mgw4jc

I wear sunglasses when I ride, partially for the sun protection, but more for wind protection. If I don't wear sunglasses, my eyes get dried out and red, unless I were to consciously blink excessively. However, when it is drizzly out like this morning, I tend to be okay without protection and my eyes don't dry out.

Tinted sunglasses are not darkness friendly. I've been using some Smith frames with interchangeable lenses that I picked up at an REI garage sale for $10 a few years ago. I use clear-ish lenses for the ride in and tinted for the ride home. But the lenses are showing signs of age and use, so I'm hunting for something else.

I'm not sure if it's easier to just buy a clear lens pair of glasses and simply swap those with regular tinted sunglasses or to get interchangeable lenses again.

What do you do? (note, I don't have contacts or prescription glasses)

modernjess

I always wear eye protection for safety and because my eyes water excessively in the wind. I have interchangeable lenses on my Oakley's, dark, medium, and clear. For back ups, I have old scratched up pairs of Smiths and Oakley's that have the same 3 lens set ups. I use ski goggles when it gets below 20F and which have a light amber tint, not really ideal for night time but reasonable, and provide good contrast on grey and snowy days.

Jaywalk3r

I have two pair of interchangeable lens Smiths. I generally keep dark lenses in one and clear lenses in the other, and just swap the frame/lens combos out as needed.

bigbenaugust 

I either have a pair of Nashbar photochromics that do okay at night, or I carry two pairs of 3M safety glasses, one smoke-tinted for daylight and the other clear for dark/dim. The photochromics look better, but the safety glasses give better coverage, because I am sick and tired of debris coming up from the bottom and sides.

caloso

Smith Pivlocks. Love the rose lens for commuting.

gregjones

Always some sort of eye protection. At night, clear shooting glasses. Remington, I think.

nayr497

Yep, I'm in the "always wearing something on my eyes when on a bicycle." I need glasses to see, generally commute in eyeglasses. Any road or cross or longer commute rides, contacts with shades.

I love sunnies, so I have many pairs, lots of lens tints and frame styles.

I recently picked up some Rudy Project frames with two lenses, including some photochromic lenses. BEST bike investment I've made in a long time. They're AWESOME for early morning rides when the sun comes up and I want them clear at the start, darker by the finish. Also great for evening rides that begin in sun, end in dusk.

And, if I'm only going to wear/carrying one pair, these will get me through all but the brightest sun and are nearly clear at night.

In the past I've done the budget option of safety glasses. Some of them are pretty darn cool looking these days!

TransitBiker

Julbo colorado in daytime.

Looking for clear goggles for winter nights.

- Andy

KenshiBiker

Rudy Project Rydon. Interchangeable lenses - clear at night, polarized photochromic grey during variable lighting, laser black during full sun - with a Rx insert so I can actually see the road without squinting and the Garmin without getting real close.

no1mad 

I've heard yellow works wonders at night/low-light conditions and does good job in aiding contrast.

dbikingman

Put me down for always wear. I wear clear at night/dusk. I wear contacts and one eye is especially sensitive. A few years ago I had a problem with a contact fitting properly and if I looked backwards over my shoulder there was a good chance I'd cause the contact to flip out of my eye. It has since been fixed, but I value my eyes.

Sirrus Rider

Bolle Parole with RX adapter. Gunmetal for Bright conditions and Citrus/yellow for night/lowlight and the time of the year when the sun is less intense..

lost_in_endicot

I just wore my eyeglasses this summer. Now that I'm back on 1st shift, and the morning ride is getting to be a bit cold, I've started wearing clear 3M safety glasses. My eyes don't tear up when I go down the hill, and the glasses don't seem to fog up as bad as my eyeglasses do.

thenomad

always.

Northwestrider

Day or night , I always wear glasses for sun, wind, dust, or bug protection.

jgadamski

I have a condition called Blepheritis (not sure about spelling) which means blocked tear ducts. I use a soft cosmetic brush soaked in warm water and baby shampoo, close my eyelids and scrub my eyes to unblock them. It's not perfect, but it helps. I am mentioning this as I see several mention similar conditions and I find this helpful.

chaadster

Dux Helm with quick change, retractable visor for me, and the handy pouch of lenses let's me keep the right lens for the conditions at hand.

koolerb

Honestly, for all my evening rides this year I've been wearing a clear pair of safety glasses I got for free. They don't look much different from real bike glasses, and I'm not too worried about UV protection in the late afternoon. As long as I'm not riding straight into the sun, which I wouldn't do anyway. But yeah, I always wear something to protect my eyes on the bike.

Bike Gremlin

Sports Eyewear - active vario - black mat | uvex sports

They go from transparent to black in about 15-30 seconds. VERY nice. So I just have one pair of glasses - even when dark catches me on the way from work. Wind, debris, bugs - glasses are a must for me.

nkfrench 

I have $4 wal*mart safety glasses in clear, amber, and sunglass tints.
I promised my eye doc I would never ride without them.
The amber is nice for reducing headlight glare. I prefer the clear if I'm not in traffic.
I've skidded out and slid on my face. The plastic lens and the rest of my face got scuffed up, but no harm to my eyes.

In low light or in the dark, insects abound. The headlights attract them and they splat about eye level.

Any time of day there are no-see-ums on the MUP along the river. Even with the glasses, I ride with one eye closed to keep at least one eye available in case a bug gets into the other one.

I have $40 glasses with interchangeable lenses but they look identical to the $4 glasses and it's a nuisance to stop on a cold group ride to change lenses. It's much easier to just carry two pair and swap at dusk.

velocity

+1

no motor?

I wear prescription glasses now and wear them all the time when I'm riding. Before that I wore contact lenses, and would wear wrap around sunglasses when it was bright out and some wrap around safety glasses I got at Lowes when it was dark.

cyccommute 

I never found that to be the case. The yellow does improve contrast but it tends to make blacks "blacker". When I wore yellow lenses, potholes became inky shadows that appeared bottomless. That's even with a powerful lighting system. Same with rose colored lenses. Both make yellows brighter but suppress blues and blacks. The really weird thing with both is that when you take them off, the world looks gray and blue for about 10 minutes.

I stick with clear lenses for night time.

the_tool_man

I never ride without eyewear, for comfort and safety. For my birthday last year, my daughter bought me a pair of these:

Radius Matte Black | Tifosi Optics Sunglasses

I generally wear the "red" lenses, which are really just a pale pink tint. They're just dark enough for sunny days, but not too dark when it's cloudy and wet. At night (rare for me) I swap in the clear lenses. I wipe them with Rain-x occasionally so they shed water droplets. I wore them in a couple of rain-soaked half-century and century rides last summer, and had no issues seeing through them.

bigfred 

I'm another with wind sensitized eyes that water excessively without protection. So, for dark hours riding and inclement weather I have a few sets of clear safety glasses hanging in the garage. They also get used for the occassional word working project:-)