hexron

Thinking about investing in pair of prescription transition lenses. Anyone have any experience? Oakley?

Do they fully go clear and fully dark? When I was a kid I had some that were always a little grey.

GlennR

Rudy Project. The prescription lenses are in a separate holder and can be replaced much cheaper.




This is how dark the clear get.

delbiker1 

I have not had a transitions in quite a few years. I remember the lenses did get totally clear, but they never got dark enough and they do not cut the glare. Also, I did not like that when in a car, if the sun was not directly on them, they stayed clear. Not much good for that. I always use polarized prescription glassed now.

WhyFi

Oakley has light transmission specs on all of their lenses, even the photochromic lenses. Look up the specs for the glasses in question and see if you can reference that against any of your current glasses.

That said, photochromic lenses don't usually go as dark as the typical bright conditions glasses and they don't usually go completely clear, either. While I haven't owned Oakley photochromics, my experience with a couple other (good) brands was that the light levels always seemed bright, but not quite squinty, uncomfortable bright. Some will love this while it'll leave other wanting more. On the low light end of the scale, mine were fine for night use, but not as good as dedicated night riding/driving glasses, which usually filter certain parts of the spectrum to enhance contrast (the first time you wear a good pair of night lenses it's pretty remarkable, or at least it was for me).

sdmc530

Transitions are good. They now have a version that works inside cars too. They are a bit spendy though. I just bit the bullet and gave in and got a dedicated pair of sunglasses for cycling.

Glad i got separate riding glasses in the end. I still get transitions on my regular glasses. A nice feature.

my dedicated prescription riding sunglasses are oakley. They are sweet

u235

My last three pairs of prescription glasses have been transitions from Costco, no problems at all and my next pairs will be transitions as well. I wear them all the time including on the bike. The only thing I notice is they are slow to return to non dark when it is cold out and mine do not get dark in the car, not sure if that revision was available at Costco but that is not a show stopper for me.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

I have a set of Oakley transitions. Like Whyfi mentioned above, they don't go dark enough when it is really bright out so, I don't use them on my road bike. They are good in the trails on an MTB though...

Machka 

I've worn transition lenses in regular glasses for years. Never had any problem with them.

They change colour as the light changes, but I don't actually notice the difference, or not much ... which is just the way I want it.

bobwysiwyg

Guess I'm an outlier here. Have been wearing them for 4-5 years, but next time around, I'm going to skip them. Biggest problem for me is just how dark they can get and time to clear under certain circumstances such as bright sun and snow. Coming in from that sort of environmental factors you're nearly blind for a few minutes. So, next time around, prescription sunglasses and perhaps clip-ons in the car. The lack of polarization is also a big factor for me.

indyfabz

+1 on Rudy Project with inserts, especially if your Rx is likely to change during their lifetime. Got a pair last fall and like them. They don't go super dark. I don't like super dark anyway.

firebird854

Also +1 to Rudy Project, I have some photochromic lenses through them and love them.

jfranci3

I have transitions xtractive in my specs. Freakin great at all times while riding. They supposedly get darker on hot days than the regular Signature / VII version, but don't go as clear. They get plenty clear (20% tint vs 9% normal glasses) enough for riding on the darkest of nights/AMs, but get enough tint in time for sunrise. The darkest Oakleys have a 90% tint, these will get up to 85%.
Only downsides 1) They start out clear when you start your day ride. 2) They look stupid half tinted 3) they don't work in the car.

I'd do it again, but get a flash mirror finish ( I think SportRX.com will do this). They'll look clear with a weird coating on them when it's dark, but will quickly go mirror. This solves they half-tint look issue. Only SportRX will do non-Oakley transitions that I know of.

I have not had luck with the off brands (Zeiss usually), as they do not get light or dark enough .I'd only do the Oakley Iridium transitions for the mirror - they only do 33% clear to 90% dark, so probably not a great solution for night.

colnago62

I have both lenses of Oakley transitions lenses. One is called something with black in the name is nearly clear (You can use them for night riding.) but doesn’t get dark enough for clear bright conditions, like the beach for example. The other is G with some number and it is good for bright days but does not go totally clear (Good for cloudy days that aren’t dark. ).

colnago62

Transitions use UV rays to create a reaction in the lenses. Car glass blocks UV rays. Costco has driving glasses that will get dark while driving. I have a pair. They are great.

TimothyH

I have Oakley transition lenses. They are fantastic. I would not hesitate to buy them again.

There are two types of transition lenses - one goes full clear in the dark and the other will retain a slight tint. I ride at night and so have the ones with no tint, fully transparent in the dark.

Flak 2.0, frosted edges, transition, progressive. No other lab would touch it.





-Tim-

jfranci3

Let me reword that for you - There are two types of "Oakley" transitions (photochromic) lens. Ones that start clear and add tint and ones that have a base tint and add. The Oakley Black Iridium may be plain traditional "Transition" lens with a mirror coating.

In reality, there are three classes of these are:
- UV sensitive - eg "Transitions" branded, don't work in the car, what you normally think of. Performance affected by temp have about 70% tint range.
-Ambient light sensitive - most Oakley and other brands, work in the car, very limited range, don't go full dark or light - 20% - 50% range. These work nice for people who don't like super dark tinted sunglasses / mtb bikers coming in/out of the woods.
-Electrical control - Uvex has a pair out there. Non-RX.

What the companies do is take one of these technologies and either add a photochromic layer to a base tint or clear lens. In the case of Transitions Xtractive, they layer these two types of photochromic types. I think RudyProject may be doing this too - if so, they are the only ones I know of. These are the only lens that will work pitch black to clear ski day/beachday tint.

noodle soup

Oakley Transition lenses are UV sensitive, not ambient light sensitive.

jfranci3

The Iridium (mirrored) ones? That makes sense based on their range. I think they are just normal transition lenses with a mirror finish then. The mirror adds about 10% to the tint depending.

Jon T

I've had Transitions for the better part of 20 years. I like 'em a lot. As for not being dark enough--mine come with magnetic clip-ons--problem solved. The reason most transitions don't turn dark in your car is because the windows are already tinted-albeit very lightly-but just enough to block out the (A or B or whatever) rays that turn the transitions dark.
Jon

TimothyH

My lenses are are prescription, ordered through an optician from Oakley. They don’t work in the car.


-Tim-

ticmxman

I’m in the market for a set of progressive cycling glasses. I’m probably going with Oakley Flak 2.0 Xl. I live in NW Georgia. Care to share who you used for your purchase? I’m deciding whether to use a local optician or Sports RX.

MoAlpha

Good experience with SportRx, ordering Kaenons with proprietary progressives for sailing. Price wasn’t any better than local shop, around 800 bucks.

kingston 

I have glasses similar to Tim's. Got them at Lenscrafters so Luxottica gets all the money.

sfrider 

I didn't know Oakley could do photochromic RX... My Oakleys are due for new lenses since my prescription has changed enough to warrant it, so I think I'll see if I can get photochromic lenses through my opthalmologist. They don't carry Rudy Project unfortunately, and it's enough money I'd prefer to use my vision benefit plus FSA to cover them. I forget what frames I currently have (Flak something or other) but knowing Oakley they change up their product line so often I doubt I can just replace the lenses (and they may not have photochromic lenses for those old frames anyway). So I may end up having to buy new frames as well and the Flak 2.0 XL's look pretty good...

CliffordK

Hmmm...
I seem to have all the expensive options here.Anyway, they end up being mighty expensive lenses, so I tend to use them for quite some time.

As far as the photo-grey. I've used them for a couple of decades, and wouldn't go with anything else. They don't get super clear, or super dark, but are good enough. I really don't notice the transition phase, or any delays in the color changes.

And, I always have every pair of glasses I ever need right on my nose (although I've started using goggles when grinding, in part to protect the lenses).

I've heard different opinions of glass vs plastic. My lenses aren't super thick or heavy, so that isn't an issue. The glass is somewhat more durable than plastic for most things except, apparently for grinder sparks.

The glass + photo-grey are excellent quality.