I had a bit of a revelation on Sunday. Went to Gisburn for a lap on my new bike (still setting up/getting a feel for it), when I accidentally dropped my glasses.

By the time my missus found them, both lenses had popped out and one had been ran over 🙁

These were a mild prescription, transition lenses too. I carried on riding without them and realised how tall/big the bike felt. Everything looked a lot steeper too, but something strange happened…

I was cornering better, braking in the right places and generally riding a lot better overall! The glasses had a strange effect where everything seemed lower down, not as steep and slower. This usually meant that I’m entering corners too fast, pumping jumps in the wrong place etc.

Has anyone else experienced this, even with non-prescription riding glasses? Now I’m thinking I might just try disposable contacts again and get some different riding glasses, but I don’t want the “Go Pro” effect to continue.

Are you sure they were the right prescription.

Perhaps you were just more cautious with out and went slower.

But…
Slow is smooth
And smooth is fast.

Having said that, I did once have some non Oakley prescription lenses fitted to a pair of e-wires. That made things feel very weird.

Oh yes, right prescription. Overall vision was clearer when wearing (and they weren’t full of shit or steamed up).

I’m pretty certain I was faster as I even did a schralp thingy on a berm (missus was swooning!).

With the glasses, everything seemed “flatter” if that makes any sense? At the end of the first lockdown, when I finally got my car delivered I went to Whinlatter and tried some disposable contacts.

I remember feeling really good on that day too, with initially feeling very tall on the bike. Seems like smashing my glasses has been the best upgrade of recent times 🙂

After having a bit of a think, I reckon I’ve been too “tall” heading into corners, thinking I’m low enough due to the illusion the glasses were producing. Could it be the curvature of the lenses that caused this?

I’m due an eye test, but before I drive to my nearest castle, I’m going to nip to Specsavers before I try more contacts. I might even try some cheap, flatter lensed riding glasses as an experiment.

I’ve had curved sunnies that did the opposite, made everything look steeper, deeper, higher etc.

Hang on, so wearing the specs felt good or bad?
And not wearing felt better or worse?

Maybe my eyeballs are curved!

Near the end (I forget the name of the trail), there’s a steepish rock chute that I’ve never looked twice at with the glasses on, but without them is the first time I’ve ever thought “that looks steeper than I remember!”.

I might mention it when I go for my eye test and see what they say. I got used to the difference after about 15-20 mins (minus the blurry vision when going a bit faster). Even techy climbs seemed more “controlled”.

It felt better without the glasses (apart from the more blurry vision). They aren’t a strong prescription to be fair. Contacts have offered the best of both worlds, but I really don’t like poking them into my eyes.

Make sure your prescription it right. Being clearer doesn’t mean it’s correct it could be slightly over prescribed, I had a similar feeling trying contacts out, the lense shape didn’t match my eyes and made things worse in a different way than without.
Could also be the lenses or how you were looking through them, my dad has a set of glasses that he uses for certain things that the optician has the center or what ever its called of the lense where he is looking rather than straight/square on to do a certain.

That’s the next step with the eye test then.

I’ve used my normal glasses for riding before and they didn’t do this, same with the contacts I tried (all same prescription).

It’s just never clicked before for some reason, but that is the best way to describe it. Looking at Go Pro footage and it never looks as steep or fast, I had the glasses version 🙂

Maybe my eyeballs are curved!

I should hope so!

I’ve had some odd effects from non prescription clear glasses, the feeling of being perched higher up on the bike, not good!.

I wouldn’t bother with an eye test, the optics on wrap around or overly curved lenses are compromised. The fact you are fine with normal specs means you need to wear normal specs.
Get some £19 jobbies from Specsavers and try it out.

It’s mad! It’s like the door swings both ways with glasses. From what a few have said, I’ve got a feeling that it’s more the shape of the lens that causes the effect.

Even after 3 months of not riding anything remotely technical, I was flying the first day back at Whinlatter with the contacts in (in monsoon rain!). When I started riding without the glasses, it felt a bit like going back to that day.

I’ve never really seen it mentioned in reviews for glasses either. Surely at least one pair would pop up with similar oddities?

Can’t ride with my bins on.

I just never have so everything comes up much quicker than I’m set to react for it.

Lucky it’s a mild prescription and astigmatism and I’m not mr Magoo

But from speaking to others with similar prescriptions it’s pretty common.

And cheap safety glasses – don’t get me started on those. Migrain central their lack of optical focus across the lense face is horrific.

John1984, what are the glasses, and where from?
Are the lenses curved? I don’t want to seem grumpy but if you can ride in contacts, and normal specs, then you have the answer, it’s either rubbish optics or the riding specs are wrong.
To curve a lens and keep half decent optics the lens surfaces need to be custom made computer generated surfaces to try to make up for the fact your lenses are miles away from the best design optically. Even then it may give you this effect.The effect in optics is known, but not everyone will notice it, and not everyone is trying to ride Whinlatter in them. Let’s face it, you hadn’t fully realised the effect or you’d have sent them back as soon as you collected them.

@jkomo

They were fairly cheap no-name frame with custom transition lenses from a local opticians. You’re totally right though, I think contacts are the way forward. I just need to stop being soft and get used to removing them (putting them in is easier!).

It’s strange though, I honestly didn’t realise how much of an impact they were having till I was forced to ride without them. I’m not usually this dim witted, honest! 🙂

Yes, glasses will do this (kind of part of how they work) – just look at a straight edge like a doorframe inside the glasses field of view and outside and you’ll get a concave/convex type effect going on.

But…. your brain adjusts to this fairly quickly (or at least it should), so it shouldn’t make any difference in practice.
I guess the exception might be for peripheral vision on wrap-around lenses where there can be a lot of distortion and you don’t actively use it a lot so maybe your brain doesn’t adjust quickly.

Let us know how your experimentation goes, I’m keen to know as a prescription riding glasses and/or contact lens wearing rider !

I hate riding in my glasses too. I think it’s something to do with peripheral vision being off because lenses & sunnies are fine even with crap sunnies.

Well, I’ve had them over a year so I should have been used to them 🙂

The problem was that I never rode without them, apart from the odd time I’ve tried contacts. I had an older pair of Nike prescription sun glasses that I used to use too. I don’t remember if those had the same effect.

My missus uses contacts as she can’t stand riding in glasses. She’s pretty handy on a bike too and follows me down most things.

I always defaulted to glasses to protect my eyes from mud/shite, but my mud guard is very good at this already.

Re taking out lenses make sure your eyes are nice and wet, then slide the lens off to the side before pinching it out.
And welcome to cyclingHD 🙂

Funny… I’m the opposite..

If I have to take my prescription glasses off, I feel like I’m sat on the top tube and my head is about 2 foot lower….

The ground just feels nearer…

Is odd!

DrP

@DrP

That’s the exact feeling! It was a false sense of confidence in a way.

@oldnick

That’s how if felt when I first got glasses a few years ago, the world got upgraded visuals 🙂

Riding in my normal prescription glasses always seems a bit odd and things come at me more quickly. My prescription oakley riding glasses seem much better and they’re wrap around so not sure if that makes the difference.

I’ve worn glasses since I was about 15. I also wear contact lenses, and have done for decades too. I’m about a 50/50 split on both, I can take or leave either, just depends how I get up on a morning.

Not in a million years would I want to wear my prescription glasses for riding in. I wear them at home, for work, out and about, for driving etc, all fine, but no way do I wear them on the bike. Its just weird/wrong/unsafe (glass?! near my eyes?). Tried it a few times and even on the occasion I’ve been doing a bit of maintenance in the garage, take the bike onto the street to bump up the kerbs a few times, its just odd and doesnt feel right.

Appreciate that YMMV, but Contacts for me have been easy, cheap (less than a tenner a month for everything and I get half price glasses every year as part of the deal) hassle free and easy.

I looked into Laser Surgery a few years back and everysone said it was great ot fix all the problems/issues with contacts – I simply dont have those issues, I’d rather spend 4 grand on a new bike!

Edit – Like Trail Rat – I’m only -2/-2.5 so not exactly Mr Moleman either, I can omly imagine the effect is worsened with a strong prescription.

I wonder if it’s related to the effect I get with my prescription reading glasses, where straight lines become curved if I look through the side of the lens? Very much reduced effect in my general purpose specs. I’m long sighted btw.
I’m liking the idea of specific riding glasses with the corrected part of the lens nearer the top of the lens, and a bifocal bit at the bottom for fixing the bike, checking the phone etc. Thanks STW for the idea 🙂

You get used to putting in contacts very quickly. When I first got mine it used to take ages. Now probably just as quick or quicker as putting on my glasses cos I can never find the damn things.

My everyday pair (Oakley Holbrook RX) don’t do it, or at least I don’t notice it.

I’m glad it’s not just me though and I’m definitely going to give contacts another chance.

I get £250 a year for optical stuff from our health plan at work (resets in August), so really it won’t cost me anything.

I love my prescription Oakley lenses (from Reglaze Glasses Direct). I always used to ride with contacts and glasses (clear lenses in Oakley Racing Jackets), but I got some prescription lenses made and they’re perfect. Less faff (just chuck on a different pair of glasses) and I’ve used them enough in the last 6 months that they’ve paid for the upfront cost of lenses vs daily contacts. However, the lenses are relatively wrap-aroundy and the first time I wore them, the warping effect was pretty significant. It definitely felt weird, but only for a matter of minutes. Alas, my riding didn’t improve dramatically!

The experience was similar to the first time I had (mild) astigmatism correction built into my (normal) glasses. Everything felt super weird / distorted for a few hours and then my brain adjusted and now I can’t perceive any difference at all.

Background: Wear glasses for everything. I hate wearing contacts, always end up with itchy gritty eyes, but I put up with it and used contacts for sport. I know most people can cope with contacts better than me, though.

Having said that, I did once have some non Oakley prescription lenses fitted to a pair of e-wires. That made things feel very weird.

I sold a pair of Oakley Half Jackets that I put prescription lenses in after one ride because of this. The ground seemed a long way away and even a flat rock garden seemed unnerving. It’s possible the lenses were made incorrectly (prescription was identical to my usual glasses) but I wasn’t going to spend another £100+ to find out.