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Winter Cycling eyewear.

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Old 12-06-18 | 05:43 PM
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Winter Cycling eyewear.

I am looking for some advice for commuting in the winter, specifically when the temp drops to around 15 degrees or less.I wear cycling glasses, but because I have to wear something over the lower part of my face, my eyewear keeps fogging up.Any thoughts?
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Old 12-06-18 | 05:51 PM
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I've been using a pair of cheap ski/snowboarding goggles with a very light tint. The ventilation is actually great, both top and bottom, and not so cumbersome. I find any visors or glasses at those temps isn't going to be very good as the wind and cold is too awful for my eyes. With the goggles my eyes are protected, as is the area around them. Find the right pair is key, though. I've used ones that fog up as soon as I pull the balaclava over my nose, or they fog up as soon as I come to a stop.
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Old 12-06-18 | 09:26 PM
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Decent quality ski goggles are the key to avoid fogging. A good balaclava also helps with antifogging - I have a Serius perforated neoprene balaclava that works as well as any.

Originally Posted by mcours2006
I've been using a pair of cheap ski/snowboarding goggles with a very light tint. The ventilation is actually great, both top and bottom, and not so cumbersome. I find any visors or glasses at those temps isn't going to be very good as the wind and cold is too awful for my eyes. With the goggles my eyes are protected, as is the area around them. Find the right pair is key, though. I've used ones that fog up as soon as I pull the balaclava over my nose, or they fog up as soon as I come to a stop.
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Old 12-07-18 | 08:06 AM
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I'm trying something new this winter. just replied to someone about that in another thread. see post #5 here

Looking for bike helmet with windshield
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Old 12-07-18 | 08:36 AM
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So much depends on whether you ride warm or cold

I wear glasses and I've not used goggles of any sort, even at -25F, and even for long rides like the Arrowhead Ultra in northern Minnesota. I use a lightweight buff, pulled up over my mouth if necessary. It keeps me surprisingly warm. A bit of a beard helps. I find that anything heavier both keeps me too warm and also tends to fog up my glasses.
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Old 12-07-18 | 09:19 AM
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Rain-X makes an anti-fog product that may work, but I'm not sure if it is safe for plastic. Ski shops or scuba shops should also have products designed to keep the inside of the lens from fogging up. One product that I recently found is called Cat Crap. I will likely give the Cat Crap a try. Let me know if you try it first and how it works.
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Old 12-07-18 | 12:45 PM
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Originally Posted by revcp
I wear glasses and I've not used goggles of any sort, even at -25F, and even for long rides like the Arrowhead Ultra in northern Minnesota. I use a lightweight buff, pulled up over my mouth if necessary. It keeps me surprisingly warm. A bit of a beard helps. I find that anything heavier both keeps me too warm and also tends to fog up my glasses.
My hat's off to you. I'd last about 10 seconds in that kind of weather without a survival suit on.
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Old 12-07-18 | 04:34 PM
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I recently picked up a pair of Oakley Field Jacket sunglasses. They have a lever on the bridge of your nose that pushes them out maybe 1/4" while keeping the nose rest in place. This allows extra air flow when they start to fog, works great for me at stop lights but so far I've only used them down to around 38-40 degrees.
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Old 12-08-18 | 08:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Archwhorides
Decent quality ski goggles are the key to avoid fogging. A good balaclava also helps with antifogging - I have a Serius perforated neoprene balaclava that works as well as any.
Yup.

Even cheap ski goggles will work....if you have a balaclava that diverts your breath away from the goggles.
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Old 12-08-18 | 12:00 PM
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Winter Cycling eyewear.
Originally Posted by Louzride
I am looking for some advice for commuting in the winter, specifically when the temp drops to around 15 degrees or less.

I wear cycling glasses, but because I have to wear something over the lower part of my face, my eyewear keeps fogging up
.

Any thoughts?
Originally Posted by revcp
I wear glasses and I've not used goggles of any sort, even at -25F, and even for long rides like the Arrowhead Ultra in northern Minnesota.

I use a lightweight buff, pulled up over my mouth if necessary. It keeps me surprisingly warm. A bit of a beard helps.

I find that anything heavier both keeps me too warm and also tends to fog up my glasses.
Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti
Yup.

Even cheap ski goggles will work....if you have a balaclava that diverts your breath away from the goggles.
Originally Posted by ripkin
…Anyone else have glasses and a solution to them fogging up all the time when you’re wearing a a balaclava or something?

Maybe some antifogging lens wash or something, I guess
?
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
I frequently post about eyeglasses, goggles and fogging; and the strategies to prevent:
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
I perennially post about my winter eyewear for my 14 mile year-round commute, from about 35° down to as low as 0°.

I must wear my prescription eyeglasses, and fogging is one of the worst dangers of winter riding.

I am entirely satisfied with my system
:…
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
IME, and from reading numerous posts on the subject, there are three basic methods for preventing fogging, caused by exhaled moist air onto the cold surface of the eyeglasses and goggles:…
Originally Posted by chefisaac
LISTEN to [MENTION=124426]Jim from Boston[/MENTION]

he knows his $hit!
PS:
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(from a now-closed thread): In the past I have offered IMO several useful suggestions about cycling, particularly for winter and urban cycling, to multiple repetitive threads.

They are usually lost in the morass of often scores of replies, both in agreement and dispute with mine.
In particular
Originally Posted by medic75
Rain-X makes an anti-fog product that may work, but I'm not sure if it is safe for plastic. Ski shops or scuba shops should also have products designed to keep the inside of the lens from fogging up.

One product that I recently found is called Cat Crap. I will likely give the Cat Crap a try. Let me know if you try it first and how it works.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
IME, and from reading numerous posts on the subject, there are three basic methods for preventing fogging, caused by exhaled moist air onto the cold surface of the eyeglasses and goggles:…

3) Antifogging agents, like Cat Crap, soap, spit etc.: I find that when exhaling forcefully, and colder temperatures, say under 20° F, those agents can be overcome.

That’s why I suggest:
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
that any recommendations for winter riding include description of the conditions in which they are employed, i.e. lowest temperature and distance.
I’m not trying to be contrarian about any methods used, but I am zealous because fogging is a difficult and dangerous challenge to winter riding, and would keep me off the bike for about 3 to 4 months during the year.

Every year there are many threads on about the problem.

FYA, I was most impressed
by this system by @TuckamoreDew of Edmonton, AB:...

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 12-09-18 at 05:42 AM.
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Old 12-10-18 | 09:03 AM
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I am trying out some "night drive" sunglasses that I found in CVS which look exactly like this except the logo is "Solar Shield" and it was $20 on the rack:

Which I recommend so far as very satisfactory. Somehow bright headlights and glare are filtered out (no more a-hole blinding you on the MUP!) without degrading my vision at night, and the contrast in the dark is actually improved.

Night Driver Classic Large Square - Night Drivers
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Old 12-10-18 | 09:09 AM
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https://www.amazon.com/Jaws-Quick-An...&keywords=spit
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Old 12-10-18 | 10:10 AM
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I saw a lot of ski goggles on my commute this morning. I don't feel the need yet, but I understand others do.
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Old 12-10-18 | 10:37 AM
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Originally Posted by noglider
I saw a lot of ski goggles on my commute this morning. I don't feel the need yet, but I understand others do.
My temperature cut-off for Winter goggles (as described above) is 35° F for a full commute of 14 miles, or 6 miles via Commuter Rail. Prescription eyeglasses are fine for shorter distances, but about one mile at 19° recently without goggles was not fun.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
… I suggest:
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
that any recommendations for winter riding include description of the conditions in which they are employed, i.e. lowest temperature and distance.
:

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 12-10-18 at 11:16 AM.
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Old 12-10-18 | 01:56 PM
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Jim from Boston...

Have you ever been told that your posts are an eye sore to read?
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Old 12-10-18 | 03:14 PM
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Originally Posted by prj71
Jim from Boston...

Have you ever been told that your posts are an eye sore to read?
Yeah, lots of times, in particular,
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(from a now-closed thread) I think it’s a succinct way to capture the variety of a topic.
Originally Posted by TruthBomb
It’s visual diarrhea, pollutes any thread, and is the opposite of succinct (briefly and clearly expressed).
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Old 12-10-18 | 03:37 PM
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It's not just the visual layout. Even when I try to read it sequentially, the mental effort to keep track of who said what is considerable and unnecessary. But I gather you don't care, so I won't try to convince you.
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Old 12-10-18 | 03:50 PM
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Originally Posted by noglider
It's not just the visual layout. Even when I try to read it sequentially, the mental effort to keep track of who said what is considerable and unnecessary.

But I gather you don't care, so I won't try to convince you.
FWIW, each quote box is headed by an attribution, kind of like reading a script, e.g.
Originally Posted by prj71
...
Originally Posted by noglider
...
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Old 12-10-18 | 03:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
FWIW, each quote box is headed by an attribution, kind of like reading a script, e.g.
Yes I know. I know what you're doing. All the attributions and lines are a visual mess. The result for me is that I usually skip your posts. I might be the tip of an iceberg with other forum users doing the same. But I get it: you don't care. That's OK. It's not because I don't understand it. It's just too much trouble for me. It's like my head is swinging looking at the various speakers.
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Old 12-10-18 | 05:50 PM
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Originally Posted by wphamilton
I am trying out some "night drive" sunglasses that I found in CVS which look exactly like this except the logo is "Solar Shield" and it was $20 on the rack:

Which I recommend so far as very satisfactory. Somehow bright headlights and glare are filtered out (no more a-hole blinding you on the MUP!) without degrading my vision at night, and the contrast in the dark is actually improved.

Night Driver Classic Large Square - Night Drivers
I don't wear glasses at all. Temps here only get to about 12F for a night or two. These look like something for me, not expensive. I'm always losing my glasses or sitting on them.
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Old 12-10-18 | 09:43 PM
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I commute 6 miles. I use snowboarding goggles and helmet. Works well. With the baklava on, I found that my glasses were fogging up inside the goggles while the goggles themselves were staying clear. I thought the outside was fogging at first, so I tried diverting my breath away from the goggles by cutting holes in the cheeks of the baklava.. etc, didn't work. But what was happening was that my breath was being pumped into the goggles and fogging up my glasses instead through the fabric of the baklava being under the lower portion of the goggles. So, what I finally did with the baklava is I snipped the seam over the bridge of my nose so that it rode down lower on my nose than it was designed to. Still not perfect, but a lot better.
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Old 12-11-18 | 09:03 AM
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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
Yeah, lots of times, in particular,
So you acknowledge it but don't care to change it so that people might want to read what you have to say?

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Old 12-11-18 | 09:06 AM
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I tried goggles one year but the moisture from around my eyes created a fog after about an hour, then the fog froze so I couldn't even wipe the "frost" off with a cloth. so I built a small fire to evap everything. that worked really quickly
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Old 12-11-18 | 12:46 PM
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Originally Posted by noglider
It's not just the visual layout. Even when I try to read it sequentially, the mental effort to keep track of who said what is considerable and unnecessary. But I gather you don't care, so I won't try to convince you.
Yeah...I personally like the idea but bikeforums "quote" formatting is poor in my opinion for doing that. Probably some way to format it so it would be more readable...
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Old 12-11-18 | 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by prj71
Jim from Boston...

Have you ever been told that your posts are an eye sore to read?
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
Yeah, lots of times, in particular,…
Originally Posted by prj71
So you acknowledge it but don't care to change it so that people might want to read what you have to say?

I have posted on several threads over the years:
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(in 2008)...I have been perusing this site for a few weeks and I have had several comments to make so I hope to make useful contributions to future discussion threads, as well as glean from the comments of others.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(in 2014) I have been an avid cyclist, as a lifestyle since about 1972; …I happened serendipitously on Bike Forums in 2008, and it was frankly incredible to find a community that shared so many concerns I had kept to myself as a lone cyclist.

This enthusiasm has definitely increased my enjoyment of cycling. As far as improving it, what I have gotten directly from BF [include]:

  • the opportunity to post and literally "journal" my thoughts and activities about cycling and lifestyle (even if nobody else reads them), but which I wouldn't write down otherwise
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(from a now-closed thread in 2018)For me the heady days on the Forums were from about 2008 to 2016, in particular participating in the Fifty-Plus Annual Rides, which have since disappeared.

I think I have absorbed all the good advice I can for a complete and agreeable cycling lifestyle, and recently I have clicked on many fewer threads than before.


In the past I have offered IMO several useful suggestions about cycling, particularly for winter and urban cycling, to multiple repetitive threads. They are usually lost in the morass of often scores of replies, both in agreement and dispute with mine.

I’m not especially motivated to read or write about rides in areas I will never visit, or bikes I would not buy.
Other cyclists’ biking stories are often meaningful to me, but usually not consequential enough for a reply.

Frankly, now my main enjoyment is reading the personal clashes on the various threads, such as these current ones: "I work with a moron", or ”How often do you check your mirror?.
Originally Posted by Phamilton
(from last week) I appreciate Jim from Boston’s posts.

The Forum is a really limiting means of communication. It’s harder to create context. Jim makes it work. I guess to some people it might not make sense, but I get it.
So. back at'ya.

PS: Note that I have over 6000 posts in the past 10 years, FWIW.

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 12-12-18 at 05:35 AM. Reason: added PS
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