Ever wondered what your bikes are up to when they are strapped on to your roof rack?
Would you feel better if you could see them wobble about in the wind? Well, now you can, with the Roofscope Car Mirror.
I’ve had this device for a few months now and it does allow you to keep an eye on the bikes on your roof but I’m not entirely convinced that being able to see them has actually improved matters – after-all, if anything goes wrong and a bike comes loose, that would tend to be a rather dramatic and quick development and it’s doubtful you’d be able to stop in time to do anything about it. That said, I have actually felt better driving around, being able to see my bikes up there and I suppose being able to see them is a constant reminder they are there. The most common roof rack/bike incidents tend to involve car park barriers and in that respect this gadget has been a constant and I have to say, reassuring reminder that I need to take car around car parks.
It’s designed principally to be mounted on the bonnet of your car and the mirror itself is attached to the plastic arm using an industrial strength Velcro pad, designed to break off with a sufficiently large impact. I wasn’t that convinced by having a suction cup on my bonnet, despite the assurances of its strength included in the instructions. Fortunately the windscreen of my Corsa is constructed such that mounting it towards the bottom of the windscreen, but INSIDE the car gave me a great view of the bikes through the windscreen. After two months of sitting there it’s not fallen off yet, but it’s not been subjected to any wind or weather inside either.
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I probably should mount it outside the car just to check the adhesion claims, but something keeps stopping me from doing that. That ‘something’ is the fact I actually do find it useful to be able to see my bikes up there and I don’t want to risk losing this strangely reassuring device.
