Bike Forums - Glasses and safety

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Glasses and safety

For anyone who wears glasses, sun glasses, or sports glasses while riding.

I dig that we all want to be stylish to the best of our preferences and abilities but ask yourself one question PLEASE:

Are the temples of your glasses a blind spot?

That is, the part that runs from the hinge to over your ear. Does it reduce your peripheral vision?

I think this may apply to newer riders, but just in case, please consider this aspect of safety.

Thank you.

I've always worn cycling sunglasses. The temples are wire thin so don't block my vision. Most cycling glasses are made so they don't block your vision. And they keep the wind and bugs out of my eyes. :)

I don't wear sunglasses while riding to be stylish-- I have to wear glasses all the time, and I generally prefer not having things fly into my eyeballs, so I wear wraparound shades on the bike. As a full-time glasses wearer, I have absolutely zero blind-spot issues with my prescription sunglasses for cycling. Any frame with a wraparound lens shape will most likely have the point where the stem meets the frame out of your peripheral vision anyway.

Mirrors will help mitigate that problem...

Your acuity (resolution) with peripheral vision is pretty poor anyway. At best, it gives you a sense of things moving into your area from behind. Unless the bows are really thick, it shouldn't be a problem.

Yes, wraparound lenses help greatly. Yes, thin wire style temples are best. Yes mirrors do help. Yes acuity isn't as accurate at peripheral angles.

But watching a fellow rider ride out in front of a car (slow traffic park setting thankfully) that I saw before they made the move, made me acutely aware of this impediment.

only see light, colors, motion with the left eye...

glasses of any type aren't going to reduce the vision on that side.

Quote:

Originally Posted by intransit1217 (Post 18804505)

He may have other visual issues that you aren't aware of.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FullGas (Post 18804525)

only see light, colors, motion with the left eye...

glasses of any type aren't going to reduce the vision on that side.

Yep, I'm effectively blind in my right eye.

I put my money where my mouth is and had Oakley prescription glasses made. Between the exams, design/selection and fittting it took four visits and multiple phone calls to get right. The doctor and optician listened, worked with me to design what I needed and I couldn't be happier, should have done it years ago.

Really appreciate what the OP is trying to do but the lectures on these forums about proper glasses get old after a bit. I'm not angry or upset. Just prefer what an eye doctor has to say, that's all.

My advice would be to go to the eye doctor for regular checkups and discuss your needs even if you don't need corrective lenses. If the doctor is not willing to sit for five minutes and listen then get a better doctor. All glasses are a compromise. Listen to a real doctor and not the internet.

-Tim-

The safety glasses I wear wrap around and the bow is only along the top of the lense, so very little interference with the very edge of my visual field. A small compromise for keeping my eyes protected and cutting glare.

Same here, Gravel, though I'm the first to admit the lenses on a five dollar pair of glasses are not as great as ones costing a hundred dollars more.

Ride 4-5 thousand Km per year, often unhelmeted. Won't ride to end of the driveway without eye protection. Have a pair of vented mtn biking glasses. No blind spots, venting helps when it rains or is cool out but I'm warm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Quiet One (Post 18804474)

In my opinion the biggest danger is when you're not used to it. Your brain thinks your peripheral vision to the side is good, but it's not, and you miss turning to look. I've had issues because of this in my car - no accidents but "where the **** did they come from???" with new glasses. The area just black and your brain thinks "guess there's nothing coming up there no need to look".

I used to use Gargoyle shooting glasses, which had good peripheral vision, and were very resistant to scratches. I then switched to various Oakley glasses, until settling on Oakley Juliets. These have titanium frames, and the first pair I about back in 1998 are still in good shape, I send them to Oakley every couple of years to get refurbished.

So long as the glasses can keep out the UV, spray, dust, gravel, and insects, they are fine with me. I rely as much on my hearing as my eyes when I am riding, and I can usually hear things coming up which I cannot see.

Quote:

Originally Posted by intransit1217 (Post 18804370)

Why do you reference that cyclists mainly wear sunglasses for style?
The loss of peripheral vision is very, very minimal and no factor at all on my rides.
The main reason I wear glasses is to keep bugs and debris out of my eyes. Can't tell you how many times I ride past areas where homeowners and landscapers are using edgers and leafblowers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by intransit1217 (Post 18804370)

For anyone who wears glasses, sun glasses, or sports glasses while riding.

I dig that we all want to be stylish to the best of our preferences and abilities but ask yourself one question PLEASE:

Are the temples of your glasses a blind spot?

That is, the part that runs from the hinge to over your ear. Does it reduce your peripheral vision?...

Quote:

Originally Posted by no1mad (Post 18804471)

Mirrors will help mitigate that problem...

I wear eyeglasses for extreme near-sightedness. The temples of my eyeglasses have never been a problem. When I shopped for new frames last year, I noted that wide opaque ear pieces had become fashionable (and my fashion consultant suggested them for me).

However, I do wear eyeglass-mounted Take-a-Look rearview mirrors, both left and right, and they do create blind spots, but I never found them a problem since I am in continuous motion.

I did realize a detriment to cycling from my most recent glass purchase last year; it was the first time I bought photochromic eyeglasses.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 18713898)

I don't like them, and I wear my non-tinted glasses when riding in bright sunlight. I never wore sunglasses anyways before I got them. I find they diminish contrast on bright days. [For example when looking for cracks and potholes on the black road surface.].

In particular when riding into the sun, I especially lose contrast when looking into my rearview mirror. I think it's because my pupils constrict even with the photochromes on, yet the lenses are already darkened.

My preference is for a billed baseball cap under my helmet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by noodle soup (Post 18714250)

loss of contrast is common with gray based tints. Amber, brown, and rose tints increase contrast.

I can’t necessarily vouch for [mention=426966]noodle soup’s[/mention] preference for tint, because I recently found out he is anti-rearview mirror.

Quote:

Originally Posted by noodle soup (Post 18795453)

It's a false sense of security you are getting from the mirror.

:lol:

Finally,

Quote:

Originally Posted by bakes1 (Post 18805362)

Why do you reference that cyclists mainly wear sunglasses for style?...

The main reason I wear glasses is to keep bugs and debris out of my eyes. Can't tell you how many times I ride past areas where homeowners and landscapers are using edgers and leafblowers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 12727173)

As a public service announcement to my fellow cyclists, today I suffered a corneal abrasion. I did an 18 mile commute this morning into a moderate headwind but otherwise uneventful. I wear eyeglasses and had no problems with anything blowing into my eyes.

About one half hour after arriving at work, and just sitting quietly at a meeting, my eye felt like it had a particle in it. I saw no foreign material in the eyelid, nor did anyone else, and it was not relieved at an eyewash station. I was lucky enough to get an appointment with an eye specialist at about an hour after the onset, and he did identify some black particles, and diagnosed the abrasion. From an online medical textbook:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Up-to-Date

…Often patients are too uncomfortable to work, drive, or read, and the pain frequently precludes sleep. Multiple attempts by the patient to "wash out" the eye can further disrupt the epithelial surface….Patients with a foreign body may or may not recall an episode with material falling or flying into the eye since, depending upon the type and size of the foreign body, symptoms may not be immediate, or they may be immediate, then abate for awhile, then recur….

Patients may have had severe pain for several hours by the time they seek care. They are visibly uncomfortable, pacing or rocking or rubbing the eye, and they can be disruptive to a waiting room. During the initial triage period, they should be offered a darkened room in which to wait, asked to wait quietly with the eyes closed, and encouraged not to rub the eye…

The lack of proven benefit with patching, the possibility of improper patching, and potential patient discomfort and inconvenience suggest that it is reasonable to treat corneal abrasions without an eye patch. Most corneal abrasions heal regardless of therapy in 24 to 72 hours. Vision should return to normal in that time...

My eye doctor claimed 24 to 48 hours to recovery, and my colleague (female), who asked me if I poked myself with an eyeliner wand, claimed she has gotten better overnight.

I wasn't able to work today as it was difficult even to just keep the uninvolved eye open because that irritated the affected eye…I was given an antibiotic ointment and I've spent most of my day with my eyes closed. I took Aleve for the pain, and have some heavy-duty analgesics available if I need them to sleep tonight.

It's now about 15 hours after the onset of symptoms. I note improvement, and only now can keep my unaffected eye open long enough to work at the computer….FYI.

I wear prescription glasses, my new pair are a Callaway titanium frame. Because the temple attaches at the top of the lens rather than in the middle or lower, the temple is not in my line of peripheral site. I also have a lazy left eye with vision 20/200 (might be worse). Anyway i wear a mirror that attaches to left temple and i can see behind me pretty well wight that.

My glasses have a wire rim, so little obstruction here. If I didn't wear glasses I'd be worse of with the diminished vision that would result , sun glasses or not .

First, to correct my nearsightedness. Second to protect from UV. Third to protect from debris and flying bugs. Fourth, to support my rear view mirror.

I am surprised how much I appreciate the $14 Kroop's Jockey Goggles. I like them enough to consider their more expensive model, but I'm actually afraid I'll like them less.

Kroop's Oregon Cycling Goggles

Quote:

Originally Posted by no1mad (Post 18804471)

Mirrors will help mitigate that problem...

+1

The OP is right in the loss of peripheral vision is a hazard however minor. The 3rd Eye mirror one attaches is the solution. One other fact is the sun may destroy your eye sight over time without sun glasses and that is huge hazard!

My head is on my neck which is flexible enough to allow me to move my head the fraction of an inch needed to cover any blind spot any glasses frame has. LOL The protection forom flying bugs or debris and the protection from UVA and UVB far outweighs any concern over a blind spot by the glasses arm. I have a pair of wraparound sunglasses that fit over my glasses and I cut the ears very sort on them and have an elastic band made from waist elastic. Easy on and they can be removed and/or hung from my neck.

Cheers

I took a honeybee dead-center in the middle of my left sunglass lens yesterday. NOT THE BEES!

Quote:

Originally Posted by intransit1217 (Post 18804370)

Blind spots happen with or without glasses, but yes, wearing glasses makes them worse. That's why you should shoulder check before every change of line whether riding, driving or walking.

Shoulder check before you get out of your bed; shoulder check before you get out of your chair; shoulder check before you get off the toilet; shoulder check before you walk into a room; shoulder check before you round a corner; shoulder check when you re cooking; shoulder check when you are mowing the lawn....shoulder check...shoulder check...shoulder check...always...everywhere, always. Make it a habit, a muscle memory thing. :)

And make good use of the eyes on the sides of your head too. :)