Rose lenses work at night?
It's really inspiring reading all your bike commute stories. You all are awesome!
I just started bike commuting a couple of days a week this last summer. There's convenient light-rail to my office, but bike commuting's the only way I can get riding in during the week. (Just promoted to a 40-hour a week job after being spoiled with 3/4 time for the last ten years. Miss those weekday long rides, but the money's much better:rolleyes: ) I just bought front and rear lights and hope to install them today and get back in the saddle now that it's dark in the evening.
Anyway, to the question: Eye protection. On the New Riders board there was a thread about riding at night, and several people said that amber lenses reduce the glare from oncoming headlights. Have any of you tried riding at night with rose lenses? I have Rudy Project frames, and the Racing Red is what I use for cross-country skiing in flat light conditions, to give more depth. They're not terribly dark. I'm wondering if they work for night riding to reduce glare without being too dark. Got clear lenses too, but the idea of less glare from oncoming lights sounds really good. I don't want to shell out more for yet another set of lenses if what I have will work well to cut down that glare.
rose colored lenses at twilight experiment
OK, so I wasn't planning on riding late last night, and I usually ride with the rose lenses in my glasses.
Some of us were riding after work on the levee, planning to go out 10 miles, and back, before it got dark. But one of the guys convinces an office newbie to ride the path too, on her beater bike. So we take off, she quickly falls behind, but we plan to pick her up on the return trip. Which we do, and she's walking her bike. Flatted, no tools, no spare. One of the guys (the one that said "come on, it'll be fun...") gets voluntold to ride hard and fast to go get his car and come get her. So now there's 3 of us walking our bikes back because the sun is setting and we aren't going to leave her alone. Eventually he comes back (stopped by a train, twice), and gets her. So the two of us can finally head in, and in twilight, with the rose lenses, it's plain dark.
Moral - if you're planning to ride late, bring the spare clear lenses. Rose lenses are too dark in low light. And in the dark it's really dark.
Yellow - I do have a pair of them in my car for driving in hazy conditions. Helps sharpen thing. They're popular for shooting, but my riding glasses didn't come with yellow.
I bought my glasses with inter-changeable lenses from Terry - dark grey, rose, and clear. Pretty much stick to the rose. But I may be making a little pouch for the clear ones so I can have them with me. Why is it that when you're crunched for ride time, mechanical *issues* happen?
Question answered: they DON'T work!
[QUOTE=bmccasland;261763]OK, so I wasn't planning on riding late last night, and I usually ride with the rose lenses in my glasses.
. . .
Moral - if you're planning to ride late, bring the spare clear lenses. Rose lenses are too dark in low light. And in the dark it's really dark.
Thanks, Beth,
I chickened out on the test last week because it seemed too dark even in the well-lit parking garage where the bike cage is. So you (inadvertently) did the test for me, I'll stick to the clear, and save up my pennies for some new yellow/amber lenses.
