... why cyclists wear sunglasses?

[horizon]

Yes, that's true. But it doesn't seem necessary. That's why I wondered.

[McVouty]

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29518 I've come to the party a bit late, but see this thread

[ultraburner]

A couple of weeks ago I was cycling in a small bunch when an oncoming van kicked up a stone which hit my glasses with such force that it smashed open the bottom jaw of the specs, jettisoning the lens onto the road. The glasses were on my head at the time (no helmet) so I'm not sure what I'm trying to say!

I've heard a couple of instances of this kind of thing so I'd rather be wearing Gregory's than not.

[horizon]

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29518 I've come to the party a bit late, but see this thread

Thanks for that McVouty - i should have read it first!

Mainly the same responses: I wear sunglasses to keep grit out of my eyes.

q.v.: why do you wear a black tee shirt. To keep me warm.

[pliptrot]

...... pros are encouraged to wear them...

Having seen the price of the ones the pros wear, I can certainly understand them being encouraged to wear them. Suggesting we should buy the same suggests we are being encouraged to take leave of our senses.

[RickH]

If you don't need optical correction & you aren't attracted by "brands" then Aldi's ones at £2.99 as part of the Special Buys this Thursday (May 2nd) look like a good deal if you like the styles on offer (other cycling gear too). I don't know about other places but round these parts you have to get there early on the day or there's not much choice left.

Rick.

[McVouty]

I bought a pair of glasses from Lidl for £5.99. After about a week the frame broke close to the nosepiece. Calculating, stupidly, that I could afford £5.99 I bought a second pair; the same thing happened again.

With glasses as with bikes themselves there is a price point below which the product is not worth paying for; there is also a law of diminishing returns where small improvements in quality come at a large cost in price (the pros are given glasses in return for having to wear them when they are photographed, so they can be discounted from these equations).

If you don't need vision corrections, the best deals in clear or tinted glasses (though I've never seen pairs with interchangeable lenses) can be found in shops on industrial estates selling safety equipment.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
I did not buy any of the latest glasses ( sports ? ) because I have several pairs, I have used them for the last three or more years and retail for £9 - £17 on ebay.
Mine are the multi lense type, and have not had a single problem at all.
Your type might not be the same design as mine I have never bough SUN Glasses from Lidl only the Sports variety.
Lidl do a 28 day no quible return policy.
If you broke two pairs then I would return them.
I once bought a DVD hard drive recorder on offer from Lidl for £ 75, it had no remote and I could not operate it correctly.
I did not return it as I bought as seen but on contacting the importer they sent a remote free of charge.

[JohnW]

I don't wear sunglasses - we don't get much sun in these parts! Rain shields would be more useful.

However, I do wear clear lens glasses when the weather is such that insects will be about. I find insects such a pain. I even wear the glasses at night when it's warm enough, because I've collided with moths and I don't know what else in the dark. I do find very significant benefit in protecting my eyes from insects.

I've asked the occasional cyclist that I've seen wearing sunglasses when it was certainly not sunny and they've told me that they wear the sunglasses for the same reason that I wear the glasses, but they didn't know that clear, plain lens (that is not for magnifying or sight correction purposes) were available.

My LBS advises that sunglasses are very easily available through the trade, but that the clear lens glasses are a bit difficult to find - especially at prices which are not extortionate. He does manage to find them though.

Eye protectors are readily available at safety shops - and even in the Poundshop - but I find them very unsuitable for cycling.

[meic]

The Aldi cycling glasses come with clear, sunglass and yellow lenses. The yellow ones make it look as if the sun is shining when it isnt, I guess that is what we need in our rainy lands.

I took ordinary sunglasses yesterday and put them away in my pocket after a couple of miles, I only remembered about them when I got a fly in my eye on the last half mile.

[samsbike]

Out of interest what cyclists with corrective lenses doing. Thankfully I can still ride without my glasses, but I wonder if there will come a time when I need them and if so what will I do then.

[tatanab]

Out of interest what cyclists with corrective lenses doing.

I use glasses from
http://www.optilabs.com/site/prods.php?pfid=0,8,11 and have done for about 10 years. Highly recommended. Mine have Reactolight lenses and I wear them day or night. They change quickly enough that shady woods are not a problem, and of course are clear at night. I am sometimes surprised when I take them off and look at them to see that from the outside they appear darker than from the inside.

Before that I used Bolle Edge with an optical insert and different coloured lenses. Nowhere near as good as the Optilabs. Before even that I used ordinary spectacles and squinted in the sun. Modern specs seem to have smaller frames which allows the wind to whip around behind which causes my eyes to water - but not with the Optilabs.

[Ambler]

What kind of cost are Optilabs varifocals?

[andrewjoseph]

What kind of cost are Optilabs varifocals?

well, a quick look at thier website shows £219.

my wife and i have a pair of varifocal photochromatic for the road, and i have a pair of varifocal in yellowfor mtb and night riding.

[michael42]

Out of interest what cyclists with corrective lenses doing.

Dunno about with them, but without them I'm struggling to see what the edge 500 says

I keep meaning to get some off the shelf reading glasses but never do

I was going to get some of the aldi glasses this week though, mainly because in years past I've been pulling insects out of my eyes hours after the ride has finished.
Now I'm cycling on the road and going faster I don't really fancy getting hit in the eye.

Caveat emptor on sunglasses though, AIUI wearing them can make your skin more susceptible to burning (by blocking light that triggers production of some chemical or another). Unless that's an internet myth.