Morning all

I stopped wearing eye protection a year or so ago as I just couldn’t get on with it. Felt like I was playing a computer game somehow – just detached from reality a little by having a lens in front of me. Tinted shades were always a ‘no no’ and I tried for a long time with clear lenses but found slight visual distortion around the peripheral vision, especially when looking around tight corners (objects shifted slightly). I’m leaning towards thinking this is a bit dangerous and at some point I’m gonna ‘get one’ in the eye.
So then, anyone else share my feelings? Anyone care to recommend something good?

Cheers all!

I pierced my eyeball with a strand of gear wire during a crash and have worn oakleys religiously after.

I’ve got a scar on my face from a crash on flinty gravel that stops where the m-frames I was wearing started. Lens was a mess but the glasses saved a potential stone eye interface!

I’m so use to riding with glasses on now it feels wrong to not be wearing any!

I had the same problem with a few different glasses and it time I felt sick, finally splashed the cash and bought some Oakleys and have no distortion at all. For me it came down to the lens quality that was causing the problem not the wearing of glasses.

Got some Endura Trigger glasses this yr for summer riding and work brilliant at protecting my eyes from flies, sun etc. Just wish I’d gone for Stingray ones now with interchangeable lenses so I could use clear ones for low light and night riding 😕

You only get one set of eyes!!!

Who here wears eye protection

Safety specs since 1996

depends on conditions.

sunny and dry – yes, to stop the sun from annoying me
sunny, hot and moist – no, steaming up is annoying
muddy – yes, stop mud going in my eyes on downhills
rainy – yes or no, don’t like water streaming in my eyes, but also don’t like having to wipe glasses.

in conclusion…. sometimes.

Dave

I don’t use any anymore, I can’t stand the distortion – makes me feel like I’m not where I actually am on the bike, and I ride worse because of it.

I’ll probably change my mind again soon though when I get tired of mud in the eyes

wear spesh adaptalites during the day. need another set of bolle safety specs for night time – 8 quid a pair and very little distortion IME.
chap i know caught a stick through the cheek in through the roof of his mouth recently. the stick came off his specs first…. 😯

Yup, got a set of Bloc somethign or others I got cheap at MM this year.

Came with 3 lenses and a case for £25, brilliant.

Wouldn’t be withouth them as I seem to suffer from watery eye when descending otherwise

I do – I have contacts and for some reason the first descent of the day makes my eyes stream, which is a bit fo a safety issue ! And just feels more comfortable on the road bike in windy old Scotland, noticed a lot less red sore eyes in winter.

Almost always.

Only time I don’t is when wearing full face in dry but not dusty conditions.

Hate getting stuff in my eyes.

having proper vision in only one eye i wear safety glases for every ride on a bike even the school run. Just not worth the risk for me.
I used to wear them for football as well and othe ractivities where an injury/impact is possible

I never did like wearing glasses on the bike. Same sort of deal as you – I felt like I was detached and floating off the ground.

But, riding in open, sunny places I had to have something to deal with the brightness. I have found Endura glasses are distortion-free and way cheaper than Oakleys. I still prefer to ride with naked eyeballs, but at least the Endura glasses don’t mess with my vision.

As to whether or not you need to protect your eyes day-to-day, I know quite a few people who have hurt their eyes and would never ride without some sort of lenses. In 10 years of riding, I’ve never hurt my eyes, so I just keep riding without them unless it’s blindingly sunny.

I’ve got some orange lens Blocs that are pretty good in all conditions, but they are old and tend to slide down my nose now (they never used to).

I’ve got some dark tint polarised Blocs for sunny conditions, but when off road and in and out of trees they are a bit too dark.

I tend not to bother – the only times I think I wish I had them on is dusty rides when your eye gets all gritty & really wet rides when you get muddy splashes in your eye.

I did stop wearing glasses until I misjudged a branch which resulted in a visit to A & E. Very painful, my balance was affected, and was prescribed antibacterial ointment. No riding or driving for around a week.

Ever since I have worn glasses on every ride.

I pierced my eyeball with a strand of gear wire during a crash and have worn oakleys religiously after.

eeek! (screws up right eye and shudders just at the thought!)

Appears to be lens quality then?

Hardly ever.

Which is a bit silly, given I can only see properly out of one eye after a sporting accident.

Yes. Always

yes I think it is. £100 spent on oakleys is money very well spent in my opinion.

double post

Complaining of distortion is lame – just get some decent glasses!

The MucOff anti-fog stuff works quite well at keeping the mist off.

Not worth the risk of losing an eye because of no eye protection – even a simple fall into the bushes could end up with a twig entering your eye.

I wear sunglasses whenever I’m outside. Already have UV damage, so I have to really down here.
Still can’t wear glasses at night, when I could use the protection. Can’t stand the distortion at night. I should give them another go.

I have worn various cheapy glasses which have badly fitted or scratched very easily.

Invested in some clear vented lense Oakleys and they have been great.

Wear them offroad to stop mud and branches and on road because I am so awsomely fast my eyes stream in the wind 😉

MM

Almost always wear glasses out on the bike, either racing jackets or M-Frames. As I often spend a lot of time on site, the M-Frames double as decent safety glasses too.

If it’s horribly muddy during a race, the glasses generally get confined to a back pocket after half a lap or so, but always start with them.

Cheers, Rich

Mine always seem to get coated in a greasy film of oil/salt sweaty mess after an hour or so.

Goggles i’m fine with but I’ve not found a pair of glasses I like yet.

Only in Epping this year – the trees try to poke my eyes out. Decent work safety specs do the trick.
I’ve been using a muckynuts mud guard thing all year ,that seems to keep most of the debris off my face.
Still get the odd insect stingage though.
I was like the OP , got fed up of blurred vision through steaming up/sweat smears etc, that and I kept on losing glasses.However, If I know I’m riding in foliage then safety specs go on.

Got a set of half-price jawbones the other day, will be trying them tonight I think.

Always wear glasses – reactive lens ones during the day and clear in the dark (contact lens wearer so need to avoid grit in the eye).

Also for protection from insects, stones, branches etc in the eye and also as if it’s very cold my eyes stream without them.

I just keep my glasses on, or Oakleys if it is sunny. It would be pretty dangerous for me to try cycling without them!

Rudy project ones. They are reactolite and have a flexible shatter proof lens, Had them for about 3 years and never had a problem with them and seldom ride off or on road without them. Fitting one of those neopreme things on the front forks also cut down the amount of crap hitting me in the face

I wear Oakley’s religiously! I really fear something happening to my eyes. The one time I do ride without them is went very wet and misty in a race, when desire to keep going overrides ‘eye fear’. Still not found anything that combats the steaming up thing, wish I could find a solution.
But to me glasses are like a helmets, I can’t/won’t ride without them.

Always, either clear or slightly tinted, depending on where I am. My optician (who really should know better) got a shard of metal in his eye whilst riding to work, and was off work for a couple of weeks.

Almost always – I get watering eyes apart from anything else.

Bolle safety glasses for the win, no edge distortion, anti scratch, anitmist.

sometimes but not when it’s raining or at night. At night I find they are distracting and when it’s raining they impair vision which is probably more dangerous.

I wear safety glasses constantly at work and don’t find them to be an issue but somehow they are on the bike. Maybe it’s a focus thing as on the bike I’m not exactly concentrating on close up detail like I am at work.

Always.

Endura Stingrays for me. Multiple lens sets, comfy, not noticed any distortion and only 30 odd quid when I eventually sit on them.

I wear bolle safety specs about half the time I ride, normally when I know there are likely to be flies about. The slight visual distortion isn;t reallya problem as I normally barrel along not really knowing what I’m doing anyway.

I’ve got the bolle saftey glasses too, cost about £5 from what I remember and look just as good as glasses cost 10 x as much.

I have to wear glasses the majority of the time as I cant shut my left eye. Over the years I have had a number of visits to remove various objects from my eye, it hurst like hell and its not nice thinking you could loose your sight.

The people who find the distortion difficult, which I can understand completely, what glasses are you using as I have never found it a problem at all, for me looking through glasses is just the same as without (I mean non prescription, lucky to be blessed with excellent eyesight).

Also on another point has anyone tried Oakely’s anti fog spray? Does it work?

Forgot mine on Sunday, within 30 seconds of setting off I got a gnat stuck in my eye! Always wear glasses, have done for years now.