Italian Road Bike Mirror for Road Bicycle Drop Bar, Black, Left or Right

The sheet of instructions for this show the bar tape being unwound on the bottom 5-6" of the handlebar. That is total and complete NONSENSE. It is impossible to unwind the tape at the bar ends, because when you wrap the bars you start at the bottom and half-lap all the way up the bars until you get near the handlebar stem. It is therefore PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE to install this mirror the way the instructions advise.I also question using a bar-end plug on the end of the bar this mirror will cover. Most plugs are too small to keep from rattling around in the bar sans bar tape to provide filler between the plug and the inside of the bar. In addition, the plugs are made larger in diameter than the bar, so the bar PLUS the tape is the same diameter as the plug.It's also small, really small, and that's after riding and breaking 3 set of Hafney bar end mirrors in 4 weeks, so I'm motivated to find something better, but WOW this thing is small. Also not holding out much hope of it working when I'm in the aerobars.I haven't tried riding with this yet, but what I've seen of it so far leave me with a bad taste in my mount - in spite of it being highly recommended by a friend.UPDATE:After riding this a half-dozen times I have to say, complete reversal of my opinion. I LOVE this mirror, in spite of the stupid & inept installation instructions.This is how I installed the mirror so it was angled properly.1. Unwind the bottom 6" of bar tape from the bar end. You'll have to tear the tape. It won't unfurl on its own if the bars were taped properly, from bar-end to center as every last YouTube video ever, and all installation instructions demonstrate. Use a ZipTie as a block if you like, but it really isn't necessary.2. Put in a smooth, domed plug the mirror will move against in the bar end.3. Use the finishing tape from your handlebar tape or 3M electrical tape to position the mirror so the middle of the mirror cuts through the horizon. I got on my bike in a narrow hallway, which helped keep me upright while I adjusted the mirror and sighted it side to side. The two flat "fingers" on top were completely spread so the top of the bar was bare, while the fingers were bunched up on the bottom of the bar. I taped the ends first, then worked my way down to the bar end using Cinelli's finishing strips which come with their tape. 3M tape works too, but use short strips so you can undo it little by little if need be.4. Go riding. Twist the mirror side to side to see more to the road, or to get a great shot of your leg. lol5. When you're happy with the mirror position retape conventionally from end to center. Keep the side of the tape that fits against the mirror intact, but cut a long, 3" sliver out of the "up-tape" side so when the tape comes around to half-lap it doesn't double up. The grip is already fat enough, don't need a high-spot under the heel of your hand. Looking at the mirror from the back of the bike, start the tape at the 10 'clock position on the top side, wrapping conventionally in a clockwise manner.6. Finish the end of the tape at the center of the bars as you wish - I used 3M tape - but save the finishing strip that comes with your bar tape to wrap the end that butts against the mirror. You will get a very nice finish that is durable, and can be adjusted slightly later if you wish.This mirror is EXTREMELY bright and clear, more vibration-free than those mounted on the stalk of your sunglasses, and works in aerobars as well as on the hoods, and tops. It is obscured by riding in the drops, at least for me. I think you will find you will get the fastest sight-picture acquisition by fully extending your mirror-side leg before glancing down at the mirror.The sight-pic is a little slower to acquire than the Hafney 3" mirror, and faster than those mounted on sunglasses (and no neck strain from craning your neck). The great advantage is the pic is vibration-free to a degree that is hard to explain. The Hafley mirrors are almost useless on most roads, except for detecting headlights.Be on guard when adapting to its use that you may alter your bike's course a little while looking in the mirror. Dropping your mirror-side legs minimizes this.Surprising that it only sticks out ~ 2", much less than the Hafney mirrors.This is THE mirror. Nothing else I've used in 30+ yrs even comes close.

I have purchased a total of three of these mirrors over the years with absolutely no complaints. They are high quality, visibility is great, there is no vibration, and they are relatively discrete when used with black bar tape while riding with cyclists that frown on mirrors. They are extremely expensive when compared to other bike mirrors, but I suppose the price can be justified with their performance and the fact they come from a small company with small sales and cannot get economy of scales. All said, this is the best bike mirror I have ever seen.

At first I thought "There's no way this would work. You mean I have to glance down and take my eye off the road, and won't my arms get in the way"? Well, it does work and it works just fine. No, your arms don't get in the way at all. Of course, whenever you glance at a mirror you take your eye off the road. The question is how easy and quick is it to see an object like a moving car behind you so that you can get your eyes back on the road again. The high polished optical glass in this mirror makes it easy to see cars and judge their distance accurately and quickly. The mirror doesn't move at all which is great.The big issue with this mirror is installation. I've had to remove the bar tape on one side three times now to get the mirror angle where I like it because of various bike fit adjustments I made. Then, you don't know if the angle is correct unless you install it while you are outside and can see the horizon through the mirror, which I didn't do naturally. Then there is limited adjustment anyway. It would be much better if they could've just designed this to stick inside the end of the handlebar and allow for ball and swivel adjustment which you could then lock into place by turning a nut. I imagine that it would cost a bit more to do that though, and it might stick out too far.Overall, I'm quite happy with this mirror and my search for a good, aerodynamic, and inconspicuous mirror is over. I've tried mirrors that stick on your helmet or on your cycling glasses and this IRBM is definitely superior to those. There's no shaking of the image and it's plenty large enough to see.

After trying various mirrors - ones that attached to my glasses or my helmet or that dangled from my bars (outing me as a peloton poseur) - this is the only thing that has actually worked for. There's no futzing with adjustments, nor interference with other moving parts, my glasses or helmet straps. The mirror sits unobtrusively on the left side bar end and - at a glance - effectively alerts me to the presence of approaching cars, a huge boon to my confidence and safety. One of my complaints about the mirror that attached to my glasses is that it's location - a couple inches in front of my left eye - is that I'd have to change my focus of my eye to the a very-close-up mirror, then process what I was seeing, then look back at the road. There's none of that with the IRBM: it's far enough away that no focal adjustment is needed. There isn't a warning on the small mirror, but if there were it would read "objects in mirror are MUCH closer than they appear." I had the IRBM installed at LBS when my bars were retaped, so I can't speak to the ease of installation, but the bike mechanic (who had not installed one before) eyeballed the view from the seat and it's a perfect fit. At $40+, it isn't the cheapest option, but given how much I spent trying other things it would have been a bargain had I started with this first. Highly recommended!

Discreet, high quality. Image is big enough. Take the time to mount it right, and it requires no adjustment. Really nice to see behind me without having to turn in the saddle.