How to use take-a-look mirror
 

Yesterday I tried out mey new classic Take-A-Look glasses mount mirror. I attached it to my glasses and adusted it as best I could and took off for a ride.

All I could see was my left shoulder. No matter how I adusted it I found myself looking back at myself and not the road behind me.

What the secret to getting this thing set up right?

Thanks,
Spud

I aim mine to just see my ear. Then I kinda toss my head back just a few degrees on my bike and I can see behind me. Takes some getting used to even if you have it adjusted perfectly.

To get them to work you have to set it up so you can raise your head slightly and turn it slightly to see behind you. I mount mine a bit closer to my head than some but in line with my sunglass ear piece. Remember it is just a glance.

Mine is in front and just to the left of my sunglasses. I have to lift my head and turn it slightly to get a good view of the road in the mirror. Keep playing with the adjustment, keeping in mind that you'll probably have to move your head a bit to see behind you.

I do something like that, and I get an excellent rear view with little head turning. Be careful though when adjusting the mirror while riding.

I even now wear both left and right mirrors:

This is how I set mine up. When viewed from the top,the main arm is also bent outward to the left. The mirror is adjusted so that I can just see the outer edge of my ear, or a little further out. I need to rotate my head a few degrees to the left to see directly behind me.

BTW. My bars are pretty low, 10cm below the saddle, and this affects the adjustment of the mirror.

A friend wanted to give me his new TaL because he was having the same problem.

Though a smart guy he hadn't realized the mirror could be adjusted in three axises. Swivel on the long support rod and both top and left of the mirror.

Have you considered this option http://www.bike-eye.com/

Attached at the top of the down tube, it needs adjusted to the right position for you which takes seconds, and then just a quick glance at it when your leg is stationary - job done! You are still advised to actually look behind for a "lifesaver", though.

No connection - just a happy client.

As an aside, I tried one of these http://www.reevu.com/view_rv_dlx.asp http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...vision-mirrors years ago but my eyes don't focus that close. I'd need a set of bifocal spectacles made upside down just for cycling to get decent use from it. Looking on their website, they seem to be concentrating on motorbike helmets these days.

I tried a similar type of mirror several years ago. While they seem to work well for many people, the only satisfactory method I found was to mount the mirror on the top shelf of my tool box and put a bar end mirror on the bike.

I tried bar end and went happily back to glancing over shoulders and under arms. Sans mirror!

Several years ago I switched to a Third Eye eyeglass mirror. However, I do not use it with my glasses. Rather, I've mounted it my helmet. The three stems used to grip the arm of one's glasses can be turned upside down and carefully inserted into the foam along the edge of one's helmet. Once I have it adjusted correctly, I super glue the pivoting joints so that they don't move. From that point on, no adjustments are ever needed. In terms of making the adjustment, I aim the mirror so that I can just see the edge of my left ear. Then all I need do is turn my head about half an inch to the left and I can see right over my shoulder.

I was never able to get "Take a Look" to work for me so I went to Safe-Zone Helmet mirror from Amazon cost $40 but the mirror is bigger and much easier to adjust and I no longer have a mirror on my bike.

This only works if you only use bike. I ride several, upright and drop bar, and I have to adjust when I switch bikes.

Good point. All my bikes are drop bar.

I, too, use the Safe-Zone helmet-mounted mirror. It is huge and provides a crystal-clear view. My only complaint is that I occasionally knock it out of adjustment by forgetting I am wearing it and bumping into things (like my car's door frame, for instance).

The Take-a-look has three axis of rotation and the wire can be bent as well, so it can be adjusted over a wide range of positions and angles. It also can be mounted to a helmet if that is preferred. It's pretty robust compared to other mirrors of this type.

My Take-a-Look is mounted on my helmet visor, riding above the horizon so it doesn't obstruct my forward view at all. Thanks to its multiple axes of adjustment, I can aim it perfectly, so that the top of my shoulder is just visible in the bottom right corner of the mirror as a reference point. Just a slight turn of the head provides a panoramic scan of the road behind. Some people can't adjust to a helmet mirror. I had no problem at all.

I also prefer a helmet mount, the reasoning is rather simple, I think putting it on and off the glasses all the time, could break off the little plastic clip, and your liable to forget the stupid thing. I have 2 pairs of glasses, two bicycles and ONE helmet, so the helmet is the most logical place for the mirror.

On the point of focusing, you actually don't focus on the mirror, you focus on what is in the mirror, nobody actually cares if the mirror frame is in focus....

+1 on the helmet mount and reason for putting it there.