colnago62

Finally, I got sick of not having the right eye protection for the conditions. The tipping point was one week where The ride started out cloudy and wet then the sun came out, causing glare from the road and making my clear lenses worthless. Later in the week I was wearing a pair of dark lenses because it was a bright day, until I was descending on a road that cut through a heavily wooded area, making it hard to see clearly. I went to the local Oakley store and they found what sounded like the last vr50 replacement lens in the country and had it shipped up from California. I have been using the lens the last three days and am very happy. They change seamlessly to fit the conditions. Today went from clouds to clear to setting sun and my eyes never knew the difference. I should have done this year's ago.

TrojanHorse

What's the light blocking range... 50% to 10%? (I think that would be transmission numbers, not blocking). 50% is still pretty dark IMO. I bought a pair of Bolle specs a few years ago that range from roughly no light blocking to approximately 40 or 50%, which works great for day to night transitions in the winter time.

I have 4 different pair of sunglasses that I actively rotate between for reasons of pickiness.

rpenmanparker 

People who wear prescription, photochromic lenses have known this for years. Welcome to the club.

gc3

contrarian say - not for me, but good for you

RollCNY

I just purchased a set of wrap around safety glasses for cycling with Transitions Vantage, which adds variable polarization in addition to variable tint. They are slow to change, but so far I have been thrilled with them, having ridden in snowy conditions, wet conditions, and cloudy conditions. As I am in Central NY, I will let you know how they perform in sunny conditions in a few months time.

Dave Cutter

I treated myself to a pair of house brand (Scattante Team) photochromatic cycling glasses at Performance last year. They're barely more than $30 and great. I mounted my mirror to them with shrink tape/tube.

happyscientist

I bought a pair of Trifosi sunglasses with polychrom lenses last year. They are great for all kinds of light conditions, and so much easier than switching out lenses.

DTSs

+1

Ben I.

I recently got myself a pair of photochromatic Tifosi sunglasses and love them. I never bothered or really needed to switch lenses during a ride but you always get fingerprints all over when changing lenses. So handy to have.

rpenmanparker 

It seems folks may be confusing photochromic with polychromic, whatever that is.

GlennR

I purchased a set of Rudy Project because they come with a prescription insert. I got them with dark brown and clear photo chromatic. I wear the clear all the time and they are grate in all conditions.

Fly2High

I have sen the Tifosi and have had Ray Ban and Serengeti photochromatic sunglasses. I do like the Serengetti for outdoor activity but wouldn't take them biking. For the most part, I never felt the photochromatic would get dark enough for my tastes. They always seemed to light even at their darkest. Maybe they are good enough for cycling because you never have to look up but what do you do when riding directly into the sun at sunset/sunrise or when the mirror reflects it into your eyes. Often, the lens is not that dark because not enough UV light is hitting them. Plus, if you also use them in the car, the glass will block the UV light and the lens will not darken as much or in some cases, not at all.

I do like the Tifosi interchangeable lens but like most have said that you tend to put on in and just deal with what comes.

Maybe the photochromatic is better than the alternatives. Will have to take what I currently have and see if it is worth the effort to buy a new pair.


The earlier photochromatic lens were often slow to react. Has the change to dark or light been made faster?

DTSs

Tried the early photochromic lenses. They were awful; either not dark when I needed them or too dark inside. My new prescription photochromic and progressive lenses work quickly and allow me to wear only one pair of glasses. Although I aged out of contacts, I'm finding these photochromic / progressive lenses a better alternative.

bruce19

Tifosi's also. Very nice.

rpenmanparker 

That is what I was saying the other day. I tried contacts quite late as it were after I already was presbyopic. Distant vision was fantastic, but I was blind for the first 5 feet. Instead of just having my one pair of glasses on my face, I had to carry three pair, reading glasses, sun glasses, and safety glasses. BS on that. I went back to the progressive Transitions and haven't looked back.

Bradleykd

The only problem I hav with them is they don't work in the car. If they did, I'd never switch lenses.

RollCNY

Transitions now has two products that work behind glass: Xtravision and Drivewear. Drivewear actually goes dark to yellow.

Edit: Xtraactive, I think, not Xtravision. I was having an AD&D flashback or something.

Lazy Dog

Photochromic lenses are not only effected by UV light, but they are also dependent on the temperature. Clear sunny conditions around 75 degrees are the ideal conditions for a quick fade rate and darkest tint density. Hot 95 degree summer weather will result in slower fade rates and a lighter tint color. Just something to keep in mind...

FLvector

^^ That might explain why they don't do so well in FL. They don't get dark enough for bright days and are slow to transition when you hit shady areas. They don't work well for me.

Elvo

How is the night time visibility?

colnago62

With the Oakley brand, the have different photocromic lenses. The Black Iridium lense looks like it for dark to moderately sunny. Probably, better for evening riding. The VR50 go from 50% to 10% of light transmission, which seems pretty dark. My other lense is the Fire, which is pretty dark.

rpenmanparker 

50% of the kight is only a "1 stop" reduction in pbotographic parlance. That isn't very dark at all. Even 10% is only a little more than 3 stops reduction. That is 't really too dark when compared to bright sunlight or even just bright shade.

Lazy Dog

It is possible with most photochromic lenses to have them ordered with a lighter dye tint. Your doctors office can request this from their laboratory. However light tints will not make the darkest shade of the photochromic much darker in hot conditions.

Domane

I wear prescription glasses and I always get the transitions added. They darken very fast but are slower to lighten back up but it is not a bother as I rarely notice the change. I have to go into a really darkened room from bright outdoors to notice the darkened lens. Out doors it is no problem at all.

Shimagnolo

Tifosi "Light Night Fototec": 75.9-27.7 transmission range.
I've used these at night, for rides that started after work at 5pm, and ended after sunset.

Fototec - Tifosi Optics Sunglasses