What type of glasses are best on the bike

How Soon Is Now

There's been a really bad glare from the sun first thing in the morning the last week or two and haven't worn sunglasses in years. Wondering will a pair I can pick up in a shop do the job on the bike or do I need the Star Trek style mental looking yokes haha!?

cletus

You can wear any sunglasses on a bike. I personally dislike the current style for oversized glasses.

If glare is a particular problem, consider getting polarised glasses

CramCycle

If you don't want to invest to much, a lot of pharmacies will sell sports sunglasses like Ironman/Foster Grant around the 30euro mark. They aren't Star Trek like but are sporty in that they won't let air and glare in around the edge as you cycle.

If you've got money, go mental and buy Oakley's.

Regular sunglasses will slip off, let air in around as you move and as you turn your head to look around you can get caught by the sun.

How Soon Is Now

I'm just looking for something basic and comfortable that I wont have to keep fiddling with * Spend enough time messing with my helmet ha* preferably in a darker colour. My eyes have been really sore the last few days and its just effecting my head for half of the day.

CramCycle

My kids got me the Ironman ones as a father's Day present a few years ago. They can be worn as just sunglasses, they don't slip for me, they are black. I'd say pop down and try a few out in the pharmacy but they sound like they'd do the job.

cletus

There's 3 of the sunglasses I might wear on a spin. The ones on the left are Penney's finest, €2. Most likely wear them on a tee shirt spin.

The ones in the middle are my current go to pair. A tenner in Alehop in Spain, they're polarised.

The last pair are from Lidl or Aldi, 4 or 5 quid, and they are the most like "sports" sunglasses. I wear them less and less now

magicbastarder

i know shatterproof glasses are best, but aldi/lidl glasses have a handy knack of breaking after several months.

cletus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119452525#Comment_119452525

I've a few pairs of them (a stupid habit of picking them up when they are in), and I've only ever had one pair break, and that was user error

How Soon Is Now

Ill pop down the pharmacy on me break and see what they have! Need to get something for heartburn anyway having one of those weeks! haha. Cheers lads!

cletus

Pictures once you get them, so we can all tell you why they're the wrong ones 🤣🤣

T-Maxx

Some of the Lidl/Aldi's optics are terrible.

Have a look at Decathlon - they've a pretty decent range, not all being cycling specific either.

loyatemu

got these recently in Decathlon, pretty happy with them. Good coverage without being outrageously big. I could never spend big money on sunglasses, they're just too easy to lose or break.

How Soon Is Now

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119452765#Comment_119452765

Yeah I like the darker more subtle styles. I find when it comes to cycling gear in general I try to stay to darker colours yet I have a red bike! haha.

Macy0161

Generally in the past I've used aldi/ lidl ones, although I prefer the full rimmed ones that the interchangeable. The last year or so I've been using Aliexpress ones, including a pair with prescription inserts.

I'm too clumsy for expensive ones - the prescription inserts ones are my most expensive at circa €30. (I've moved to contacts for any damp days though as found steaming up an issue).

magicbastarder

i got a pair of polychromatic ones, BBB brand, and they're fine. i think they were €60 or €80. i don't wear shades in the winter anyway, i prefer clear lenses.

anyone who wears those yellow/orange tinted lenses are clearly deviant and should be shunned.

davidsatelle100

I've picked these up recently and find them excellent for the money. My go to commuter pair (not with the yellow lenses yet)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ROCKBROS-Sunglasses-Polarized-Goggles-Unbreakable/dp/B06XJ7KLS5/ref%3Dasc_df_B06XJ7KLS5/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310164787656&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15060079341831172846&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007850&hvtargid=pla-426509861686&psc=1

brownian

Clearly, you pay a huge premium for fancy brands like Oakley, but meeting the standards really does matter. See https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/product-safety/sunglasses/

Macy0161

I've still some in their boxes to double check, but doubt the german retailers would be selling stuff that doesn't meet the CE standards tbh. How they react to a crash, particularly the ali models, might be a different matter in a cycling context.

How Soon Is Now

Went into boots and got a pair of these Ironman sunglasses SIMT140468 - Boots Ireland

Fairly sure its them anyway! They where the most comfortable ones I tried on anyway look nice as well.

Actually now I look at them there different but yeah you get the idea ha.

patmahe

It really depends what type of cycling you intend to do. Just pottering to the shop, any old thing to keep the wind out of your eyes is probably ok

I do some longer road cycles and went through a few iterations of different types of glasses before I figured out what suited me. I have a pair of BBB cycling glasses which are the best balance of performance for the money that I have found. I like them because all the contact points are soft enough but grippy enough that the glasses don't slip much, the glass is also cut up and around on the lower edge which suits me because I have quite high cheek bones there's also a little gap at the top of the glass for air ventilation which helps keep the lenses from fogging up.

Mine came with 3 different colour lenses, normal sunglasses, yellow lenses and clear. To my surprise I use the yellow lenses most, as they are the best of both worlds, brighten things up on a dark day and filter out some sunshine on sunny days, but probably not brilliant in very low strong sun. They also came with a hard case which is great if you regularly need to throw them into a bag or something for transporting.

Hopefully that gives you and idea of what to consider, like I say it took me a few goes to get it right for me, hopefully I might have saved you some hassle too ☺️

How Soon Is Now

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119453477#Comment_119453477

ATM its mainly in and out of work just over 32km a day. If they stop me ending up with a headache its all good!

cletus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119453398#Comment_119453398

Nah, they're the wrong ones...

Wishbone Ash

Just make sure your eyewear matches your helmet, gloves and socks.

loyatemu

Aldi have sports glasses with 3 interchangeable lenses in stock (in Greystones at least ) - €5, can't go far wrong.

Someone was giving out about the yellow lenses above - they're actually brilliant when cycling in low light. I've been cycling along with them around dusk, and when I've stopped and taken them off I've realised it's almost dark and I hadn't noticed. Something to do with the way the eye picks up those yellow wavelengths.

magicbastarder

i've never gotten used to them; i think i'm just naturally mistrustful of glasses which will block out some wavelengths in favour of others, but possibly they counteract the 'bluing' of light at dusk.

sham58107

Hi all, before MB starts I have a pair of Oakley mirrored ones ,but got them less than 1/2 price . Think they are great.

Anyway I heard a program on BBC 4 ( yes I am old ) but it was either that or Liveline where i was driving the program tested sunglasses from 2 pound to about 100 , and there were some scary differences. It is probably available on BBC sounds called Sliced Bread and tested a number of different items .

You only get one pair of eyes so what are they worth ?

cletus

All sunglasses sold in Ireland (and probably the EU) are required to have the CE mark, plus the category of protection on the glasses. Normally it's on the inside of one of the arms. You're looking for Cat 3 or 4 (you're not supposed to drive with Cat 4 glasses on). Usually there will be a sticker on the lense too, saying 100% UV Protection, or UV400, or similar. If it doesn't have any of these, move to the next pair, but if it's a legit retailer, I'd be surprised if they don't have the required markings.

The level of protection will rarely have anything to do with either the price or the brand (Luxottica is a whole different discussion)

Breezer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119452765#Comment_119452765

I’ve the same ones in blue, very happy with them.

I had Ironmans last year. I took them to a beach in Spain and they melted!

How Soon Is Now

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119461527#Comment_119461527

HAHA really oh well I guess I wont be on a beach anytime soon :-)

dinneenp

Galibier have a guide to the different colour lenses- https://www.galibier.cc/product/regale-ultra/

I've always been interested in this topic- what's the difference between an Aldi pair and a €100+ pair (once they have the CE mark etc.) besides slightly better grip etc.

cletus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119462704#Comment_119462704

Once they are marked CE, and they have a UV rating, there's no difference in protection levels between cheap and expensive glasses.

Where the difference will lie is fit and finish, materials used, maybe anti scratch/fog/glare coatings on the lens. After that it's a design/brand preference thing.

Something to be aware of with regards brands, a company called Luxottica owns about 80% of the major brands of sunglasses, including Ray-Ban and Oakley. They also make, by licence, high fashion sunglasses for companies like Dolce & Gabana etc.

magicbastarder

is there no difference in protection levels, or that they have met a minium standard?

cletus

If the sunglasses are rated UV400 then they block 99% of rays. This is regardless of cost.

The various categories, from cat 0 to cat 4, have percentage of rays they will block out. The cat and the UV rating are separate, but sort of linked.

Here's a link explaining the Cat levels, UV400, and the CE mark as relating to sunglasses

https://www.specsavers.ie/glasses/buyers-guide/uv400-sunglasses-protection

gn3dr

I've had Rudy Project Kerosene for years with various different colour lenses (Yellow, blue, clear, mirror dark and normal sun shade). The lads call the yellow lenses "happy lenses" because they really do brighten up a dull day. Similar with blue ones. Unfortunately you can't seem to get spares anymore though for the kerosene models.

Last year I switched to those Galibier photochromatic Regale ones linked above. They are a bit bigger but have no frames so don't look stupid like the latest trend. I don't think the optics are maybe as good on the Galibier ones but they are nice and light and you can't really see the extremities of the lenses in you field of view when wearing them.