The CycleAware ViewPoint Mirror is a very small mirror that sticks to the inside of your sunglasses, allowing you to see behind you without turning around or wearing a bulky mirror on your helmet or handlebar.
So they’re lightweight, stylish, and functional. Sounds too good to be true!
I just knew the mirror would not work, so I decided to forget about it. Then one day I read a positive review of them at RoadBikeRider.com, a site I trust, so I had to get some! (At only $10, it wouldn’t be too bad if they don’t work.)
Well… I bought some… And tried them out… And they didn’t work!
Here’s how it went:
I think it was 2003 when I bought these, so this was a while ago. I stuck them on the insides of my Bolle Parole sunglasses and went riding. Then I changed the mirror position. Tried it out. Changed it again. And the cycle continued. Eventually I just gave up!
In 2009, I got the mirrors out and tried again. (They had been hidden underneath some other spare parts the whole time.) This time I tested them on the Bolle Parole as well as my new Oakley Jawbone sunglasses.
I tried placing them everywhere on my lenses, to no avail. The best I got was I could put the mirror in a position where if I tilted my head a little to the left I could get some vision in the mirror.
That sounds alright, but on the road, that view translated to seeing the car as it passed me when I was in traffic. Not beforehand! I heard the engine and tires before seeing it in the mirror.
For the second time, I was rather ticked off about wasting my time with them.
I’ll admit, it could be the lenses I have. There’s a chance these mirrors will work on certain glasses that I don’t own.
But in the end, I can’t recommend these at all.
First, wearing them could lull you into false sense of security. Just when you think these will reveal traffic behind you all the time, you end up not looking into them at the right angle and a car sneaks up on you.
Also, when wearing them, I almost ran off the road a few times when checking them. I had to tilt my head and glance into the mirror to notice anything, which meant taking my eyes off the road.
I’d rather concentrate on the road ahead. If I have to look behind me, I’ll turn my head. With practice, it’s not terribly difficult to look behind you while maintaining a straight line. It’s a good skill to have!
If you can tangle in a race or big group ride, you should be able to glance behind you and keep tabs on the situation without this stuff.
On the road, just ride like there is always someone out there trying to run you over.
If you need to see behind you (like if you commute to work through the city), get a bar mounted mirror. In your case, safety overrides style anyway.
A fine compromise might be the Sprintech mirrors – small mirrors that attach to the bar ends of your drop bar – but I haven’t tested those yet.
My final verdict is…
I hate these little mirrors. They were such a huge disappointment.
I suggest you DO NOT buy these.
Official website: www.CycleAware.com
Buy online: www.Amazon.com
Company: CycleAware
Product: CycleAware ViewPoint Mirror
Reviewed by: Coach Levi
My Rating: out of 5
Date last updated: 2017-06-07
Obtained Product: Purchased at retailer.
CoachLevi.com Advertiser: No.
Click here if you would like to get your product reviewed on CoachLevi.com.
Levi Bloom is an experienced endurance athlete who has been training and competing for over 17 years. A former Cat 1 road and mountain bike racer (professional class on the regional circuit), he is now a cycling coach (USA Cycling Level 3 Certified) and sports nutrition coach (Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certified).
Your trust in RoadBikeRider must have taken bit of a hit, sorry about that. And so for me, the real moral of the story, in this interesting review, revolves around who can you trust…As you point out, RoadBikeRider literally placed your safety at risk by promoting the mirrors to its subscribers. After all, you did almost run off the road while trying them out. I much appreciate your apparent honesty Mr. Levi to the extent that I’m considering buying into the “Precision Diet“ plan you yourself promoted not too long ago. It represents many times the investment of your mirrors, but by it’s very nature, seeking trust is a risky business, yet worth the effort. We all fall short, from time to time, so let’s forgive and remember what we’re here for.
@rdcast
I’ve actually purchased some e-books published by RoadBikeRider that were great, and there are other products they’ve reviewed where my experience matches theirs. So mostly I’ve had good luck with their recommendations and would typically trust what they say 🙂
After all, typically is the best we can expect from one another with this matter of trust. I expected you to point out my glaring misstatement “Precision Diet” as it should have been “ Precision Nutrition”. Perhaps your lengthy and favorable review of that product was less than sincere? Be that as it may, it was very well stated.
If you have questions about Precision Nutrition, just ask them in the comments on that page. If I corrected everyone’s spelling and grammar mistakes, I wouldn’t have time to accomplish anything else!
When it comes to mirrors, these ones are really nifty. You won’t have anything poking off your handlebars, and they aren’t exposed to rain, so they’re almost always usable. But even though I got mine to work, the field of vision is very limited and it sure takes a lot of trial and error to figure it out!
Thanks for sharing your experience, Stu!
And now for the other side of the story. I have used ViewPoint mirrors (and the similar Third Eye mirrors) for many, many years and absolutely would not ride without them. I’m also a runner and they are valuable there too.
Admittedly, the mirrors are difficult or impossible to get to work with sunglasses that wrap tightly around the side. I’m sure that was your problem. So the first step is to find a shape of lens that’s at least slightly less tightly wrapped around, or you’ll never be able to get a clear view past the side of your head. The second step is to be patient and work hard to get it placed right. Impatient folks will never manage to get these to work.
For some sunglasses I have even had to slightly modify the mounting to get the right angle. But then, I’m a bit of a tinkerer.
I guess it all depends on how motivated you are to see what’s behind you. And that’s where I have a BIG problem with your naive suggestion that turning your head is equivalent to having a good mirror in traffic. Give me a break!
I’ve come up behind enough of you un-mirrored guys to know you’re not as safe as you think you are. So I take exception to your dismissal of a superb product that does something no other product does (provide rear view without a clunky external mirror), not to mention RoadBikeRider, an excellent publication whose reviewers I’ve found to be trustworthy.
@Ken
I’m glad they work for you! They’re super cool, for sure. I’ll take the benefits of curved sunglasses lenses though.
Also, it was “rdcast” who seemingly took issue with RoadBikeRider – not me.
Dear Coach,
I stand corrected on the RoadBikeRider defense– sorry for blaming you. And I appreciate the generally courteous tone of your reply.
I just wish more cyclists would use ANY kind of mirror at all!
Ken