Best mirrors for bicycles 2024: a guide to handlebar and helmet-mounted bicycle mirrors for Road, Gravel & E-bikes

There is more to staying safe on a bicycle than bike lights and safety equipment like helmets and high-visibility jackets. That is why things like hazard perception, understanding navigation and reading the road are big parts of the modern driving test.

Bicycle mirrors, just like the mirrors of a car offer another aid to improve awareness and visibility around you without having to take your eyes off the road ahead.

Bicycle mirrors don't have the best reputation and aren't seen as very cool accessories but it shouldn't matter, as it's there for your safety. Thats the thing with modern mirrors they are small, compact and very easy to adjust and fold away, more road riders should be using them. They are of course ideal for commuter bikes and electric bikes especially if you are new or cautious to riding on the road.

In this guide, we have tested eight of the best bicycle mirrors, these can be broken down into three categories. We have bar end mirrors like our best overall the Cateye BM45 and are fitted inside your handlebar. Handlebar-mounted mirrors either mount directly to the bar or from the shifter hood like the Sella Italia Eyelink. Finally, we have helmet-mounted mirrors like the Zefal Z-Eye which offer incredible fields of view but can be distracting.

The quick list

Our pick of the best bicycle mirrors

Bar end bike mirrors

Best bar end mirror

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 mounted bike mirrors

Best handlebar mirror

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.

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 bike mirrors

Best helmet mirror

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.

Honourable Mention

While we have not officially tested the M-Part e-bike mirror, I am very familiar with it, having fitted it to many bikes over the years as a mechanic. They are very stable and simple to fit, rarely interfering with the bike's controls and offering a huge field of view.

On the large side, they are E-13-approved, which means they can be used on motorcycles or any vehicle that travels at over 25 mph. This makes them less ideal for road bikes however, for commuter bikes, E-bike or mountain bikes they are a great option.

FAQs about bicycle mirrors

More information on bicycle mirrors

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.

Bicycle mirror alternatives

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

The Cycling Weekly team take time to consider every product's use case, its effectiveness and overall experience. Bicycle mirrors are no different and our testers spent hours fitting and adjusting all of these mirrors to understand how each one performs and the attributes they offer.

With bicycle mirrors, we are looking for three key points. Firstly, of course, the simplicity of fitting and ease of adjustment. We are then looking at the field of view each mirror offers, just because one mirror is smaller than another doesn't make it any worse, it just might suit a different type of user or rider. Finally, style. As I mentioned at the top of the page bicycle mirrors aren't the coolest thing in the world and they are subtle and sleek or can fold away thats a big plus.