the Cateye BM 500G Mirror is a good one to get? I've been searching the forum but can't find a post I'm sure I read a while back that recommended which one to get.

And racks... I've never used panniers before but my wife and I have just ordered a pair of Altura Dryline 56 litre jobbies between us, with the idea of using one each. My bike hasn't got a rack and the shop didn't have any in stock so is there a rack of choice? I've just read some comments about heels hitting panniers, which we'd not thought of, so I guess it helps to have a rack that allows for a bit of adjustment.

Thank you!

Nick

 

[JamesC]

Am I right in thinking the Cateye BM 500G Mirror is a good one to get? I've been searching the forum but can't find a post I'm sure I read a while back that recommended which one to get.

Nick

I have found the Cateye BM 500G to be excellent, using it on a Torq and ProConnect.

The smaller Cateye BM 300G has too short a stem when using well padded grips. There is insufficient space for your knuckles to pass the mirror.

James

 

[flecc]

I agree also the the 500G is the most adaptable and I used to have one on my Lafree Twist.

That said, I have the compact 300G on both my Q and T bikes, but both have a small adaptation. Where the mirror arm emerges from the collar, I've filed a recess in the outer collar ring with a round file to allow the mirror to swing aside further, overcoming the objection that JamesC mentions.

On both types of these mirrors, having them tight enough not to shift but able to be adjusted on the road puts quite a stress on the short plastic arm to the mirror.

If that cracks, all is not lost. Remove the mirror glass, then obtain a 1" round nail. Drill a small hole a little smaller diameter than the nail shaft up through the ball adjuster end up though the mirror shaft into the back of the mirror chamber. Heat the nail on your stove or with a blowlamp and push it into the hole so that the nail head sits against the ball end. The plastic will melt seal on the hot nail and you'll have a steel reinforced plastic mirror shaft.

On one of my bikes I've done that on a precautionary basis anyway, being so used to how easily these plastic shafts crack.
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[JamesC]

That said, I have the compact 300G on both my Q and T bikes, but both have a small adaptation. Where the mirror arm emerges from the collar, I've filed a recess in the outer collar ring with a round file to allow the mirror to swing aside further, overcoming the objection that JamesC mentions.
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That's a good idea, Flecc. The 500G can look a bit bulky, but the stout stem takes quite a few knocks without much damage.

James

 

[flecc]

I've never found the knocks a problem James, but I struggle getting my bikes into confined places at home and the mirrors get knocked out of alignment frequently. The cracking on both types occurs when I readjust when riding away. Having the clamping slack enough to avoid that means the mirror droops on the very bumpy lanes I ride on with rigid forks. Nipping it just tight enough to avoid the droop means the cracking occurs after a few regular trip adjustments, a catch 22 situation.

Hence my solution, they're expensive if frequently replaced.

Incidentally, the 300G has a larger diameter insert boss which has to be filed smaller to fit in many of our bars, a rather tricky job as it leaves little "meat" in the four prongs that expand in the bar.
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[JamesC]

Incidentally, the 300G has a larger diameter insert boss which has to be filed smaller to fit in many of our bars, a rather tricky job as it leaves little "meat" in the four prongs that expand in the bar.
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I found that I could compress the prongs a bit further with a cable tie pulled really tight. Once it is started into the hole, the tie can be cut off.

 

[flecc]

That's a good tip James. It wouldn't have worked on the heavy duty bars I put on my Q bike though, I've never seen a smaller core size than on those. I had to file the cone and prongs down until the prong termination was wafer thin!
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[Nick]

Thanks Flecc, James - I used to have a bard end mirror on a Moto Guzzi years ago, and that always fell apart too!

Any thoughts on racks? Once we've got the panniers we can try them out against racks in the shops but so far haven't found a local shop with much of a selection.

Cheers
Nick

 

[flecc]

No specific rack recommendation Nick, but as usual, our friends at SJS have a good selection of rear racks, no less than 48 to choose from!

Rear Racks at SJS
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[Nick]

Good grief!

 

[JohnInStockie]

Just for everyones info, I am on my 3rd 500g in 6 months. On my Twist, I have the seat high and bar low for speed/comfort. What happens is that the handlebar swings around and the mirror bangs against the seat. This has happened 3 times that I can recall, and twice broke the small plastic stem attached to the mirror.

John

 

[flecc]

Just reinforce your latest one as I describe above John, that will do the the trick and make it last well.
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[Nick]

Has anyone tried the Mirrcycle mirror? Amazon ratings from 30 reviews are 4.5/5 stars. Evans sell it for £12.99 and I'll probably give it a go. Failing that, I'll get the Cat Eye and bash Flecc's nail into it!

 

[JohnInStockie]

Just reinforce your latest one as I describe above John, that will do the the trick and make it last well.
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Cheers Flecc I'll give it a go

John

 

[Rod Tibbs]

Mirrycycle mirror

Yes, I bought a Mirrycycle mirror a few weeks ago and I would not be without it. If your bike as a twist grip on the right you need to trim off a few millimetres of rubber to fit the mirror on, but it is quite easy.

It gives an excellent condensed view of the road behind and I think it is a great safety device.

Go for it!

Rod

 

[Tiberius]

Any thoughts on racks? Once we've got the panniers we can try them out against racks in the shops but so far haven't found a local shop with much of a selection.

Cheers
Nick

Hi Nick,

I have the same panniers. They are big, and a bag of shopping goes easily into each one. But they didn't fit the rack on my Torq. The bottom fixing on the bag was too far down the rack. I solved it my making up my own special bracket, so they will still lift on and off easily. They are too big and ugly to leave on when not in use.

Nick

 

[Nick]

Rod, thanks for that, I'll get an order off.

Nick, thanks for the info. We tried the Altura 36 litre panniers, I think, but they didn't look up to the job of carrying laptops, big text books and the like so we opted for the 56 jobbies - maybe they'll be huge!

 

[carpetbagger]

i now have a cateye 500g,,,my first mirror was a blackburn type which my wife knocked off while walking past...she hasn't been as successful with the cateye as its better quality......yet !

 

[coops]

If you want a more compact mirror, zefal do some really compact ones like the 'spin' and 'spy', the former has a 3-way adjustable angle (horizontal, vertical and rotation) so can be twisted over the bars, out of the way, when not in use to avoid knocks etc.

The 'spin' fits securely to the end of the bar, the mirror surface is only 6cm long, 2.8cm max width & has a shim for different bar diameters, the 'spy' is rounder and fits around the bars/tubing itself via a rather more flimsy looking 'strap' type fixture - can't say how strong it is yet, but can be more firmly secured by additional means I would think, and maybe useful for fixing to more unusual bars or positions - fits around any 'tubular' shape of up to ~3.5cm diameter or a bit more at a stretch - also a very compact mirror of 5 x 4cm max.

Stuart.

 

[JohnInStockie]

I also will have to add that for me, the best mirror is my Bell Metopolis Helmet mirror. Its one of those Helmet attaced ones, and as such its at eye level, meaning that you dont have to look down to use it (just glance top right). I use it far far more than my Cateye 500g, in fact it feels as natural as using the mirrors in a car, but as I said its a personal preference (along with wearing the helmet -and a clip on rain-cover and a Mars 3.0 rear light on my head).

see one here, the mirror is the plastic bit at the front. It looks flimsy but it isnt.

John