My eyes are rubbish and I need some glasses for riding. I’ve tried my normal specs whilst riding but they bounce around all over my face.

What options are there for riding glasses? The only thing ive seen that appear suitable would be these

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/oakley-heritage-racing-jacket-sunglasses/rp-prod117720

then order separate lenses for them but i’d be looking at £300 plus when all said and done

what do other riders on ‘ere do

I’ve not used them yet but http://www.ciliaryblue.com/index.html are meant to be good. You should be able to get them to glaze a pair of sports type frames. They won’t do Oakleys though.

what do other riders on ‘ere do

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/contact-lenses-2

Most of the threads on here about sports glasses do seem to say that, yes, it’ll run you about £300+ for a decent set of prescription oakleys or similar. It’s difficult to get curved lenses glazed cheaply, apparently. Most people seem to be fairly happy with their uber-expensive sports glasses though. For me, I’d be thinking hard about putting that chunk of money towards LASER eye surgery. You can always use cheap glasses with those inserts but they can look a bit… orthotic.

Rudy Project Zyon with “orthotic” insert and laser blue lenses …..

if you want cheap n cheerful

http://www.raleigh.co.uk/ProductType/ProductRange/Product/Default.aspx?pc=2&pt=91&pg=9721

send the insert off to an online lens company like http://www.directsight.co.uk

no need to worry about damaging/losing them too much.

Depends upon how strong your prescription is and what kind if frames you’d like – particularly high base frames.
I use Rudy Project Maya frames with the flip-up outer with ImpactRX photochromic lenses.
The early production frames had some problems but they’re now pretty much sorted now. My prescription is -11 so fairly high, and laser surgery not an option, particularly as I had cryotherapy-retinopexy 6 weeks ago.

Got some Jawbones (pre Racing jackets) from USA EBay.
Sent the frames to Ciliary Blue and they made some prescription lenses to fit.
One set of dark and one set clear.
Were 40 quid a set at the time. Really good quality!
Probably worth giving them a call to see what they can do?
Max

Rudy Rydon with Rx insert. I’m +5 so need custom inserts. The photochromatic lenses are superb. The glasses are one of my favourite cycling bits of kit.

http://safetyspecs.co.uk

Bolle Tracker II

Cheap option at about £60ish, additional frames/tint available from around £12 on ebay, prescription insert swaps over easily enough.

They ain’t pretty but when used with the strap attached they work really well. Bonus for me as I can claim them on expenses for work!

I use a pair of cheap big aviator type plastic frame glasses from an online supplier – eq spex for less (or a cheap ebay frame glazed by ciliary blue – (good firm)) with an elasticated strap around the head (about £6 from ebay) – have a second pair with auto tint for summer use.

To go against the grain, I just use my normal glasses. They’re rimless, so weigh next to nothing, so don’t tend to bounce about. Also they don’t tend to steam up as much as other form fitting glasses IME, as there’d lots of air flow around them

I splashed out on fancy specs with Rx transitions lenses 3/4 years ago (I got Oakleys but I tried on other brands, what matters most is fit). Yeah, it was £300 or so, but they made more difference to my enjoyment of riding than pretty much any other chunk of money I’ve spent on bikes before or since. They just stay solidly on my face much better than normal specs or even cheaper ‘sports’ Rx glasses. I can use them in bright sunlight and for night riding. I’ve crashed badly enough to need carting off on a spinal board, totalling a full-facer, but they survived with just a tiny scratch on one lens. Given that I’ve done well over 300 rides since I got them it works out at much less than a quid a pop, and they’re still going strong (not to mention that you can use them for loads of other stuff too).

Yes, it’s a lot of money but frankly I’d rather ride a cheaper bike with good glasses than a bike costing £300 more with crappy glasses. Being able to see where you’re going is kind of important…

Optilabs are decent, and a lot cheaper than Oakleys. I have had several pairs. I’d avoid their stuff with inserts (cheap, fragile and rattly), but the fixed prescription lens stuff is sub-£200 rather than sub-£400 for Oakley, which is nice.

(Oakleys are more better though)

Always used prescription Oakleys (with Oakley lenses) for riding. I’ve got other Oakley glasses with non-oakley (but sports rated) lenses for normal use and they’re good, but I notice the difference in the optics abit. They were still expensive mind, just not as credit-card numbing as full Oakleys.

Think I’ll try http://www.rxsport.co.uk/ when my current riding glasses die – old Half Jeckets with the lenses held in with silicon 😉

I used to use optilabs but found the frames got tired quite quickly and they steam up when stationary as they didn’t have any vented versions. I’ve now got two sets of vented racing jackets having picked up a second set of frames with non prescription lenses really cheap for genuine UK stock to insert my spare prescription lenses in both vented, one set transitions and one set ice iridium. Brilliant glasses, no more fogging up no more streaming eyes that I also had occasionally at really high speeds with the optilabs ones…….only downside is my bank balance took a beating!

Probably going to get some Oakley Crosslink Switch frames next time – seem a good compromise and the inserts/lenses swap out quickly – plus they’ll be cheap(er) to glaze.

Try Extreme Eyeware (http://www.extreme-eyewear.co.uk/)

They did my Oakley Flaks using their their own range of lenses which exceed prescriptions that Oakley will manufacture

Used to use Rudy Rydons with an insert but they were constantly getting misted in the rain

rene59, how are you finding the Bolle Tracker II’s and prescription inserts for steaming up? Are yours verifocal?

Ciliary Blue Recenty glazed a pair of Bolle Spider safety glasses for me:

The glasses can be had for under a tenner, I’d recommend paying the extra for thin lenses (I didn’t and the fit in the frame is OK, but thiner would have been better)…

Oakley’s aren’t for riding a bike, they’re for posing in the car park…

badgerbater – Member

rene59, how are you finding the Bolle Tracker II’s and prescription inserts for steaming up? Are yours verifocal?

They’re not too bad, I use an anti fog spray which helps. They steam up a bit when you stop but clear quick enough. I use the band with them to keep them in place as they can bounce about without due to being front heavy. I don’t have varifocals, just normal lenses.

I’ve got some Oakley flak jackets, pricey but when you’ve spent that much in them then you look after them. They get used most days over here in Oz, 3 years old now and still as good as new. Just hoping my prescription stays the same at the next test though!