Eye glasses and cycling - oy, the wind

[bigredbike]

Okay, so fairly new to the forum here and have a question about glasses for folks that wear glasses. DH wears specs (the modern ones with no frames), they have sunglass clips, so it's not about glare, but wind can be an issue as your eyes only get so much protection w/tiny little frames.

I forgot my cycling glasses once and I swear my eyeballs felt wind burned after riding for a few hours. He deals with this every time and it's kind of a drag. Any ideas? Any spec wearers out that that have found cycling shades that go over specs?

A typical ride for us is between 3 and 6 hours making for some seriously dry eyes...:(

[SadieKate]

If you do a search for prescription, RX, sunglasses, Rudy Project, inserts, etc., you'll find lots of discussions.

Here is one.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=6287&highlight=rudy+project

[slinkedog]

I just wear contacts with sunglasses on top, but I know not everyone can wear contacts. I'm thinking of getting prescription sunglasses, though, that would have been bad on our Monterey ride, eh, SadieKate? ;)

[Hub]

Yeah, I've been wondering what to do about glasses for riding- I have to have
my regular glasses, which are kinda small, in order to see. I would love to have some of the cool Oakleys, but I'm almost to cheap to buy a prescription
lenses for those- How does every one else handle that?

[SadieKate]

Slinke, I kept my sunglasses on because of my contacts and basic protection. I just wiped the fog off with the terry cloth on my gloves. Foggy view through the glasses is a heck of a lot better than dry eyes, a lost contact from being dry or damage from debris in the eye. I only got the one pair to last me a lifetime.

[eclectic]

I solved the problem by having lasik or whatever it is now called surgery. One of the best decisions I made in my life

I can now function w/out my glasses and lose sunglasses along with the rest of the world

BUT, I am probably w/in a year or 2 of bifocals - DRAT -:mad:

[bike4ever]

Although I'm a strong advocate of the Rudy Project RX glasses, I have had multiple customers pleased with "Fitovers". Check out their website: www.fitovers.com

[Cassandra_Cain]

Although I'm a strong advocate of the Rudy Project RX glasses, I have had multiple customers pleased with "Fitovers". Check out their website: www.fitovers.com

I would like to have Rudy Project glasses, but they are a bit more than what I'd want to spend. Also, I checked into having clip-on's/over's made for my glasses but that wasn't possible.

So I just wear my contacts while riding with regular shades.

These Fitovers that were just mentioned look interesting - I guess what I wonder is - how can you possibly tell if they'll fit over your Rx glasses without trying them first?

[SadieKate]

Bikemom, you refer to "customers." What is your profession and do your customers mountainbike or ride in dusty environments? The 2 layers trap a lot of dust (I can hardly keep one layer clean) and the distortion can be a problem. Just curious what your customers use the fitovers for.

They are great for more normal daily use, for instance for people with cataracts. My MIL will hardly leave the house without hers but then she's not trying to see little bitty pebbles on the pavement from a skinny tire at high speeds.

[bigredbike]

I checked out the fitovers - this is the kind of thing I was hoping existed. Too bad they don't make any that look more like 'cycling glasses'. I will def. forward to DH though and see what he thinks. As we're strictly roadbikers the dirt thing wouldn't really be an issue.

I agree, rx sunglasses would be the way to go but I just don't want to fork over the $. We've spent so much cash on this sport in the last year! It's crazy :eek: He's been with just specs, not contacts for years, actually because he has naturally dry eyes so you can imagine after a ride!

Thanks for all the super prompt relies!

[Adventure Girl]

Bikemom, you refer to "customers." What is your profession and do your customers mountainbike or ride in dusty environments? The 2 layers trap a lot of dust (I can hardly keep one layer clean) and the distortion can be a problem. Just curious what your customers use the fitovers for.I thought the same thing when a guy from my 24-hours of Adrenalin team got these. He wears them for mountain biking without problems. They fit pretty snugly so dirt and dust don't get on his inside glasses. I thought they would get foggy inside because of the snug fit, but he says he hasn't had any problems. I wonder if the fogging issue will be a bigger problem in the winter when it is colder.

[SadieKate]

Thanks, AG. That's good to know. I'd like to know the results of the cold weather experiment. Bill's having a tough time finding glasses because of the extreme Rx of one eye. This could also be a lot of weight on your nose and ears. He already has problems with only one pair being heavy.

If they fit snugly, do they come into contact with the Rx lenses? How do you keep the two from contacting each other.

[bike4ever]

Our shop is considered an outdoors store. We carry kayaks, canoes, hiking equipment, camping gear, ski, snowboard and bikes. We have a full service bike shop (I'm the manager in this section) & a full service ski shop (in season). The bike customers I know that use the fitovers are more leisure riders; however, they swear by the glasses. Realistically, our more intense cyclists will purchase traditional cycling glasses (Smith, Oakley, Ryder). Although I don't sell Rudy Projects, they are the ones for me since I can put my dual prescription in the Rx.

[light_sabe_r]

My BF bought BBB Winner cycling glases with the 3 interchangable lenses.

BBB also make the frames for the little plastic prescription lenses to clip into the frame and the regular lenses sit over the top.

I believe he ordered them through his optometrist

[MomOnBike]

DH & I just went down to the local hardware store and got some generic safety glasses that fit over our prescription glasses. OK, they're a tad on the geeky side, but we ride recumbents, we're allowed You might even say it's incumbent....

I haven't used mine yet, riding conditions haven't warrented, but I'm actually kind of looking forward to a gusty dusty day and try them out.

[bigredbike]

Hmmm, that's an interesting idea mom on bike. I've seen some of those while we were at the paint shop that actually looked kind of cool...Of course if he has to layer his specs, the sun clips and then the other ones that might be a bit much.

Anyway, thanks for the idea. BTW, I always love reading your warning about the festive dog...

[Squirrel 2]

I use Rudy Projects curved sunglasses that keep out the wind, & I have a prescription insert. My RX is pretty strong, & I even have a variable prescription with both distance & close-up incorporated. It is not thick, because the insert is not that big, so the whole thing is not that heavy. The the wrap-around style really keeps out the wind to protect from dry-eye.

[run it, ride it]

My brother, a -8 myope, has prescription Adidas sunglasses with lenses stuck on behind them. They wrap right around, don't look geeky, and unless you look close you can't tell the inserts are there.

A good pair of sunglasses is worth as much as you would pay for a pair of regular prescription glasses. Would you expose your skin to UV rays year-round? Why are eyes any less important?

I had Lasik surgery at TLC in June. Eclectic, I agree--one of the best decisions of my life. My optometrist and surgeon described my former prescription as "very unique:" -6 myopia with -1.75 astigmatism. Because the astigmatism was so high, I needed contact lenses that fit very snugly so as not to spin around.

I thought contacts were the best thing that ever happened to me at age sixteen when my eyes finally stabilized enough to get them. But by age twenty my corneas were suffocating from the lenses' snug fit. I had "the neovascularization of a 40-year-old," my eyes were swollen and numb from pain (I only wore contacts eight hours a day); the oprometrist cut me off contacts permanently. I thought my life was over.

I run, ride horses, sail, bicycle, skateboard, fence, practice taekwondo... did I mention I'm accident-prone? Going back to glasses would have been a frustrating and expensive venture, at the least.

But in the next beat she added, "there is, however, one alternative. I think you will be a perfect candidate for Lasik."

Lasik was wholly worth it for me. Even the pain of recovery was nothing compared to the agony my contacts caused on a daily basis.

Oh, and of course, I can wear real sunglasses again! I have a comfortable pair of Ryders designed to fit small faces.

[MomOnBike]

The neat thing about the hardware store safety glasses is that they are cheap. If they don't work, you aren't out much - and have a pair of safety glasses for other purposes.

I don't see a down side.

I'm looking hard at the Rudy whatsis glasses, though. Really, they are cooler looking.