Fifty Plus (50+) - Prescription Lenses Question

Hello,

I wear progressive lens type of prescription glasses for close/reading & distance vision issues. I was wondring what some of the other folks here that have the same issues use.
I would like to get a nice pair of wrap around bicycling glasses but have no idea if progressive lenses are available in something like that. I imagine they would be fairly expensive to get made also.

The normal glasses I wear day to day are not good for riding. I have tried them, but they are uncomfortable and don't provide as much dust,bug,debris protection as the wrap around type of glasses would.

Any suggestions?
Thanks for any info.

I used to have vision like an eagle. Now all I have is hair that is feathery and white like a bald eagle.

I also have progressive lenses, I don't have a problem with mine, but during day rides I also have presription RayBans which really keep out dirt, dust etc.

I just ride blind in non-prescription biking glasses with interchangeable lenses. Altho that is probably illegal since I'm required to have vision correction to drive a vehicle.

My students call that kind of vision 'beer goggles'.

Progressive prescription wrap-around cycling glasses WOULD be cool...:D

Not sure why you would need the progressive lens during riding unless you are doing some reading. I have progressive lens but wear contacts with my far prescription for riding and use non prescription shades. I can easily read my computer which is on the bars and most of what I need to watch is in the distance. Now you may need your reading glasses for the menu when you are buying pie.

Ditto stonecrd, also, progressives have very limited peripheral focus (I've worn them for years). Better to get bifoculs. I've got Addidas Evil Eye glasses with inserts - which are too small for even bifoculs. Rudy Project has a lot of nice glasses with inserts, as does Bolle. See what your local optometrist can do for you. Also, lenses with prescription built-in are extremely expensive, and you can't change lenses with light changes. It seems like every ride I take I'm switching from clear to smoked. I priced a pair of Oakleys, and they were $400-500 w/ prescription lenses.

I got a pair of Smith wrap around glasses and had my optician put polarized lenses of my distance prescription in them. They work fine for riding and reading the computer. For detailed reading I have to push the glasses out of the way, which is a small hassel, but I sometimes have to do that even with my regular glasses with progressive lenses.
She told me that she could not put progressive lenses in such curved glasses and if she could they would have cost more than I wanted to spend. I have heard of other people who were able to do this, though.
I'm happy with what I have. If I could deal with wearing contacts, I think contacts and standard lenses would probably be even better. Someday I'm going to get brave enough to have the surgery and not have to deal with any of this.

You might want to check with sportsoptical.com (http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=4266) - that's what I did a year or two ago. Especially when it got cooler, going down hills at speed caused my eyes to tear when I wore my regular glasses or sunglasses.

I also wear 'progressive' lenses. I ended up with a pair of Rudy Project Rydons with bifocal inserts. This lets me switch the outer lenses independently of the insert. (I have a yellow for low light, pink for cloudy, and polarized brown for strong sunlight. Contrary to what I had thought originally, I use all of these lenses regularly). I probably could have gotten by with just regular Rx inserts, but I was concerned about reading maps, seeing the computer, etc. I've been really happy with this setup. Although it was not cheap, it was well worth the cost to me.

If you do want Rx lenses in the wraparound style (no insert), these guys can make them (they do this for pros).

The Adidas Evil Eye that Terex mentions are good too (be sure to get adjustable nosepiece with them - if you get Rx inserts, your lashes may brush the surface and an adjustable nosepiece will let you correct for that).

Hello,

I wear progressive lens type of prescription glasses for close/reading & distance vision issues. I was wondring what some of the other folks here that have the same issues use.
I would like to get a nice pair of wrap around bicycling glasses but have no idea if progressive lenses are available in something like that. I imagine they would be fairly expensive to get made also.

The normal glasses I wear day to day are not good for riding. I have tried them, but they are uncomfortable and don't provide as much dust,bug,debris protection as the wrap around type of glasses would.

Any suggestions?
Thanks for any info.

I used to have vision like an eagle. Now all I have is hair that is feathery and white like a bald eagle.

You might want to take a look at this thread from earlier in the year.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=197221&highlight=eyeglasses

The solution I chose (I'm very happy with it) are sports glasses with progressive lenses from my optician. The lenses are fixed, not inserts, and have a fairly pronounced curvature to them so they're kind of wraparound. They came with a clip-on polarized sunshade, which I can flip up during the shady portions of a ride (like redwood forest) or remove entirely on a very overcast day.

They're not as cool looking as RudyProject but I think they're actually better in terms of wraparound prescription solution.

The name is SunPro Rx but I've Googled them on the internet and haven't been able to find them, just got them at my local optician.

The progressive lenses have been great, especially the times I've flatted and really needed close vision.

Try http://www.sportrx.com/

I can still read the cyclo computer without glasses. I carry a set of cheap readers in my seat bag because otherwise I would never be able to find a hole in the tube. Otherwise I just wear cheapo safety glasses when riding.

One of these days I'm going to buy me a good pair of progressive Ray Bans.

I used to wear progressive lenses (pre surgery) and the only cycling glasses I found that had an insert that could be ground to my prescription were Rudy Project Kerosene's. I still use the glasses without the inserts after five years and two major crashes, one of which scratched the lenses beyond use.

I wear 3 way progressives. I also have the same prescription in sunglasses. My sunglasses are RayBan's with a slight degree of wrap around. Beyond that, my optometrist feels I would get distortion. The RayBans work well and I don't really experience any grit or glare coming in the sides. The thick frames are hard on glass frame mounted mirrors.

Thanks for all the information.
I can't wear contacts.
My close vision is worse then my distance so I do need some kind of progressive setup.
I hate blurry distance vision and with out my glasses for close vision I can't read the bike computer at all.
I will start looking into some of the suggestions you have given me.
Thanks Very Much.
Lou D.

"so it goes!", Kilgore Trout
Lou D.

Great sig!

We do doodily-do doodily-do doodily-do
what we must muddily-must muddily-must
Do doodily-do doodily-do doodily-do
'till we bust bodily bust bodily bust
- Bohannon

I can't wear contacts and am near blind without glasses at all.
I have a pair of cycling glasses (Tifosi) with prescription inserts. Told the optometrist what it was for, and she wrote me a bifocal prescription with a small lower section tuned for the cyclecomputer, the rest of the lens set for distance - they work great.

In the winter I wear normal bifocals with ski goggles over them - looks goofy, but doesn't fog.

Ditto on the RayBan's. They have a wrap around design that works pretty good. Large enough lense area to support progressive bifocals and the distance area is good when you look back over your shoulder. Before I got these I used non-prescription Home Depot safety sun glasses. $10.

If I break these RayBans I shall slit my wrists.

Another solution . . .
Pick out some large lense frames. Each lens in my riding glasses measures 2-1/4 x 2". They do not 'wrap around' but provide sufficient blockage of wind/sun and they are progressive with sunsensors. Works fine.
Also used the Bolle with inserts. Pricey, small inserts that did not allow bi- or progressive set up for lenses. Years ago Bolle's were $300 + cost of presription lenses in the inserts.

Rudy Project makes some wrap arounds that have a place for perscription behind the wrap a round lens... I've got a pair and they work as advertised. My only problem is I only put single vision in the perscription lenses..... I need progressive. I will get them re-done.....someday.

My soulution, although a little expensive .. well very expensive, is to have lasik surgery on your eyes. That will take care of distance. Then just buy a cheap pair of readers and keep them in your bag. Of course you could have one eye corrected for distance and the other for reading. I sampled what that would be like before the treatment and almost puked, but some people like it. You shouldn't be reading the newspaper while riding anyway.

Rudy Project makes some wrap arounds that have a place for perscription behind the wrap a round lens...
+1

My soulution, although a little expensive .. well very expensive, is to have lasik surgery on your eyes. That will take care of distance. Then just buy a cheap pair of readers and keep them in your bag. Of course you could have one eye corrected for distance and the other for reading. I sampled what that would be like before the treatment and almost puked, but some people like it. You shouldn't be reading the newspaper while riding anyway.

I wear contacts, and just slap a pair of polarized wraparounds on for riding. They aren't for everyone, though-- especially in our age group :o I use monovision lenses (as above), which means my left eye is for close work and my right for distance. Yeah- it takes a little getting used to, but once you've done it, you'll never go back- unless of course, you can afford Lasik!

I used to wear soft contacts and Oakleys. The problem was they would often dry out and at the start of races or rides my vision would be really wierd for the first couple of laps until they settled in. I once did a kilometer time trial at the San Diego track, and one of my lenses popped out from the effort. Talk about "balls out."

The best thang I ever did was to get "no-touch" laser surgery done. They slightly over-corrected, so I need to use +1 reading glasses in room light, but outdoors everythang is just fine, and far vision is extremely crisp (I had been quite nearsighted all my life). It's even corrected my astigmatism (for which I had to use toric contacts).

No-touch is a two-step laser process. In the first step the laser burns off the thin covering over the lens. In the second step the laser reshapes the lens. It's quite expensive - in Canada, it's about $1500 per eye - but you're covered for any corrections or touch-ups that may be required in the future. Recovery time is a bit longer than with Lasik and can be a little painful, but the result is very solid eyes - you can even take up boxing and not have to worry about a hit in the eye messing up the operation.

Lasik is much cheaper, $200-500 per eye, but in the first step, they use a scalpel to cut a flap to the lens. Step 2 is the same, the laser then shapes the lens, but then you have to let the flap heal, and the flap sometimes "comes unglued." The thought of a scalpel cutting into my eye makes me very nervous and is a big reason I decided on No-Touch.

If I need to read fine print on maps, I just carry reading glasses in my jersey pocket.

- L.

I also have progressive lenses, I don't have a problem with mine, but during day rides I also have presription RayBans which really keep out dirt, dust etc.

+1 on the prescription RayBans. I had my eyeglass guy install cable bows that hook around the bottom of my ears on mine so that they stay in place better. I use a Take-a-Look mirror on the left bow and everything stays solidly in place.

I've talked to some folks who use prescription lens holders inside wrap-around glasses. They told me that the lens holder is so close to your face that it fogs up easily. I sweat a lot and tend to have fogging issues anyway so I decided those weren't for me.