Contacts or Glasses?

I am very nearsighted and have worn soft contacts for about 30 years. I have cycling sunglasses with 4 shades of lenses. Actually I have 2 pairs; one I keep in my purse for "regular" wear with the darkest lenses. Sometimes I wear them cycling. The other pair, I keep in my bike "cubby" and those have the lighter brown lenses in. I find those fine for most days. I have put the yellow lenses in a couple of times for cloudy/rainy days and if there's any chance of changing conditions, I bring those with me.
I am also pretty farsighted now and wear my reading glasses over my contacts about 50% of the time. I can still see my bike computer, though without them. I stick them in my bike bag, more in case I have to change a flat.
I could never ride with my regular glasses on. They are transition lenses, like Lisa's, but I only wear them when I get into bed. The few times I have had to drive with them freaked me out because I was constantly looking down and I couldn't see through the near vision part! I have never had an issue with contacts during a ride.

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Originally Posted by bikergirlsj

Hi all,

I'm new to cycling. I need glasses for distance vision only -- so I wear them when I drive, cycle or at the back of a room reading a presentation. I am frustrated when I ride that the prescription sunglasses are dark enough that when I'm in the shade I can really see the road at times to detect potholes etc. I have never tried contacts, since I don't wear my glasses all the time. However, I'm thinking that contacts might be a good solution -- I can take my sunglasses off to see in the shade.

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But are you going to be able to take your sunglasses off on the bike? Around here, I'm moving in and out of the shade constantly, I have no idea how I'd take my sunglasses on and off? So I'm not sure that really solves your problem.

I wear prescription sunglasses, but carry my regular glasses with me in my saddle bag. That way, if the light changes enough (i.e. riding at dusk or so), I can swap out the dark lenses for the regular ones.

But for just shade, I don't notice any issue with seeing the road etc - perhaps your lenses are too dark?

I typically wear progressive glasses (with transitions) for normal daily wear at work and at home, but for riding or other sports I wear soft contacts (one reading, one distance since I am in my late 40s and both near- and far-sighted!) with sunglasses over. I have the cycling sunglasses with three different color lenses, which really helps for different light conditions. The darkest tint my regular glasses get to with the Transitions is not really dark enough for riding on the road (my eyes are very light-sensitive), and there's the peripheral vision issue that others have mentioned, so I highly recommend contacts with multi-lens sunglasses for riding. I wear Focus Daily disposable contacts, which are nice since you just toss them out after that day -- no cleaning or solutions needed. They're pricier, but not bad if you don't wear them all the time.

Good luck!
Emily