What's the advantage of cycling-specific sunglasses?
03-16-15, 06:47 PM
#26
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Same here. I don't really object to $100 for cycling glasses. I just haven't found that they need be that pricey. Plenty of cycling specific glasses that are budget priced.
03-16-15, 06:56 PM
#27
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If you're gonna spend bigger money than me on sunglasses, Oakleys are thicker and offer better protection than the quick-stop cheapies.
03-16-15, 09:20 PM
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Big-dollar price tags aren't just for cycling sunglasses. Any boutique brand fashionable/trendy current-model sunglasses tend to be expensive, just for the cachet of the name. Wait 'til they're a little less trendy and the prices are much more reasonable.
03-16-15, 09:38 PM
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I've got $10 nashbars and cheapo's, one day I'll get some nice ones just for the style.
03-16-15, 10:21 PM
#30
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Good point, GP. I use really cheap, lightly tinted safety glasses. They're ideal except for being just slightly blurry. Still, they are about $95.00 less. So far as tinting goes, I use a cycling cap with the very short, angled down bill which protects from sun better than lenses in an area where you go from full sun to dense shade. I just can't see the potholes with dark lenses and full shade.
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03-17-15, 08:54 AM
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outside of optical quality, do the cheap stuff or eye protection have proper UV protection?
If they do not, dilating your eyes by reducing brightness might let in more UV making things in that regard worse...
I do not recall if it is just UVA and UVB or what. I also think some cheaper glasses do not block one of them very well. Then again, if you are mindful, I am sure you can find those that do.
This is what WebMD says about selecting sunglasses:
How to Pick Good Sunglasses
If they do not, dilating your eyes by reducing brightness might let in more UV making things in that regard worse...
I do not recall if it is just UVA and UVB or what. I also think some cheaper glasses do not block one of them very well. Then again, if you are mindful, I am sure you can find those that do.
This is what WebMD says about selecting sunglasses:
How to Pick Good Sunglasses
03-17-15, 09:12 AM
#32
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outside of optical quality, do the cheap stuff or eye protection have proper UV protection?
If they do not, dilating your eyes by reducing brightness might let in more UV making things in that regard worse...
I do not recall if it is just UVA and UVB or what. I also think some cheaper glasses do not block one of them very well. Then again, if you are mindful, I am sure you can find those that do.
This is what WebMD says about selecting sunglasses:
How to Pick Good Sunglasses
If they do not, dilating your eyes by reducing brightness might let in more UV making things in that regard worse...
I do not recall if it is just UVA and UVB or what. I also think some cheaper glasses do not block one of them very well. Then again, if you are mindful, I am sure you can find those that do.
This is what WebMD says about selecting sunglasses:
How to Pick Good Sunglasses
Some good points made though. I was just really curious. And to answer an earlier question; using safety glasses my eyes are completely covered. No issue of light leaking in at the top of bottom or whatever.
03-17-15, 02:53 PM
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My vision is such that I have to wear glasses. That said, I have an old pair of polarized glasses I use for fishing and driving. They work OK on the bike, except that, large as they are, they don't block the wind on fun downhills. My eyes start watering and it's kind of hard to see at that point.
My prescription cycling glasses, which cost well over $100, do block the wind over 30 mph. That makes them worth the price, at least to me. In addition, I've got some photochromic lenses so I don't have to stop and change glasses at dawn or dusk. That's also very nice. They're proper UVA/B sunglasses, FWIW.
Worth it to anybody else? I don't know, YMMV.
My prescription cycling glasses, which cost well over $100, do block the wind over 30 mph. That makes them worth the price, at least to me. In addition, I've got some photochromic lenses so I don't have to stop and change glasses at dawn or dusk. That's also very nice. They're proper UVA/B sunglasses, FWIW.
Worth it to anybody else? I don't know, YMMV.
03-17-15, 03:05 PM
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Some are also ANSI or mil-spec impact resistant so when that truck tire kicks that fastener in the air, it won't take out your eye.
03-19-15, 08:13 PM
#35
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At least in the context of road cycling, a low position on the bike like on the drops or while riding the hoods you end up looking over the rim of the sunglasses rather than through them vs many normal sport sunglasses styles. Also not all sport sunglasses wrap around fully to cover the peripherals or protect against wind over the top of the rim or sides.
Well, I'll never go and buy a set of POC/Rudy Projects just for tooling around but if I was pro I sure would get a set.
Well, I'll never go and buy a set of POC/Rudy Projects just for tooling around but if I was pro I sure would get a set.
03-19-15, 08:27 PM
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I got some Dual bifocal glasses last year (about $50) and the clarity is much better than in the cheap bifocal tinted safety glasses that I had been wearing. That said, I still wear cheap bifocal clear safety glasses when it is dark or darkish. In a pinch, I'll wear my progressive addition prescription glasses but they don't keep out the wind, bugs, etc. as well as the other glasses.
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03-19-15, 08:36 PM
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Cycling glasses are like any other sunglasses. Higher priced ones generally have better clarity, frames are more substantial, glasses are lighter weight, and likely fit better.
Of course, this is a general statement and not always true. Sometimes $10 ones work as well as more expensive ones. However better lenses do a good job of screening out harmful effects. Consumer Reports several years ago tested glasses and inexpensive ones offered no protection.
Then just like other glasses, you pay for style.
Of course, this is a general statement and not always true. Sometimes $10 ones work as well as more expensive ones. However better lenses do a good job of screening out harmful effects. Consumer Reports several years ago tested glasses and inexpensive ones offered no protection.
Then just like other glasses, you pay for style.
03-19-15, 09:07 PM
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I certainly hope people reply. I've been wearing $5 pair of walmart general sports glasses for cycling for the last 7 years...I would hate to hear that I wasted those 7 years by doing it wrong...! ;-)
Seriously, the one advantage I've seen on the higher-end cycling glasses is the ability to switch out lenses, from very dark, to medium, to just clear, depending on whether it is sunny, cloudy, or dark.
Seriously, the one advantage I've seen on the higher-end cycling glasses is the ability to switch out lenses, from very dark, to medium, to just clear, depending on whether it is sunny, cloudy, or dark.
The only real advantage I can think of for getting cycling-specific glasses is that it helps keep your LBS in business.
03-19-15, 09:24 PM
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Consumer Reports says Go get yourself some cheap sunglasses
03-20-15, 10:10 AM
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I just use my Bolle glasses for cycling. They are lightweight, offer good all-round protection, and most importantly (to me) they are polarized.
03-21-15, 07:23 AM
#42
aka Phil Jungels
If I were you, and the safety glasses worked fine, I'd stick with em, and spend my money on other needed stuff...
Now, if I were a fashion queen, I'd throw that money away..........
Besides, those $3 glasses look more bike worthy than a lot of those bike queen glasses.........
Now, if I were a fashion queen, I'd throw that money away..........
Besides, those $3 glasses look more bike worthy than a lot of those bike queen glasses.........
03-21-15, 01:52 PM
#43
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....What's the hub-ub about and what on earth would a $100 pair of cycling sunglasses do for me that my $3 pair of safety sunglasses won't do for me?
(Reference image of what I'm referring to. I have tinted like that for during the day, and clear safety glasses for at night)
Just curious.
(Reference image of what I'm referring to. I have tinted like that for during the day, and clear safety glasses for at night)
Just curious.
So the first advantage of safety glasses is that you don't have to baby them, because if they get scratched or destroyed, oh well.
Second advantage of the ones pictured is that they have no frame. So, in the road riding position, I've found there's no obscuring of vision by the top frame of the glasses.
Because of those two reasons, I have 3 or 4 pair of the type picctured. Dark brown, light brown, bright orangish and clear.
I have a couple pair of frameless (not quite the same, but similar) with cheaters which I really like, but the dark ones are a little too dark for my taste. The clear ones are great.
I look through the selection every time I'm in a large commercial hardware store. Some in my town have dozens, if not hundreds of options, some actually fairly stylish looking, if you're not a connoisseur
Last edited by Camilo; 03-21-15 at 01:55 PM.
03-21-15, 05:51 PM
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clear sunglasses
The type of glasses pictured in the OP are actually kind of my favorite cycling glasses. Now, I'm not saying that good sunglasses aren't better in some ways. I have a very nice pair of sunglasses and they seem tougher, clearer, etc. But I feel I have to baby them.
So the first advantage of safety glasses is that you don't have to baby them, because if they get scratched or destroyed, oh well.
Second advantage of the ones pictured is that they have no frame. So, in the road riding position, I've found there's no obscuring of vision by the top frame of the glasses.
Because of those two reasons, I have 3 or 4 pair of the type picctured. Dark brown, light brown, bright orangish and clear.
I have a couple pair of frameless (not quite the same, but similar) with cheaters which I really like, but the dark ones are a little too dark for my taste. The clear ones are great.
I look through the selection every time I'm in a large commercial hardware store. Some in my town have dozens, if not hundreds of options, some actually fairly stylish looking, if you're not a connoisseur
So the first advantage of safety glasses is that you don't have to baby them, because if they get scratched or destroyed, oh well.
Second advantage of the ones pictured is that they have no frame. So, in the road riding position, I've found there's no obscuring of vision by the top frame of the glasses.
Because of those two reasons, I have 3 or 4 pair of the type picctured. Dark brown, light brown, bright orangish and clear.
I have a couple pair of frameless (not quite the same, but similar) with cheaters which I really like, but the dark ones are a little too dark for my taste. The clear ones are great.
I look through the selection every time I'm in a large commercial hardware store. Some in my town have dozens, if not hundreds of options, some actually fairly stylish looking, if you're not a connoisseur
02-14-16, 01:33 PM
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My vision is such that I have to wear glasses. That said, I have an old pair of polarized glasses I use for fishing and driving. They work OK on the bike, except that, large as they are, they don't block the wind on fun downhills. My eyes start watering and it's kind of hard to see at that point.
My prescription cycling glasses, which cost well over $100, do block the wind over 30 mph. That makes them worth the price, at least to me. In addition, I've got some photochromic lenses so I don't have to stop and change glasses at dawn or dusk. That's also very nice. They're proper UVA/B sunglasses, FWIW.
Worth it to anybody else? I don't know, YMMV.
My prescription cycling glasses, which cost well over $100, do block the wind over 30 mph. That makes them worth the price, at least to me. In addition, I've got some photochromic lenses so I don't have to stop and change glasses at dawn or dusk. That's also very nice. They're proper UVA/B sunglasses, FWIW.
Worth it to anybody else? I don't know, YMMV.
02-14-16, 01:52 PM
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depends if you are buying them or selling them.
02-14-16, 02:20 PM
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I had a long cycle yesterday, and wore a pair of sunglasses. After approx 10 miles, I took them off as they were pi**ing me off .... I could see the top of the frames whilst cycling
I have a pair of Serengeti Drivers which I use for driving, but don't want to use those as they were expensive 15 years ago ... I will cycle without glasses
I have a pair of Serengeti Drivers which I use for driving, but don't want to use those as they were expensive 15 years ago ... I will cycle without glasses
02-14-16, 02:59 PM
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I can as well --- i have some cheap fashion sunglasses i bought to have in the car to drive in --- as well, i dont like looking like a bro if i need to get out and pump some gas --- as sport glasses to me look nerdy when not doing something "sporty"
30 minutes in and i threw them in the glovebox and fished my Oakley Jawbones out of my console -- much better and did not hurt my eyes.
Although my polarized Ray Bans are the best
02-14-16, 04:36 PM
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The only real advantage of cycling shades that means anything for me is when riding a tri/TT bike in the aero position. Head down, I wind up looking right over the top of regular glasses or sunglasses. Cycling specific glasses go way up over the eyebrows, so you are still looking through the lenses when in the head-down eyes-up position. This is especially important for me, since I wear corrective lenses and if I'm looking over the top of them, everything is not just too bright, but also too blurry. Again, only an issue on my tri bike.
