My eye sight has recently got worse (short sighted). What are your experiences with riding with glasses or contact lenses? Should i get contacts or just wear my glasses?

Thanks

Contacts and riding glasses for me. My regular glasses aren’t designed for riding in.

Contact lenses utterly transformed my life outdoors. Seriously. With glasses I was forever stopping to wipe sweat, rain or mist off. In the rain it was every few hundred yards. Terrible.

Extended-wear (night and day) contact lenses saved my riding totally. Put them in, take them out a month later and change.

Cannot recommend enough.

Contacts here I know other riders who are more happy with lens inserts though

My eyesight is crap I’m short sighted too. I ride with contact lenses with wrap round specs on top to stop the sh!t getting in my eyes.

I also ride with my varifocal glasses sometimes & that is scary cos everything is in sharp focus – Lol – my contacts are great for riding with things in the distance but no good for things very close up, makes repairing small items out on the trail fun.

I use PAYG contacts for sport & riding only. I just buy them 30 pairs at a time as & when I need them. You can go on a monthly contract if you use contacts everyday if you want.

I’ve just started to use contacts after years of riding in glasses and can’t recommend the contacts enough for sport. Only yesterday I did a boat course and ripping across Rutland I use to wear glasses that would get spray or rain and you couldn’t see a thing but with contacts it was brilliant no trouble at all.

Contacts, no contest!

I just ride with my glasses on – never had a problem. When it is wet/muddy is nice to have something to stop stuff flying into your eyes.

As above. Contacts.

Don’t even think about it.

When it is wet/muddy is nice to have something to stop stuff flying into your eyes.

Yes, I use a mudguard and oakleys, but crucially I can take them off when it’s really crappy and I can still see!

Thought that contacts would be the main consensus. Thanks guys. 🙂

I tried the contacts but just couldn’t get on with them. I found that any breeze hitting my eye would make my eyes water and a lens would just flush out.

Opted for prescription Oakleys and reckon they’ve been the best ever “upgrade” to my cycling. A better use of money than a new bike.

I recently tried contacts. Fine for distance but no good whatsoever if I have to read or fix something fiddly. I need to carry my varifocal specs as well, just in case. My eyes are ****, astigmatism & everything!

contacts here. I really do not like the feel of glasses on the bridge of my nose. Plus when I’m going uphill – i.e REALLY slowly – they steam up

Contacts and riding glasses for me. I rode with glasses for a while, I tried riding without or just with non-prescription riding glasses and that was OK when my prescription was still really minor but contacts made a huge difference for me.
Great for other sports as well.

Contacts all all the way, been using them for over 20 years without any downsides.

I recently tried contacts. Fine for distance but no good whatsoever if I have to read or fix something fiddly. I need to carry my varifocal specs as well, just in case. My eyes are ****, astigmatism & everything!

After wearing glasses for nearly 50 years recently went over to contacts, what a great regret I now have for not doing this sooner! They have transformed my life. No more stopping to wipe sweat or mud off my glasses, and at last I can buy sunglasses!

Initially I couldn’t see close up and was prescribed reading glasses, which sort of defeated the object. Now I wear ‘bi-focal’ lenses. But in reality I have one that I can see distances and one I can read with and my eyes adjust them accordingly. It great!! All my mates who took the pi$$ for years at my glasses are now struggling with reading glasses, and I’m free of them!!! Ha ha! 😀

Contacts and riding glasses for me

And again – just make sure the contacts are disposable and keep a spare pair or two in the Camelbak/Wingnut

I think a lot depends on your prescription, I’m fairly short sighted so wearing glasses means I lose a lot of my peripheral vision as well as all the other downsides like steaming up.

Contacts for me, no contest.

I usually wear riding glasses with inserts but have been trying contacts on the last few rides with problems as the first time mt right lens popped out and the 2nd time my left lens popped out, I had riding glassed on also to shield my eyes against the wind & rain but it blurred my vision so I took them off.

contacts for riding where possible. dailies are great.

first time mt right lens popped out and the 2nd time my left lens popped out

I’d speak to your optician, that’s not meant to happen!

And again – just make sure the contacts are disposable and keep a spare pair or two in the Camelbak/Wingnut

+1

I usually have a few pairs in the Camelbac and some drops to wash out anything that gets in (you can buy single dose vials of drops which are ideal).

I have had a couple of scary moments when something has got behind a contact when hooning down a hill (meaning temporary loss of sight), but the benefits far outweigh the odd scare like that.

Contact lenses changed my life – end of.

Contacts are so much better than glasses. I hate having a piece of glass a couple of CM from my eye and only being able to see through that with contacts you can see all around. They are a bit of a problem when its really wet and the mud is being flung onto my face but I wear goggles when the weather is like that.

+1 jwt.

I’ve not had a single problem with monthly extended wear. They are more robust and tend to fit better than dailies btw.

Contacts all the way. Anyone else tried caving in glasses? Not recommended.

Riding glasses every time – MrsJulianA would very probably have lost and eye without hers.

It depends. Contacts just do not work for me. I have an astigmatism which means the contact lense has to be a certain way up for me to have good vision. IF they move a mm or 2 either way they go blurry.

i’ve tried so many different makes. I do get strange looks when i start moving them round with my fingers.

Contacts rubbish for me! 😥

Contacts are certainly not the best solution for all. I haven’t been wearing them for about 5 years now, much happier with my various prescription glasses except for their price.
I have quite dry eyes and there is something funny about the shape of my eyeballs (sigh) which make it more difficult to find good fitting contacts.

Astigmatism in both eyes contacts are fine 90% of the time. Cheapo specsavers ones at that.

contacts

another thing to remember is thatwhen your prescription changes over time, with disposable lenses there is no bill associated with changing.

If you have normal glasses, and prescription riding glasses, the bill is pretty big when you need to change your prescription

what about a laser and riding glasses, my next choice, with the prices of glasses i think it would have well and truly paid for itself by now.

I’ve noticed that a lot of riders wear riding glasses, so why wouldn’t a glasses wearer use normal prescription glasses that are shaped to provide more coverage and be stable? Obviously if you have complicated lenses then it gets expensive having lots of pairs of glasses but I have four pairs for different looks/purposes, total cost sub £200. I have disposable contacts as well for other stuff but not worn them for bike riding.

Some people just can’t get on with contacts. If your eyes get on with them OK, I’d recommend them heartily.

I think they’re great, been using them for 13 years, best thing I ever did.

Err.. any advice if you’re a bit of a wuss and don’t like fiddling about with your eyes? For my friend like, not me of course.. 😳

My experience with contacts is similar to druidh, I used them for football but they tended to dry out on the bike. Inserts were rubbish too so I’ve used my normal prescription specs for riding for several years now. Tried to get some oakleys recently but my prescription was too strong. Reading this thread has got me thinking about trying contacts again though…

brassneck tell your ‘friend’ to get over himself as long as you dont touch the pupil it doesnt hurt. Try specsavers they do free trials, give it a go.

My specs cost around £500. No way I’d wear them doing anything other than commuting or riding round town..!

Contact lenses for me when doing “proper” riding. I ought to wear riding glasses as well, but I can’t stand them and only tend to wear them in the rain or if muddy.

Err.. any advice if you’re a bit of a wuss and don’t like fiddling about with your eyes? For my friend like, not me of course..

This is what initially put me off. You get used to it very quickly.

I had big problems when I first started getting the contact back out of my eye, I often ended up peeling the lens off my cornea using a nail. then one day I discovered ‘the knack’. Once you use them a bit you soon get used to them.