choteau

Decided at 58 I need sunglasses for riding, never worn them before on a bike. Read all I could find on here about brands, styles, etc. So... what should have been an easy quick trip today turned into a marathon of sorts. Six stores in temps up to 104f and it seems my face is not "standard" and I have fitting issues, Ok... worked around that and every pair I tried from cheeep up to $200 Oakleys distort my vision and I lose depth perception out at 75 feet or so. The polarized ones distort the worse, optician said I was the 3rd person who had the same problem...... in the 15 years she's worked. Arrrggghhh.

baron von trail 

I wear a clear safety goggle and have a visor on my helmet. Seems to do the trick.

peterws

And me, but I recently got some polarized sunglasses to use in the car, which wipe out that annoying reflection you get, driving into the sun. It took what could have been a serious accident to persuade me to do that.

But I`d never use `em for cycling. A visor is essential, imo. Those on peaked caps (tennis players, rally drivers etc) are best.

cccorlew

I love my Oakleys. But the polarized lenses didn't work for me at all. they made everything look fake 3D.
I have bifocal lenses that were made by Hoya and not Oakley. I live in them.
You know that your dealer has magic ways to warp teh frames and stems a bit to fit better, right?

Good luck.

baron von trail 

Someone told me once--I never looked it up, but I bought the line--that sunglasses actually damage your eyes because they dilate the pupil which then allows damaging UV rays to get into the eyes. Best is to squint and use something to bock glare.

That said, I do have sunglasses in the car to use if the sun is super bright, like mid-day. But, more often than not, I don't put them on.

Viking55803

Optically ground glass lenses, like Ray-bans, will not distort your vision unless you have some problem I don't understand.

Hangtownmatt

This is only true if you wear sunglasses that do not properly block UV rays.

John E

UV blockage is indeed the central issue, and some polarizing sunglasses do a poor job of this.

Most literature I read recommends UV-blocking sunglasses.

Three years ago, my ophthalmologist told me I was developing cataracts. When I saw him last week, he commented that he was surprised that they had not progressed at all during the ensuing period. The only change I made was a new pair of glasses -- Altair Ultra-Clip frames with a magnetic sunglass attachment. The clip-ons and/or the lenses themselves evidently blocked UV better than my previous 12-year-old Easy-Clip system.

I have a brand new incentive to delay the development of cataracts -- the hope that lanosterol will eventually get FDA approval as an alternative to today's lens replacement surgery.

osco53

Ray Bans,, Always because cataract surgery is no fun I hear..

Porschefan

It's definitely not "fun," but overall it was a quick and easy procedure for me. And what a difference it made....I guess I had just slowly gotten used to a kind of smoggy haze. When they took off the eye patch the day after the first eye was done, it was as though someone had turned the lights on. When I saw that I couldn't wait to get the second eye done.

STP

Garfield Cat

I recently had new sun glasses made for me. But its not for cycling; its for regular wear and driving. The latest thing is both UV and Blue Light. Here's some thing on blue light:

Review of Optometry® > Continuing Education > The Lowdown on Blue Light : Good vs Bad, and its Connection to AMD

jeromephone

I have had Rx sunglasses for the last 30 years and think they are worth the money. If you are a fisherman as well as a biker then the polarized may be the way to go. I am now in the stage were I need a tri focal lens and I don't think that off the shelf glasses would work.

tg16

I always had trouble running and biking with my prescription glasses and sunglasses; however, the Ray Bans worked best. I finally gave up and switched to contacts. My depth perception and peripheral vision is better and the non prescription Ray Bans work the best. I also found the Oakleys and Maui Jims to cause problems with depth and distortion.

John E

Your story sounds like Claude Monet's -- the formation of cataracts reportedly impacted his painting style.

Porschefan

Interesting! The difference was dramatic. Since they only do one eye at a time, for obvious reasons, I had about 6-months with one bad and one good eye. The cataract made it look like one of the very worst brown, hazy, LA smog, kind of days. These replacement lenses are supposed to be good for the rest of my life. Anyway, back to the the scheduled programming....

STP

rootboy 

Thanks for the heads up on this, John. I hadn't heard of Lanesterol before. And have a problem developing in my left.
Wonder how long before, and if, it will be approved for use on hoomans.

On sunglasses, have worn Ray Bans with prescription lenses for forty five years. But last few years have worn Maui wrap-arounds, as I fish more than cycle.

TheManShow

About 1992, 1994ish I purchased a pair of Sun Glasses from Performance in Fair Oaks, CA (their first shop in Sacramento, CA) so this year I need a NEW LENSE for their house brand sunglasses, I call Performance and find out after a couple e-mail with pictures they no longer suport this product with replacement lenes.

The lady I am e-mailing tells me to send in the old sunglasses for a credit, so I bite at the offer. Apprently Performance keep old records, and in the mean time I buy a pair of their house brand sunglasses with three different lenses.

About a week ago I get a Performance Gift Card for the cost of the returned glasses, plus my postage. Wonder why I like Performance like I love LL BEAN.,

choteau

After a few more stops to look at and try on MORE sunglasses and tinted safety glasses, I went to Performance Cycle (again). Took a new pair Tifosi Seeks out of the box, and case, wiped them clean, put them on, and WOW there is no distortion. Paid my money and walked out wearing them. If the clerk had done that the first time, I wouldn't have spent $30 on gas and lost 4 hours of my life......

MarkND

I was just going to mention Tifosi. I have Tifosi Kilos that I bought a few years ago that I really like for biking. I paid $30 for them on close-out, and they came with extra lenses. I also have a pair of Oakleys, and a couple pairs of Smiths (best clarity, but the lenses are glass), and I don't feel like I'm taking a step down when I wear the Tifosis. Good quality for a good price. My favorite lenses are rose tinted and lighten or darken depending on the brightness. A good quality when riding trails.

Mark

Mountain Mitch

I always wear sunnies when it is bright out. Comfort and cataract risk are the main issues to me. As a long time corrective lense wearer I know you'd be surprised how much your eyes can adjust to glasses; so those glasses you tried on may not be a real problem.

It it can be hard (and costly) to get polarized corrective lenses around here.

My main issue with sunglasses is mountain biking where I can end up in very dark woods very quickly. I've never tried transitional lenses but I've heard so many horror stories about them I'm reluctant to do so.

ColaJacket

Right now, I just have a pair of motorcycle sunglasses that cost $20 that I wear. Actually, I have 3 pair. The scratched up ones that I wear while cycling, so I don't worry if something happens to them. Another pair that I normally wear (both frames are black), and a back-up pair (sliver frames) that I haven't worn, yet. But I got the last pair, because the place that I got the first two pair was going out of business. I would have gotten more, but that was all they had. I can't remember the brand name, but the style is Barcelona.

But I'll definitely keep these in mind when I need a new pair.

GH

Monoborracho

I wear progressives bifocals during the day with a clip on sunglass.

I tried Wal-Mart sunglasses bifocal (non-progressive) for about $175, only in brownish tint, not too bad but not a set of Oakleys.

Finally gave in and bought a set of Wiley X with bifocal at my optical doctor/shop......$$$$$. Very good performance and vision, but sit a bit close to my face and eyelashes sometimes touch.

Polarized glasses suck for bicycling. You can't read the Garmin or other computer.

andr0id

Nor do the plastics used by Oakley, Smith and all the other quality makers.

The OP's eyes might be dilating due to the reduction in light transmission though which will change his visual perception.

No different than trying to read a menu in a dark restaurant vs. outdoors. Same eyes, different f stop.

dbg

I've been OK with cheap-ish Performance sunglasses. I consider them largely disposable but nicely functional. I don't like dark tints because you end up blind when you move from super bright sunshine into a dark shaded area (tree tunnels, etc). I use mild yellow or orange tints, and largely need them only for bug protection (don't want a bug in the eye on a fast decent). I only use expensive prescription glasses for driving. I don't want to lose them while on a bike. (I'm lucky to not need much correction -so I don't use prescription glasses on the bike)

bbbean 

FWIW, I'm thrilled with my Rudy Project glasses. These are the Arpoon half frame, and not only are the comfortable and lightweight with prescription transitions lenses that adjust for light conditions, they also protected my eyes during an unfortunate incident that caused me to skid down the road on my face at 20+ mph. You can't see it very well in the picture, but both lenses had major scrapes that would have been on me if I hadn't had the glasses on.

FWIW, SportRX (the company that sold me the glasses and made the lenses) replaced the lenses free of charge. Great service - I'll buy my next pair of glasses from them.

BB