I’m contemplating dumping my glasses and getting Contact Lenses.
Are there any forum members who actually wear contacts whilst out on the XC trails or going flat out on the Down-hill slopes. If so, how do you get on wearing them, and what are the advantages/disadvantages of them..
I have posted in other forums as I am trying to get a bigger picture (no pun intended there).
TIA 
you'll find most still wear normal riding glasses as I do, but contacts are great never had any issues.
I always wear daily disposable lenses when riding and always wear riding glasses even if it's just with a clear lens.
No way I want stuff hitting me in the eyes!
Hi,
Yep no problems I also use them for snow boarding.
I recon they should be soft lenses rather than hard as they fit better to the eyeball. They are great as unlike specs the image does not move -as your glasses move up & down on rocky decents. You will not believe the difference - good luck! 
I don't get on with contact lenses at all for riding. I've got an astigmatism which means if the contact lense moves 1 or 2mm to the right or left they go blurry. This has happened loads while hurtling downhill and can be somewhat disconcerting
I really need to invest in some prescription riding glasses from rxsport of optilabs
Contacts all the way - the only prob is when you get mud in your eye (but you can wear shades/riding glasses if necc, as I think the mud takes longer to clear but I never have had an issue DH, XC, FR trail centre etc...
I used to wear monthly contacts all the time. Now I wear glasses, but I have disposables pretty much exclusively for the bike.
You need to wear eye protection as on fast descents the wind can dry the lens slightly and this can result in slightly blurred vision, also if you get mud in your eye it can be quite uncomfortable. If the eye waters too much then you could find the lens drops out.
Wearing contacts in the rain with eyewear gives much better vision that rain on prescription glasses. I won't ride in the rain without contacts now unless I have no choice.
Edit: I also have astigmatism, used to cause problems when I had lenses that didn't fit quite right, but with the dailys I have now, as long as I have eyewear on, they are great. Any lens will blur if it moves off-centre, but with astigmatism, it will also blur if the lens rotates. The lenses are thicker at the bottom to keep them at the correct orientation, but if the eye dries out then lens can stick at the wrong angle.
I've switched from glasses to contacts on every bike ride. I used to only use them for longer or more technical rides, but the advantages are too great provided you get on with them. It helps that prices have come down.
The best thing, besides not getting covered in spray (though it's recommended that you wear wraparound glasses with them so you don't get grit behind the lens), is that you can see everything- I found when in a position on the bike I was always just looking over the top of my glasses and this meant trails were a blur. When you've got contacts in there's a 100% perfect field of vision.
It also means you can wear whatever shade of lens you need for different weather conditions in your glasses. They don't get covered in sweat or dirt and you're not going to scratch your £200+ day to day glasses.
I get mine from these guys now as it's only £10 for 30 pairs (I used to pay £30), but for your first run get a few (month's supply, or just 1/2 a month if you can get 1 box worth by having 2 eyes with the same prescription) from a local optician's following a proper eye test.
Daily disposables + clear safety glasses for me.
I didn't bother with the glasses for ages: I didn't have much of a problem with drying eyes or anything like that. But then in the space of 2 weeks I got insects and mud in my eye and that really hurts, especially with contacts in, so I now wear them most of the time.
I have an eye condition that means that glasses cannot correct my vision, so I am forced to wear (hard) contact lenses at all times, I generally find them no problem.
I wear a pair of clear or tinted (depending on the day) sunglasses to stop the wind , I also have a mudguard and one of those neoprene things to go on the forks. This works fine for 90% of the time, but if its really really wet, I use goggles with clear lenses to stop the mud/grit going in my eye.
If you get mud in there its unbelievably uncomfortable.
I wear weekly disposables, take a spare pair with me at all time when riding although never needed them.
I always wear riding glasses though. clear, yellow or tinted and never had any problems.
I've been biking and wearing contact lenses for about 22 years firstly gas permeable and more recently soft(2-week)disposable lenses.
GP always wore cycling glasses as well, as grit / dust exceedingly painful and not funny.
Worn for XC, DH and snowboarding.
Soft disposable lenses can ride without glasses but prefer to ride with them anyway.
Many thanks to all who have replied.
astigmatism has been mentioned a few times.. If my memory serves me correct then that is what I have wrong with my eyes and vision...I will nip down to Specsavers tomorrow and find out what they recommend
i have -6 eyes and to be honest tried Contacts but too much hassle and know use glasses most of the time.
You might find that your eyes water a lot when you have lenses in due to the wind whilst riding. I have to wear glasses all the time to prevent it, but they are a lot less hassle than glasses that correct your sight - interchangeable lenses and a lot lighter.
I switched from glasses to contact lenses and think it's the right way to go. Glasses fog up, can scratch when you crash as has happened to me, can slip off your nose when you sweat and generally are a bit of a faff (one of the things I value most when cycling is simplicity and minimalism... strange to put into words but you might know what I mean and how far this goes towards having fun on the trails.
Also, with contacts my vision is razor sharp as the prescription is always a tiny bit newer than with glasses. I have never had them fall out or anything of the sort.
"I've got an astigmatism which means if the contact lense moves 1 or 2mm to the right or left they go blurry. This has happened loads while hurtling downhill and can be somewhat disconcerting"
I have had this happen to me before. It's a wierd one... sometimes it seems to happen very much, sometimes it doesn't at all. I think it's partly due to the differences of manufacturing precision with daily lenses. The tolerances aren't that precise (or anywhere near as precise as would be the case with monthlies), so perhaps it's pot luck. Nevertheless I still believe riding with lenses is the way to go.
You can get Toric contact lenses if you have an astigmatism. They don't move anywhere near as much as regular ones. Ask your optometrist!
Contacts has revolutionised my riding, join us; we have seen the way! ( pun intended )
Agreed, contacts are amazing! I rarely ride with any cycling glasses either and I haven't had any problems. I've also just made a strip of inner tube to go across my forks to avoid any spray, which has worked really well.
got my eyes tested today, the contacts are gonna work out at £18 per month for monthly disposables or £35 per month for daily disposables.....didn't think it was gonna be that expensive... I will be getting a free pair to see how I get on with them, as my astigmatism is on the borderline (whatever the hell that means.. think its for standard lenses..)
I may have to look for cheaper options... 
Contacts for everything other than commuting, but usually with sunglasses over the top.
Very occassionally blink one out when riding offroad, but carry a spare pair. Only time they've caused a real problem was when I lost one on lap two of four in the Scottish XC Champs at Glentress, right where the course entered Spooky Wood. That was a bit shit.
davy-g - who was that with? I buy mine from http://www.lensway.co.uk/ these days.
You can get Toric contact lenses if you have an astigmatism. They don't move anywhere near as much as regular ones. Ask your optometrist!
Aye.. tried them all! i just don't get on with any of them. I have to touch the contact lense every few minutes and rotate it into place
got my eyes tested today, the contacts are gonna work out at £18 per month for monthly disposables or £35 per month for daily disposables.....didn't think it was gonna be that expensive... I will be getting a free pair to see how I get on with them, as my astigmatism is on the borderline (whatever the hell that means.. think its for standard lenses..)I may have to look for cheaper options...
http://www.lenstore.co.uk <---- I pay £35 for 3 months worth of lenses (toric extended wear lenses which you can sleep in!).
Trial some lenses out, find a brand you like/get on with and then buy through lenstore. *SO* much cheaper.
I recommend Biofinity Toric lenses for people with astigmatism, they really are comfortable.
didn't think it was gonna be that expensive
I get my daily disposables from here
http://www.visiondirect.co.uk/
recommend you stick with the optician for the first few months at least just to make you've got the right ones. My missus has a lense plan that includes regular health checks & sight tests which she thinks is worth the extra cost
+1 the comment about having to also wear glasses. Use to use daily disposables but they do dry out with the wind blast if you don't also wear glasses/goggles.
Even better for me is laser eye correction, highly recommended, so much better than fannying about with contacts.
Toric all the way for me, mostly ride without glasses as well (habit i've been trying to break recently) if stuff gets in your eye, lens out, rinse in your mouth, pop it back in. Only ever had to do that once though!
Torics work fine for me too, but nobody makes disposables for my -6/-5 and -7/-4.5 prescription.
davy - if you don't wear the disposables every day, you build up a stock of them. Then you find a years supply will last 18 months or longer, so not as expensive as first appears. I've worn lenses for 18 years inc snowboarding, cycling, rugby and surfing. No problems at all.
I've worn contact lenses for 20 years. First hard gas permeable lenses, then soft lenses. During that time, I've always worn contact lenses for sport.
When riding "properly", I wear contact lenses. I ought, having had a serious eye injury, to wear riding glasses over the top, but I often can't be bothered. Never had a problem.
Remember - if you're only buying them to ride in, you don't need to use your dailies every day (unless you ride every day), so a month's supply will last you longer than just 30 days (if that makes sense).
many thanks for all the replies... I have been searching the web for a cheaper supplier
Davy, I would stump up a bit extra for the first few months and get them from an Opticians. Each time you try a new lens you will get free trials and a free check a week later to check the fit and position of the lens. Once you are happy and know what sort of comfort and vision to expect, then go and try some online places. Particularly with the toric/astigmatism lenses, they need to be fine tuned to ensure the lens doesn't rotate, different lenses often sit at a different angle on the eye.
Would be a shame to write off contact lenses as you were getting poorly fitting lenses online.
I was paying £30 a month for monthlies, now I'm on Dailys they cost £45 for 30 pairs, but at the current rate of wear that is about 6 months supply 
Last time I changed lenses (recently) I had 6 appointments with the opticians trialling 3 different lenses over a couple of months before I was happy. All free
I always wear the soft daily lenses when out on the bike, with either a pair of shaded or clear lens glasses.
I keep a spare pair in my bag just in case but haven't had to put it a new one while out yet
I now wear contacts when the weather's wet, having recently had a ride so wet and muddy that I had to take my glasses off because I couldn't see through them, and then spent two hours using the force to follow the singletrack!
mtbing was one of the main reasons I swapped to contacts about 15 years ago. I've always had monthly disposeables and in those 15 years they've improved massively - the earlier ones tended to get dry towards the end of the day, particulary if I'd been riding lots or out in smoky bars/pubs/etc (remember that?!). They also occassionally would dry out enough on a long descent to pop out. I do always wear glasses (even if just clear ones for night) though to try and prevent mud/dust etc getting under the lenses which is pretty distracting to say the least...
The current ones are fantastic though - absolutely no issues.
Contacts are ace - daily disposables for me. Transformed my riding when I got them 5 years ago or so.
I used to wear clear glasses to keep the dirt out, however I now just run a neoguard that keeps 99.9% of stuff out of my eyes - much better, esp in the rain.
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