Cycling UK Forum

I currently wear vari-focal glasses and use these when cycling although on really bright or sunny days (not that we get many) they are not too good.
I am considering getting disposable contact lens just for cycling with a decent set of sunglasses. Does anyone else do this.

I mostly wear varifocal glasses, for cycling and everything else. I am also an occasional wearer of daily disposable multi-focal lenses, which work pretty well, though not quite as well as the glasses. How well they might work for you would depend, on the details of your prescription and on how easily you could get used to them. I use them with sunglasses on the bike sometimes, with no problems.

Might be cheaper in the long run to get prescription sunspecs though.

Dean0263 wrote: ↑2 May 2024, 12:42am I currently wear vari-focal glasses and use these when cycling although on really bright or sunny days (not that we get many) they are not too good.
I am considering getting disposable contact lens just for cycling with a decent set of sunglasses. Does anyone else do this.

I do exactly this and have no problems. I initially went the prescription sunglasses route but they are not good with changing light conditions or darker lanes inbetween sunny roads, let alone dark cafes! Even photochromatic ones are far from quick enough to revert to clear. I dislike having to swap to normal glasses and back again so sunnies or just clear antiglare glasses that I can simply remove are a wonder! I tend to remove the contacts and swap back to glasses as soon as I'm finished for the day.

I have quite a strong farsight prescription (around -8.5) and about -3 for nearsight. Combined with fairly strong astigmatism it is problematic for contact lenses because you can only correct for nearsight Or for astigmatism, not both at once. My solution is to have a lens that corrects for neasight (varifocal) in one eye and one that corrects for the astigmatism in the other. Each eye on its own is quite poor, but together they are excellent.

I used daily lenses( for distance) for a time, so could use cycling glasses, but ended up not being able to read detail, like the phone etc. I've now got photochromic prescription cycling glasses (about £130) which work well.

I've recently (couple of months ago) started with contact lenses and have learnt a massive amount (having been given advice on this forum), but complex so my response a bit long (sorry).

If below is tl;dr my main advice is go with whatever solution your optician recommends (eg monovision, varifocal, dailies, etc.). I had preconceived ideas and I was wrong.

For years I've needed reading glasses, distance vision being virtually perfect. For years opticians have said I could use contacts but I wouldn't like them as much because of the compromise (impacts on distance vision). But glasses were becoming a real nuisance so decided to give contacts a try.

I'd always been very against the monovision solution (distance in one eye and reading in the other) because to me it sounded "wrong" and I believed it would compromise distance judgement.

First contact lens consultation and specialist recommended the monovision using daily disposable lenses. I was inclined against that solution but decided they are the specialist and trying it involved no extra cost or commitment and if my suspicions were correct I could change in a couple of weeks anyway. I was wrong, specialist was right.

What they do is set the distance prescription on your dominant eye, reading distance on the non-dominant eye. for me this added grief and cost because my non-dominant eye had perfect distance vision but my dominant eye has a slight astigmatism and trivial prescription. Thus I need two lenses, one (dominant) correcting the astigmatism, the other with the reading prescription.

They are brilliant. When my trial prescription ran out the more specialist astigmatism correction was nt "stock" so I was without for a few days and really missed them.

I found my reading prescription using the contact lens was slightly stronger than my glasses (by +0.25), initial trial was with glasses prescription checked week before but I felt slightly too weak so got another trial pack +0.25 stronger and they were the best compromise computer vs book distance.

Optician I'm using charges £50 for the trial which is all necessary consultations, trial lenses, materials, etc. (though daily disposable doesn't really have "materials"). Then if you go ahead longer term you can either pay a monthly subscription which includes any necessary consultations or you buy packs as you need them. Subscription cost is based on how often you wear them eg 30 days a month, 15 days a month, etc. (I went for 30) and also the prescription eg astigmatism correction is more expensive, etc.

After a couple of months:
a. Brilliant. Can't see me going back or switching unless my eyes change
b. Still having grief betting them out at bedtime - always manage but takes several attempts but think I'm getting better. On one occasion I must have damaged a cornea capillary and white turned to red in one quadrant of cornea but resolved itself within a week and I'm more careful now.
c. Occasionally at computer I lose a bit of clarity so put hand over each eye in turn (maybe "remind brain bout switching") and returns to perfect
d. I've only once managed to see the astigmatism line on the astigmatism lens to put it in properly aligned. But it's no big deal as blink a few times and it automatically aligns itself properly.
e. I took no time for brain to cope with the monovision system (one eye distance, other reading). After 1st fitting, left lenses in and drove home unaware of the lenses, no issues. That said things marginally improved over the 1st week but were very good right from start.
f. Sometimes astigmatism eye feels like it has something in it (it has, a lens). It's a mild sensation that is not troubling. In evening it can be a bit worse but some over the counter moisturising eye drops resolves. Astigmatism corecting lenses are thicker than standard lenses.
g. I suffer blepharitis, not badly but 1st appointment they carefully checked everything and it was not a problem.
h. Expensive. But probably I'm paying more because of the astigmatism correction.
i. Last year when I tried for new glasses it was a disaster and new pairs caused distortions (they tried twice and still couldn't get rid of distortions). Lenses were no distortions .
j. On the bike I can see 100% distance and glance gown at GPS or phone and read that 100% (previously I'd need glasses for close stuff).
k. I mostly wear sunglasses cycling as much to protect eyes from insects and grit but even without I've had no problems with eyes drying out or anything.
l. Has not affected my distance judgement.

Hope the above helps.
Ian

Thanks for the advice.
Think I will give disposables a go for cycling

Just a couple of cycling issues I've found.

You will need goggles/cycle specific sunglasses over the lenses because without over-glasses I've had lenses blow out or worse blow back behind the eyeball on fast descents. Standard sunglasses have the same issue as the wind finds its way around the edges. Strangely, I also found that the eyelid reaction you learn to suppress to put the lenses in meant that I often didn't blink when objects were flying at my eyes and had a lot of trouble with debris in the eyes as a result.

I then got a little dispirited because I really wanted to cycle without any eye wear so I went back to glasses

Dean0263 wrote: ↑2 May 2024, 11:30am Thanks for the advice.
Think I will give disposables a go for cycling :D

Why just for cycling? Why not wear them all day as distance/near vision is used throughout the day not just on a cycle.

Remember that daily disposables are disposable in that they are use once, remove from eye and discard you don 't put them back in later in the day.

Ian

Stradageek wrote: ↑3 May 2024, 9:18am Just a couple of cycling issues I've found.

You will need goggles/cycle specific sunglasses over the lenses because without over-glasses I've had lenses blow out or worse blow back behind the eyeball on fast descents. Standard sunglasses have the same issue as the wind finds its way around the edges. Strangely, I also found that the eyelid reaction you learn to suppress to put the lenses in meant that I often didn't blink when objects were flying at my eyes and had a lot of trouble with debris in the eyes as a result.

I then got a little dispirited because I really wanted to cycle without any eye wear so I went back to glasses :(

Might this depend on the exact type of lens. Specialist contact lens optician I'm using is also a keen cyclist and we spent some time about our cycling experiences and activities but I was never warned about this.

Also mine are "very determined" to stay in the correct position; drag them (using finger) out of position and they immediately bounce back (which I suspect is part of the reason I'm still finding removing them difficult).

Ian

As posted before, I'm a very happy user of RGP multi-focal lenses both for cycling and daily use. Correction for both far and near sight.

One thing I would mention relating to cycling - on longer audaxes and multi-day all-day rides, I tend to suffer from eye irritation - red-eye, puffy skin and general irritation. Whether this would be less of an issue with soft lenses I'm not sure. In future I intend trying moisturising eye drops at regular intervals during the day to see if that helps. I'm hoping the problem is just dryness caused by air-flow.

And yes - I wear protective glasses at all times when cycling, whether sunglasses or photo-reactive at night.

Psamathe wrote: ↑2 May 2024, 11:07am I've recently (couple of months ago) started with contact lenses and have learnt a massive amount (having been given advice on this forum), but complex so my response a bit long (sorry)...

It's fascinating. Thanks for posting.

Psamathe wrote: ↑2 May 2024, 11:07amc. Occasionally at computer I lose a bit of clarity so put hand over each eye in turn (maybe "remind brain bout switching") and returns to perfect

So not the whole factory reset? : - )

Nobutseriously I'll ask a specialist if that's well known.

Jonathan

Jdsk wrote: ↑3 May 2024, 11:16am

Psamathe wrote: ↑2 May 2024, 11:07am I've recently (couple of months ago) started with contact lenses and have learnt a massive amount (having been given advice on this forum), but complex so my response a bit long (sorry)...

It's fascinating. Thanks for posting.

Psamathe wrote: ↑2 May 2024, 11:07amc. Occasionally at computer I lose a bit of clarity so put hand over each eye in turn (maybe "remind brain bout switching") and returns to perfect

So not the whole factory reset? : - )

Nobutseriously I'll ask a specialist if that's well known.

Jonathan

It's a very minor issue. I have good reason to believe my neuroplasticity is high (good plasticity) but also can be subject to fatigue. Plus most sources I've seen say it can take 1+ weeks to fully adapt so add fatigue, add glancing up (distance) then glancing down (reading) involving a switch might incur some processing. Interestingly it only happens of reading not on distance vision.

Ian

Dean0263 wrote: ↑2 May 2024, 12:42am I currently wear vari-focal glasses and use these when cycling although on really bright or sunny days (not that we get many) they are not too good.
I am considering getting disposable contact lens just for cycling with a decent set of sunglasses. Does anyone else do this.

NO I use MONTHLY contacts, replace once a MONTH, can't stand daily disposables.

Who can be bothered to replace them every day

https://www.visiondirect.co.uk/biofinity

Been wearing lenses, the monthly jobs, for 30 years. I am short sighted although over the last decade have gradually developed the usual middle aged need for reading glass if I am wearing my lenses. I just ignore them the lenses, treating them as normal eyes.
Like any clothing glasses are best bought for fit first. I use a mixture of sun glasses. Some are photochromatic, some aren't . Many are safety glasses. Some are bifocal safety glasses as I now struggle to read the Garmin if I have too many, thus small, fields open, Hate prescription glasses. They tend to be heavy and need to be updated yearly for me thus expensive. Also the more expensive something is the more likely I am to wreck it.

Pinhead wrote: ↑3 May 2024, 1:09pm ...
NO I use MONTHLY contacts, replace once a MONTH, can't stand daily disposables.

Who can be bothered to replace them every day

https://www.visiondirect.co.uk/biofinity

I find dailies really convenient. No fluids, no cases. Each lens in a tiny peel off lid container. Peel off the lid, lens to fingertip, to eye and done. No cleaning, nothing.

One of my concerns before starting was carrying enough for travel (4 months supply). Specialist did a check and daily disposables for 4 months were a lower volume and less weight than 4 months stock of monthly contacts.

Ian