Oakley Radars...worth it?
 

Ok i have done a search on this, however other posts havn't satisfied me. So

1. Are they worth it? I tried them on in shop and damn do they fit sweet

2. What lens for cycling? Aparently the 'pros' use Positive Red Polarised http://oakley.com/visionaries but a lot of people say polarised is over kill and just get non-polarised. By the way i live in Perth, very sunny Perth.

3. wtf is Iridium? Better question: What does it do in terms of making the lenses 'better'?

Cheers

Yes, but buy them off eBay for a fraction of retail. Later.

worth it - yes!

if your face is the right shape i'd buy the new photochromatic path / pitch lenses. they adjust according to brightness. they just dont make them in the range shape yet. best lenses for riding in all conditions from bright sunny to overcast under trees etc.

polarised is only much better when snow/water come into the mix.

i have silver iridium's and g26's (green tint). Iridium is the coating they put on the lenses - it also supposedly makes vision clearer whilst also resisting scratches.

I've always liked Oakley, and have had many pairs over the last 15ish years. Currently for cycling, I wear a pair of Pro M-Frame "Sweep" glasses, with Black Iridium lenses. However, I did recently get a pair of Tifosi Ventoux glasses (come with 3 interchangable lenses), and for the price (half of Oakley), I'm just as impressed with them.

I guess you can't go wrong with Oakley, but you can probably get similar results for less money.

Alot of people are wrong. My knock on cycling "fashion" shades like Oakley has long been that they're not polarized. If you can get a polarized lens and are happy with everything else about the glasses then you don't really need to be asking a forum, do you?

"By the way i live in Perth, very sunny Perth."

Repeated for emphasis. Get the polarized lenses.


:beer:

What is the advantage of polarized a polarized lens for cycling? If conditions are wet I could see them being useful for cutting down glare off the road. I live in FL and use Polarized lenses a lot for fishing and stuff but when I got some free glasses that were not polarized I used them for cycling and they work quite well. Now if I were buying the glasses I'd buy polarized because they would be multi-use i.e. fishing/biking.

That's definitely part of it. As a fellow and life-long Floridian I find that glare is a constant and my Rx shades are on my face an awful lot. Considering how the OP describes Perth I'd imagine that things are similar there.

I'm with you on the value of free shades but Oakleys are anything but free. I never understood the price of cycling specific non-polarized shades. Since Oakley is offering a polarized lens I can think of no reason not to take that option. I know of no down-side to polarization.


:beer:

The Radars are not for me, but I've got a bunch of other Oakleys. Check out the lenses that are "hydrophobic". They shed water without streaking, etc. That includes sweat, fog, rain, whatever...

Fit was my priority and the Radars were the best out of a long list that included the usual (Rudy Project, Wiley, Adidas, Nike etc).

Yes, worth it for me.

My cycling Oakleys have Transitions lenses. They work in any light conditions. Because I often have low-light and bright sunlight on the same ride, plus dense forest and clear open country, no single-opacity lens really works very well. I don't know anybody who wants to stop and change lenses as light conditions change. The Transitions lenses react so rapidly that riding from bright light into shade is not a problem. Vision remains pretty constant. GREAT cycling lenses.

I have the Radar Range in a G20 lens which is on the transmits a fair amount of light. Great fit and function - the one disappointment for me is that there is substantial salt buildup on the inside of the lens from sweat evaporation - the water may bead up and evaporate, but the salt stays behind and impacts vision after a while.

I always keep a small lens cleaner in my jersey pocket for situations like this. It has paid off on several occasions, whether rain or sweat. I am fanatical about having clean lenses. Probably because my dad is an optician.

They are sweet shades............worth the money retail......Nope.

Same here. I'm an Oakley fan, I've ridden with Race Jackets, Zero's, and M-frames. Been thinking about Radars, but there is nothing wrong with my current glasses. :)

fyi, chainlove had a pair of radar range that i picked up.. great deal. I haven't seen them since.. but might be worth keeping an eye out for. Especially now that we have bonktown also.

I just got a pair of Radar Paths. They're pretty sweet.

Worth it!! I use a Radar Path but am about to pick up a set of M Pro frames.

+1

The downside to polarization is that it makes it tough or impossible to see liquid crystal displays on computers, dashboards, etc.

I like Polarized lenses, and the pluses sometimes far outweigh the negatives, but there is at least this 1 downside.

I went back to my M frames.

I just threw some fire-iridium lenses in my M frames and am loving it. The iridium is supposedly a finishing process that helps with detail in shadows and contrast.

Me too.

I've heard others say that. I haven't really noticed that. I do have a Garmin on my bike.

If you and others experience this then yes, I'd have to agree that there is a downside. I wonder if it's my eyes?

:beer:

They're awesome...if they fit you. I guess I have a face a tad smaller than average so it kind of look too big for my face.

I like my Radar, they fit my face well and the lenses provide good coverage. I use the polarized black iridium lenses most of the time and transition lenses for lower light conditions.