I hate wearing glasses but sometimes when the mud is bad and stuff is flicked up by the front wheel they make sense. I just bought some cheap Bolle ones but the lenses do seem to be a bit fishtanky and distort my vision making things a bit iffy. I’m after something better this side of 50 quid (less is better) and it’s important they aren’t from a Luxottica brand. I’d hoped Bolle do a better pair of safety ones but hard to tell on line which ones will have flatter lenses.Any ideas?

Thanks

No idea at all, I’m just here to take notes…

I guess it depends how sensitive you are to the distortion, but I’ve had a lot of success with super cheap Decathlon stuff:

Link

Bought on a whim for similar reasons to keep mud and grime from eyes. I can’t really notice any distortion through them. Use them for road and MTB rides.

At £3.99 they’re expendable too. If there’s a decathlon near you, worth a punt.

Oakleys were the only brand I found that really worked for me, ended up having to spend £80 for a 2nd hand pair of Race Jackets with a couple of sets of lenses

I’m still not a fan of glasses off road though (and I really have tried) as I never feel they’re secure and, because they are so close to your eye, I find mud can massively get in the way anyway. There’s always the goggle option instead…..

For clear lenses I just use safety specs. Buy them cheap from Screwfix or something. The lens quality is as good as anything at any price – has to be, no good operating machinery with a lens that distorts things, also they have to meet actual proper stringent industry tests for impact resistance and other things. They’re cheap, some look pretty cool, can get them in different coloured lenses and if you break or lose them then you’re not going to be P’d off after spending big cash on Oakley’s or something.

You do realise the many people have found cheap safety specs to be **** awful for riding in? It’s a safe bet that the Bolles the OP mentions are safety specs

Tried using a proper front mudguard (Powa, Rockguardz, mudhugger)? Reduces the amount of water & mud which are flicked up by the front wheel.

I liked my Giros that recently perished (again) and aren’t made anymore. I also tend to ride in clear lenses all year round, and as a contact wearer I prefer to wear glasses, so don’t mind spending a few quid. The Oakleys I owned (M frames) were superb and Oakley’s warranty was amazing – but then that’s what you pay for at the end of the day.

Sorry that doesn’t add anything to the conversation, but I will be watching how it unfolds with interest. 🙂

Oakley. They used to have a skull with lights projecting out of the eyes. You put oakleys on it and the lights stayed in the same place. Any other lens distorted them. It wasn’t just the lens the rep brought with him, we tried various off the display stands and only Oakley kept the lights focused on where they were

I’m in the same situation and so far all I’ve found is some endura models that look promising based off reviews like the piranha

Having only one good eye I thought it important to have glasses that didn’t distort and good impact protection, so got my sons to buy me some M frames 12 years ago. Since then they’ve been used several times per week for all types of riding and have been faultless. Less than a tenner per year, and despite my best efforts they’ve been impossible to lose

I can second those decathlon ones. Cheap enough to buy several pairs at a time and be disposable if / when you lose them. I’m really sensitive to distortion too, and find those to be spot on.

I have a similar problem, definitely makes the ground seem further away than it actually is. I can manage with it on the road, but it’s awful on MTB.

I’ve experienced this with Bolle and Endura. A quick test of my (prescription) Oakley casual sunglasses suggested they were excellent, but I’m hesitant to spend that amount of money for cycling specific Oakleys.

Yup mine are the Bolle Rush Safety glasses. The lenses are really curved I assume to offer protection from the sides and it does seem to distort things so I suppose a slightly less curved lens could be better. Can’t do Oakley because they are Luxottica owned and I just wont buy their stuff.

I ordered about 8 different pairs varying from £8 to £50 when I wanted some clear glasses. Tried them all and sent back the ones I didn’t like.

Ended up with these from CRC, despite being happy to pay much more:

UVEX Sportstyle 204

I found they had the least distortion (to my eyes), and clearest lens.

I found that I can make the Decathlon ones fog up almost instantly with any kind of hard effort in humid conditions (so any time it’s raining..) but I do sweat like I am a rainforest. Some interesting looking stuff on Cyclestore today (Tifosi photochromics).

Can’t do Oakley because they are Luxottica owned and I just wont buy their stuff.

Out of interest Joolsburger, why?

Bolle spider

Luxottica are a monopoly that own a remarkably large number of brands and outlets for both fashion and corrective glasses. When Oakley wanted better terms Luxottica pulled their distribution, Oakley sales/shares plummeted and Luxottica bought them out on the cheap. They are sharp and without ethics so I won’t buy their stuff. There’s a few brands I just wont give my money to and they are one.

Thanks Benman I bought a set of the Uvex ones as they claim to be distortion free – I love this place perfect advice!

Interesting – thanks Joolsburger.

I have a pair of Endura Mullet reactolites for the summer, but they are a bit dark for night riding. Recently bought a pair of Rad8 ‘s, which are clearer. I’ve tried literally hundreds of different glasses, and these two have been the best value for money pairs that actually work for me.
HTH
Mark

Excellent timing! Today, I’ve mainly ordered a pair of Bolle Spider and Molucca safety spec to try at the weekend. Reckon glasses are a bit like saddles – what works / fits one person won’t necessarily be the same for another, but will report back on these two in any case.

I’ve tried many pairs of glasses for winter MTB’ing, but not come across one that I’ve really found works well for me. My main issue is the gap around the cheekbone being too large and letting mud through…

Ordered some Spiders too. Bollé were excellent when I sold them as a shop monkey; intrigued to see what the safety specs are like.

you get what you pay for, oakley radar path ev for me.

also look at oakley m2 that are cheaper.

shop around fopr deals and use the cash off for new customer deals that you can find.

igero are 20% off everyting as well just now, no idea if they have any but maybe worth a look.

Oakley for me. M frames when I used to use contact lenses but not prescription. Can’t remember what they are called but interchangeable lenses. Brilliant.

Cheap = Tifosi
Not cheap = Oakley

Interesting info joolsburger, still unfortunately have to recommend Oakley. My jawbone are 6 years old and still going strong.

I normally use the Venom safety specs variously branded as Honeywell / Sperian / Pulsafe. But have found that I can still get a bit of mud past them, so decided to try a couple of other options.

Ordered some Bolle Spiders based on recommendations here and also some JSP Martcare M9700 Sport. Arrived this morning from Seton (links below).

Both the Spiders and the M9700 wrap around well and sit closer to my face than the Venoms and should reduce the chances of mud getting through. Neither feel quite as secure on my small head as the Venoms, more so with the Spiders, will see how that goes in practice. Also think the lenses are a little better on the M9700’s.

With both the Venom and the Spiders when folded the ends of the arms can rub and scratch the inside of the lens, this doesn’t appear to be an issue with the M9700’s.

At £5.70 a pair I might have found my new favourite riding glasses.

Venom
http://www.seton.co.uk/honeywell-venom-safety-glasses.html

Spider
http://www.seton.co.uk/bolle-spider-specs.html

M9700
http://www.seton.co.uk/jsp-martcare-m9700-sport-safety-glasses.html

I find that it’s best to go try them on, different shape glasses work with different shape heads etc
Best I’ve found for myself have been the laser ss1, I e just got the photochromic clear to grey lenses and I’m loving them

Tifosi not as spendy as Oakley and imho 99% as good. A completely irellevant point is Tifosi suit me more the Oakleys