Years ago "mike" was short for microphone. In recent years "mic" has replaced it. What brought about the change? "mike" is obviously pronounced with a long "i", while "mic" would ordinarily be pronounced with a short "i" like in "tic". In general to get a long "i" an "e" is added to the end, but can't be done here, because the "c" then gets an "s" sound rather than "k" sound.
As in "motorbic", you mean? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Yes, I agree, it seems inconsistent.
1] Mike is already taken, and could lead to confusion, esp. if your drummer is named Mike. 2] Mic is shorter. Easier to print in places where space is at a premium. 3] When you see "Mic" you know what it means - especially as it is most likely to be in-context. But mostly: 4] How Mic "might normally" be pronounced if it were its own word is irrelevant. It's an abbreviation for Microphone. Here's a list of abbreviations: https://public.oed.com/how-to-use-the-oed/abbreviations/ How many of them sound silly if you treat them as bona fide words instead of abbreviations? For example: "Assoc. " If you were to read this aloud from a book, would you literally sound it out as "assock"?
