Glasses in winter
 

How do those of you that wear glasses deal with them in the winter? This will be my first winter on my bike, and I really want to commute, but I am already having a hard time with them steaming up on a couple of the chilly mornings here in Vermont. I know they "de-fog" when I get going again, but those first few yards could be very scary after having to stop for a light or whatever in the winter.

Oh, and I can't wear contacts. (eyes get way too dried out)

Also, do I need to get studded tires? I know I will be riding in some deep snow occasionally, and right now I have road slicks on my mtb. I think I will probably switch to my "city" tires which have a somewhat moderate tread on them once we start to get flurries.

Thanks a bunch! Kat

Knobbies with a reasonable thread will be as good as studded tyres in loose deep snow. However, if there's ice or hard packed snow in the bottom, studs will make all the difference. Where I ride there's no way of telling what is beneath that layer of soft snow, so I ride with studded tyres.

--J

I don't think there is one real good solution. I just wear mine and deal with it the best i can. sometimes this means grabbing them and putting them in my pocket, when they are fogging too badly. (one of my eyes is near 20/20, sort of) This only happens at really cold temps when i am wearing the Balaclava. Other than that i get along pretty well.

If you haven't already been. Go here to learn some great tips.

I wash my glasses pretty regularly w/ dishwashing liquid, it seems to put just enough of a water absorbent layer on them to keep them from fogging. Ski shops will also sell various anti-fog compounds to reduce fogging of lenses. If you want to spend the money, Smith makes a ski goggle that fits over glasses and has a fan to draw air through the goggle and keep glasses and goggles unfogged.

I run studded Nokians (Hakkapellita 106) on my winter commute bike, and I really like them. They are excdllent on hardpack and ice, although I don't think the studs do much in deep snow (really aggressive knobbies would be key here). I would recommend the Nokians just because you are going to encounter hardpack and ice any time you're riding on paved roads .

I use rain-x on my glasses and they don't fog up. It's a commerical product for car windshields.

I also get the foggy thing on my glasses. They clear up pretty quick, but it's still a bummer.

I want to try to ride almost every day in the winter, unless there's a huge snowstorm. I did pretty good last year for my first winter, but I'll get myself some tights and all the right gear, and just go for it. It's only 5 miles each way, afterall.

I use Walmarts Shooting Goggles, they come with three differnt shades that pop
into the frame, not sure how well they will work in Winter, but anti-fog applied to
lense should work well...less than ten bucks last I checked.

In foggy conditions, I try to wear my glasses a bit low on my nose. Then if they fog up while I'm stopped, I can kind of peer over the top of them until they clear again. Of course, this only works if you can see reasonably well without them...

I also sometimes take them off while waiting at a light (just pay attention to the lights the other way so you know when to put them back on). This doesn't usually clear them if they're already foggy, but it can stop them from fogging up.

me too! rain-x is CHEAP and PLENTIFUL! keeps the rain off, and stops the fog. it won't damage plastic or coated lenses, either. while you are at it, put some on your car windshield, so you don't hit any cyclists who ride in the rain like me!

I have three problems with glasses - they fog up, they freeze on my nose and in a snow storm they don't work (don't have wipers - ha ha). I think I'll try defogger stuff like others have suggested, but up to now, I've just gotten use to putting them in my pocket and riding slower when I have to (and I'm thinking about ski goggles for the -40 weather).

Nokian studded tire rock. Best winter riding investment I've made. Put 'em on your Christmas list.

JUst had a VERY foggy ride this morning. There was so much fog that water was dripping off of every part of my body. My glasses were completely opaque. I couldn't see anything. I took them off for much of the ride. There were times where i had them slid down my nose and looked out over the top.

Glasses really suck when you can't see out of them. I have some FogTech that i should have put on them this morning, but i didn't know it was foggy until i got out of town. It was dark when i left.

When I'm riding in fog, I use my finger to wipe my glasses as often as needed. Try it. This has never scratched my plastic lenses. I guess my finger is not hard enough, or because of the lubrication from the water. Sometimes I use the terrycloth part of my glove. It's difficult to wipe the whole lens uniformly, so I just wipe across the top portion only. That's the part I look through when I'm riding, anyway.

I've tried this, and all it does is smear the sweat and rain around making it even harder to see. I think I am going to try to get some ski goggles that go over glasses to help with the problem. I have also found that the wind that hits right at the bridge of my nose seems to be the nastiest, coldest of all the places that wind can hit my body, so goggles would help with that as well. Thanks all for all of the great suggestions. I am going to try the rain-x idea too.

Amen. I wish it were that simple.
:(

You must not be doing it right. Do you think I would do it if it made it harder to see???

Try using the side of your finger, and just along the top of the lens.

I don't have to deal with snow, but get plenty of rain and had problems with my eyes drying out in colder weather. I had a couple pair of clear plastic safty goggles that came with power tools. They work well, easily fit over my glasses, keep out most of the cold wind & in wet weather, you can build up quite a bit of water droplets & still see ok. It is also easier to wipe rain drops off the flat surface. You can buy these safty goggles at places like Home Depot or Lowes. The few times I ride in sub freezing weather, I ditched my glasses & wore a set of ski goggles. Don

There used to be some substance, specifically intended for glasses, that wiould prevent them from fogging. No idea if it works with modern day plastic lenses but you might want to check with your local optometrist.

I've found my glasses tend to fog when I go inside rather than when I'm out in the cold. Also rain is a problem.

there is a green paste like substance you could buy in wal-marts in the farm state, that was extremely good at keeping your glasses fog free. I think it was four or five bucks a jar. The jar was clear with a white snap top, and had a gold metallic label with black print.

Ranger, let me know how the Fogtech works in those conditions. I make the product and would love to have you test it.

gene@motosolutions.com

We have had terrible fog and drizzle here in Kansas this week. A couple days i had to take my glasses off and stick them in my trunk bag. It was simply to hard to see. I put some fog tech in the bag the other day, to get ready to test it.

THis morning i headed out in a fog/drizzle. It was dark out. I rode a couple blocks and then stopped under a street light to apply some fogtech. I dried the glasses first before applying. I rode a couple more blocks and it did not improve things. I simply couldn't see anything. I headed home.

These are not what I believe your product was intended for. It does not repell water. (at least i assume it isn't supposed to) I still haven't given it a good test to prevent fog that results from warm air (breathing) meeting cold air. I still have one sample left and will try and give it a more fair test.

My conclusion at this point is that glasses suck!!! Even if you are able to somehow keep them from fogging, there still is the issue of rain/drizzle. I am going to look hard into contacts. They may not be the answer either but i have to try.

I use cat crap.

I don't wear glasses, but as far as anti-fogging visors go, I found these to be better than ski googles. They're dirt cheap, for one thing, and they permit enough air flow to prevent fogging while riding.

http://www.labsafety.com/store/produ...?dept_id=10258

Are you just riding in Burlington, or on the roads thereabouts? When I lived there, they plowed the roads well enough that I never needed studded tires. And I rode every day, in the worst snows, the cold, all of it.

I did put mtb tires on during the heaviest snow, I remember, but hard road tires would do most of the time. I knew a guy who rode his road bike, with his regular tires, all year, too.

I been battling foggy glasses in Minnesota for over 40 years. Ski goggle cause my glasses to fog up worse than if I don't wear goggles. Face shields on a motorcycle helmet are even worse. I found a commercial product at the Atlanta airport about 12 years ago that ******** fogging. It was a pink paste that worked well but cost $5 for a little amount. A few years later I found out that it was just soap. Yes, plain old soap is the best thing to minimize fogging. Even with soap the glasses can fog but it is harder and they clear quicker.

Take a small amount of soap and rub it on both sides of your lenses. Then wipe it off with a soft cloth. Do not wash your glasses or you will just wash the soap off. If the soap leaves your glasses cloudy then you used too much or else you used a soap that is not very transparent. If so wash it off and then try again or use a different soap.

How do you prevent eyes from watering? When the wind blows from just the right direction, it gets under my glasses and starts the tears. They cause my vision to cloud up and a couple of times when the temperature was below -25 F I blinked and my eyes froze shut.

i wear those sunglasses that cover all your glasses. they have a nice wide ear piece, so i have a good base for my rear view mirror. they do tend to fog up, but by spitting on them ( an old diving trick) they work better than nothing over my glasses, as they keep my eyes from watering from the cold, especially going down hill. i just had the lenses of a pair changed changed over to clear. but i had to get optical lenses, since they couldn't find any clear lenses that came with the sunglasses, i guess cuz they were sunglasses! so it was a bit more expensive than i would have expected, about $100 canadian. i imagine you guys in the states could get them for a lot less than that, as canadian prices are not low.