Southern California - Oakley Photochromic Lenses

Anyone of you guys and gals in SoCal riding with, and loving any of the Oakley Photochromic Lenses?

In particular, I am interested in the VR50 Photochromic Vented Lens (Radar Path). I hate the blue frame that it comes with, and my intent is to sell that frame on eBay, if I do buy the sunglasses (lenses not sold separately).

I have been interested in a photochromic lens that can be reasonably adequate for our SoCal light spectrum for sometime now, but I have not seen any that excites me.

Thanks for all responses.

Anybody riding with any photochromic lens at all, even if not Oakley's?

Please comment on your experience.

Thanks.

Don't even know what they are, but click here for some BF opinions & experiences (https://www.google.com/search?q=bikeforums.net+photochromic&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a).

I have a pair of Radar Paths which I wear with the gold iridium (http://www.oakley.com/products/4848) vented lenses (cold weather) and the red iridium (http://www.oakley.com/products/4848) lenses (warm weather).

Of the two, I prefer the red iridium, and I would wear it year-round if I could. I have become accustomed to the gold iridium, and I rode with that lens today. At first, however, I did not like the color, as it made everything look like we were having a brush-fire nearby. I would look around, and the colors of everything as transmitted by the gold lens made me wonder why I wasn't smelling smoke. Maybe the color you like is different, but to my eye it looks very similar.

Anyway, the unvented lens fogs up quite a bit for me once the weather is in the <60F range. So I reluctantly put on the gold vented lenses when it cools off. But again, my eyes seem to be more comfortable with the red iridium, and the only reason I switch lenses is because of the fogging.

I have some Jawbones with vented VR50 lenses. They have become my go-to lenses for anything from cloudy to moderately bright sun. IMO, they don't get dark enough for bright summer days, but they're what I use for probably 75% of my rides. I just wish that they had a polarized version, too. For the really bright summer days, I switch to a set of polarized fire iridium lenses. At first, I thought that I would have issues with them being non-vented. I haven't had a problem yet, since I use them mostly in warm weather, when fogging isn't an issue.

I think that the VR50s are a very good, all-around lens. They seem to "transition" slightly faster than other, similar glasses I've used: Smith & Rudy. I don't seem to detect any distortion and the "hydrophobic" treatment appears to work well. Since they don't have a color tint, contrast, shadow detail etc. remain unaffected- but they do a good job with killing glare and shading your eyes.

Tifosi fototec...hi speed red,forget the model (have 2 pairs) fit well,don't fog when moving, protect well, fotochromic coating works well, don't really notice it in use.sudden transitions from light to dark shade(i.e. tunnel) still take a moment for your eyes to adjust, on late afternoon rides directly into sun they could be darker. after sun sets theyre a bit dark,so i remove them. I was happy enough with the first pair, I bought second pair :)
retail for 60-70...pretty ez to find discounted to 40- . FWIW Oakleys are great, but I can't comment on their photocromic coatings as I have no experience with them

I have some Jawbones with vented VR50 lenses. They have become my go-to lenses for anything from cloudy to moderately bright sun. IMO, they don't get dark enough for bright summer days, but they're what I use for probably 75% of my rides. I just wish that they had a polarized version, too. For the really bright summer days, I switch to a set of polarized fire iridium lenses. At first, I thought that I would have issues with them being non-vented. I haven't had a problem yet, since I use them mostly in warm weather, when fogging isn't an issue.

I think that the VR50s are a very good, all-around lens. They seem to "transition" slightly faster than other, similar glasses I've used: Smith & Rudy. I don't seem to detect any distortion and the "hydrophobic" treatment appears to work well. Since they don't have a color tint, contrast, shadow detail etc. remain unaffected- but they do a good job with killing glare and shading your eyes.

I also use the Photochromic lenses on my Jawbones. The lenses are good from night to cloudy conditions. I prefer my Ice or Black Iridium for anything else. The VR50's aren't very effective when it's bright but do a good job in moderate to low lighting conditions. I would recommend them over clear lenses any day.

I also use the Photochromic lenses on my Jawbones. The lenses are good from night to cloudy conditions. I prefer my Ice or Black Iridium for anything else. The VR50's aren't very effective when it's bright but do a good job in moderate to low lighting conditions. I would recommend them over clear lenses any day.

This is the limiting factor with all the photochromic lenses I've seen, in that, they usually are good at one extreme and lousy at the other. I've been waiting for close to three years for the market to come up with something that can be dark enough for sunny days, work on overcast/cloudy days, and yet be decent for early morning rides. I guess I'll continue to wait.