Flandry

Maybe this should go under road bikes, but it's relevant for me when touring, so...

My corrective lens prescription is pretty high, so i tend to get narrow frames to minimize the soda bottle effect. The problem is, when i'm riding distance, especially in the drops, i feel like i have to tilt my head abnormally far back to see properly. This slows me down, leads to a sore neck, and makes me look goofier than normal.

How do you glasses-wearers manage?

jamawani 

Big Frames -
Even if I look like Joe 1977.

wahoonc

Get a taller stem so I don't have to lean over so far

Aaron

robow

Both excellent suggestions above but if you are tilting your head back not because the frame is too small but because you need to view more thru the center of the lens to avoid the peripheral distortion that is inherent in a stronger Rx lens, then either:

A. Consider a contact lens for distance only
B. Have whoever makes your eyeglasses to move the optical center more superior in the frame.
C. Consider surgical correction if a possibility
D. Don't ever let me draft off you

grinningfool

How strong is your prescription ? Are you myopic (nearsighted) ? If you are myopic, and your prescription is strong, then contacts are probably the way to go. Then you can get a big pair of non Rx sunglasses or goggles to wear over the contacts.
Robow's suggestion to have your eye care professional move the optical center will help, but will also increase the thickness of the lenses, so not a good option for someone with a strong prescription. It also induces prism into the lenses, so when you are wearing them off the bike, things will look differently.
You can get a bigger pair of glasses for bike riding, but as you already know, the bigger they are, the thicker they are. You can order a pair with high index or super high index, which will help reduce the overall thickness. They make a 1.74 index material, which is very good for strong prescriptions to reduce the thickness. They are, however, very pricey. Contacts would be cheaper.
I have worked in an optical lab for 35 years, so feel free to PM me if you have any questions about lenses.

Camel

Nice suggestions above, esp the additional above.

I can usually get away with wearing my non-prescription sunglasses, which are like glacier glasses. They are close to my eye, allowing fullfield of vision when I'm down low. They also keep the wind and crud out of my eyes.

It's a huge difference when I swap to my prescription glasses, because I then need to ride like the OP describes. In my case, it's more to keep the wind & crud out my eyes, as opposed to really see where I'm headed.

Give a look at Nike prescription glasses. I just got a new prescription, and new glasses will be ready shortly. I bought what look like semi "wraps", and the lenses attach to the frame only at the top (semi-frameless?). The lenses are also closer to my eyes, and it looks like these will be awesome to ride with.

Mine are Nike 4110 (I'm pretty sure, if not very similar) see: https://www.coolframes.com/?fid=13549

Nike makes a bunch of similar functional models suited for sports and still "styllish" for business. I'm sure other companies make similar styles as well.

balto charlie

I liked that one

tacomee

There's been a lot of good ideas in this thread. For riding with glasses, start here.

https://www.croakies.com/eyewear/croakies/croakies.html

Yeah, the're dorky, yeah, the're old school, but the're also cheap and work well.

Good luck!

Camel

Don't forget, they float too...

Hot Rod Lincoln

I have hit the age that my eyes won't focus close-in anymore. I wear contacts while riding and take a pair of reading glasses with me just in case I have a need for close up vision. Works for me

Camel

Take care when riding without eye protection. Eye Doctors can readily tell when someone cycles (or motorbikes) without goggles/wraps or some such. Small particles can do damage even bellow 20Mph.

CardiacKid

Lasik surgery took me from 20/800 to 20/20. It was the best $2500 I ever spent.

Hot Rod Lincoln

I should have clarified. I ALWAYS wear eye protection. Just not in the form of prescription glasses anymore. I had the same problem the OP had. Contacts solved it and allowed me to wear good quality sunglasses when I ride.

Flandry

Thanks for all your suggestions. It's a combination of narrow vertical field of vision due to lens shape of the glasses and their tendency to slide down a bit in that position. I hadn't thought about Croakies but that would probably help a lot. My eyes only tolerate contacts for about 7 hours per day under the best conditions.

I actually had something flip up while riding in the rain in Cambridge and get lodged between the eyelid and eye. It was a few days before i realized it was still there, so it had abraded a lot. Fortunately, the scarring is all outside the pupil region!

I keep telling myself i'll get Lasik when my current glasses wear out, but then i keep looking for excuses to avoid it. Apparently i'm "high risk" for side effects due to a thin cornea or something. Do you notice the extra scattering or smearing of bright lights at night at all?

robow

Some individuals will notice this more than others but it usually depends on the natural size of your pupil (the smaller the better) and size of the corneal area to be ablated. This being said many find it bothersome initially but like so many aspects of our vision, the brain in many (most?) cases learns to ignore the glare or starburst appearance. This was much more common and troublesome with the earlier techniques of RK or radial keratotomy and less so with Lasik.

Clarenza

Or you could just switch to a recumbent. No need to crane your neck, just sit back and enjoy the panoramic view with your current glasses.

Flandry

I like you. Way to find a way to justify a new bike. Heheh

Robow, i guess it just scares me to make permanent changes to my eyes. Besides the vision itself, there are the comfort issues. My uncle had Lasik done and apparently the nerves that cause tearing were damaged, so he has to put in drops all the time.

I guess i figure that the longer i wait, the better Lasik will get. Maybe it's time to bite the bullet.

I do want to try the croakie, though. Now, i just need spring.

Cyclesafe

I have -12 diopter myopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia. I can only see clearly out of the optical center of my (glasses) lenses. So I can relate to the OP's issues.

To minimize the coke bottle effect, I choose high refractive index glass and small frames which for the time being are in style, but minimize the area for corrective reduction to deal with the presbyopia (the weakening of the lense focusing muscles that happens to everyone after age 40).

The FDA has not approved Lasik or any other refractive laser surgery for -12 diopter, but my opthamologist would do it if I would be satisfied with a -3 diopter result. NOT!

An inter-ocular lense is another possibility, but another opthamologist wanted $8000 for the procedure. He said that if I didn't have the money he would finance it. I told him I was vain, not stupid.

So that leaves contacts. Maybe if I were still chasing girls, I'd go with contacts, but if my last approvement in my appearance (loss of 40 lbs) is any indicator, my defective personality would still be front and center keeping me from being a big hit with the ladies. All the fuss doesn't seem worth the bother.

So I deal with it. When riding I don't correct for the presbyopia, because if I did I wouldn't clearly see the potholes. When I need to read a map, I stop and take my glasses off and read three inches from my eyes. Rain is a real problem, since a couple of rain drops or a little fogging really screw me up. Maybe I should try a face shield.

staehpj1

On the longer stem comment... It is a personal choice, but changing riding position to accommodate vision issues seems like a bad trade off to me. Better to physically condition yourself the best you can to the position and use vision correction that works best for you.

On the suggestion of switching to a bent... I consider that a different sport that doesn't particularly interest me. It may be a great answer for some folks, but I am not interested.

I have had fair luck with sunglasses with inserts on tour. The solution that I used, Optic Nerve Red Hawk glasses with my distance prescription in the insert, had a few drawbacks. First I had trouble reading maps and finding bits of metal or thorns in my tires without putting my bifocals on. Second inserts mean 4 surfaces to keep clean or worry about fogging rather than just 2. Third the red hawks only had one color of lens.

BTW: The vanity issue for me goes the opposite way for me. I look better in glasses. My wrinkles are far more obvious when I am not wearing glasses. I really don't care that much, but I look older and that isn't that great career wise. Lasik or contacts would have that drawback. I really don't plan to work too many more years anyway so it probably isn't a huge deal even if it does impact my career a bit.

I am currently debating several options for cycling as well as running and other sports.

1. Lasik accompanied with reading glasses if necessary
2. Contacts accompanied with reading glasses if necessary
3. A different set of glasses with interchangeable lenses with inserts with my bifocal prescription.
4. Sports glasses with my bifocal prescription and photo-chromic lenses

I would be interested in any comments folks have on any of those possible choices.

robow

Now this can be a potential problem for post Lasik or PRK (another technique) patients. It is extremely important that the individual going into the procedure not have a "dry eye" meaning that they must have an adequate quantity and quality of tears since this procedure can exacerbate this chronic condition. It's another instance that with time, the dry eye symptoms will often become less but in some cases they remain. As a general rule, as we age the eyes tend to dry out more easily anyway, especially for females, so this is always a concern preoperatively.

robow

Staehpj, any one of those options might work for you but of course each system has its own compromises so realize that what works quite well for one individual may not work well for you. Sport glasses with your Rx and bifocal is the easiest and probably the least expensive alternative. If you do go this route or for that matter, with any bifocal glasses you might use extensively for biking, golf and other outdoor activities where the distance Rx is more the concern and reading up close is secondary but necessary, when you have the glasses made, you might want to consider a lined (not a progressive) bifocal and set the bifocal quite low in the frame so it doesn't interfere with your ability to simply drop your eyes to view the road below (or a golf ball) and therefore won't cause you to have to drop your head as well to view over the bifocal. A progressive or no line bifocal doesn't work quite as well for this technique but it can be made to work if the doctor makes an adjustment by increasing the bifocal add. When you want to read the map or scorecard, you then do have to keep your head and nose pointed quite high so you can drop your eye into the lower bifocal and get into the add power. This works quite well since you will not be reading for long periods in these glasses but may not work well for everyday glasses if you do much reading or computer work. I do hope this makes sense.

staehpj1

Good comments and I will consider them, but... My concern is that I have never used a lined bifocal so I am unsure about adjusting to it particularly when switching back and forth between my sports glasses and regular glasses. Care to say more about the reason for the lined bifocal?

Also since when riding my head is generally tilted down a bit, it would seem to negate the need to set the bifocal low in the frame since head position when riding kind of does that already. This may be more true for me than for some since I do not subscribe to the theory that touring should be done in a more upright posture.

FWIW: I ride, run, sail, hike, and kayak, but do not golf.

staehpj1

Anyone use photo chromic lenses? Comments on how they worked out for you (or didn't) would be appreciated.

CardiacKid

The only problem I had, post surgery was dry eye. On my 6 month follow-up I complained to the doctor that I was paying about $10 a week for eye drops. He gave me 2 boxes of samples. The problem went away about a week later and I was left with about 20 bottles of eye drops that I eventially had to throw away, when they expired.

robow

One reason for a lined bifocal is the area of clear distance optics is superior to a progressive bifocal where you only have a small corridor of clear optics with distortion built into the periphery. In other words, it requires less nose pointing at what you want to see.

The photo chromatic or Transitions lenses do a very nice job getting dark outside but they will not darken up well inside your car since they need UV light in order to make that change and most all automobile glass now carries a UV filter. So if you need a sun Rx while driving they won't perform as well as permanently tinted lens. Although there are some newer lenses designed to fill that void.