I won't ride without them. I remember getting a bug in my eye while riding as a kid. Not Fun. Last winter I was riding home at night in the snow when a plow/salt truck went by and kicked up something that pranged off my glasses. Left a scratch in the lens,and these are mil-spec. That could've been ugly.

These are my favs:
http://www.essgoggles.com/ICE-Eyeshield_6_detail.html

Mandatory. period.

Tight fitting sun glasses are part of my solution to "Dry Eyes".

I don't have to have them, but some type of eyewear is nice to have on many occassions. I've always had trouble keeping any style of glasses on my face, and I hate straps, so that's often put me off of wearing them.

Didn't think they were *necessary* until I almost wiped at speed after a dragonfly bounced off my eyeball. Rode the rest of the way with one eye shut. Now I wear them always.

Necessity. They keep stuff out of my eyes and most likely saved my eye sight from my last crash. I use Optic Nerve interchangables. The lenses can be changed out in about 1 minute or less.

I'm sold on wearing glasses now if for nothing other than safety.

Yesterday morning, 5:45 AM, I was riding along and didn't have my glasses on and a bug flies into my eye. Hurt like the dickens. Nearly killed myself trying to stop and get the bug out at the same time. My eye watered and stung for 15 minutes.

I was very lucky.

From now on I'll take the time to change out my lenses from dark to orange when light levels are low.

I've got a pair of Nike Glasses.

I use a pair of Bolles I got from Performance 10 years ago. They're kinda dorky but they work. In the fall and winter I use a pair of motorcycle specific glasses with transitional lenses I found on eBay. They work, but not as well as $200 Oakleys would. But they were 20 bux.

One of the best accessories I've ever bought are my Native nano2 sunglasses. They come with different colored lenses for different light levels, and they protect my eyes from, not only the sun, but flying insects and dust in the air. I've had many an insect directly hit one of the lenses. The only time I don't wear them is on extremely casual rides, or in the rain. I use clear lenses at night unless it is raining.

EDIT: I've also found that the "expensive" glasses ($80 and up) are of much better fit and quality than the $10 knockoffs on the rack. It seems like a lot, but I consider it important enough to invest some money in my glasses.

The only time I don't wear them is in the rain or when it's misty or really foggy..Mine are also 3 lenses and they were around $80...It doesn't even feel like I have any on....

I've done centuries without eye protection, and without getting stuff in my eyes, so I'd have to say "nicety." I may just be getting lucky though. When it's bright out, I generally wear them, commuting or otherwise.

Oh, and I've never spent more than 20 bucks on a pair, given my history of mistreating/losing them.

Mistreating...yes....Like i said mine came with 3 lenses and thankfully you can buy them seperate for $12...I've scratched two lenses so far by dropping them..Now I take them off before I take off the helmet..:D

+1 for both the glasses and the note on fit and quality. I have been going through at _least_ one pair of Fred Meyer $10-$14 models every summer for years. (Lost or destroyed. Compounded by difficulty finding anything which would fit my big head.) I finally stumbled accross some Native Nano 3s this summer on closeout, and have been thrilled silly ever since. They are amazingly clear compared to my eons of previous encounters, and fit really well. Also, I'm finding that it is true that one takes better care of equipment which one has made a more significant investment in, which is working in my favor taking care of this pair.

Necessity. No question. I've had eye cancer which is suspected to be caused by sun exposure. I won't ride in daylight without UV protection.

i haven't bothered with cheapo glasses in about the past 5 years... and before that, i used the smith moab. anyway:

oakley m-frame: awesome shields, keep everything imaginable out of your eyes. high geek-factor, though.

oakley radar: in my opinion, far better fit, appearance, and function than the m-frames. and you get a hard case.

oakley half jacket/flak jacket: great if you have a smaller face. they look awful if you have a large face, though.

ray-ban aviator: the polarized, mirrored variety is still the only one i really care to wear in any conditions, on the bike or off. slip protection isn't as good as the oakleys, but you can't really put a price on looking like a total badass.

I bought a cheap pair of Performance brand glasses with three sets of interchangeable lenses. It came with clear, smoked and amber lenses. I vote necessity. All it takes is one small insect or piece of debris kicked up by a car to at the very least cause you enough irritation to at least stop, maybe even crash.

Would you ride a motorcycle without some sort of eye protection? I've hit speeds approaching 50mph on my road bike. Yeah, glasses are necessary and I won't ride without them.

I have some, but I always sweat into them and then can't see out of them, so I don't bother any more.

Thursday before last, riding home from work, some piece of dirt blew into my eye and got stuck there. For two days.

On Saturday, when I woke up and *still* had something in my eye, I called my optometrist and got an emergency appointment to go see him. He looked at my eye and said there was something (just some small rocky piece of dirt) embedded in my eye. He tried to get it out, and got most of it, and told me to come back and get it looked at a couple days later to see if the rest of it would fall out on its own.

It didn't, and when I went back to get it checked out, my eye tissue had grown over the remaining bit of dirt and it was embedded in my eye.

He sent me to an eye surgeon who removed the rest of the object by *stabbing me in the eyeball with a needle*. This is basically the same procedure as getting a splinter out of your finger with a needle, except in your eyeball.

My optometrist told me I should wear my sunglasses when riding from now on.

I once had a bee hit my uncovered eye. Now, I where clear lenses at night, amber during low-light times, and polarized dark gray when its bright.

I sprung for a pair of M-Frame Heaters almost two years ago, and I love them. I can get by with just them down to about 10 degrees F, and they actually protect my eyes from the wind without fogging up (any fog I get when I stop at lights goes away almost immediately when I start moving). Below that, I wear ski goggles.

One thing about bike commuting, it opens up your budget for neat stuff.

bugs, pebbles, leaves... eyes are squishy and prone to damage, glasses provide some nice protection.
so basically it equates down to...
some quality sunglasses = $50~$250
my eyes = priceless

and I can't replace my eyes :D

A friend of mine was riding along with his head down. Didn't notice the downed tree. Lost an eye. And he had glasses on!

Absolute necessity. Besides keeping the UV rays and the bugs out, sunglasses protect your eyes from rocks and other debris that are kicked up by cars. Eyes are irreplaceable...

Bryan

Necessity.
And the best optics i've found, without spending ridiculous money on a pair that will get lost or damaged anyways, are Tifosi

Necessity...gotta protect the eyeballs. I use Tifosi. These have the night light photo sensing lenses. It's not really enough for bright sunny days, but since much of the year my commute is dark in the morning and afternoon, these are the ones for me. They were something like $50 or so.

Same here. I had been using landscaper safety goggles (wraparounds in both clear and tinted), but finally sprung for the swappable lenses set-up that was on sale at Performance. Amber is nice when it gets foggy (many spring and fall mornings around here).