Rotty

I had a look at some sunglasses in a bike shop the other day. I believe they were Specialized brand, some with the words Adaptalite on them. They're probably ripping me off, cause they had about 8 different Specialized sunglasses and they were all $160.

$160 is probably expensive for anything but what do you guys think?

Is that brand even good? If not what do you recommend? I'm looking for lenses that adjusts the light coming through.

cyclist2000

a quick sanity check, I found these at REI, photochromatic, $60.

but expensive sunglasses cost over $150, look at oakleys

without knowing the exact model you were looking at, its hard to determine if its over priced.

I personally don't pay over $100 for a pair of sunglasses except for prescription transitions.

Dolamite02

Though I'm not familiar with that particular model, Specialized is absolutely a good brand. And from my research on shades (I'm on the market for some too) $160 is about right for them. They're obviously not selling them at cost, but with a reasonable profit margin, yeah, I'd say $160 is pretty normal for what you were looking at. I'd encourage you to look into pairs with interchangeable lenses so you can use them in different riding conditions. Though the price point you're at happens to be about mine as well, other folks will tell you to get some cheapos from the gas station. Different strokes for different folks. Buy what's going to make you happy. Your posting here suggests you're already doing this, but be sure and research a little so you know exactly what you're getting and why.

Happy Trails

sooprvylyn

$160 is WAY too much for a pair of shades unless they are prescription. Seriously, you can get polarized shatter proof glasses at any athletic store for about $20. and when you lose or break them you can go buy another pair. Seriously $160? I never understood people who pay those kind of prices for a pair of shades, rediculous.

aadhils

I spend $1200 on a tripod for my camera...

ddez

If you drove over 100000 a year for a living you would change your mind on that. Or were a prof. pilot for that matter.
However not sure id want to spend that for a bike where one is getting grit and bugs etc. on them.

xtrajack

I personally wouldn't pay that for sunglasses, unless they were prescription lenses. However, I did pay about $135 for a kickstand.

wstandis

Oooooooooooooooo must have three really awesome legs

BlazingPedals

They came pre-shaved.

CNY James

I have a pair of Ray-Bans (non prescription) that cost me somewhere in the neighborhood of $200. Well worth it, they have served me well over the 7 years that I've had them. The finish on the lenses and frame is as new, they havent bent or distorted, etc. I have dropped them on hard surfaces and it didnt scratch my lenses. If they got lost/stolen tomorrow, I'd replace them with the same pair.

Now, that said, I'm cautious about using them while riding. If a rock hits them, the lenses arent shatter resistant, only scratch resistant. If they somehow fell off in the middle of a ride, who knows. I do wear them from time to time but prefer not to.

prathmann

OTOH, I have a pair of prescription glasses that I've had for 6 years that also still look new with no scratches despite being dropped many times. I wear them every day (basically whenever I want to be able to see things more than a couple feet away) and certainly on every bike ride. Cost was $8. I would also opt to replace them with the same make if they were lost.

StephenH

I used to wear sunglasses when I wore contacts. What I found was that I never wore out a pair of sunglasses. I'd break them or lose them or something like that. Also, having tried on lots of sunglasses, I couldn't find that the better ones seemed any better than the cheap ones. So I wound up buying them at Kmart (in the olden days) then Walmart, and the last few pairs at Academy, all in the $5-$15 range.

As a rule of thumb, I found that the coolest designs were the worst fit. I must have an uncool face or something.

Anyway, I'd go buy cheap ones and use the extra $150 for something neater than sunglasses. But that's just me.

nahh

$160 isn't THAT bad, but if I was going to spend that much i'd get Oakley's.

frankenmike 

^^^ Wow, prathmann- 8 bucks for prescription shades! Must have an awesome vision plan. I bought some prescription M-frames for over 300 bucks in Y2K. That's about 30 bucks per year so far, and I still use them. I broke the frame in 2002, Oakley had me send them in and gave me a replacement, no questions asked.

nahh

a sweet CF one?

DX-MAN

I have a hard enough time justifying $16 for shades, much less $160. But then, I would need prescription inserts, or clip-ons (run between $10-$15), and I've found exactly NONE that I like... so i do without.

spwelton

Yeah I'm clumsy and lose things often. A pair of $160 sunglasses, I just cannot justify. $15 now, that's more like it

Rotty

I'm glad most everyone thinks that 160 bucks is too much for a pair of sunglasses. It was just a thought in my head than a serious consideration. Though the glasses I did see looked pretty swanky.

@cyclist2000: thanks for that rec, I'm strongly considering getting a pair of those.

Loose Chain

I use Ray Bans, flying, driving, boating or cycling.

JMallez

I've always heard the cheap sunglasses can damage eyesight either by allowing UV through, fading, lens imperfections, blurring, etc. I purchased Oakley's for around $140 i think, good quality.

StephenH

If you'll notice the tags on the sunglasses, most (but not all) cheap sunglasses do block UV. Actually, that's not that hard to do; making products that transmit UV is harder than making products that block it. Fading, I never noticed, and unless you use the same pair for 5 years, I can't see that it would be an issue. Imperfections, blurring, couldn't really see any problems with those, either.

Doug5150

Non-prescription sunglasses use less than $2 of materials and coatings, no matter who makes them.
It's a scam involving fools and their money. The same factories that churn out the high-dollar ones also make $1 generics, often with the same materials and right out of the same molds.

Start shopping on the cheap end, buy whatever is comfortable and forget about the price tag.
If you find one you really like--buy a few at a time, use one until it gets scratched, and then toss it in the trash and grab a new pair.
~

ddez

OP if you really want to sort it out and find out if some are better, the optometrist is the one to ask. Ive done my research and have my answer. You ask what we each use, Serengetti's are what i wear for driving for a living for over 40 years, through hundreds of thousands of miles of blizzards, fog, rain and sun. My optometrist says if you have "cheap eyes wear cheap glasses". However some sunglasses are expensive only cause they have a designer name on them, so buyer beware. Do some research on the net. Its not hard to get the answers from those that know what they are talking about(Doctors).

zac

I like the Tifosi's. I don't have, nor have I tried the polychomatic ones, (or whatever they are called). They are okay priced at around $50/pair. But the kind I get come with 4 lenses (clear, yellow, amber and dark) and a nice hardshell case. I get about a year or two on a pair, and I usually have several pairs on hand with different lenses so I don't have to change them out.

I don't think I would ever pay more than a $100 on a single pair for cycling.

just my 2¢
zac

prathmann

No vision plan, just a supplier with reasonable prices.