RearViz mirror review

I have been reading quite a bit about the RearViz mirror. Safe Cycling Australia (www.safecyclingaustralia.org) has been pushing it and there have been a number of reviews online. I recently received a letter from my local council which included some information about the RearViz, including a discount coupon number. 

So I decided to buy one. I went to their website (www.rearviz.com). Firstly, I suggest you get a measuring tape and measure around where you plan to wear the mirror. For me, this is on my right arm, just below the elbow. I make mention of this as the website is confusing. I have been assured by the company they are changing the sizing of the arm bands supplied and the wording on the website to stop any confusion. 

RearViz are an Australian company. They are very easy to contact and answer any questions you have. 

With the ordering out of the way, I received my parcel quite quickly. The packaging is minimal (thankfully). 

As you can see, I went for the black model. There are a number of other colours and I believe yellow will also be available soon. 

Unpacking the mirror and the armband, it becomes pretty obvious how it is all put together and how to wear it. There are instructions if needed. 

It was 5.40am on a winter morning when I set out. Before I left my property, I sat on my bike and moved the mirror until I thought it was positioned correctly. This is done by rotating the mirror and then opening or closing the mirror to adjust the angle. Very clever.

I got out on the road and it was pitch black. I decided to close the mirror and wait for daylight. After the first car passed with headlights, I decided to open the mirror while riding. A good enough test I thought. After opening it, I realised the angle wasn't quite right. So with my right hand still on the handle bar, I used my left hand to rotate the mirror and open and close it slightly until the mirror was correctly adjusted. Doing this while riding is actually pretty easy. 

From that point on I was amazed. Suddenly I could see cars (headlights) and bikes (front lights) from quite a distance before they reached me. I was so impressed I almost forgot I was joining a group for a group ride. Once in the group I then realised I could not only see cars before I could hear them but I could also keep an eye on the other group riders behind me. Daylight came and I was even more impressed. 

You know something is good when you realise you can't do without it. I realised by the end of my ride, I had been checking my mirror before deviating to the right and I was doing it without consciously doing it. It was an automatic reaction as it is when you are driving a car. 

One thing I must make mention of is the view in the mirror. Other reviews I read mentioned as soon as you changed your view angle by placing hands in the drops (as an example), you could only see the sky. I found none of these problems. I could see the road and cars regardless of whether my hands were in the drops or on top of the hoods. I even had a quick look when I got out of the saddle for a sprint with my hands in the drops. Even though I was throwing the bike side to side, I could still get quick glimpses of the road. It was hard to see anything in the mirror, however whilst in this sprinting position I did suddenly see a car very close on my right. I veered slightly to the left and the car which was going to shave me became a safe distance again. I doubt it was the car's fault but the RearViz certainly helped me out. 

Well done RearViz. This piece of equipment should be on every commuters arm. I ride a road bike for fun and it will be on my arm for every ride from now on. 

Feel good cycling story

I cycle a lot. I try to cycle everyday. I do not commute to work, I simply try to get a ride in everyday before I start work. This ride, to me, is the equivalent of others starting the day with a coffee. Just as the people starting the day with a coffee may get grumpy if they miss their morning coffee, I tend to get grumpy if I miss my morning ride. 

This morning's ride was a special one. A good friend of mine came off his bike six months ago. He broke his pelvis and collarbone. For the past six months, he has gone through metal plates and screws being inserted, to rehabilitation with walking. During this whole time he has not complained, much. 

Then came the news, he has a new bike and is ready to ride it. Our whole group felt the elation one normally witnesses when your team wins. We just all could not stop grinning. This morning was his maiden ride on the new bike and comeback. You could not wipe the smile off his face or ours for that matter. 

Welcome back Steve. Thanks for reminding me why I love cycling and for placing a slight reality check into me becoming grumpy if I miss a morning ride. 

Stay safe on the roads. 

Bicycle fitting

I love #cycling

I own a number of bikes and if I don't get my daily ride I become irritable. I am also pedantic about my bike. If there is a noise coming from it I want it fixed and gone. 

So when my LBS (Local Bike Shop) asked me if I would like a fitting with the new Trek Precision Fit system, I was dubious. I didn't want anybody to touch the setup of my bike as I liked it as it was. I told you, I'm pedantic.

I took in my n+1 bike. I was interested in the system. I also knew the fit on this bike was bad and needed some changing. I didn't realise how big the changes would be. 

A number of checks were done on me before we even got to the bike. How flexible I am, were my feet straight or did the toes point in or out, what were my knees doing, etc. It was quite involved. I started to have my doubts. My bike was then measured up and the measurements were transferred to the Precision Fit machine. I had some sticky dots placed on me and then asked to hop onto the machine (which feels like a bike). As soon as I hopped on a problem was spotted by my fitter. He made some adjustments for me. He then asked me to start pedalling. Now this is where it starts getting spiffy. A camera starts recording. He told me to stop pedalling. On the laptop he started checking the dots and how they lined up. After an explanation as to why I felt uncomfortable in this fit and why, he made some more adjustments. I pedalled again and the video started recording. After a couple more tweaks, I felt a lot more comfortable and the power efficiency was vastly improved (did I tell you it also measures the power in your pedalling?). 

Measurements were then used to change the setup of my bike. Wow. The difference was amazing. Trek's Precision Fit system is pretty amazing. The whole process took about three hours. This is in part due to my bike being a poor fit. 

In conclusion, I am so sold on this process, I took my primary bike in to compare. The measurements for my primary bike were pretty much identical to the measurements the fit suggested I should have. We had to change the tilt of the saddle, move it forward slightly and tilt the handle bars down slightly. Now my bike is even more comfortable and I am pedalling more efficiently. 

A Precision Fit is highly recommended for all. 

Thank you to John from Rival Bikes for my fit (www.rivalbikes.com.au)

This is just a test blog.

Why would I do this you ask? Well I'm currently using another blog, which I host blog.redco.com.au which uses Geeklog CMS software. However, I need to do a few improvements so I thought I'd run some tests with Blogger instead of customising the software I host.

It hosts the following sites (as well as mobile sites)

Fitzroy Island website www.fitzroyisland.com m.fitzroyisland.com
Melaleuca On Mitchell Backpackers website www.momdarwin.com m.momdarwin.com
Value Inn Hotel website www.valueinn.com.au m.valueinn.com.au
The Tap On Mitchell Bar website www.thetap.com.au m.thetap.com.au
HP Undergound Nightclub website www.hpunderground.com m.hpunderground.com
La Creche Darwin Child Care and Preschool website www.lacreche.com.au
Darkelf Software Solutions website www.darkelf.com.au m.darkelf.com.au
Cycle Cafe website www.cyclecafe.com.au m.cyclecafe.com.au
Destination NT website www.destinationnt.com
Redco Investments website www.redco.com.au m.redco.com.au

The Cycle Cafe website is designed solely for mobile devices at the moment. It is simply a cover page to an idea. An idea I need to integrate a database into as well as using an API for other sites. So a lot of development is required. I'm probably going to look at using a CMS type setup rather than using HTML. It will require further learning with PHP as I only have very basic PHP skills but I think it will be worth while in the end.

So that is my test.