Sunglass for Commuting....
 

Are they a Necessity, Niceity or superfluious? What do you think? I wear my cheapo ($7.99) Ironman's just to keep the sun out of my eye's... I've been thinking about carying my Clear safety glasses with my for my night time ride home...

I don't want them in the morning, it's too dark anyway, and I have a pair of prescription goggles with various lenses, the smoked lenses are in for summer, but I never remember to put them in the bag.

I can easily do without them.

Interestingly, my eyeglasses are not holding up to the UV. I got a pair with Crizal coatings, and after about 4 years of use, I noticed a few spots where the scratch coat was flaking off. Now, 2 months later, the entire left lens is covered with flake-off spots, leaving them a bit hazy especially when there is a bright light hitting them.

I'm probably going to get Transitions coatings (that go dark in sunlight) on my next pair, which I'll be ordering later in the week, so I guess I won't be forgetting my sunglasses anymore.

Necessity to keep the debris out of the eyes. Smith Sliders.

BTW, about the UV...don't pooh-pooh it. Last fall I had cataract surgery several decades earlier than I really should have needed it, with no family history. The most likely culprit is the sun.

+1
I love the yellow lenses for the morning and the mirrored for sunlight. I wear hard contacts so road debris is a big hassle.

Definately a must have in my opinion. It seems like the few times I used to forget them I'd end up with a piece of dust/dirt in my eye that would bug me for my whole trip. I never forget them anymore. The amount of times I've had flies and bees bounce off my sunglasses helps me to never forget them anymore.

For $50 at the LBS I got a pair with removable lenses that came with four different sets of lenses from low light lenses to really dark ones. It was totally worth the money.

Tifosi Fototec Light Night - I have them on day or night. They don't get very dark, but I wear them for wind and debris protection anyway. It's especially important in the winter when my eyes will water incessantly from the wind without glasses.

With the amount of gnats some morning I think I need a breathing mask (I've seen the posts and those are too much to not get arrested under suspision)
I need glasses when I'm outside at all though. Dang sunlight induced occular migraines. For those lucky enough to have never experienced it imagine riding at 20mph into the sunrise and then suddenly your looking through mostly shattered safety glass with only a few points you can actually focus through.

I went with 'necessity' based on the sunglasses I own. They came with 4 pairs of lenses, so I'm set for all conditions from bright mid-day sun (polarized lenses) to overcast flat light (yellow or amber lenses) to night riding (clear lenses.)

i have a pair of rudy project sunglasses with my Rx and transition lenses. in the predawn morning, theyre clear and jsut give me vision correction and debris/wind protection, i the afternoon they're sunglasses too.

i dont ride without them ever. absolute necessity, imo.

I wear them out of necessity, there is a lot of grit, dirt etc that used to get into my eyes whilst cycling - and thus poses a significant safety risk.

right now i only have a crappy pair for day use, but i have some decent safety glasses for night. i have yet to find sunglasses that aren't too expensive, don't break, fit me, or all of the above. i'd prefer interchangable ones, but replacing my helmet is my first priority, and getting better shorts my second...

i've been riding with eye protection almost 100% of the time for a while now, and often explain to others why it's a good idea. once i do my "trying-to-steer-with-something-in-my-eye" impression, people usually understand.

"neccessity". The ones I wear most often are clear however. If I ride for a long time my eyes get sunburned, so the UV-blocking ability of the lenses is key. Also, the sunglasses reduce the number of bugs in the eyes (a particular problem in the evening), and I can ride at night with confidence my eyes won't get poked out by an errant tree branch.

Also they are really good for winter riding, as wind at -30C is very harsh, and glare off of snow is really bright, however this leads to a whole host of fogging/icing issues.

When its raining I use yellow lenses (great for visibility), and when it's very sunny I wear dark lenses.

Necessity, to block wind, bugs and other flying debris as much as sun. Oh, and to make me look cool.

Wow! I didnt think that the response would be this overwhelming! .... I cant bring myself to spend more than $10-12 on a pair, as this pair I have now (chepies from Wallyworld) are the first pair to last more than 6 wks... Going on 2 yrs though... Yeah, they are going to break today... thats just how it works.. Dang Jinx's....

Billy

http://oakley.com/mframe

worth every penny

I wear prescription glasses that tint as needed. (okay - they are trifocals too - grrrrrr.) Living in the tropical sun, you learn to wear glasses, or you learn to like cataract surgery... If I am out of the house, I have sun glasses on.

No sunglasses here (the sun is seems to always be at my back). I do wear clear safety glasses to keep debris out of my eyes though.

Ray Ban Aviators. Developed in 1937, and still the best.

Paul

There's just too much stuff flying through the air for me to enjoy a ride without them.

It really depends on your climate/conditions.

When I lived in FL, they were a necessity. So far here in PNW, I "could" do without them (I prefer not to), but I could.

Most rides I use my sunglasses 1) for their intended purpose (to not get blinded by the light, with all apologies to Manfred Mann) and 2) to keep bugs et al out of my eyes. In rain and fog I have some motorcycle goggles (think Vin Diesel in 'Pitch Black') with replaceable lenses that keep out the glare and water

I wear prescription shades. Pretty much always wear them, until the seasons steer me toward just wearing my regular glasses. I wonder from time to time about contacts and regular shades, or contacts and those fancy biking glasses w/ swap-out lenses of a color for every time of day and latitude, or prescription glasses that tint according to external light, or clear glasses w/ better shape to protect my eyes for riding in the dark, but I muddle along w/ goofy bug-eye shaped sunglasses from costco by day, regular clear lenses (small, wire-frame) by night.

ps-> re necessity or nicety, our family doc included sunglasses w/ sunblock on something our kids should never be w/o. Maybe that's just 'cause people around here tend to way overdo it during our 3 sunny months/yr.

Necessity- to keep my contacts from getting trashed.
I got a pair of Smith Sliders on closeout. Wear the amber/orange lenses during DST, and switch to clear for the winer, when I commute in more darkness.

Sunglasses are a necessity to prevent damaging UV exposure to the eye, not to mention bugs, dust, pollen, exhaust, and a bunch of other stuff flying around in the air. Choose tints according to conditions.

That's why I've, unfortunately, had to lay off the oakley's for a while. I've had 20+ nice sunglasses in my lifetime and 19 of them have been stolen from my car/dormroom/office/etc. The other is at the bottom of a river.

Out of curiosity, what are you doing to break them? My glasses are either on my face, or sitting inside my helmet - no chance for them to really break.