Cycling UK Forum

rogerzilla wrote:get glasses with inserts

In my experience the problem with inserts is that they result in a lot of confusing 'clutter':

1. They are relatively small and typically flat. Consequently the field of view they provide is much less than wraparound lenses.

2. The inserts' plastic frames create a significant interruption in the feld of vision. Again, because they are so small and flat, that interruption occurs close to the main field of vision, where it is most dangerous.

The inevitable distortion necessary with a curved lens in wraparound glasses is much less of problem. As the distortion increases towards the edge of the lens, peripheral vision is less acute anyway. Even someone who does not need glasses will not be able to identify a particular model or colour of car at the edge of their vision. We don't need that degree of acuity at the periphery. We just need to be able to determine that there is a car behind us, and wraparound glasses with corrective lenses are good enough for that. Because the distortion in their lenses increases gradually as peripheral vision deteriorates in acuity, it is less confusing for the brain to interpret than the abrupt transitions with an insert.

I'm moderately miopic (shortsighted, approx - 4 with slight astigmatism) & need a different reading correction so wear varifocals.

I've just checked the insert for my Rudy Project Rydons & it is very similar in size to my normal off-the-bike glasses


The uncorrected peripheral vision is similar but the outer lenses wrap round much further & are beyond normal peripheral vision. I can just swivel my eyeballs enough to spot them if I try hard. There is only a frame at the top so, unless I'm trying to look at my eyebrows, no visual interference there.


Unless I'm just out for a slow ride with Mrs H & /or grandchildren, I find my eyes water too much without the wraparound lenses. 90++% of the time I have no problem with fogging. In very cold weather they can fog up a bit when I stop but clear as soon as I start moving again. The other problem scenario is when the weather is cool & it is misty &/or drizzly. If I'm already riding I will simply unclip the outer lenses & leave the insert. If I'm setting off into it I may just wear my normal glasses. But I always carry the other pair as I can't really see well enough to ride safely without any glasses.

That is the option that works for me. I did have contacts many years ago & have considered trying them again. But when I did have them I found I needed to wear sunglasses when cycling anyway to keep my eyes from watering.

RickH wrote:I've just checked the insert for my Rudy Project Rydons...

It looks to me as if those inserts differ significantly from the ones that I had in my Briko glasses. They look quite a bit larger than the Briko insert, giving a bigger field of vision. The Rydon insert frame is thin metal, whereas the bulk of the plastic Briko insert frame interfered with my vision. It also looks to me as if your Rydon inserts are curved, i.e. slightly wraparound, whereas the Briko insert was flat.

I think the Briko's were very similar to the other cycling glasses with inserts that were available at the time I bought them, e.g. Bollé. I wonder whether it's the case that the insert designs are now generally better, or whether your Rydon's were - and remain - atypical.

brucelee wrote:Thanks for your responses everybody. A couple of horror stories have put me off contacts

Obviously having worn various types of contacts for over 40 years I may be dismissed as somewhat biased, but I really would not be put off by so called “horror” stories.

I accept that life is not without its risk, but I really think, provided you are sensible, the chances of you suffering an “event” extremely remote. They normally tend to happen to those who are stupid e.g falling asleep whilst drunk, washing them in tap water, not washing hands before putting them in etc.

Most opticians (or more accurately manufacturers) offer free trial lenses, so why not give them a try, you might be pleasantly surprised.

rogerzilla wrote: Wraparound types give terrible distortion.

I found my prescription sunglasses gave distortion when I first started to wear them, but my eyes soon adjusted. It felt is if my head was a foot off the ground, but now it feels normal. In fact, if I wear my normal specs on the bike, I feel as though I’m 10 feet tall.

Farrina wrote:those who are stupid e.g falling asleep whilst drunk, washing them in tap water, not washing hands before putting them in etc.

Sounds like a typical day for me, maybe I'm better off with glasses....

Just took delivery of a pair of varifocals from Vision Express Tavistock. Very pleased with them.
So long as you go back within 30days, you can buy another pair (including lenses) at half-price.
They also told me that I can take my varifocal sunglasses to them and they'll put new lenses in for half-price too.

They offered to look at my Optilabs cycling glasses to see if they can put new lenses in them too ...... for half-price.
I'm doubtful they can do it, and I'm doubtful that the frame is worth it as it's sweat-damaged on the arms. Maybe they can.

I'll be back in Tavistock during the week to see what they can do.

TrevA wrote:

rogerzilla wrote: Wraparound types give terrible distortion.

I found my prescription sunglasses gave distortion when I first started to wear them, but my eyes soon adjusted. It felt is if my head was a foot off the ground, but now it feels normal. In fact, if I wear my normal specs on the bike, I feel as though I’m 10 feet tall.

When I was young, I found that I couldn't wear most ordinary sunglasses without the consequent (very slight) distortion in my FOV inducing sea-sickness symptoms, headaches etc. I couldn't for the life of me understand how people got on with prescription glasses of any kind, but as both my sisters (who inherited short sight from my Ma I think, and felt slightly cheated because I didn't have to wear glasses) tetchily explained "when you can't see stuff-all without, you soon get used to it".

These days I am (very fortunately) much less fussy about ordinary sunglasses, but (as is typical with age) I am increasingly finding I have to wear reading glasses for close work. However the distortion is such that I don't like wearing them much at all, and I am still instantly nauseous should I try and get up and walk around when I've got even fairly weak reading glasses on. I guess I shall have to 'get used to it' because as time goes on I am certain to need them more and more, even if I retain reasonable uncorrected distance vision.

In comparable instances;

- I have had a minor eye injury that distorted the retina slightly in one eye; it took months to get used to it, and I'm not sure to what extent my brain accommodated and to what extent the distortion physically reduced. But in the meantime I found doing more or less anything unusually tiresome, I got more headaches than normal, and even my mood was affected.

- I once spent some time (ab-)using my vision such that I trained myself to look at 'stereo pair' photographs without the aid of a proper stereo viewer. This involves breaking the conditioning that exists between where your eyes are pointed vs what focus they should use . However whilst I could (with practice) do this, it was not without consequence; headaches, nausea, and mood change were not uncommon, and eventually I gave up trying to work in that way, because it so often made me feel so peculiar. To this day I can't happily use binoculars (or a binocular type microscope) unless the alignment is pretty well perfect, not unless I want to make myself feel ill, that is.

So I have every sympathy with those that are conscious of distortion and are troubled by it. However provided there is at least some flexibility in the brain ( called 'neuroplasticity' I think) you should accommodate to many such things with practice.

cheers

There was an additional problem that the wraparound design only permitted a minimum PD of about 69mm. Not many people need a PD that wide; mine is 61mm and the average is 62mm, I think. If the PD is off, it feels as if your head is being ripped in two.

Mick F wrote:They offered to look at my Optilabs cycling glasses to see if they can put new lenses in them too ...... for half-price.
I'm doubtful they can do it, and I'm doubtful that the frame is worth it as it's sweat-damaged on the arms. Maybe they can.

Optilabs do a reglazing service.
I've just sent mine off to have Variofocal Transitions driveware lenses fitted.I'm upgrading from the standard Photochromic to cut down on glare plus these will darken when driving the car Photochromic won't.It has cost £231.If I had wanted the same in new frame the cost would have been £355.
Worth every penny as I tend to get 4 years out of a pair.I could get longer but as my prescription is getting stronger every 2 years I can get by keeping each pair for two prescription changes.

Mine Optilabs are Driveware.


Not sure that I'd pick them again, as they're tinted even in the dark. Difficult wearing them in the evenings or early mornings on the bike.

Mick F wrote:Mine Optilabs are Driveware.
Not sure that I'd pick them again, as they're tinted even in the dark. Difficult wearing them in the evenings or early mornings on the bike.

Interesting.
When I spoke to Optilabs about my needs they assured me that although slightly tinted at all times they were good to go in all but fully dark conditions.....I will have to see how I get on with them.

Difficult to photo them properly to show the tint.
It's not a great deal, but it's there, and it is a problem in low-light conditions.

I sometimes wear them when driving, but if I'm out for a while and the light fades, I reckon it's dangerous.
It's the reason why front windscreens are illegal to be tinted more than very slightly.

Totally irrelavant to the discussion, but I settled on a yellow tint for all outdoor activites, donks ago and especially apprecitate a) the way it makes everything look like it's bathed in sunshine whatever the weather! and b) appears to make the most of low light levels at dawn & dusk - although readers may find it hard to believe that I'm to be found out cycling more often at dusk than at dawn...

Mick F wrote:Mine Optilabs are Driveware.


Not sure that I'd pick them again, as they're tinted even in the dark. Difficult wearing them in the evenings or early mornings on the bike.

I am absolutely certain that recently (within the last 4 or 5 years) the lens option for driving was marked as not suitable for sports e.g cycling. I cannot see that warning on the current Drivewear, so I wonder if their lens has changed.