Mirrycle Road STI Bicycle Mirror
Posted by Blogmaster in Mountain Bike Helmets, tags: Bicycle, Mirror, Mirrycle, Road
Product Description
Mirrycle Road Mirror was developed exclusively to fit Shimano STI shifter/brake levers while allowing the continued comfortable use of the lever. With a minimum of included parts, the Road Mirror is ingeniously engineered to fit almost all the different STI levers. A lot of emphasis has been placed on the design of the Mirrycle Road Mirror so it blends elegantly with today’s bicycle components.Amazon.com Product Description
Developed exclusively to fit Shimano STI shifter/brake levers, the Mirrycle Road STI bicycle mirror makes it easy to tell when a car is pulling up from the rear. The mirror is easy to mount: just pull the rubber hood off the Shimano STI lever clip, slip the mirror base over the top, and then replace the hood. Once mounted, the mirror is located in the best possible position for watching the road behind. Just a flick of your eyes allows for a quick view of approaching cars or other cyclists. Best of all, the mirror doesn’t get in the way of the STI levers, so you can shift and stop safely at all times. The Mirrycle road mirror–which attaches to either the left or right side lever–comes with all the necessary tools and is engineered to fit almost any STI lever.
Entries (RSS)
When you go searching for a mirror for your road bike, you will probably find, as I did, that your choice is mostly of which bar-end mirror to get. I find those mirrors to be too low to see easily and my arm blocks their view as well.
Long ago (though I still have it) Mirrycle made a mirror that mounted onto where the cable comes out of the brake hand grip. So, it was above your hands and not down so low that you had take your eyes off the road and look down to see it. But, brake levers changed and so that product had no market. Following that, I had found a model that clamped with velcro strap around the brake handle. That was in the right place, but made the grip large and feel different and awkward.
So, I was excited to discover online that Mirrycle was making a mirror specifically designed for the Shimano STI brake levers/shifters. I bugged my local shop to get them, but they never did. FInally in January, I gave up on the local shop and decided to go online to buy, only to discover that they had been pulled from the market. Seems the original design was failing (breaking) sometimes. I kept watching and finally found one shop get them in back stock and bought it – presumably a modified design (hasn’t broken).
Installation of the mirror is pretty straight forward. It is well designed to attach to the STI handle using the features that are molded in place to hold the rubber grip in place. I have to say that Mirrycle could do their less mechanically inclined folks a favor by assembling the mirror a bit more in advance. You basically get a bag of parts. 3 screws, 6 washers, 3 plastic tubes, mirror, and a crumpled up instruction sheet. I didn’t have any trouble putting it all together in about 5 minutes with the included allen hex wrenches, but I am an engineer and enjoy such things. I am sure others might be frustrated by it.
In use, I am again very pleased to have a mirror that is easy to find in my field of view, so I can actually see cars while my eyes are on the road. You do have to play with the screw tightness a bit to get where the mirror stays in place without it being so tight that it will break when pushed hard rather than turning. I have started erring on the loose side.
I do notice that road vibration can be a bit annoying as compared to the more rigidly mounted bar-end mirrors leading to a fuzzier view – this is what prevents me giving it a full 5 star rating. Personally, I think this is a worthwhile tradeoff for being able to see it well. I know of no better mirror on the market.
Rating: 4 / 5
I recently bought two of these mirrors, one for my wife and one for myself to use on RAGBRAI XXXVII (Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa). The total ride was 442 miles and ridden on seven consecutive days with about 15,000 riders on the road each day. Because of the number of riders the road often became very crowded and a good mirror was an essential safety device. The mirrors both worked great for about 8 miles then vibrated loose and wouldn’t stay in position. They would flop around with every bump in the road becoming totally useless. My wife and I tried tightening them many times and often thought that I was tightening them so much that I might break the plastic. But after about 8-10 miles the mirrors would vibrate loose again and become useless once again. The mirrors are well constructed and fit the Shimano shifters nicely but until this loosening problem is resolved they are a total waste of money and time.
Rating: 1 / 5
It was recalled, but the new version is out there.
This is simply the best mirror for bikes with Shimano shifters. It is in the best position, large and shows a huge area. It works great with areo bars too.
Now that it is redesigned, hopefully it will not break. My old one cracked so I ordered two more today of the new one to make sure I wouldn’t be without it.
The other mirrors I’ve tried are too small to very useful.
Rating: 5 / 5
I bought one the day before Mirrycle recalled them earlier this year. A few weeks Of use Later I find out they have been recalled. No way am I sending it back, it is just too awesome a product. Slips right on, pops right off if you want to use a different bike. I get upset when I forget to transfer it when I change bikes, so now that they are for sale again, I am buying two more. Easy to adjust and install, good view of what is behind you. If you hate the little eyeglass or helmet mounted mirrors, this is for you.
Rating: 5 / 5
This mirror is great, it is easy to install and you can clearly see behind you. When it stays in place, that is. When you reach high speeds, especially on bumpy downhills, it folds inwards, no matter how hard you tighten the bolt. Then it flops around for the rest of the ride and keeps getting looser until it stops staying in position at all. This could have easily be prevented by using a left-handed bolt in the joint, so that it would actually close with incoming wind instead of opening up. Instead the designers decided to rely on an expanding brass thread which is supposed to stick but doesn’t. The only fix is to use a thread locker, but you better get the position right because then you won’t be able to change it!
Rating: 2 / 5