How to deal with changing light conditions?

[cindywon]

My favorite routes generally include a lot of changing light conditions (sunny climb, shady descend). I've been wearing a pair of dark-ish sunglasses that doesn't allow a lot of light, which tends to cause problems on descends (I can't even see the pot holes in the shade!).

Since I wear hard contact (gas permeable) lens, getting anything in my eye causes a lot of pain. I'm thinking of carrying 2 pairs of sun glasses (one for bright light, and one for low light) situations, or 2 pairs of lens... albeit switching lens might be tricky with sweaty hands. Any TE'ers out there in the same situation?

Any recommendations or suggestions welcome :-)

[KnottedYet]

I have a very good-fitting pair of Tifosi glasses that darken and lighten rapidly when the light changes. They do a great job of keeping cooties out of my eyes, too. I also wear them indoors when I have migraines, and they do lighten enough indoors that I can see just fine.

http://www.rei.com/product/751877

Love these glasses! If I lost them, I'd go right out and buy another pair.

[Eden]

I also have transition lenses in my cycling glasses. I wear prescription glasses and it's kind of expensive to have custom ground lenses made for every lighting situation.... so the first (and only so far) set I got change. Works out find for me. They change quick enough and they get dark enough to be effective. (non-prescription are of course much less expensive)

[ilima]

I also wear gas perm lenses, and I pretty much can't ride without glasses. I have variously 1. suffered with dark lenses when it gets dark; 2. carried an extra pair; 3. bought glasses with interchangeable lenses. The third option is what I do now. I put the extra lenses in their cloth case in my jersey pocket & plan a place to switch them out.

My eyes are really sensitive to light, so I'm leery of the photosensitive lenses. Tried them many years ago and they never got nearly dark enough outside and stayed a bit too dark inside. The worst of both worlds. I'd think they'd have improved since then, though.

[cindywon]

Hmm, maybe I'll try the transition lens, they seem to be affordable. I also get migraines, never thought about wearing sunglasses indoors to control the light sensitivity. Sounds like I gotta try this, thanks! :)

ilima, I've suffered a lot with dark lenses, until today I went over a pretty big pothole and freaked myself out.....

[Becky]

I have a pair of Tifosi photochromatics in the orange-->brown lenses, and they're simply awesome! They're my go-to glasses on all but the very brightest of days. I'd buy another pair in a heartbeat.

By the way, I'd skip the Cat One photochroms that Performance sells. I tried a pair and they never got nearly as dark as my Tifosis.

[bounceswoosh]

I've had transitions for regular glasses (not sunglasses), and they were too slow for me, taking half a minute or more to fully transition. In dappled light (sparsely spaced trees) they would be useless.

For mountain biking, I wear sunglasses with swappable lenses, and keep spare lenses in my Camelbak. In total I have: clear (for when I accidentally stayed out too late or a storm front moved in), mirrored bronze (for bright sun and no shade), and my most commonly used set, which are pinkish, just slightly reflective, with blue hilights. I can't find a perfect match right now on the rudy project site, although I suspect it's what they call "racing red". They seem to span very nicely.

I'm in Colorado, so in places with less severe sun, I might not feel the mirrored lenses were necessary.

[sundial]

Yep, Tifosi's here too. :cool:

[GLC1968]

I have transitioning Rudy Projects that I bought during the crazy 50% off sale at Terry last year. I was eyeing the Tifosi ones at the time, when the opportunity to get these popped up.

They are AWESOME. I particularly like them for hiking where the shade/sun changes are so numerous. I haven't worn them mountain biking, but I bet they'd rock for that. The only time I've found that they didn't get dark enough was when the sun was very low in the sky but still directly in my eyes. I have no idea why, but they just didn't go dark. Weird. Luckily, that doesn't happen all that much. They are great for shady decents, though!

[aicabsolut]

I have Specialized glasses with Adaptalite (transitioning) lenses. They don't get light enough for use in extremely low light conditions, but in shade and even stormy conditions, they're fine. Just not good at night or any time you'd really want clear lenses. They also are great in bright sun.

[rij73]

I wear these $30 glasses, and they transition fast enough that I have never felt uncomfortable in the shade or the bright sun. I've always felt like I could see great. They have really good coverage too, and they are durable. Can't believe how good they are for the price!

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=23051&subcategory_ID=2510

[Jiffer]

I have Oakleys that came with three different lenses. However, I only use one set. The yellow one's. They block out glare from the sun and aren't too dark in the shade. In fact, when it's a little dark, you can actually see BETTER with the sunglasses on than off. Friends try them on and are amazed. A friend of mine tried mine and immediately bought some for her husband for his birthday.

[indysteel]

I have two pairs of Tifosi transition lenses: Gavia and Envy. The Envy are my favorites in that they transition from nearly clear to smoke. They're great for days where you're going in and out of shaded areas and they transition fairly quickly.

The Gavia's range is much more limited and are good for days where the light is mostly bright sun. While the Envy doesn't block out quite as much light at its darkest, I've never felt like I wasn't getting enough protection. They're comfy, too. I've never liked hassling with changeable lenses, so the Envy were the best option for me.

Both are available at TE.

[cindywon]

One last question - How quickly do these glasses transition, >5 seconds? 30 seconds? Thanks for all the recommendations, this thread has been really helpful!