chandltp

So I got a Take a Look Eyeglasses mirror and attached it to my helmet visor (which was fine according to the instructions). I'm finding it vibrates quite a bit. It's attached with the mounts and zip tied on. I got this thinking it would be better than my handlebar mirrors, but it's almost useless on a rough road. Thoughts?

I ride a recumbent trike if that matters.

J.C. Koto

If you find out let me know. I found bicycle mirrors in general to be entirely useless for me for this very reason, though the vibrations don't seem to bother others.

Looigi

I put a take-a-look on my eyeglasses and find that works well for me. I had a helmet mounted mirror for a while and it was OK but it vibrated a lot more than the glasses mounted mirror, plus I always used to bang it or otherwise screw it up when attached to the helmet. I use the "compact" version.

chandltp

I have prescription glasses and the arms are too thin for the mirror to stay well attached, which is why I was trying to helmet mount it. Plus it's easier to switch between my clear glasses and sunglasses.

Looigi

Yeah. It wouldn't work on my every-day prescription glasses either. But, I have a set of prescription glasses just for riding with large lenses for wind protection (which also sit up high enough for when riding in the drops) and photochromic lenses. These frames have flat temples which work well with the take-a-look mounting method.

Others in these forums have made home-brew mirrors that mount to the temple with a wire that wraps around it.

hotbike

Recumbents weren't meant for rough roads.

coupster

I think your problem is that you mounted it to your visor. That's usually a pretty flimsy piece of plastic that's only friction fit to the helmet body and a mirror is not an inconsequential mass at the end of a lever. I've got a Third Eye Pro that I mounted to the helmet body with silicon caulk. Its solid and if it vibrates I don't notice it.

Recycle

The take-a-look on my helmet visor is reasonably steady, even on some pretty rough roads. The mirror uses the normal mounts, and is additionally tied onto the visor with multiple wraps of a 1/2 inch wide velcro strip. The helmet fits snugly.

CB HI

Of all the mirror locations that I have used, I like putting the mirror on eyeglasses the best.

Plus, always riding with protection glasses has save an eye a couple of times.

chandltp

The availability of a full suspension on my trike seems to contradict this. Besides, if I didn't ride on rough roads, I wouldn't be able to ride on most roads in this city.

chandltp

Thanks. I got the helmet mount for the Take A Look mirror, but after reading I could put it on a visor I didn't use it. I may have to try helmet mounting it and see if that changes things.

chandltp

Can you try to quantify "reasonable steady"? Mine shakes enough on the bumps that the image becomes distorted.

HvPnyrs

HMMMM How far back are you reclining on your 'bent trike'?? (I've noted that many 'High Performance' tadpole trikes have some pretty radical back reclining angles) Any chance the back of your neck/helmet is having direct contact with a high back sling seat/headrest ???

I've never had a chance to try a 'bent trike (they do look like a fun ride).

A Traditional Style Cycling Cap, worn beneath the helmet with the Cycling Cap bill/visor Flipped Up so that the front edge of the Cap bill/visor, supports/has Heavy contact with the underside forward portion of the Helmet visor, Will Absolutely STOP the Helmet visor from bouncing/vibrating (ideally, upward pressure from the Cap visor,will raise/pivot the front edge of the Helmet visor upwards at least 1/4 inch/10 mm or more depending on how lightweight/thin the Helmet visor is).

I have a bell metro and a giro pneumo that I'm looking at right now, the visor on the metro (which has the Std./Classic Take a Look mirror on the visor) is notably more rigid than the visor on the pneumo (which has the Compact version of the T. A. L. mirror).

My experience has also shown that for best results the reflecting surface of the mirror itself should be as close to the front edge of the helmet visor as possible to minimize the mirror bouncing around independent of the visor. In other words, the farther away from your eye the mirror is, the more problematic vibrations become.

Yo Spiff

I've had similar frustrations with helmet & eyeglass mirrors. I recently started using a mirror from Rearview Gear. The designer is an engineer and a cyclist. This thing stays put without much vibration and the optical quality of the glass is great. It's the only helmet mirror that hasn't annoyed the snot out of me. The arm is made froma spoke, and it mounts with a very strong magnet. Once you get it tweaked it doesn't change adjustment on you. The only complaint I have is that because of the magnetic attachment, if I physically hit the mirror when my helmet is off, I tend to knock it off onto the ground a lot. The black coating has peeled off the arm because of this, but it still maintains the adjustment.

Right now they are doing garage production and only selling them on their web site.

chandltp

I don't think so. It annoys me to try to use the neck rest on there because of vibration.

They are. And on long rides I don't have this urge to stop just so I can walk around.

Yea, I'm wondering if the mirror isn't too far from my eye.. another reason I need to mount the mirror directly on the helmet and not the visor. Or trying to stabilize the arm somehow.. I have a feeling that the arm of the mirror is flexing on the bumps, but I don't know how to verify this.

Looigi

I'll just mention that translation of a mirror in a plane does not move the image. If you held a big flat mirror in front of you and looked at your reflection, then moved the mirror up and down or side to side in a plane, you reflection would remain stationary. If the mirror tilts however, the image moves. When the mirror is mounted on a helmet and the helmet moves around over the head, the angle of the mirror changes. It's much less prone to doing this mounted on glasses where the vibration is more translation and less tilting.

chandltp

I was wondering why the mirror moving mattered.. but I forgot about the angle thing. Maybe I will have to try it on my glasses if I can figure out how to get it to stay put.

TromboneAl

I've used my cycle-aware mirror for years, and it's great.

A friend told me he had problems with vibration, and I was puzzled. But next time I rode, I realized that it does indeed vibrate a bit, but I'd never noticed. Perhaps I just look through it and take a mental snapshot or look between the vibrations? It doesn't vibrate all the time.

So perhaps it is something you adapt to. For me, I see things as clearly as if I were looking forward.

rydabent

I have a "mirrocycle" mirror on both my Stratus and TT Cruiser. They work fine on both, and there is very little vibration distortion.

chandltp

So do I. But on heavily traveled roads, I found myself looking down too much to keep an eye to make sure cars were moving over or waiting. On longer rides my neck got sore, so I figure a helmet mirror was the solution.

TromboneAl

With this thread in mind, I paid attention to the vibration in my helmet mirror during my last ride. It really doesn't vibrate as much as I thought.

chandltp

Well, the weather doesn't look like it's going to cooperate for an enjoyable long ride this weekend.. so it will probably be a few weeks before I can try out glasses mounting my mirror.

fietsbob

Fully suspended recumbent.

Billy Bones

Been there... I used to like Take-A-Look, but gave them up because it's just too much to mess with. THAT SAID, I used to run a bead of Household Goop along the wires. This dampened the vibration to acceptable levels. In the end, I recommend you give them up...use bar-end mirrors. All that CRAP attached to your glasses or helmet is a drag, man.

chandltp

My mirror problem isn't worth the $500 upgrade to add the front suspension, I don't think. Besides, I'm questioning my decision to have a rear suspension.. just more opportunity for mechanical failure.