Best road bike mirrors 2024: a guide to the handy accessory for your handlebars or helmet

Staying safe on busy roads means being aware of traffic all around you, not just what you can see in front. As none of us have eyes in the back of our heads, road bike mirrors provide a way of seeing what's behind you without having to constantly turn your head and take your focus off the road ahead.

More commonly seen on commuter bikes or touring bikes, where safety and practicality take precedence over speed or perceived style, mirrors are also well worth considering for more serious riders who have to train on busy roads. 

Modern mirrors are surprisingly small and light, making them much less cumbersome and unsightly than you might think. There are three types of mirror; bar end, handlebar and helmet, all with their own pros and cons which we delve into at the end of the article.

The quick list

Bar end mirrors

Handlebar mirrors

Bar end road bike mirrors

Best view without interference

This neat, round, highly adjustable mirror fits into your bar end on either flat or drop bar handlebars, keeping it nicely out of the way of everything else.

Whilst it's quite small compared to some of the other mirrors we tested, the curved glassed surface gives an excellent view behind – much better than some of the other larger mirrors that we tried.  We particularly liked it on drop bars where it gave a really useful long view behind.

Fitting is easy with a supplied 3mm hex key to operate the expanding bolt system. 

Adjustment is via a ball-and-socket type joint and is simple to do even when riding. Although easy to adjust, the joint is nice and tight and we didn’t have any issues on testing with the mirror moving out of position.

On one occasion we did manage to give the mirror a good thump whilst parking the bike and the ball and socket joint popped apart. But it was straightforward to reattach and has been fine since.

Best small mirror with big view

Compared with many other mirrors of a similar size, the Zefal Spin 15 is rectangular shaped rather than round. This has the key advantage of maximising the view you get of the width of the road so you can see more lanes of traffic behind. The curvature of the mirror further expands this view giving excellent coverage.

The Spin fits into the end of your bars with an expanding plug and flat screwdriver fitting which has held well. There are two rotating joints and a 180° elbow for orientating the mirror and we’ve had no trouble getting a good view on different drop bar bikes. This design also allows the mirror to be folded up out of the way when you’re not riding, which is useful as otherwise it’s easy to catch on a wall or gateway.

For a small bar end mirror, the only real downside of the Zefal is that it weighs more than its peers. But in the grand scheme of things, 49g grams isn’t a lot that you’re adding to your bike.

Best bar end mirror for size

The Blackburn Multi Mirror is the same size and design as a couple of the handlebar-mounted mirrors we tested, which means you get the bigger view without fouling your brake hoods and affecting your grip.

The plug end fitting has a knob to tighten so you don’t need tools and there are rotating and folding joints so you can adjust and fold out the way which you’ll want to do when you’re not riding.

Whilst the mirror gives a big view of what’s behind, the downside is the bar-end plug doesn’t expand much. As a result, the mirror worked loose and fell out our tester’s bars on a couple of occasions and met its demise as a car’s wheels reached it before they did (and before we got a riding photo too).

Handlebar road bike mirrors

Best for high quality view

Without doubt the Sella Italia Eyelink is the highest quality mirror on test and gave crispest and clearest view. As a large hood-mounted mirror it also gives the biggest and least obstructed view of what’s behind.

It fits over your brake hood with a soft rubber cover and Velcro strap underneath. This means that you have your hand on the fitting rather than the brake hood itself. This hasn’t caused our testers any issues on rides (even those over an hour) although if you ride on the hoods a lot or without gloves it may not be as comfortable.

The quality of the Eyelink is reflected in its price, it’s over twice the cost of the second most expensive mirror in this guide (£40; $80 RRP). Its other drawback is that you can only run on the left of your bars so isn’t useful for riders in the UK or other countries which drive on the left.

Best value handlebar mirror

The Blackburn Road Mirror is a large, rectangular(-ish) mirror which attaches to your drop-bar brake hoods. Essentially it’s a cheaper (less than half the price) and more basic version of the Sella Italia Eyelink (and a drop bar version of Blackburn’s Multi Mirror), although it can be used in countries that drive on the left. This makes it a really good option for those who do a lot of busy commuting and prefer the lower price over higher quality.

The plastic shell of the Blackburn Road clips over the brake hood and is held in position with a wide Velcro strap. This fitting wasn't hugely ergonomic or comfortable for us though, so you probably want to avoid it if you ride on your hoods a lot lot.

There’s a slight curvature on the mirror which gives a good view of what’s behind albeit the quality of the mirror isn’t as high as the Eyelink. The mirror adjusts via a ball and socket joint which has given good adjustability (and allows the mirror to be run on the right or left) and held secure in testing. 

Best for easy fitting and versatility

Unlike all the other mirrors we tested the Zefal Spy fits via a rubber strap around your bars. This makes it easy to attach wherever you have a space or to angle to your preferred view. It also means it’s really easy to swap between bikes or remove when you park up. 

Size and view-wise it’s similar to the bar-end mirrors we tested and we found that looping it round the end of the drops was a good position for it. You could also run it more centrally on your bars though our testers found it harder to get a view past their bodies and that this space was already rather cramped with lights, GPS mounts and other bits. 

If you run it at the end of the bars there’s a risk that you could knock it off the end, but we never had this issue on testing with the grippy and stretchy rubber fitting providing plenty of stability.

Helmet mounted road bike mirrors

Best helmet mirror for a big view

For a small helmet-mounted mirror the Zefal Z-Eye gives a really big view thanks to the length of the arm and the large curvature of the mirror. It’s easy to adjust too via a series of rotating and hinged bolts as well as a screw adjustable pivot by the helmet attachment. All together you can get a pretty good look at the road behind.

There are a few downsides to this design though. Primarily, as the mirror is so curved, it can be a bit strange to change your focus from the view ahead to the mirror itself. Some of our testers got used to this, others didn’t.

Best minimalist mirror

The most striking thing about the Blackburn helmet mirror is how tiny and lightweight it is, weighing in at just 6g on our scales.  As it’s so small and doesn’t have a curved mirror it only really allows you to see that something is behind you, not exactly what and where it is. As with all helmet mirrors, it’s also quite hard to minimise the amount of your shoulder in vision, further limiting what else you can see.

The mirror attaches to the outside of your helmet using a two-part ‘socket’ on an adhesive pad which means it’s easy to remove. For its size, the fitting is surprisingly strong and hasn’t loosened in the slightest during our testing.

The mirror is adjusted on a ball and socket joint at the end of a thin plastic rod. The rod is flexible so won’t cause any problems in a crash but it does mean that there’s a certain amount of waggle as you ride. Conversely the ball and socket joint are really tight which means it holds its position well but is difficult to adjust as you ride.

Advice

Mirror size

A larger mirror is not always preferable as the increased size could result in glare and take up a lot of space at the front end of your bike, which is often cluttered with other useful bolt-ons. To see clearly what's behind, the size of the mirror is not the only factor; in the optimal position, a mirror with a smaller diameter can be sufficient and ideal for staying safe while riding.

However, this doesn't mean the smallest mirrors are the best either: too small and you really won't have a large enough field of vision. Vehicles could easily sneak up just outside the range of the mirror and therefore relying on a small mirror could be riskier than double-checking over your shoulder.

Adjustability

A mirror that can be easily adjusted is useful for making quick changes as you ride along and also when setting up the mirror in an optimal position. However, with greater adjustability, the mirror is also more prone to vibrating out of position; to what extent depends on the surface quality of the roads you are riding.

Compatibility

Bike mirrors are available for all styles of rides including road, hybrid, gravel, fixed and singlespeed bikes. Most bar end and handlebar options tend to have a range of diameters they can fit, but it is worth measuring the inside diameter at your bar ends and the external diameter around the top of your handlebars because sizes can vary.

Left and right-sided mirrors

Although partially down to preference which side of your handlebars or helmet is best to mount your mirror, in countries like the UK and Australia that drive on the left, a mirror mounted on the right will be the most useful, while in countries that drive on the right, like the US and Canada, a mirror on the left will provide the best view of the road behind.

Alternatives and additions

No mirror is perfect and will allow you to see everything behind you. For those of you who drive a car, this will be a familiar concept, you still need to look over your shoulder to check your blind spot after you’ve looked in your mirrors.

If you want a better view there are a few options you could consider:

1. Running more than one mirror. Using something mounted to your bike combined with a helmet mirror would probably be the best combination of different views and the pros and cons of each choice. 

2. Fit a rearview radar like the Garmin Varia RTL515. This picks up approaching vehicles up to 140 metres behind and transmits a warning to a compatible cycling computer (many brands now have rearview compatibility built in so you don't need to have a Garmin Edge unit), a smartwatch, a smartphone or Garmin's dedicated Varia bar mounted head unit. It's an expensive option but might help you feel safer as you ride.

3. Rearward mirrored glasses such as Hindsight sunglasses. These have a mirrored outer segment so you can see some of what’s behind you.

How we test

Whether mounted to your bar end, handlebar or helmet, a bike mirror should give you the best possible view of the road behind you without having to turn your head or get distracted from what's in front of you. These mirrors have all been used on various styles of bike or helmet, assessed for ease of fitment, sturdiness when in place and the view that they offer.