I need to sort my eyesight out for riding. When I tried riding in my normal specs (which I only use for driving and TV, so not that much) I felt woozy/pissed/bad spacial awareness as soon as I started going downhill, and it was horrible. I took the specs off, it was so bad. Now some folk have suggested this was simply because I’m not used to wearing my specs, while others have said it might be because my specs have smallish lenses and that some riding glasses (like prescription Oakleys) will cure this by giving me better peripheral vision (and by not bouncing around so much). I’m tempted by the Oakley route (or cheaper alternatives) but don’t want to shell out only to find that the problem isn’t solved. Any opticians on here able to shed any light on this, or offer tips? Ta v much.

what is the spec of the lens? is it standard glass/plastic or something a bit more fancy? ie high index?

I think my glasses are pretty standard – just 2-for-1 Specsaver jobs, straight off the shelf. Only extra I asked for was that non-glare finish, I think. Not a particularly strong prescription either (the local Oakley shop said I’d be fine for some of their specs). I tried my own glasses for badminton once too, and it was the same – I felt a bit ‘out of it’ for want of a better expression. Come to think of it, I think even walking around at home with the specs feels a bit weird. Ok sitting watching telly or driving tho.

Thought about contacts? Cheaper than prescription glasses and dont break so easily when you fall off. Peripheral vision is your natural maximum. Ive found them invaluable for riding and its meant that I now wear them all the time as glasses get in the way so often!

treacle – haven’t ruled them out, thanks. Would prefer the simplicity of glasses really, if poss. With contacts I’d need to wear specs/goggles on top to keep the (considerable) crap out of my eyes – I ride all year round, often in filthy conditions in wet and muddy Calderdale. Even with a front mud guard, most winter rides end with my face covered in crap. Guessing mud in the eye is agonising with contacts.

That drunk spacey feeling might be caused by how they fit on your face, they might even have the wrong prescription in!
I’d suggest you might be best off going back to Specsavers and getting them to check they’ve been made correctly/getting them to check the fit?

Personally, I’d go see an Opthalmologist for a proper exam and recommendation.

Wl – i’ve been wearing contact lenses for years and have ridden with and without glasses/goggles’over them in all kinds of conditions, it really doesn’t make a lot of difference. And you can wear normal sunglasses as well.

Ads678 – 200% agree, contacts are the way to go

Interesting – the case for contacts is getting stronger. Keep the advice and opinions coming…

Another 1 for contacts. You can then get a non-prescription pair of decent sunglasses if you want, which is likely to be a chunk cheaper than buying prescription sunglasses! And your nice Oakleys won’t be affected by any future changes you need to your prescription.

As for your original specs, it’s hard to know what’s happening there. I have had some where the focus changed dramatically near the edges (they weren’t varifocals so nothing to do with that) and that did make me feel a bit queasy in a car when I first had them because things changed size and went out of focus as they passed out of the field of view, but I did get used to it. Your best bet is to discuss it with an optician.

Bear in mind though, that twice I’ve been given glasses which were made up specially for me and were made to the wrong prescription (probably couldn’t read the small writing on the notes at the factory…). So it’s worth getting the optician to check that the lenses are the right ones for you, even if they’re supposed to be (they should have a machine that they can put the glasses in to see what prescription the lenses really are).

treacle – haven’t ruled them out, thanks. Would prefer the simplicity of glasses really

I bet you wouldn’t, after a while. Contacts are far superior, especially if you get extended wear ones you can sleep in.

Even good riding specs get covered in sweat and rain – if this happens to me I just whip them off.

As for mud – I ride all year and don’t have a particular problem, but you need the right mudguard. With anything other than a short travel XC race bike I need a front and back mudguard like this SKS Shockblade

Crud catchers ARE NOT sufficient, neithe are those neoprene things that go under the crown, but with the shockblade I get no mud on my face at all. The only other thing that worked was a crud catcher and one of those little peaks that I attached to my fork crown.

+1 more…
I’ve been riding for years in either cheap safety specs on road or my normal glasses off road where more clarity is required. For the past 4 months I’ve been using contacts (monthly extended wear) and jokley’s for both and the difference has been astounding.

If your glasses make you feel a bit odd when you wear them, that’s could be because you’ve got a bit of an astigmatism, and you don’t wear them often. The other option is that the prescription is flat out wrong.

I’ve got very little astigmastism on my prescription and so I can use normal contacts that don’t correct the astigmastism.

There’s very little in it between my glasses and contacts when I read off the chart at the opticians, but for the first 10 minutes when I put them in and walk around, I feel like the perspective on everything is slightly wonky. You may well go to the opticians, get given a set of toric contacts to correct the astigmatism and you’ll feel odd when you first put them in too.

The solution is to wear the glasses more so that you get used to it…

I have a set of Oakley A wires glazed by an optician (big high street name but can’t remember which) rather than Oakley lenses and I’ve never really got on with them because they make me feel a little wobbly when I first put them on and have the effect of making everything look smaller, more so than any other glasses I own. I’m a -3 prescription.

I also have some Oakley split jackets made up by an online place that had good reviews. They have a transitions lense and are brilliant if I can’t or don’t want to wear my contacts. If I could never wear contacts again I’d be perfectly happy with the split jackets. Maybe they sit closer to my eyes and or it’s because they have a bigger lense but they are way better than the A wires.

My favourite option, even though I always wear cycling glasses with them, is contacts. They give you all round corrected vision and freedom to wear whatever cycling or sun glasses you want. If I were you I’d try getting a free trial pair then decide for yourself.

Oakleys are more likely to make you feel woozy.

You should be able to ride in your specs.
What is your prescription, and when do you normally wear them?

They may be fitted too flat, so when you look straight ahead it’s fine, but when you look down its giving probs.
Or fitting too high.

Go to the store, tell them you are having problems, ask if a dispensing optician is free to help.
They are the ones who know this stuff.

I found this problem went away when I started using a strap around the back of the head to firmly keep the specs in place.

Fixed for £5.

i use contacts, have done for 25 years, no problems at all, -6.50 prescription.
i also have oakley square wire 2.0 glasses, with prescription lenses, which are fine as well.
all provided by vision express, IME a massive step up from specsavers.
my choice when going out is contacts and radars, with the lens changed to suit conditions.

Cheers for these replies – much appreciated. Gonna try some contacts and see how that goes. Will also talk to the optician.

I have astigmatism & my sight is bad enough that I have to wear glasses all the time.

I’m lucky that my prescription hasn’t changed for 10+ years so I’ve built up a number of spare pairs.

I have one pair I refer to as my ‘crap sports glasses’ – they’ve now got a couple of chips in them & are fairly scratched.

I’ve never experienced the issues you described ever & basically my current arrangement works well.

I also don’t get any issues ever with them steaming up (seems to affect normal cycling glasses as they are generally closer to your face when worn)

I have had contact lenses in the past but never used them to MTB. If you have astigmatism you’ll need toric lenses, but the optician will be able to advise you about this.

I found torics unstable on an MTB. I use tiny lensed glasses fixed very firmly to my head.

Contacts myself. To me they are simpler than glasses as I can then wear any old cheap shades or goggles and pick up spares easy. I like shades with interchangeable lenses also for different conditions.

And as I mentioned in the other similar thread just now, toric for me oddly seems to stick better whereas others seem to have problems with them. The non toric I have issues with.

No issues with toric here. 10 years ago lenses would get dry but not now with extended wear ones.

I do have big issues with distortion though like the OP says. I absolutely hate wearing glasses for this reason. It’s like having tunnel vision, keep having to move my head instead of eyes. And really cocks up my sense of space. -3.75 so not stupidly strong either.

The astigmatism in my left eye is so bad that I can’t wear contacts and if I have the full correction applied my glasses are pretty horrible and far from ideal for sports. I ge my glasses made at a shop where the guy doesn’t insist that they have to have quite as much cyl so I can get standard lenses and far less distortion at the expense of some, barely perciveable sharpness.