After an opticians appointment yesterday it looks like i won’t be able to wear contact lenses for much longer. I use to wear contacts 6 days a week with no problems. Then 5 years ago i started developing problems with my eyes (prolonged infections, and inflammation). So every few months a had to stop wearing contacts for a few weeks to let them recover. 2 years ago I moved to a new building at work with air-con which makes my eyes very dry so I’ve only been wearing contacts at weekends or the odd evening for rides. The optician told me i’m still wearing them too often and need to reduce the time and take a break from them for a few more weeks.

My sight is very poor (-4.5 in both eyes) so can’t do much without glasses/contacts. I tried riding with my normal glasses but the effect of the glasses moving made me feel sick and really struggled to ride fast.

My only real option now is later eye surgery which I’ve had a consultation about and quoted £3k due to my eyes and pupil dilation being unusually big. I’m told theres a 99% success rate but still worried.

Has anyone had later eye surgery with any problems? How long did it take to fully recover?

Have you tried proper prescription riding specs?
For less than 200 you can have an awesome set of specs (provided you don’t HAVE to have Oakley)
Had the same issues with riding in normal glasses, but bought some Rudi Project Zyons with the rx insert. Total revelation.
Bought them from extreme eyewear.
Worth a shot first if you are considering laser eye surgery (which has always seemed like a bad idea to me)

This ^ – used to be able to make all sorts of custom wrap stuff for Oakleys but moved out of the industry.

Also went went with the Rudy Project Zyons and Noyz with the rx insert, you can get a variety of lens colours and coating for different riding conditions including photochromic and polarised.

Most cost effective and versatile option I have found to date.

What type & manufacturer of CL’s are you using? Have you tried any lubricating drops at wok in the A/C? Weekends & odd days is hardly heavy use but it does depend on previous (over)wear and previous ocular history.
One thing to remember is dry eye is a common sidde effect of LASER refractive surgery, which may cause issues if you already suffer from it.

Thanks for the replies. I have thought about prescription riding glasses but never been keen on the idea of inserts. re the inserts much bigger than normal specs? I know there are other options without inserts but they are very expensive.

I’ve tried lots of different contact lenses but the same issue always develops. Used drops for a while but they ended up making things worse. They made my eyes produce less tears so when i stop using them my eyes were dryer.

For riding take a look at Optilabs, they work wonders with strong prescriptions other companies won’t touch.

Until recent cataract surgery my prescription was -8 and -9 and they sorted me a great pair with reactive lenses.

I am talking glasses, but. They did the job

-4.5 isn’t that strong, my prescription is over -11. I use Rudy Project Maya frames which have photochromic outer lenses and prescription inserts. My opticians made the inserts small and then reduced them further in size after I’d used them for a few weeks. There are many more options that you can try, but they will depend upon you finding a knowledgeable optician.

Just get some specs that don’t bounce about, it’s really no biggie.

-4.5 isn’t that strong,

Agreed. -4.5 isn’t very poor. It needs correcting of course, but as aP says, anything above -6 is very poor.

Anyway. Just get a decent fitting pair of glasses, and maybe lock them in place with a sportsband etc.

I’ve just had my eyes laser’d but before I did, when I wasn’t wearing contacts, I used some Oakley split jackets with transitions lenses by an online place. I was really happy with them and would 100% recommend some proper cycling prescription glasses. My prescription wasn’t so different to yours, about -3.5.

Similar boat here, from memory my eyesight is around -3.5 to -4.5. Long time contact lens wearer but suffer from dry eyes and discomfort/tiredness.

Stopped wearing them regularly and have gone back to glasses which I find a real pain as I work outside in the sun/rain, safety goggles steam them up, petroleum jelly off the cables and mud from working in holes means I constantly have to clean them and inevitably scratch them.

Been for a Laser consult with Optimax who quoted around £2k but didn’t really give a sht about my dry eye concerns (my aunt had to wear wraparound fashion sunglasses and use eye drops for a year or two after her surgery). Had aggressive marketing with time limited offers through the post for 2-3 months afterwards which put me off further.

I then got a consult with Centre for Sight and the guy there was really good about concerns over night vision and dry eyes, explaining why people get the symptoms and how they avoid them etc. He also managed to flog me about £50 worth of drops, warm eye pads and humoungous fish oil tablet things to get my eyes moistened before surgery. Price was double, about £4.5k I think but I reckon worth the extra for the piece of mind.

The second place picked up that I have signs of over-wear for contact lenses (even though I only wear them for 9hrs but they are the ones designed to be left in for 30 days at a time!)

But listening to a Radio 2 program a few weeks ago on the complications with laser eye surgery has sort of put me off for now, so the current plan is lenses for the odd rainy night ride, treat myself to some decent prescription riding specs, and some cheaper glasses for work so I can don’t get annoyed at scratching them. My normal glasses work out at £100 a pair with thin lenses and £40 for a reglaze, I’ll get some from the £40 range with standard thicker lenses for work.

The second place picked up that I have signs of over-wear for contact lenses (even though I only wear them for 9hrs but they are the ones designed to be left in for 30 days at a time!)

Interesting. How does this manifest itself?

One of the signs of overwear is the blood vessels in the white of your eyes growing towards the perimeter of the contact lens, as they are increasing blood flow/oxygen to the area under the lens. I have this. I think the laser place also picked up some sort of abrasion.

As I had discomfort they tried loads of different lenses with me, super permeable jobs etc and the best were the 30 days leave in ones. But I never even tried or intended to wear them overnight, but after a day at work the first thing I’d do after getting in the door would be to whip them out. (actually I can’t remember if I just trialled them or used them constantly)

Ive tried the 30 day leave in lenses but still had the same issues.

So if i was to try perscription cycling glasses what are the pros and cons of glasses with inserts and glasses with direct glassing so no inserts.

If you have two layers, one prescription one normal not prescription lense then you have more weight to slide the glasses down your nose and two extra surfaces to steam up and get water droplets or mud splashes on. I recommend a single prescription lense unless your riding is fine days only on the road.

What sites would you recommend?

I bought some prescription specs from Optilabs, very happy with them. Bear in mind you’ll need your dispensing information from your opticians, not all opticians will provide this to you. You may need to see another to get it.

Personally, I normally just wear an older pair of glasses when I’m cycling. I have some dailies I use when I’m skiing or on the beach. They’re a bit crap for reading with because as well as being Mr Magoo (-7.5),I have quite bad astigmatism which contacts seem to be poor at resolving.

Forum search for laser eye surgery – someone on here had it done yesterday and was back posting within hours. It’s a fairly regular topic.

MrsMCTD went from -8.5 to -0.5, but did get mates rates as her friend runs the private section at Moorfields!

I’ve tried inserts and it didn’t work for me(Adidas EvilEye, older model). Too close to my eye and my eyelash hit it on every blink, also steamed up more on slow climbs on cold days. I mostly ride in some old prescription sunnies which fit really well, but I also have some wraparound style Rodenstock proAct sports specs which are better for wind protection, I have Transitions in them which go clear enough to use at night.

My main worry is that normal specs don’t cover enough of my peripheral vision for cycling. I even chose my last frames to have the largest lenses (without looking like a hipster) for this reason but they are no good for riding. My worries are:

Inserts – Less peripheral vision but cheaper and interchangeable lenses
Direct glazing – better peripheral vision but expensive and can’t afford interchangeable lenses.

There’s an alternative to laser surgery for eyes, (which I wouldn’t touch even if my sight was bad enough for it to be viable), and that’s a type of lens replacement similar to cataract surgery, but where the replacement lenses can be fine-tuned to perfect the eyesight before finally being ‘fixed’ permanently. The beauty of the technique is that you’ll never suffer from cataracts, and it’ll continue to work as the eye ages; laser surgery can be a temporary fix because the eye continues to change as it gets older, my eyes have become more long-sighted over time, but as I’m short-sighted, it’s gradually cancelling out.
FWIW, I’m no expert, but I did some research about both a while back, to see if either were suitable for me, and laser most certainly isn’t. If I could afford the lens replacement, that’s what I’d go for, my mum had cataracts, so it’s possible I could get them as well.

Has anyone used the system where you put in hard lenses overnight and it reshapes your eye to correct your vision? Means you don’t wear any corrective stuff in the daytime.

I know someone who thinks it’s the danglies but I couldn’t get out of my head how you would deal with the vision if you tried them out and it took three days for your vision to return to normal, during which time your glasses wouldn’t work properly! Also I’m on call so sometimes have to work all night with no warning.

OP

Honestly, with the RX insert sitting very close to your eyes (you get used to it) peripheral vision is a non issue, I can only see the edge of the RX at the absolute extremes of moving my eyes around, something you just don’t do normally and certainly not whilst riding.
I specifically went for the Rudy project Zyons as they have a full frame, so there is a defined edge which makes you turn your head if you need to look further round.
If you are seriously contemplating £4500 worth of (potentially) damaging surgery, surely it has to be worth a £200 punt to see if it resolves your issues?

Wouldn’t be without mine now.

Does the insert add much weight?

its about as heavy as a half empty packet of crisps, you honestly won’t notice it
I’d far rather buy glasses than let any one mess around with my eyes, and your eye sight isn’t really that bad.
I also went this way due to dry eyes and not getting along with contacts.

Just get some specs that don’t bounce about, it’s really no biggie.

It bloody well is.

If it’s raining, humid, or warm (ie all the time) they end up with either water or sweat on (or both) rendering one unable to see very well. I’ve ridden a long way with glasses and couldn’t wait to get rid. I live in fear of being in the OP’s position. Glasses are truly shit for sport or outdoor activities.

you see for me, glasses are as essential as a helmet, i won’t ride without them. too many things have gone in my eyes riding without glasses.

you only get one set of eyes, protect them

For riding take a look at Optilabs, they work wonders with strong prescriptions other companies won’t touch

my prescription is similar to yours. wouldnt even think about surgery before you have a set.

I’ve been looking at the Rudy Project Rydons which i like the look of here.

It says interchangeable lenses but doesn’t say if they come with additional lenses. Does anyone use these or similar glasses with interchangeable lenses?

They just come with the lenses that are listed there. As a long term Rudy Project glasses wearer I would recommend getting the ImpactX Photochromic Clear lenses – but they are £100+ on their own.

Extreme Eyewear

Thats who i use, you can go direct glazed or insert. If you go insert, get the above mentioned impact x photochromic lenses. Dark enough for summer, yet go totally clear so you can night ride in them.