Two cyclists on an empty mountain road under an orange evening sky

Story behind TriEye

Our story

A crash on a dusty mountain road. A mirror taped to a lens. Eight years of riders telling us what to fix. This is how the rearview mirror ended up inside your glasses.

The TriEye concept

A mirror that lives in the lens

The TriEye concept is a small mirror housing built into the lower corner of a sport lens. You look straight ahead over it. When you want to see behind you, you glance down and to the side, the way you glance at a car mirror.

The mirror sits on a ball head, so you can tilt it to your riding position, whether you are on a road bike, an e-bike or a scooter. It is small, but it is close to your eye, so it shows more of the road behind you than you would expect once it is adjusted.

The design is protected by international patents, granted in the USA in February 2022 and in Europe in October 2022.

Rendering of the TriEye mirror housing in the lens cornerTransparent technical rendering with the adjustable mirror highlighted

By Carsten Juell Fongen, founder

It started with a crash

Have you ever been cycling on the road and felt nervous, or even scared, when you hear a car, a bus or a truck coming up behind you? Do they see me? Is the driver on the phone? Or on a group ride, you wonder whether the others are still safely behind you, or whether they have dropped back. What do you do?

The most dangerous thing you can do is take your eyes off the road and look over your shoulder. Most people turn the handlebars slightly in the direction they look. That small shift can send you straight into the line of passing cars.

I was out riding with my family on the dusty roads in the Norwegian mountains when my son hit me from behind. I was partly to blame. I did not expect him to be one metre behind me at that speed, so when I braked, he crashed into me. I would have seen him if I had a mirror. Lying there, bleeding on the road, I got the idea: what if the mirror was built into my glasses? Would it work? That was the only question.

“Lying there, bleeding on the road, I got the idea: what if the mirror was built into my glasses?”

We started developing the idea in 2016. The first prototype was a mirror taped to a lens, and it worked well enough to keep going. I am lucky to have three smart children who gradually took part in product development, production, sales and marketing.

In the spring of 2018, with the patent process done, we launched the first model on Kickstarter. Later that year we took TriEye to Eurobike in Germany, the biggest bike show in the world. The travel budget was tight: two tents at the campsite in Friedrichshafen. Great memories, and we won the public’s vote for best start-up.

Early prototype: a mirror held to the lens with tape
The very first prototype, held together with tape.
Carsten wearing a prototype held together with a twist tie
Carsten testing a prototype fixed with a twist tie.
Two lens curvatures compared
Base 5 versus base 6: finding the right lens curve.
Lens sample with the mirror housing
Lens samples before Eurobike.
Sample pairs laid out before Eurobike
The sample round we brought to Eurobike 2018.
First render of the mirror housing
The first render of the finished mirror housing.
Michael and Camilla at the orange TriEye tent at Eurobike 2018
Eurobike 2018. Michael and Camilla at our first booth. Public Choice award for best start-up.
TriEye glasses on display at ISPO 2019
ISPO 2019, Munich. Gold Award.

2020 and 2021 were hard years for the world. At TriEye we used the time well. We got our first professional investor on board and designed a new model from scratch: The View, launched in late 2021. Since then the family has grown, and every generation has come out of the same loop: riders tell us what to fix, and we fix it.

Carsten Juell FongenFounder, TriEye

The progression

Ten years, one idea

2016
A mirror taped to a lens
Prototype

A mirror taped to a lens

The first test on the mountain roads. Crude, but it proved the idea: a mirror this close to the eye shows the whole road behind you.

2018
TriEye Vision
1st generation

TriEye Vision

Launched on Kickstarter and at Eurobike. Full-wrap lens with the first production mirror housing. Public Choice award for best start-up.

Kickstarter · Eurobike award
2019
TriEye Sport
2nd generation

TriEye Sport

Built on feedback from the first riders: a lighter frame and a better nose fit. Launched at ISPO in Munich and won the Gold Award.

ISPO Gold Award
2021
The View
3rd generation · Air / Sport / Original

The View

Designed from scratch with our first investor on board. Optimised for both forward and rear view, with interchangeable lenses and two frame sizes.

Phased out in 2026
2025
The Clip
New category

The Clip

Riders with prescription glasses kept asking for the mirror without the frame. The Clip is the TriEye mirror on a clip that snaps onto glasses you already own, prescription, sunglasses or safety glasses. Since 2026 it comes with the Sharp mirror.

Fits your own glasses
2026
The Classic
Lifestyle frame

The Classic

The same patented mirror in a frame that looks like everyday sunglasses. For commuting, running and city riding, when a full sport wrap is more than you want.

Spring 2026
2026
The View Sharp
4th generation

The View Sharp

Launched March 2026, taking over from The View Original. New lens, new logo and a larger mirror that sits closer to the eye in a redesigned housing. Lenses interchange across every View, mirrors do not.

Current model

Not sure which View you have? See the View generations.