Having had my eyes lasered last week I am now in the position where I can at last buy myself some groovy new sunnies for riding rather than prescription paedo glasses.
Took a wander into Craigdon Mountain sports yesterday - do people really pay that much for a scrap of plastic???
They had Oakley and Bolle mostly £90+.
Must be some nice profit margins there.
I went to my local industrial supplier and got some rather fetching blue mirror Parmelees for about 3 quid.
Not be long before you need your eyes done again then. Cheap glass and wide open pupils meand more damage to your eyes.
or
I'll take the Oakleys, thanks.
The Oakleys are probably made from the same cheap glass though. They're just not cheap for the mugs consumers who buy them.
Drac - Moderator
Not be long before you need your eyes done again then. Cheap glass and wide open pupils meand more damage to your eyes.
True, if you're buying glasses that have no UV protection. Not many around like that, unless you're buying hookie oakleys off a spanish market stall.
The Oakleys are probably made from the same cheap glass though.
No, they're not.
True, if you're buying glasses that have no UV protection. Not many around like that, unless you're buying hookie oakleys off a spanish market stall.
I doubt the protection will last as long as good quality glass.
The Oakleys are probably made from the same cheap glass though. They're just not cheap for the mugs consumers who buy them.
You keep convincing yourself, your making a good job.
Yes everyone who doesn't weaar Oakleys has had their eyesight worsen, Oakley use the numerous studies that prove this in their advertising.
Oh, hang on...
If you get cheap nasty plastic sunnies, you will be openly mocked on this forum and small children will point at you in the street.
Do you really want that?
You pay for lens quality. This is true in any sort of glasses.
You pay for lens quality Plutonite®
Honestly, I didn't just make that up. 
Ive always been a fan of Bloc for good quality, reasonably priced sunnies. But my last pair were useless- the arms rubbed on the lens in the case and scratched them. Currently wearing Oakleys I got as a freebie and Ive got to be honest, the polarised lens is great.
Cheap glasses - fine.
Cheap DARK glasses with no UV protection - not fine.
You can get half decent glasses for riding for about £30 from the likes of Endura/Bloc etc.
Reputed best quality sunglasses lens is Maui Jim's (Google 'em)
my optician says the ones he has seen are optically perfectly adjusted for the lens curvature,and he doesn't sell them,+ the polarising is the best I've ever tried ( I use mine for fish spotting in high glare conditions on rivers),but not much change from £130.
ian
Decent sunnies are one of life's important little pleasures. If you don't want 'em, don't buy 'em.
cheap UV glasses that usually say full uv protection only normally refer to UVA and UVB where as its UVC that does alot of the damage normally protected from by higher price lenses, hence the cost, you only get one pair of eyes so tbh you pays your money and takes your choice.....a note on the oakleys and maui jims any big profits are generally NOT at the retailer end of the chain.......
I was treated to some Jawbones last summer after years of "never more than a tenner" glass's. Never saw the point (see what i did there:-)
But, i've eaten my words, i love my Oakleys, they are very good.
Are they worth the money? Prob not, (you don't have to pay full price if you look hard enough.) But then you don't need a £2k bicycle.
Currently have a selection of Oakley's built up over the last 15 years, including M-Frames, Radar and Jawbones, yes they can be expensive, but when they do break, Oakley UK have been great for very low cost replacement, even when over 10 years old, how many other companies do that?
Have tried cheaper ones from Bolle, Briko & Shimano, and never got on with them.
If you want really expensive glasses, check out Oakley Pit Boss TRON edition.
Nah, that's nothing...
Elite C-Six
$4,000.
Still want them. Lots.
Yes everyone who doesn't weaar Oakleys has had their eyesight worsen, Oakley use the numerous studies that prove this in their advertising.
No one said you must buy Oakleys, £3 glasses really aren't going to be very good glass at all.
Having been given a set of Jawbones, previously having used Cebe, Bloc and Smiths, I will be buying Oakleys from now on they are so much better and I'm happy to suck up the extra cost for the quality and longevity.
I assume the OP is paying for this eye surgery?
If you value your sight that much and particularly after the 'paedo glasses' comment I'd imagine you wanted to a) protect your investment in your eyes and b) not look like a cheapskate with your new eyewear?
So why not get something that's not only has a demonstrably better quality lens but also has a slightly less, errrm, industrial look to it?
All Oakleys except Frogskins are horrible.
They look dead cool on middle aged men with crises though.
No one said you must buy Oakleys, £3 glasses really aren't going to be very good glass at all.
OK:
Yes everyone who wears £3 glasseshas had their eyesight worsen.
The lenses inside Oakleys (I had straight jackets, now got eye jackets) are pretty strong. Stone flew up, and cracked a previous set of 'cheap' sunnies. My eyes are worth more than a tenner. Got some Oakleys, and had stones flick up - but bounce off the lense. Got one pair of Oakleys repaired under warranty within 48hrs, from a stone chipping the the lense.
You get what you pay for, and I'm willing to pay for Oakleys.
I tend to agree with the OP. I do have apair of Oakley crosshairs for general usage, but wouldn't dream of spending the same amount on bike glasses. Bolle Solis or similar provide more than enough UV protection and, whilst no Oakleys, they don't look that bad IMHO. And for a few quid I dont have to worry about losing, standing on, sitting on them.......
It's the same as everything else. You pay more for quality than for tat and with that you pay more for marketing and branding.
At the end of the day, it's your moneyk, they are your eyes so you decide what you think is an appropriate amount to spend. If you try on a pair of £5 and a pair of oakleys I am sure you will be able to tell the difference, but it is up to you to decide if it is enough to warrant the extra ££.
the hustler - cheap UV glasses that usually say full uv protection only normally refer to UVA and UVB where as its UVC that does alot of the damage normally protected from by higher price lenses
I thought UVC generally wasn't as much of a problem as UVA/B. It is potentially the most dangerous (and may become more so in the future) but is mostly filtered out by the ozone layer.
Bolle also do safety glasses.. they may not be as good quality optically as more expensive sunnies but they look ok, work well as cycling glasses and can be picked up for well under a tenner.. oh, and it doesn't matter so much if I leave them on the car seat and sit on them!
JUst bought a pair of custom Oakley Jawbones through Oakley.com in the states with two sets of vented lens for £125 and a free Oakley beanie....to do that it on the Oakley website here in the UK would have cost me closer to £200 and no free beanie.
The glasses are amazing...still have my £40 Specializied glasses for road and commuting but wanted the Oakleys cos I just did.
However I will say the lens make the difference between paying £40 for a pair of sunglasses and £100+ for a pair.
Read this oakley description of one of their products (a watch).
It begins with 27 blasts from a 300-ton hydraulic ram. It finishes with 32,768 digital beats that measure each second of Swiss movement. Sixteen million pounds of force create the razor contours of high-grade stainless steel that we sculpturally blend with pure Oakley Unobtainium®. The precise five-jewel quartz movement is powered with the endurance of a 74-month battery. The hardest crystal utilized in watch making, pure sapphire is enhanced with anti-reflective coating and sealed over the intuitive analog display. This edition of the Blade™ II watch offers the flexible fit of a durable stainless steel bracelet with micro adjustment links.
Whether you would say Oakley has the worst marketing team or the best is irrelevant. What is relevant is if you believe anything Oakley say, you are a mug.
Although this doesn't stop the stuff they make being good.
i like the sunglasses because it's such a sunny country we live in. yup, all that sun, all the time, if it wasn't for my sunglasses why my eyes would get burnt right out of my head...
I've always used Oakleys and really like lenses and quality of them. They also have very good after care and either fix or offer replacement parts at resonable prices.
I convinced my wife who always used cheap sunglasses and often got headaches in the sun to try a pair. She was really impressed with the optics of the lenses and quality of them and would never go back to cheap sunglasses again.
Why qib over a £100 pair of sunglasses when you've just paid a shed load more for laser eyes!!
cheap UV glasses that usually say full uv protection only normally refer to UVA and UVB where as its UVC that does alot of the damage
Jeez - did someone just invent UVC to sell sunglasses?
Oakley get their lenses from Gentex (or they used too a few years ago). Look for others who use the same lenses but don't spend the vast amounts on sponsorship/advertising that Oakley do and you'll be sorted. I've 3 pairs of Gatorz who use Gentex lenses and are the best sunglasses I've ever worn - not cheap either, unfortunately.
ps. I've got a pair of the cheap Bolles and they are good.
They look dead cool on middle aged men with crises though.
Haha Garyglitter, I'm still abit too young to be middle aged yet, I suppose some people may view them as purchasable Awesomeness! 
Decent sunnies are one of life's important little pleasures. If you don't want 'em, don't buy 'em.
Indeed. I don't do 'designer' labels.... But I have a weakness for Oakleys. I've had 4 pairs in the last 20 years, they work, the lenses are good quality optically, the warranty back-up is superb and they look soooooo gooooooooooooood 
Currently got a pair of Oakley Unknowns I bought in Sydney, 5 years ago. Wouldn't swap them for anything. 
LoCo - Sunglasses are only truly awesome when worn in Winter, preferably indoors.
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