Take a Look mirror

[dravens]

Since this mirror was rated very highly by many people I decided to order one. I have tried mounting it on my sunglasses and on my Giro helmet visor. I can't seem to position it in the right place. No matter what I do it seems too high up or too far to the left. I seem to be seeing more of the sky behind me and not the road or I have to move my head around quite a bit. I expect I will have an adjustment period. If anyone uses these maybe you can describe how to
position it and rotate the mirror.
Thanks

[Biciclista]

it took me a month to get used to it, but i am now lost without it. the best way for me to position it is standing in front of a door. (with my back to the door)
once the door is square (or hall or garage, or whatever) i get on my bike and then fine tune it.

[PamNY]

I love my Take a Look mirror but there is a real learning curve. It takes practice to position it, and more practice to use it. Honestly, it was frustrating and if the mirror hadn't been a gift, I would have returned it.

In the end, it was worth the effort and I now find the mirror very useful.

To position it, I practiced indoors using furniture behind me to get it just right. Even after using it for years, I check it carefully before leaving home. I have a few "landmarks" outside that I use it make sure it's okay.

After that, just keep using it till you get the hang of it. I think I grew new brain cells -- it is quite a visual adjustment.

[Velocivixen]

Here is how I have mine mounted to the left side of the visor on my Giro helmet. I have the wider part of the mirror positioned horizontally (parallel to the ground). I read somewhere where if you aim the mirror so that you see your left ear/side of your face and the top of your shoulder it will be in generally the correct position. When I do that I adjust it so that I just barely see my ear - mostly little pieces of hair sticking out.

NOTE: When I look at this mirror with both eyes open I see more than one image. This is because I am very right eye dominant. Since the mirror is right near my left eye it helps if I slightly squint the right eye, forcing my left eye to take over and I see just fine. It has taken me practice for this to work. I do notice that the mirror jiggles around in comparison to my mirror attached to the handlebars on my other bike.

Hope this helps. I walked around my neighborhood with my bike helmet on and got used to it for a few minutes first.

[ClockworkOrange]

I was quite interested in the comments and decided I would buy one as I my neck does not seem to turn as well as it should, perhaps WD40 might work!

Damn, why are there so many things NOT available in the UK. :mad:

Anyway, at least I have been able to find one on ebay USA. :p Not sure if the price is good or not, $8, sound reasonable to me.

BUT before I click on buy, I am not sure which one to go for:

COMPACT, which extends 50 millimeters and has a mirror size of 20x37 millimeters (HxW)
NORMAL, which extends 85 millimeters and has a mirror size of 28x37 millimeters (HxW)

Be very grateful for any advice.

[RubyTuesday]

I have tried two different mirrors and I just can't get used to them. The one described above was small and easier to use than the second purchase I made, but most of the roads here are fairly bumpy and you just can't get a good look with the mirror when it is bouncing around. I bought a second mirror that was bigger and had a thicker arm and it attached to my helmet. I thought it would be more stable. Honestly, it wasn't and it was always a distraction in my front vision.

I bought my mirrors because I always swerved into traffic when I was trying to turn around and get a look. An article on Livestrong finally helped me with my swerving problem.

What was recommended was for you to put your right hand as close to the stem as you felt comfortable on the top of your handlebars (this is for road bikes), then to drop your left hand down off the handlebars and turn and look behind you with your left hand by your side. Amazingly, this works for me with a little practice and I stopped the swerving into traffic trick.

[ClockworkOrange]

I have tried two different mirrors and I just can't get used to them. The one described above was small and easier to use than the second purchase I made, but most of the roads here are fairly bumpy and you just can't get a good look with the mirror when it is bouncing around. I bought a second mirror that was bigger and had a thicker arm and it attached to my helmet. I thought it would be more stable. Honestly, it wasn't and it was always a distraction in my front vision.

I bought my mirrors because I always swerved into traffic when I was trying to turn around and get a look. An article on Livestrong finally helped me with my swerving problem.

What was recommended was for you to put your right hand as close to the stem as you felt comfortable on the top of your handlebars (this is for road bikes), then to drop your left hand down off the handlebars and turn and look behind you with your left hand by your side. Amazingly, this works for me with a little practice and I stopped the swerving into traffic trick.

Firstly I love your avatar, it's so cute.

I only ride a MTB but I get your drift, I might try it although I think I will feel a bit nervous.

Cheers for the helpful post.............. Goodbye Ruby Tuesday ;)

[smittykitty]

I found that there is way less vibration on my glasses vs. my helmet, especially on all the chip seal we have everywhere.

[featuretile]

I bought one of these when I went from a hybrid with a side mirror to a road bike where I could not mount a side mirror. It did not work for me on a helmet as the helmet can be in slightly different positions and there is some vibration. I put it on the left side of my sun glasses. If you look with your left eye and can see the very top of your shoulder when you lean forward (as you would be positioned on your bike) and the very edge of your left ear, the mirror will be in the right position to see traffic and whoever is riding behind you.

I also discovered a really unusual thing. My left eye is very near sighted and I did not know if I would see anything behind me. But since the mirror is so close to my head, I can see what's behind me very clearly. Now I feel like I riding blind if I don't have my mirror.

[cosc]

I also found vibration much less on my sunglasses than helmet.
I would go with the larger mirror.
I've seen some mirrors adjusted with the lengthwise vertical, but I've always had mine lengthwise horizontal. Someday I might try it the other way but I've been satisfied. I think mirrors can be a lifesaver especially since I ride on a road with lots of traffic. I do like to know when I'm king of the road or not.
Women here have given you great advice, just give your brain a chance to adapt.

[Melalvai]

It took me about 2 hours of riding to adapt. But for a couple weeks I still squinted one eye to see into it (to get rid of the overlapping images).

$8 sounds reasonable. I think mine cost $14 plus s&h.

I only use the mirror to ascertain that there IS a car behind me. If I think there is NOT a car, I confirm it by scanning. I think there may be a blind spot with a mirror. It's also really useful for keeping tabs on riders behind me, if I'm riding with my daughter or someone.