Need eyewear opinion...

[YamaDan]

And since I know there are a few here, I figured I'd ask. What glasses do you like to ride with? The reason I ask is I'm looking to replace my Smith Diablo sliders.. I do ride at night, so I'd like the option of of clear.. but do I just ride with the clear Oakley M frames that I still have? Has anyone tried the Transition lens? Do they work?

I'm looking at the Racing Jackets right now, anyother suggestions?

Sorry, scattered question, but I'm looking for a good place to start..

Thanks!

Dan

[NJBiker72]

And since I know there are a few here, I figured I'd ask. What glasses do you like to ride with? The reason I ask is I'm looking to replace my Smith Diablo sliders.. I do ride at night, so I'd like the option of of clear.. but do I just ride with the clear Oakley M frames that I still have? Has anyone tried the Transition lens? Do they work?

I'm looking at the Racing Jackets right now, anyother suggestions?

Sorry, scattered question, but I'm looking for a good place to start..

Thanks!

Dan

Check out the performance brand. I have a pair with interchangeable lenses. Clear, amber, grey and brown. The amber are great for low light.

I have worn them during two crashes. They survived better than i did.

[ratherBclimbing]

Transitions work to a point. They'll never be as dark as typical sunglasses in full sunlight, and they're not perfectly clear when dark, but close. I think they're a good idea for morning/evening rides, but I personally prefer having clear/light/dark lenses and just changing them out depending on when I ride.

Brand/model is purely subjective. A lot of people love their Oakleys and other Top Shelf glasses; I'm sure they're nice. Others would scoff paying more than $20 at a gas station for glasses. I like the middle road (~$50) and have been perfectly happy with Tifosi Slips. YMMV.

[woodys737]

I use and would recommend the Smith Pivlock V90 Max. They come with an assortment of lenses that can be swapped out quickly and easily.

[p_b_bistou]

Has anyone tried the Transition lens? Do they work?

I have tried them with my Oakleys, and switched to "regular" lenses which I swap out depending on riding conditions.

Switching lenses on Oakleys is very easy, and the transitions sometimes didn't clear up or get as dark as needed, making them poor compromises in some situations.

YMMV.

**edit: I forgot to mention, I initially changed lenses because I wanted vented lenses (I have the Split Jackets). If the transition lenses had been vented I might very probably have found them satisfying for most riding conditions, although I never tried them in darkness...

[gte105u]

I am a big fan of my Tifosi glasses. I have 2 pair of their Fototec photochromic glasses. One is brown that gets very dark. It is perfect for sunny days and will lighten in shadowy areas or if some clouds pass over. The other pair is their clear ones. I wear them regularly in full dark with no issue. They are also good on cloudy days. Not dark enough for heavy sun, especially if it is direct. If I am going where the conditions may change I just carry one in my jersey pocket. Swapping out the glasses is a lot easier than changing lenses on the side of the road.

I like the venting of the lenses. As long as I am moving I don't have any fog issue. When I stop they often start to fog but they clear quickly. My darker glasses have a full frame around the lens. This is not ideal if sweat starts to drip as it will collect on the frame at the bottom. I wear a halo ehich helps until the halo reaches "critical mass" and has to be wrung out.

[Srode]

I use and would recommend the Smith Pivlock V90 Max. They come with an assortment of lenses that can be swapped out quickly and easily.

this is what I use. Impossibly black version. Hyrdrophylic coating on the lenses and photochemically active, no upper bar on them so you there's nothing blocking your field of view when in the drops.

[scottzj]

Rudy Project here, probably due to our team being sponsored by them. But I must say, they have a very large line of sport glasses and I love the Hypermask. These are wider and give you the protection while cycling.

[Dave1442397]

I bought a pair of these Smith & Wesson shooting glasses for night riding: Smith & Wesson Magnum 3G Safety Glasses Omark Safety Equipment

I paid $5.99 (forget where I bought them) and they work really well for night rides.

For daytime, I have a pair of Bolle glasses with photochromic lenses - a yellow lens for early/late rides, and a darker lens for full sun.

[NorCal FNG]

Does anyone have a good source for prescription riding glasses?

[Firestone]

I have the Racing Jackets and really like them. I was using a cheap pair prior and the improvement to the Oakleys is dramatic. Much better fit, clearer and sharper vision in my opinion. They came with 2 lenses so I was able to get clear and a dark set. They are very easy to change with their Switchlock feature.

[KenS]

Transition lenses are much improved from the 20th Century but they are still slow to change if you are riding under mixed foliage.

I got my prescription sunglasses from SportsRX and was pleased with their work.

[NorCal FNG]

SportsRX is just what I was looking for.

Thanks

[balatoe]

I have a pair of Oakley Split Jacket. They are pretty good and comfortable. They come with two pairs of lenses, one pair of polarized and one pair of yellow lenses. The yellow lenses work pretty well at night. The polarized lenses work really well in the sun. No eye fatigue after 7 hours of bike ride last Saturday.

[Eric_H]

I am a bit of an Oakley fanboy so that's what I'll address.

I have the Jawbone (same as Racing Jacket) and the Radar Path. Both are great, but for cycling only the Radar are better as they do not have the lower frame edge which I find obstructs vision when looking over my shoulder or under my arm behind me, as well as looking down at my computer. If I wear the Jawbone for a few days, I get over it pretty quickly but I always notice the reduced lower viewing field with them after some time in the Radar. The Jawbone do look better off the bike and can be used casually.

In terms of lenses, I have used the Transitions both VR50 and Black Iriudium Persimmon. My experience is that they are never quite light enough in low light nor are they dark enough in bright light. Also the Transitions lenses are affected by air temperature so when the air is cold I find they tend to darken more for the same amount of light. I think it is better to have 2-3 lens options, for example Yellow or Persimmon for low light, something like G30 for cloudy/partly cloudy, and then Fire or Black Iridium for the really bright days.

Oakley has updated the Radar with the Radarlock model and it makes changing lenses little easier on this model. Not Jawbone/Racing Jacket easy, but easier than the original Radar. My solution with the Radar was to get multiple pairs so I have then lenses I like all ready to go. Yes, I have a sunglass acquisition problem

[Ventruck]

My recommended photochromic lens would have a red base. I have such a lens with my Rudy Project Hypermask and it works in all conditions. Picked up Radarlocks, though, and had them take over on bright days. Really hot on those because the lens quality is superior and the frame design is so much smarter in regards to fit exposing how needless adjustability can be - and I was pretty committed to my Hypermask before this so don't take it like I'm a shill.

Also got a pair of Pivlocks. Smartest swapping mech imo (and awesome CS in my experience) but worse ventilation than the other two and lack of interface makes it so prone to smudging.

If you could flex the price I'd recommend custom Radarlocks. You can pick between Pitch and Path lenses, and there's a G40 (rose based) photochromic option. And well...custom.

[YamaDan]

Thanks Eric.. I too love my Oakley's.. I got the Smiths to try something different.. I don't want to say just how many Oakley's I still have..let's just say you could call me Imelda in that department! ;)

I'm gonna check out the Half jackets too..

Thanks for the replies guys!

[Buckhead]

Another Oakley fanboy here. I had the regular Radars with Red Iridium for bright and Persimmon for light/dark. I loved the Red, but the Persimmon was OK but I was not a big fan of the hue.

I had a lot of fogging issues when exercising in cooler weather (cyclocross/running) and had a gift coming, so I got the Clear/Black Iridium Radarlocks (the red frames that Ventrock referenced) and love them. I tend to have sensitive eyes, but I had no issues on a cloudless summer's day and could wear them at night without issue (I am often lazy and will leave them on entering a store since they get clear enough). Another bonus is that they are vented, so no more fogging issues unless I am going slow - which is a good reminder to HTFU and go.

[Charlie the Unicorn]

I've been using rudy project for the last 5 years or so. The 1st pair I got as a gift but I recently picked up a couple of pairs thru e-rudy.com as they were running 50-60% off their clearance glasses. It's a bit more than a performance or nashbar brand (70-85 dollars a pair), but their lens exchange program can't be beat and getting replaceable parts is easy (nose piece, temples, etc).

[Optiwizard]

I use the Oakley Radar path 00 red polarized lenses and on overcast days I use the transitions lens and it seems to work great. On sunny days the transitions aren't dark enough.

[Mr. Versatile]

Check out the performance brand. I have a pair with interchangeable lenses. Clear, amber, grey and brown. The amber are great for low light.

I have worn them during two crashes. They survived better than i did.

^^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^

[AlleganyBicycleShop]

I am a Rudy Project fan and have a few pairs. It saves me switching lens. I think Oakley are great too but my preference are the Rudy Project.

I think Tifosi, Serfas, Performance are a decent pair of budget glasses. They are good but the clarity and depth perception of Rudy Projects or Oakleys are so much better. Smiths are good too but I haven't used them in about ten years. I have the Serfas glasses and use them also.

I prefer a half frame wrap around as it doesn't obstruct my peripheral vision. and vents extremely well.

[ratherBclimbing]

I got the Tifosi Dolomite. I can see very clearly through them and the rain just rides off the lens so you can even see through the rain. Here's where I got the Tifosi dolomite

Tifosi Cycling Glasses | Tifosi Glasses | Available at Tour Cycling

My only comment with Tifosi is that a lot of the models run small. I originally got a pair of the Tyrants, and although they were really nice they were way too tight to be comfortable. You have to dig through a lot of pages but you can find width measurements of all the different models on their website. The Slip model is fine for larger heads.

[arai_speed]

Check out the performance brand. I have a pair with interchangeable lenses. Clear, amber, grey and brown. The amber are great for low light.

I have worn them during two crashes. They survived better than i did.

+1 I have no complaints about my pair, the brand is called "Scattante" and for $35 they are a great value.

Scattante Mestre Multi-Lens Eyewear - Markdown Madness Specials

[YamaDan]

+1 I have no complaints about my pair, the brand is called "Scattante" and for $35 they are a great value.

Scattante Mestre Multi-Lens Eyewear - Markdown Madness Specials

I'll be checking those out! Thanks!