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Maximum Pace
Aug 28, 2012
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Briefly, what should one look for in protective glasses? And what about protective+prescription? (And yes I have looked through the threads "Prescription riding glasses" and "Sunglasses for nearsighted?".)

Thanks to my superduper new wheels (thank you Tim and Eric) I spent some of the time this morning happily trundling along at what for me is a high speed. But when the wind blew, something nasty landed in one eye, which I had to close. A few hundred metres later I could open it, but a couple of kilometres further along, another hit. Ouch.

I wear very average-looking prescription glasses. I suppose they're on the smallish side, but certainly not to an extreme. I'd guess that if the lenses were bigger, or fit my head differently, I'd have more protection.

Putting aside for a moment the small matters of myopia and astigmatism, what's good? I googled and found "Cycling eyewear: frames". Two options are illustrated. They're pretty curvy and I suppose that this reduces the risk of stuff being blown in from the side. However, I wonder how much of the curviness is functional and how much is for looks. When I look at this page of (horribly high-priced) "SP-extremes" glasses, I see that some don't have side protection, some look (aside from color) just like businessmen's glasses, and a lot have what seems mere design gimmickry, notably frames designed so that only two thirds of each lens fits the frame while the remaining third sticks out in front of it. When I see "SP-extremes", I really wonder how much of this enterprise is to make people think they look kewl, and how much to protect the eyes. It's the latter that I'm after, and IFF I'm disinterestedly and knowledgably informed that the best solution has lenses protruding from a frame that looks like part of a Lady Gaga outfit, okay, but....

Once I know what I should be looking for in a frame, I'll think about where to get them. Right now I'm wearing a dirt-cheap but (for their purpose) perfectly good pair of reading glasses from "Zoff". This is now hawking "Athlete" glasses, with mumbo-jumbo such as "Asian holistic smart curve" (really), for its usual silly low price. But I'm open to other suggestions (particularly if youse experts think that the Zoff option wouldn't actually be much good for protection against airborne crud when cycling). Googling a bit, most of what I see (e.g. at Optilabs) have horribly high prices and little or no explanation of how frames differ (aside from style). But I do also see Firmoo.com, whose website is in charmingly Chinese-inflected English but which seems to be in the US and is dirt cheap. Tips and warnings welcome!
 
Contact lenses are out of the question?

I would never wear my glasses cycling. If anything gets in my eye with the contacts it is pure hell so I try to cover as much as possible from the elements.

The only people I have ever seen ride with glasses are Owen, who seems to just wear them as they are, and a colleague of mine who wears a clip on sunglasses type effect on top that wraps around more than his regular glasses do.

For custom made you would have to fork out or suffer the consequences, one would assume.
 
Right, contacts are out of the question. (My wife wears them and is in agonies if anything gets in. Agonies I can happily live without.) Erm . . . you say you cover up as much as possible -- but with what?

(Or to put it another way: What is it about what you wear that's good? If I know this, then I can try to gauge if Zoff's line of sporty prescription glasses also offers it. If Zoff's line doesn't, I'll know what too look at in firmoo.com.)
 
Get the Lasik surgery done,then you can wear whatever you want (that's what I did 10 years ago) I now need reading glasses but certainly no while riding:D
 
Oakley makes prescription wrap around sunglasses. My myopia is too severe to allow me to use the wrap around prescription but I use contacts and Juliet while riding. A bit of fogging on cold days when stopped. No distortion.

I prefer the metal frames over the plastic. I've broken many plastic frames while the Juliet, I've used for 5+ years.

For contacts, what about dailies or weeklies. Carry a spare in the medical kit. If something does fly in the eye and requires flushing, discard the contaminated lens and mount the new one.
 
Normal glasses are so cheap and fast to get in Japan I just buy 5000yen sets and ride with them.

I have wanted a set of Oakleys with Transition prescription lenses for ages, but almost cant warrant it (not that this has ever stopped me before). Will get some this year I reckon.

Being a speccy **** is a blessing in disguise for riding, especially in japan, as a set of workable specs with a bit of uv protection are available on every street corner and having to wear them means you always have eye protection.
 
"Speccy ****": I like that.

Thank you, all, for your ideas. I think I'll go to Zoff and try out their sporty glasses. If I like them, I'll buy them and see how they work out; if I don't, I'll obtain a prescription and try out Firmoo.
 
Get the Lasik surgery done,then you can wear whatever you want (that's what I did 10 years ago) I now need reading glasses but certainly no while riding:D
+1 for Lasik. Best money I ever spent.

My eyes have been very sensitive to bright sunlight ever since a skiing tumble (and loss of goggles) left me snow-blind for a couple of days back in '84. And I was fairly short-sighted. From that point on I had to have prescription sunglasses or photochromic glasses - an expensive business.

After the Lasik surgery I was able to throw all my glasses away, except for my Ray-Ban sunnies whose original lenses I had wisely kept. And now I'm free to wear whatever sunglasses life and fashion throw my way. (Oakley for the bike, otherwise Ray-Ban Predator.)

Like Stu, I'm probably approaching the point where I need reading glasses.

Not everyone is a suitable candidate for Lasik. But getting checked out is free. The slightly disturbing smell of your cornea being evaporated is well worth the benefit IMHO.

[edit]

LASIK (wikipedia)

Ginza Kinshi clinic (where I had my eyes zapped)
 
I would never ride without eye wear. I don't really like sun glasses, so I ride with my regular driving glasses. They protect my eyes from wind, dirt and insects. I would hate to have a fly or other insect hit my eyes at speed, or even worse, a small stone pitched by a car tyre.

Never had a problem with my glasses, even though they're not very large. Come to think of it, their frame is the only bit of titanium on my bike rides.
 
The slightly disturbing smell of your cornea being evaporated is well worth the benefit IMHO.

Ah, now this is good PR. Yes, I am so tempted. (Or so I keep telling myself. Curiously, the autohypnosis hasn't yet succeeded.)

. . . I ride with my regular driving glasses. They protect my eyes from wind, dirt and insects.

O-ho, I think you mentioned "Prius" before, but I infer that this was merely a codeword for something more along the lines of:

320px-Caterham_7_Roadsport_SV.jpg


Well, vehicle aside, how do your regular driving glasses differ from your more humdrum (having-dinner and watching-the-telly etc) glasses? (I'm not going to Zoff today as it's likely to be crowded, but I hope to go a bit later this week and I'd like to know what to look for.)

(On the subject of unexpected arrivals in one's line of sight, we probably have it easy in Japan; consider Россия.)
 
I would never ride without eye wear. I don't really like sun glasses, so I ride with my regular driving glasses. They protect my eyes from wind, dirt and insects. I would hate to have a fly or other insect hit my eyes at speed, or even worse, a small stone pitched by a car tyre.
I had a fly or similar bounce off my eye when I was doing about 40km/h once. I had to stop for quite a while as the pain was incredible. Now I never ride without glasses. During my recent move I realised I have 7 pairs, most of these come from local discount supermarkets where they cost the equivalent of about 800yen. I do have a posh pair for racing use etc.
I have also had eye surgery in one eye due to a cataract. Eye surgery is my ultimate terror (have you seen Un Chien Andalou :eek:) but it was completely painless & the results were astonishing.
 
I wear 1-day disposable contacts and cheap safety glasses when out on longer rides. I don't like wearing tinted glasses when I need to see small bits of debris in the road and couldn't find clear cycling glasses that were any better than some 600yen safety glasses.
 
I wear 'Nike 6020' Prescription glasses with transition lenses.
I mountain bike in them and I road ride with them. I have yet to have any issues with the glasses bouncing around on my face or with debris getting in my eyes.

The only time I can recall having an issue with my eyes, I was running and a truck drove by kicking up a small dust storm. I am not sure any glasses would have saved me at that point. My nose and throat were coated in the garbage as well.
 
There are three problems with cycling glasses:

1) Condensation in humid conditions. On low speeds like climbs your prespiration will fog up your lenses. I recently bought (half-price discount) glasses from Uvex, the ski goggles brand, with supposedly their "Supravision" coating preventing some condensation. Will have to wait for summer to see how this works.

2) Poor visibility in rain. Rain drops stick to the glass on the outside, making it hard to see. Again, more expensive brands claim they have hydrophobic coating, but I haven't had any good experience my self.

3) Scratching. You don't wear your glasses all the time: remove them during climbing, conbini breaks, on the train etc. Put them in you backpockets. Usually you don't have time to be very careful about it. Perhaps you wipe water with some sand from the road. Plastic glasses scratch quite easily, and this will hamper your vision while riding.

I would second the safety glasses or regular cheap sunglasses if conditions are not too demanding. In varying (wet/dry/dark/bright) conditions though, this may not be sufficient. Like all cycling gear, there is a lot of overpriced stuff that does not necessarily address above problems.
 
There are three problems with cycling glasses:

...snip...
2) Poor visibility in rain. Rain drops stick to the glass on the outside, making it hard to see. Again, more expensive brands claim they have hydrophobic coating, but I haven't had any good experience my self.
...snip

For the Oakley lenses, the claim is true. Water beads up and flows off very quickly. Better then getting an eye full of contaminated water.

I have a low cost pair of clear plastic lenses and frame for riding in the dark. However, it doesn't have that hydrophobic properties and in the wet turns into a smeared mess. If it was glass, I could use one of the waxes like RainX but with plastic, the alcohol in the applicator makes it crack. Anyone know of a good alternate?
 
For those wanting the Oakley hydrophobic effects on thier non Oakley lenses can actually purchase the "hydrophobic kit" at the Oakley stores - its a two part coating and very easy to apply.

Cost about 3,000 JPY and will do about 50 sets of glasses.
 
For those wanting the Oakley hydrophobic effects on thier non Oakley lenses can actually purchase the "hydrophobic kit" at the Oakley stores - its a two part coating and very easy to apply.

Cost about 3,000 JPY and will do about 50 sets of glasses.

Any glasses?

We formulated NANOCLEAR™ to be compatible with all lens and frame materials, so you can use it with any type of eyewear, including prescription glasses. Each kit is good for about 50 applications.

¥2,310

Must buy
 
Yep any glasses.
 
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