General Cycling Discussion - Eyeglasses

Recently I was diagnosed with eye ulcers, (sounds worse than it is) and have been forbidden by my optometrist from wearing my contacts for a month. So I'm riding with eyeglasses now and find them very annoying on my rides. I have to wear a strap to keep them from falling off, and the sunglasses I clip onto them don't protect my eyes as fully as my old Oakleys. How many of you ride with eyeglasses and do you have any tips?

I had an eye ulcer once. It was very worrying, Ive had no reoccurance, but I wont wear contacts.
If your specs are falling off, then they are not the right size or shape. The ear-tabs can be bent more by the opticians. I have no problem with regular presciption specs. These days I use those bendy metal ones, and chose a model with a large area of glass, not the narrow trendy ones.
I also have a set of presciption sunglasses. You can often get these free with your normal glasses from the large chain opticians.
When they dye the shades, insist on a neutral tone, and avoid red/brown tint, this is a horrible colour to ride with.

I wear my glasses only. I have tried contacts, but found they dry up and that is annoying. I had the problem of glasses falling off, but found that to be a fitment problem. One thing I have thought about doing my self is getting a pair of Bolle Parole with the prescription insert.

I've always ridden with eyeglasses, using a strap to keep them on my head. I recently got a pair of cycling glasses with interchangeable lenses and prescription inserts, and I really like them... but it's relatively expensive to go this route. Too much for just a month, I'd think.

Available in the US, and probably everywhere, are sunglasses that are like big plastic goggles that actually fit right over most regular eyeglasses. I don't know if they'd interfere with a helmet, and you'd probably need to use a strap with them, too, but it might work better than clip-ons as a temporary cycling solution.

Owning a pair of prescription sunglasses could be a good thing on general principles also, I suppose.

RichC

I have worn glasses for 50 years or thereabouts. Your glasses should NOT be falling off. They are not fitted correctly. I also have a pair of polarized sunglasses ground to the same prescription, which I always wear when riding.

I tried contacts. Simply too dry in Colorado. I wore them for a couple of years, and just got tired of the constant irritation.

I also have worn glasses for several years. Have not had much problem with them sliding off. On bright sunny days I wear a set of polarized sunglasses. Again no noticable slippage problems.
:crash:
:beer:

I'm going to try my best on this. With your glasses maybe you could put sun glasses on and I think they would be easier and better.


Cheers.:beer:

i wear oakley prescriptions and oakley prescription sunglasses that work fine. i'm not mtb'ing but for the roads on my commute they fit snug. i've worn these 2 pairs of frames and have gone rafting, including getting dunked over the side, as well as snowboarding and they've never slipped or fallen off. only when i got completely doused in a high-pressure water fight did the oakleys start slipping down the bridge of my nose. and that was with those pvc pipe water guns!

bt

I have used prescription eyeglasses for over 40 years and I have no problem, my glasses slipping, but sometimes they do slip if I have a heavy perspiration, when riding I use my sunglass and its doble vista it work fine for me,have never use a contact lens, i was wandering if at this late stage in my life, if it would be okay to wear a contact lense

I've been wearing glasses for 25. I don't like wearing them when I ride for a couple of reasons:

1. Peripheral vision is poor.

2. They do slide down my nose when I sweat, even though they are properly fitted.

3. Ventilation is bad and they fog.

4. I can't get decent clip-ons for them.

5. Most people's sweat is very acidic. You produce a lot of sweat when you ride [if you don't, you're not working]. Sweat eats through things like metallic frames and frame fittings. It particularly ikes to dine on temple hinges.

No thanks. I'll wear contacts.

I've been wearing glasses for about 25 years but rarely wear my everyday frames for cycling. I tried contacts and that didn't work well because of an astigmatism. Back to glasses. What to do? I decided Oakley perscriptions were out of my price range (would love a pair but they only come in single vision not bifocal which I need).

I finally decided to purchase the Bolle Parole frame and the optical insert. The frame came at the time with a soft case, and a total of 4 pairs of interchangeable lenses (orange, clear, mirror-dark and brown for different lighting conditions). I don't know if the newer models for 2002 have all those lenses as part of the deal. The optical insert frame was kind of expensive for what it is - a clear frame that snaps inside the sunglass frame. I took it and my perscription to the local eyeglass shop and they put in the lenses for about $75. A friend of mine that has been trying different solutions to the same problem just got a pair with trifocals and paid about $100. Mine are single vision and when and if I get a replacement I'll go with the bifocal next time. Hard to see maps and cue sheets when you on a ride without the closeup vision. You can do mailorder for the frames and some catalogs will even farm out the perscriptions for you (Nashbar and Performance both do it.)

Hope this helps.

I always wear my glasses, the only time they ever fall off is when I crash hard, or roll through a crash fast. but as far as normal riding I haven't had a problem. I tried contacts and love them ((as long as I'm wearing shades) but since both eyes are a diff Px
they cost to much for an unemployed biker :lol:

Well, I'm gonna live up to my name here! I wear glasses with a strap and clipon sunglasses. When sunny and especially in the rain, I have found the visor that clips on to my helmet to be just the thing to cut out the glare (and rain) that shines in just above your glasses.

No doubt the cycling glasses would eliminate the problems, but I can't handle the pricetag in the near to late, early, distant future! ;)

I wear light weight flexon NIKE brand frames with plastic lenses, and photo gray for sun protection. My glasses never slip, or slide no matter how much I sweat. Sorry, I have never rideen with them off road though.

That's the only problem I have with my glasses--rain...I have to take them off completely to see properly.

Otherwise, they don't fall down my nose because I use straps to hold them on. In fact, at one time I simply linked three rubber bands together with tiny loops in the ends to hook on the temples; this was more comfortable (and more invisible) than any glasses strap I've ever used.

I'd like to know how everyone keeps their glasses free from raindrops.

AlphaGeek, I have noticed the ability of polaroid sunglasses to improve seeing in the rain while driving, since they block the glare that makes the water harder to see through.

I was wondering about "Rain-X," that wipe-on product that allows drivers to see through their windshields without using wipers, but I was afraid my plastic lenses would be damaged by it.

My husband rides a Harley and what the guys do is use something like Pledge (wax polishing for wood) on their windshields so they can see in the rain.

I have been wearing glasses since I was 5. While I had many problems as a child I don't find the same problems now. I find my helmet alone helps keep them in place at times. :)

I hate wearing glasses, but contacts are not an option, because. . . just trust me. Neither am I a candidate for laser surgery, because. . . just trust me.

So glasses it is. Last year I raced XC. I crashed often. All the time. With regularity. Racing and training. and never lost my glasses once.

I hate sweat on my glasses. When my eyes tear, I blame it on my glasses. When mud gets on them I fear scratching my $400, no line, progressive bifocals when I clean them. I worry about face planting.

My glasses don't slow me down as much as the extra 10 lbs. around my middle. As a matter of fact, my glasses don't slow me down at all.

Originally posted by outashape
My husband rides a Harley and what the guys do is use something like Pledge (wax polishing for wood) on their windshields so they can see in the rain.
Eureka! I'll try it...

I ware glasses - have for years. IMHO all glasses are a pain, but necessary for me.

Early Saturday I was out riding. It was sunny and bight at the beginning of the valley . As I was coming down a small hill I saw a beautiful sight. The valley had a very defined fog bank running through it. The rising sun was hitting the fog bank which made it glow orange. What A sight!

Then I got to the fog bank and my visibility went down to 50 ft. I should have had a light, but I never imagined that the sunny ride could change so suddenly My glasses started fogging up and I had to use my fingers as windshield wipers. The fog would have been fun to ride through if I didn’t have glasses. Water was dripping of my visor and helmet, and my shirt was wet. After an hour I came out of the bank into bight sun. Very interesting ride.

I have an interesting problem -- incipient corneal opacity [yep, cataracts]. I actually wonder how incipient it is, since my opthalmologist's best guess is that it was caused by the incubator lights used to keep me warm when I was born prematurely 38 years ago. Right now, it's nto really much of a problem -- I see halos around lights at night -- except with glare. I am very, very sensitive to glare; so much so that, if my reading light is on my side rather than behind me, I can't read wearing my glasses.

COnsequently, the best option for me is contact lenses with UV filtering -- they provide some anti-glare protection -- and wrap sunglasses. I wear orange lenses on overcast days. The problem with glasses, even if they have treated lenses, is that peripheral light refracts in my cornea and tends to blind me. This can be a problem when cycling.

The good news is that I am a candidate for free corneal replacement surgery [covered by national medical insurance] when the opacity gets bad enough. I'm not there yet, but my doc says that it could happen overnight. The good news is that I have an open-door with him because of this, and I'm told that I would be off the bike for a week, max.

After several friends had successful laser surgery I finally had the courage to proceed myself. I called the Montreal doctor they recommended. At the time you could only do one eye at a time in the states, so most people I knew were going to Montreal where you could get both eyes done with one visit. I was psyched!

During the telephone interview I was told I was not a candidate. I see double as part of my vision deficiency. The surgery would make me see perfectly clear, but I'd still see two of everything, which would require glasses to correct. Ugh!