Take a Look Bike Mirror

511SR6oUfgL._SL1200_In honor of bike to work week which, in the case of a work-at-home blogger such as myself should be called bike from work week, I thought I’d discuss one of my favorite bike commuting tools: my “dork mirror.”

This little mirror attaches to a pair of glasses so that you can watch motorists behind you updating their Facebook profiles, texting and Snapchatting while they “drive.” Combined with middle age, this accessory marks you as a serious bike dork. Add some Lycra and you’re a full fledged MAMIL (middle aged man in Lycra). Of course, I ditched the Lycra a long time ago and bike commute in this outfit:

e91549b03e028b190f71e5f7b411ddaa
All it takes is a little saber rattling to disrupt those Snapchat sessions! But I digress.

What I really like about the Take a Look mirror is its durability. There’s a lot of poorly made plastic crap on the market these days. The Take a Look mirror is oddly, almost supernaturally, indestructible. I’ve sat on it so many times that I’ve lost count. It’s lasted for many years.

A mirror like this makes changing lanes a lot easier and gives you an awareness of what’s going on behind you. The mirror attaches to a pair of glasses and is fully adjustable. There’s an adapter kit if you want to attach it to a helmet.

The one caveat I’d add is that you need to be careful not to check the mirror too much. It’s more likely that something bad will happen in front of you: someone turning, a pedestrian jumping out from the curb, someone opening a car door. And you should be able to ride without using the mirror. That said, I never leave home without it.

Leave a comment

5 Comments

  1. I generally just look over my shoulder a lot while biking, but in a large city with a lot of traffic, I can see this being really helpful. The dork-factor is perhaps pushing my comfort level. I recently moved to the Pacific Northwest and now get to don a day-glo vest for cloudy days and night biking. Since I’m 28 and bought a pretty bike because it’s pretty, the vest look bums me out. I’ve been getting some snarky comments on the street, too. My favorite was the one (on my first day in the vest) who just looked at me and simply started laughing.

    • Oh, that’s very sad! Mocked on the street!

      I’m too chicken to ride in LA, but I’ve bookmarked stylish reflective vests at http://vespertinenyc.com/ and also http://www.dargelos.cc/product/lightning-vest

      Mock those, meanies.

      But Erik argues that reflective vests give us a false sense of security and that we should just assume drivers can’t see us no matter what. Nonetheless, I think I’d wear something reflective.

  2. Super useful bike tool. I started using a mirror years ago when touring. I missed it on the regular rides- so much easier to keep a quick eye on traffic with it. I attached mine to the brim of my helmet with tiny zip ties and now it stays there. It is INDESTRUCTABLE! I stuff it into the panniers, bend the wires, drop it, but it lasts.

  3. This is such a great idea! 🙂 It really does look a bit dorky, but hey, isn’t that just the coolest thing of it all? 😉 I mean all the other bikes will look so boring in contrast to yours!! And yes, unfortunately you’re right. People are doing so much stuff (mostly on their phones) while driving. My brother is one of these guys and I always tell him how dangerous this is. It seriously drives me crazy knowing that he does that all the time!

  4. The Ortlieb ultralight bike mirror is the best I’ve used so far, although it’s difficult to mount well on straight bars. It looks and functions like a scooter/motorcycle mirror, so it’s very easy to see what’s going on behind you with a quick glance. I use it constantly to keep an eye on whether the traffic behind me is giving me space or about to run me off the road.

Comments are closed.