I’m after a pair of Oakley Holbrooks but I can’t afford the real ones. Has anyone bought a set of fake Oakleys? What are they like? and where did you get them from?

Found a pair that were being marketed as genuine and were being sold as originating from India on eBay. It was just about plausible. They were obviously fake when they arrived and had shipped from China. The plastic of the frames was pretty rough and ready and they simply werent as comfortable as the real thing (i’m guessing the amount of spring in the plastic). Full refund from eBay (so you do have the option of just ripping off the fakers….)

If your’e not fussy about lens and colour (which you can’t be if you’re looking at fakes) then you can pick up the real thing from about £65. Bottom of the range Oakleys are really good value when you think about it. Great lenses, well made, good warranty.

Fakes range so much from retina burning obvious fakes to really very good ones that do make you question why people pay the premium for the name.

Ive got a couple of pairs of genuine ones that have lasted years and would’ve said don’t bother with any fakes for so many reasons but I did buy a great pair last summer for $10 from a beach seller when I’d left mine back at the hotel.

I’m guessing you’d be disappointed with any eBay purchases but I can recommend travelling to Bali for some.

Quick look on eBay shows several items showing as dispatched from somewhere in the uk but the seller is listed as being based in US or somewhere else.

retina burning obvious fakes

its harder to make lenses that don’t block UV than ones that do….

but if you can’t afford genuine oakleys, buy something cheaper like bloc or bolle. still good quality sunnies.

its harder to make lenses that don’t block UV than ones that do….

Agree with that. Most lenses are polycabonate these days and polycarbonate has a built in UV blocking property. So if it’s polycarbonate, it’s UV blocking.

I have about 6 sets of (Radar style) Oakley fakes and a few extra interchangable lenses for some of those. Prices varied from £3 to £12 shipped and mainly came from international Aliexpress/Ebay sellers

Years back I owned a few pairs of genuine Oakleys (M-Frames)and interchangable lenses. None of the frames ever lasted more than 6 months bfore going britle and cracking then eventualy snapping clean in half. Some of the lenses lost their coating, others cracked. Oakley UK were amazing and replaced every single failed part FOC and without hassle. But after a couple of years enough was enough. I simply wanted a pair of reliable glasses not a pen pal at Oakley. So I returned all the broken parts one last time and sold the lot on here.

The Fakes I own range from pretty decent to very good. As above all are UV protective despite what snidey folk who look down on me for buying the constantly say. The more expensive pairs are more adjustable and because of this more comfortable. They are way more durable than the genuime M frames I had but if I lose or break a set it’s not a big deal. Lenses i have range from clear to low light to smoked to smoked to fade to too dark for the UK but also have a couple of photochromatic and polarised lenses which are awesome in their respective suitable/changeable light conditions.

No. I can’t give you a link. Sorry. I’m just not that organised. Have a look and take a punt based on what you find online. it’s not like it’a lot of money lost if you don’t like them.

Strange timing, I’ve just had a couple of pairs of Holbrook looks a likes arrive from the Far East.
Frames seem slightly stiffer than genuine ones but otherwise they’re identical.
I have a number of pairs of real ones as well but was intrigued to see what the fake ones were like hence the order. These were £12 each delivered.

Fauxkleys surely?

I’ve bought about 10-12 pairs from Aliexpress over the past few years. Quality varies massively from the lenses not actually fitting the frames and them snapping as soon as you put them on, to ones that are almost indistinguishable other than the lack of ‘O’ on the arm.
Price is not an indicator of quality and I’ve not found a consistent seller that I would recommend. Even the best quality Jawbone copies ultimately went in the bin because the nose piece broke, but then I’m not careful with sunnies, especially ones that cost less than a tenner.
To buy you need to go to the sports sunglasses section and wade through the thousands on offer.
The last couple I bought were Holbrook-alikes and they were actually the best quality I’ve had.

I buy the fake frames and then some really good revant lenses off ebay. Worried the fake lenses are harmful in sun and will shatter on impact.

Why would you buy fake anything?

I know it’s not the answer you’re looking for but I would have thought you would be better off with another proven brands cheaper glasses as opposed to ‘fauxkleys’(made me chuckle that). I picked a pair of these up from the shop at llandegna when I left mine at home and they were superb.
https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Endura-Spectral-Cycling-Glasses_15686.htm?sku=11891&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3b3gBRDAARIsAL6D-N-pGuCTUpADgZCcFCpsspnfryDo_KP1FcCK6YK2TjEQb2NfBshfXt4aAlPAEALw_wcB

That being said the missus picked me up some jawbreakers in the Black Friday sale for chrimbo so I’ve landed lucky.

Ignore me, just noticed it’s Holbrooks you’re after. Different kettle of fish. I’ll get me coat 🧥

Fake Jawbreakers for racing in case they get trashed in a crash or dropped when I don’t want to stop and go back for them.

They’re okay but the fit is much nicer my genuine pair.

Wow, those fakes are pretty damned expensive.
Why not buy some genuine designer glasses that you don’t need to worry about trashing in a big off…
https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-protector-pro-smoke-lens-safety-specs/8781t
And if the weather is yucky have some clear ones as well…
https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-protector-pro-clear-lens-safety-specs/6222t

Actually called “Joakleys”

I don’t understand why anyone would want to buy fake branded goods. I’ve bought genuine ones for around £60 so just save up if you want a pair. The frames are great quality and if you get non-iridium warm grey lenses, they don’t scratch as easily and are cheaper. I’ve got a five year old pair that still look great.

They sponsored me or a while and gave me loads. Since then out of respect I’ve only ever bought genuine ones. At retail pricing. And if you think the sunnies are expensive then buy three pairs of prescription specs for different distances. I could have bought a Decent hardtail instead.

Loads. I wear legit Oakleys (normally Holbrooks) all the time, but buy the fakes for when I go out on the lash in summer, so if I lose them or take them off when it gets dark and they go missing it doesn’t matter.

I wouldn’t wear fakes otherwise though.

A lot of the fakes have really low UV protection. & Because your eyes are shaded your pupils expand.This let’s in loads of UV & can bugger your eyes 💀.

Nope. All normal polycarbonate blocks UV. Only muckle expensive stuff allows transmission of UV.

Clicky

I don’t understand why anyone would want to buy fake branded goods. I’ve bought genuine ones for around £60 so just save up if you want a pair

er.. because they’re made of plastic. cost pennies to produce and aren’t even very good quality.

A lot of the fakes have really low UV protection. & Because your eyes are shaded your pupils expand.This let’s in loads of UV & can bugger your eyes

What do we have here? a late entrant into the 2018 Chinese whispers championships?
Goan please read teethgrinder’s link and educate yourself, eh?

sunglasses are a huge scam with artificially inflated pricing. Look up who owns all the major sunny companies

Oakleys service / warranty is second to none. Unfortunately they don’t warranty you for leaving them on the top of your car and driving off after a night ride. Hence i had a full set of genuine interchangeable lenses bar the clear ones, and no frames, and as i couldn’t afford to replace them just to get the frame I bought some copies thinking they’d be ok for a few months and then I’d replace them when i could.

That was about 6 years ago…… still going strong.

I’ve had them in the past, they have never lasted well and I’ve always got that feeling in the back of my mind that my eyes are dying. What little research i did suggested i would be fine but that little voice never left.

Found a UK firm that make glasses not un-similar. Always seem to have BOGOF deal on, they have been great, excellent lenses. https://www.breo.com/collections

If they’re for riding the Bolle safety glasses are decent and cheap and come in a range of lenses. Also lack of VAT and quality control makes them even more attractive. They’re certainly not fashion glasses but IMO look more like normal sunglasses than PPE.

I lose sunnies when I’m pissed fairly regularly so all my everyday sunnies are Aldi £3.99 pretty normal looking jobs. What makes folk think if Aldi can sell a good tested product with a UK guarantee that fake oakleys for similar money will be any worse?

@squealer where did you get those from? Look like just what I’m after and for £12 delivered why wouldn’t I give it a try?!

Generally buy at least one pair per holiday. €5 for a random frame with an O on the arms or €8 for a pair based on an old Oakley design. By the time you get to €12 you’re looking at current models – maybe not *quite* the right colour frames/lenses but really, they’re just sunglasses

Got a pair of fake Oakleys – got them to see if my RX inserts would fit, and they did. I’ve had absolutely no trouble with them (not branded as Oakley). I’ve had a far better experience of the copies, than I did of a pair of M-Frames that were mega money, and I went through 2 frames as they were so brittle.

My day to day sighted glasses are Oakley Jack Knife’s with photo-chromatic lenses – now they were expensive, but bike glasses are the fakes.

I have run some fake jawbreakers for two years now, no issues, I actually ended up buying 2 more pairs, one for my road bike and one for spare. When the legit jawbreakers are £100 up spending £12ish seems a deal to me!

I have had a few pairs of fake Oakleys from China. Currently using a set of Jawbreakers that were about £10 with five sets of lenses, they have been faultless and look like the real thing, just with more choice of lense. I also have a set of racing jackets that must be at least 4 years old, again these have stood up to general bike use without any problems. I had one set of racing jackets that were obviously poor quality and they went in the bin pretty quickly. I do have genuine sets of Jawbreakers and Racing Jackets (plus other Oakleys) so don’t feel too guilty buying copies, the copies are great because I am not worried if they get damaged or lost.

I use foak lenses in my Oakleys which are genuine, what does that make me?

I use to have a pair of fake frames in which i put the genuine lenses. They were great, came with a hard case that is indistinguishable from the genuine case I have, which on it’s own cost 20 quid.

They cost 20 quid for the case, frame, and 3 lenses. If i could buy similar now I would

Should also point out my guilt is alleviated by the fact I have 2 sets of the genuine article also

I lose sunnies when I’m pissed fairly regularly so all my everyday sunnies are Aldi £3.99 pretty normal looking jobs. What makes folk think if Aldi can sell a good tested product with a UK guarantee that fake oakleys for similar money will be any worse?

You were so ripped off mate. I buy fake Aldi shades for less than half the price of the real ones and they’re every bit as swanky. I would also happily buy counterfeit, fake Oakleys, but it’s so hard to tell them from the real thing, if you see what I mean.

I use foak lenses in my Oakleys which are genuine, what does that make me?

Potentially dyslexic?

I got a set a few years back, came with a case and three sets of lenses for about twelve quid and i’m still using them now.

Showed them to my brother in law who was UK head of Oakley and he looked a bit sick.

My guilt is assuaged by them being copies of the ‘Lance Armstrong live strong’ ones, so I wasn’t the biggest scoundrel there by a long shot.

Holbrooks are just Ray-Ban rip offs anyway, so as long as you don’t mind *looking like a) a pauper, b) an Oakleys wearer, or c) geex, you might as well fill your boots.

*sorted into ascending levels of ghastliness.