Helmet/glasses mirrors, please separate the good stuff from the junk...
08-10-18, 08:04 PM
#1
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Helmet/glasses mirrors, please separate the good stuff from the junk...
Who's wearing them (or not) and what do you wear? Seems like a lot of choices out there...hard to know what works and what is junk.
08-10-18, 08:32 PM
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Mirror: glasses mounted "Take-a-look"
08-11-18, 04:29 AM
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08-11-18, 04:58 AM
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I bought the take a look and Zefal Spin at the same time. In the end I use the Zefal Spin. The take a look probably I need to use it longer to acclimate to it. Just felt weird.
08-11-18, 06:41 AM
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If you can get used to a helmet or glasses-mounted mirror, they are best option, IMO.
I never could, though. I tried a Take-A-Look for a couple weeks and I just found it really distracting and kind of gave me a headache.
As far as bar-mounted mirrors on drop bars, I’ve tried a few, some that mount on the ends of the drops, one that attached to the hoods. They all have significant drawbacks, though.
So give a Take-A-Look a try first. even if you don’t like it for riding, I found it useful for looking inside my guitar and upright bass.
I never could, though. I tried a Take-A-Look for a couple weeks and I just found it really distracting and kind of gave me a headache.
As far as bar-mounted mirrors on drop bars, I’ve tried a few, some that mount on the ends of the drops, one that attached to the hoods. They all have significant drawbacks, though.
So give a Take-A-Look a try first. even if you don’t like it for riding, I found it useful for looking inside my guitar and upright bass.
Last edited by Kapusta; 08-11-18 at 07:31 AM.
08-11-18, 06:52 AM
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I prefer not to have metal wire located near my eyes so I use ..... https://www.amazon.com/CycleAware-He.../dp/B000UVCP52
I install it upside down which elevates the mirror a bit providing an excellent rear view while keeping the eye level sight line clear.
I install it upside down which elevates the mirror a bit providing an excellent rear view while keeping the eye level sight line clear.
08-11-18, 06:55 AM
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08-11-18, 06:56 AM
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08-11-18, 07:01 AM
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I prefer not to have metal wire located near my eyes so I use ..... https://www.amazon.com/CycleAware-He.../dp/B000UVCP52
I install it upside down which elevates the mirror a bit providing an excellent rear view while keeping the eye level sight line clear.
I install it upside down which elevates the mirror a bit providing an excellent rear view while keeping the eye level sight line clear.
+ 3/4
08-11-18, 07:11 AM
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Did you ever flip the mirror? Makes a world of difference for me compared to standard mounting. YES, the T-A-Look is EXCELLENT!!!
08-11-18, 07:16 AM
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08-11-18, 08:57 AM
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Ah! This is what I've been needing to do... I've got it attached to my visor which has been great except that the mounting plugs are starting to shear off... I used to have the regular "Take-a-look" but the little bane of my existence mangled it and all I could find was the *ahem* "Compact" version... Anyway, I had it clipped to my sun glasses for the longest time until I noticed it started damaging them. Did you use Duct Tape? I was wondering if I should glue it, because I didn't know if tape would be strong enough to allow me to adjust the mirror.
Yeah, it's hard not to imagine some accident that suddenly drives the thing into your face and blinds you! Then again, I also hate the idea of being run-over if I can avoid it...
I prefer not to have metal wire located near my eyes so I use ..... https://www.amazon.com/CycleAware-Heads-eyewear-mounted-mirror/dp/B000UVCP52
I install it upside down which elevates the mirror a bit providing an excellent rear view while keeping the eye level sight line clear.
I install it upside down which elevates the mirror a bit providing an excellent rear view while keeping the eye level sight line clear.
08-11-18, 09:22 AM
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08-11-18, 09:28 AM
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It's actually clipped on the visor with tape as. Maybe you need this:https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bike-Peddle...sid=m570.l1313
08-11-18, 01:07 PM
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i have tried two kinds of helmet/glasses mirrors. One attached to the helmet, the other to a pair of glasses. As noted above, niether worked out for me, but the one that mounted to the glassss worked a whole lot better.
The problem I had with the helmet mounted one is that is that it shook around a lot when I hit bumps. It was utterly useless on my visor, attaching it to the helmet shell helped, but was still an issue.
Attached to my glassed was much more stable in the rough.
The problem I had with the helmet mounted one is that is that it shook around a lot when I hit bumps. It was utterly useless on my visor, attaching it to the helmet shell helped, but was still an issue.
Attached to my glassed was much more stable in the rough.
08-11-18, 01:29 PM
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08-11-18, 02:01 PM
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https://www.efficientvelo.com/home/safezone/ big , solidly helmet mounted..
08-11-18, 03:55 PM
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Take-A-Look, ditto.
I have the long stem version rigged to one helmet. And a short stem version for my various glasses -- easy to swap between glasses.
I rigged up my own helmet mount from an unused stiff bit of plastic (grocery store discount card), cut to fit a niche just inside the helmet. Added a couple of small holes. The Take-A-Look is attached and zip tied to the card, through one of the little holes I punched in the card. Then the card is zipped tied to the helmet, again through a hole punched in the card. Neat, durable, adjustable and can be redone anytime without adhesive mess.
When I first tried the Take-A-Look a couple of years ago I hated it. Felt completely non-intuitive and disorienting. So I wore it to get used to it gradually while continuing to rely on my handlebar mirror on my hybrid. Took about a month but I finally came to prefer the Take-A-Look. And I don't have a mirror on my road bike, so I rely on the helmet or glasses mirror.
Positioning is critical to making a helmet or glasses mirror easy to use. If it's too far inboard the view will be blocked by your own head and you'll need to turn your head too much to see anything. If it's too far outboard you'll feel some eye strain from looking so far over. When it's within an ideal position range it's more intuitive, and you can often see movement behind you without actually looking at the mirror.
I have the long stem version rigged to one helmet. And a short stem version for my various glasses -- easy to swap between glasses.
I rigged up my own helmet mount from an unused stiff bit of plastic (grocery store discount card), cut to fit a niche just inside the helmet. Added a couple of small holes. The Take-A-Look is attached and zip tied to the card, through one of the little holes I punched in the card. Then the card is zipped tied to the helmet, again through a hole punched in the card. Neat, durable, adjustable and can be redone anytime without adhesive mess.
When I first tried the Take-A-Look a couple of years ago I hated it. Felt completely non-intuitive and disorienting. So I wore it to get used to it gradually while continuing to rely on my handlebar mirror on my hybrid. Took about a month but I finally came to prefer the Take-A-Look. And I don't have a mirror on my road bike, so I rely on the helmet or glasses mirror.
Positioning is critical to making a helmet or glasses mirror easy to use. If it's too far inboard the view will be blocked by your own head and you'll need to turn your head too much to see anything. If it's too far outboard you'll feel some eye strain from looking so far over. When it's within an ideal position range it's more intuitive, and you can often see movement behind you without actually looking at the mirror.
08-11-18, 04:00 PM
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Take-A-Look, ditto.
I have the long stem version rigged to one helmet. And a short stem version for my various glasses -- easy to swap between glasses.
I rigged up my own helmet mount from an unused stiff bit of plastic (grocery store discount card), cut to fit a niche just inside the helmet. Added a couple of small holes. The Take-A-Look is attached and zip tied to the card, through one of the little holes I punched in the card. Then the card is zipped tied to the helmet, again through a hole punched in the card. Neat, durable, adjustable and can be redone anytime without adhesive mess.
When I first tried the Take-A-Look a couple of years ago I hated it. Felt completely non-intuitive and disorienting. So I wore it to get used to it gradually while continuing to rely on my handlebar mirror on my hybrid. Took about a month but I finally came to prefer the Take-A-Look. And I don't have a mirror on my road bike, so I rely on the helmet or glasses mirror.
Positioning is critical to making a helmet or glasses mirror easy to use. If it's too far inboard the view will be blocked by your own head and you'll need to turn your head too much to see anything. If it's too far outboard you'll feel some eye strain from looking so far over. When it's within an ideal position range it's more intuitive, and you can often see movement behind you without actually looking at the mirror.
I have the long stem version rigged to one helmet. And a short stem version for my various glasses -- easy to swap between glasses.
I rigged up my own helmet mount from an unused stiff bit of plastic (grocery store discount card), cut to fit a niche just inside the helmet. Added a couple of small holes. The Take-A-Look is attached and zip tied to the card, through one of the little holes I punched in the card. Then the card is zipped tied to the helmet, again through a hole punched in the card. Neat, durable, adjustable and can be redone anytime without adhesive mess.
When I first tried the Take-A-Look a couple of years ago I hated it. Felt completely non-intuitive and disorienting. So I wore it to get used to it gradually while continuing to rely on my handlebar mirror on my hybrid. Took about a month but I finally came to prefer the Take-A-Look. And I don't have a mirror on my road bike, so I rely on the helmet or glasses mirror.
Positioning is critical to making a helmet or glasses mirror easy to use. If it's too far inboard the view will be blocked by your own head and you'll need to turn your head too much to see anything. If it's too far outboard you'll feel some eye strain from looking so far over. When it's within an ideal position range it's more intuitive, and you can often see movement behind you without actually looking at the mirror.
08-11-18, 04:17 PM
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I won't wear a mirror on my glasses. (Prescription, Frame and lenses cost a lot more than helmet and mirror combined. Plus glasses stay on my face after the helmet comes off.)
I like the 3rd Eye mirrors, the Hard Shell Helmet ones except the clamp was a poor fit to the Bell helmets I used to wear so I made a fiberglass bracket for it to clamp onto. Bracket mounts with two small hardware screws onto the visor. Totally first class. Puts the mirror right where it should be and is rock solid. The brackets last several helmets. I pop the visor and mirror off to wash the helmet.
And my bug - this works so well that it brings up an issue - why cannot the helmet and mirror manufacturers come up with some sort of standard that would make mounting mirrors as easy and good as my system. The brackets I make would cost far less than $1 for any kind of production run. (I've been using them for about a decade now. On my third one. The prototype, a better one, then a move to another, rather different helmet.
Ben
I like the 3rd Eye mirrors, the Hard Shell Helmet ones except the clamp was a poor fit to the Bell helmets I used to wear so I made a fiberglass bracket for it to clamp onto. Bracket mounts with two small hardware screws onto the visor. Totally first class. Puts the mirror right where it should be and is rock solid. The brackets last several helmets. I pop the visor and mirror off to wash the helmet.
And my bug - this works so well that it brings up an issue - why cannot the helmet and mirror manufacturers come up with some sort of standard that would make mounting mirrors as easy and good as my system. The brackets I make would cost far less than $1 for any kind of production run. (I've been using them for about a decade now. On my third one. The prototype, a better one, then a move to another, rather different helmet.
Ben
08-11-18, 04:24 PM
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...
Positioning is critical to making a helmet or glasses mirror easy to use. If it's too far inboard the view will be blocked by your own head and you'll need to turn your head too much to see anything. If it's too far outboard you'll feel some eye strain from looking so far over. When it's within an ideal position range it's more intuitive, and you can often see movement behind you without actually looking at the mirror.
Positioning is critical to making a helmet or glasses mirror easy to use. If it's too far inboard the view will be blocked by your own head and you'll need to turn your head too much to see anything. If it's too far outboard you'll feel some eye strain from looking so far over. When it's within an ideal position range it's more intuitive, and you can often see movement behind you without actually looking at the mirror.
Ben
08-11-18, 04:39 PM
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Yup! These photos are from a year ago. I may have changed it a bit since then. I try to replace small zip ties about once a year since they get brittle after repeated outdoor exposure.
Take-A-Look mirror zip tied to trimmed card (black zip tie).
Card zip tied to helmet.
Take-A-Look mirror zip tied to trimmed card (black zip tie).
Card zip tied to helmet.