Riding in the rain with eyeglasses

[ann_w]

Okay, so I've finally come to terms that if I really want to improve my bike riding, I need to start riding when it's raining - because I live in Portland, where we build arks as a hobby for 9 months out of the year.

My question: What's the best way to keep as much of the rain off of my glasses as possible? (Riding without glasses is not an option. Riding with contact lenses is not an option.)

There must be other people who wear glasses and ride a bike, what do you do?

[tulip]

I have the same problem, but I don't live in a rainy place. But a baseball hat under helmet works well, as does Rain-X on the glasses.

[redrhodie]

I wear a cycling cap under my helmet. I also wipe my glasses with my finger and it works better than you'd think.

[Owlie]

I actually find that the angles at which I ride do a reasonable job of making sure I don't get too much rain in my eyes. I try to avoid riding in rain because I'm lazy and don't want to clean the bike, but sometimes you just get caught in it, you know? I stop periodically to wipe off my glasses with the hem of my jersey (the front, so it stays reasonably dry) or the back of my gloves. I can't do it while riding. I'd probably injure myself.

[Eden]

I use a cycling cap with a brim under my helmet. If it is really driving rain or you go fast nothing really keeps it off of your glasses... but it's also not too bad. I can still see.

[ann_w]

I didn't know that you can use Rain-X on eyeglasses! I have a couple of old pairs I could try that out on. I have a baseball cap, so I'll give that a try before buying a cycling cap - although after doing a search i notice that cycling caps have a steeper angle.

Next weekend I'll zip over to Bimart and get some rain-x, so that I can try it out!

[Melalvai]

I don't know, I don't wear glasses but I do wear safety goggles or sunglasses when I bike. I guess I just let it rain on them? Except in a really hard rain it doesn't seem to impair visibility much.

[szsz]

wipe my glasses with my finger and it works better than you'd think.

This.

(But I finally got PRK at it was so worth it.)

[marni]

I tend to use cat crap (yes this is a brand name not a description for the product) which allows the rain to bead and then I shake my head and most of it goes away. But since I tend to prefer my reality fuzzy and don't really wear glasses unless it absolutely necessary maybe the rain doesn't bother me as much as it would others.

marni

[radacrider]

I just wipe 'em off now and then, usually not too bad. A worse problem I have right now is with the cooler weather and wearing a buff up over my nose, I fog up.

Most that I know, use a cap. I have thought about, but not tested, those visor things, cuz my head gets too hot with any kind of full cap. I also know a few that say the helmets with a little bit of visor help quite a bit, too.

I sometimes go without my glasses, but that has its downside as well, getting pelted in the eyes hurts.

[ann_w]

I wish I could ride without my glasses, but then that would involve crashing into things, mistaking light poles for people - things of that nature.

[Crankin]

Nothing, I mean nothing, helps me ride in rain or cold. My sunglasses with the clear lenses fog up or get totally rain covered and that's it. I have tried several of the things mentioned here. If it's just cold, I take the glasses off, but I had many rides in torrential rain last summer and taking my glasses off in a downpour just made the rain sting my eyes and mess up my contacts.
This is why I don't ride in the rain, unless I absolutely have to.

[OakLeaf]

Maybe some of those goofy safety glasses that go over your prescription glasses, with Rain-X?

Rain-X works really well on motorcycle helmet face shields, but it kind of leaves haloes all the time, so I don't use it unless I know I'll be riding in rain. I don't think I'd want to use it on prescription glasses (never mind I'm not sure if it's safe for some of the expensive coatings they use).

Goggles with tear-offs?