Just been told by no VR28 black iridium lens!!

Gold iridium the nearest match? any other suggestions

Gold is a darker lens, without the “warmth” of VR28. Can you not just get a standard VR28 lens? (Still the most used of my M-Lenses)

– is there a difference between ‘transitions’ and ‘photochromatic’. Some places describe different Oakley lenses as being one or the other.

It’s a brand thing, IIRC. Transitions is a brand name, and they make lenses which are photochromatic. I don’t think O have always used Transitions for every one of their withcraft lenses.

Decided to go for Black Iridium (vented) and spare pair Persimmons (vented).

Thanks for all the advice………..

Need further advice from the STW massive before placing order. Just been on the Oakley Custom site for Radar Path and the ‘custom’ lens choices are now extremely limited.

Which of the following:
Black, Fire, Ice, Positive red, Slate (all iridium)
or
grey, persimmon, yellow
or
Gold vented (no other vented lens available!!) gutted.

Had wanted the ‘plasma’ (dark grey) frame but only alternative now is the polished white. Anyone know how ‘dark’ or ‘grey’ these are in the flesh as I don’t really want a cheap bright white!

So far my decision is: Polished white with positive red iridium lens, matte black icons and socks. Any advance on that (for both Road + MTB)

Polished white is very white.

Why get the custom ones if you’re after a very ‘normal’ combo? Just buy some Plasma Radars, flog the lenses on here if you don’t like what they come with and buy the ones you do want?

Could be a very good option njee20 😯

I’ll start scouring the web for plasma frames……………

Looks like they’re £104 at Winstanley’s with gold iridium. Get at least £40 for the lenses I reckon.

Some one must have beat me too it, as I can’t find them on Winstanley’s site!!
Plasma Radar with Path lens?

This thread has convinced me that I should try a photochromic lens for MTB’ing (here in Colorado there’s alot of riding that alternates between bright sun, sun/shadow mix and mostly shadowy; and the VR28’s have always worked well for me unless it gets too dark…then I’m fumbling for my yellow or persimmon lens if I remember to bring ’em).

However, I too am confused about the varying names/versions of this technology that Oakley lists on their website depending on what glasses/lens you are looking at (i.e., VR50 Transitions, VR50 Photochromic, G40 Photochromic, Black Iridium Photochromic, Black Photochromic, Transitions SOLFX…). Arggh!:?

So two questions:
1) It sounds like “Transitions SOLFX” is the technology that O uses and that there are three lens versions – VR50, G40 and Black Iridium). Is this correct?
2) Which version would act most like the VR28’s when used during the shadow/sun mix that the VR28’s excel in (but would allow a wider range of use when it gets too dark or perhaps even too bright for the VR28’s)?

Thanks!:-)

Great thread, two questions, (1) how do you tell what lens you have (if you just bought a pair in the shop and didnt take note etc and (2) what lens is good for overcast riding, on road, where you dont really need glasses other than to keep grit and flies out your eyes?

damo2576 – Member

Great thread, two questions, (1) how do you tell what lens you have (if you just bought a pair in the shop and didnt take note etc and (2) what lens is good for overcast riding, on road, where you dont really need glasses other than to keep grit and flies out your eyes?

(1) There’s a code hidden by the nose piece (at least on M-Frame and Radar style lens) though it generally appears to be only the manufacture date. Near as I can tell you have to guess or take them to an Oakley store (we have ’em in the US). (2) Yellow (if you want to brighten things up) or clear.

(2) Yellow (if you want to brighten things up) or clear.

I prefer Persimmon.

The Hi-Intensity yellow can be a little too much if (I know, this summer etc) the sun comes out. Persimmon also lifts colour contrast on duller days, not just perception of depth (as the yellow does)

I should get out more, shouldn’t I?

Anyone tried fast jackets? Want something for mtb and ski, but not too roadie looking. Thinking blue iridium / persimmon

CaptainFlashheart – Member

(2) Yellow (if you want to brighten things up) or clear.

I prefer Persimmon.

I do too, though they can darken things too much if it’s really murky.

P.S. Captain – any thoughts on my post just above…?

Clear is still the best off road for me. Hard to improve on a few million years of evolution.

surely that’s like claiming walking is more efficient than cycling?

I find clear means I squint in bright sunlight which isn’t conducive to good vision.

mtbra – I’ve now had both vr50 and black/clear transitions.

The vr50 is very good but the black/clear has slightly more range eg it goes near enough completely clear and about as dark as the standard grey lenses.

I think that the vr50 maybe goes a but darker than black/clear in really bright sun.

either would be a match for vr28. the vr50 has a more brown tint than the black/clear so that’s a point of preference.

This is clear/black on a very sunny day in Turkey

and this is vr50 on a similarly bright day in Greece though it’s hard to compare pics IMO.

Anyone tried the prescription Oakleys?
Looking at a pair of jawbones and want lenses for mountain biking and road biking – any recommendations?

clubber – Member
mtbra – I’ve now had both vr50 and black/clear transitions….

Cool pics clubber and thanks for the info. Funny thing is that I demo’d the clear/black iridium and G40 photochromics today at the Denver Oakley store (they let me take them outside). I couldn’t get the clear/blacks to change color very much (nothing like your pic shows, even after holding them up to the bright outside sun for several minutes). Hmm? The G40’s were pretty good at changing between dark/light and have a tint that is almost as good as the VR28’s (more rose than amber/brown, but still provided good contrast). They didn’t have any VR50’s to try (uh – here I am in the MTB capital of the US…)!

Unfortunately Oakley makes it so difficult to get any of these photochromic lenses in a frame that fits well for MTB use (i.e., the Radar or M Frames are what work for me). They won’t even sell them here as “spare” lens for my current set of M Frames or as a second lens to a Radar setup (I even searched for some web sources). Apparently, the only way they to get ’em is with Half or Flak Jacket frames (which don’t fit me well for MTB’ing) or in some god-awfully colored sky-blue Radar’s.

Oh well – may be getting some Tifosi’s instead and saving some big money as the result…. 🙁