Transitions Lenses vs Sunglasses for riding?

[Triskeliongirl]

Does anyone ride with transitions lenses? They r lenses that adjust to the amount of light (like the old photo gray). Any opinion, likes, dislikes, etc.?

[Eden]

I need prescription lenses so interchangables are a bit out of reach (I'm working on it, but they have to be custom and are super expensive, so I'll only be able to do a set every couple of years...) I've opted for transitional in all my glasses for a long time, cycling glasses included. I don't always have space to carry spares or time (if I'm racing) to change my glasses if the conditions change, so they work out great for me. Eventually I'd like a set of super dark lenses and a set of yellow for rainy days, but it will take time and hopefully I'll still be good with my prescription too!

[Triskeliongirl]

Oh thanks Eden! Any more specific advice, in terms of colors, brands, etc.? Do you use frames that wrap around to keep sun from getting in through the side, or is that not as important.

Cost is also an issue. I need both a spare pair of eyeglasses and sunglasses, and I also have a complex prescription so I was thinking to just have my spare pair made in a normal frame with transition lens to be multipurpose, for cycling and other outdoorsy stuff.

[Eden]

I have a small face, so it was hard finding a pair of frames that fit well. I really wanted wrap arounds, to keep the maxium amount of wind/grit/rain out of my eyes and that was a challenge too. My prescription isn't seriously bad, but I do have astigmatism and my small face means my interpupillary distance is very narrow (which apparently causes headaches for opticians). I was told that having the wrap arounds made would be impossible by a lot of places, but I decided to not give up.

I ended up with Smith Theory frames, which are almost identical to Oakley Half Jackets, but a whole lot cheaper (and they were on sale). The lenses I had custom ground by www.sportsoptical.com ,as he was the only person willing... at a price of course... fortunately we have good insurance and it was just covered. I have the kind that start clear, so they don't get exceptionally dark and my eyes are a bit senstive, so it would be nice to have darker lenses at times, but it doesn't make me seriously uncomfortable.

Personally I like all my glasses to be transitional - I think it usually adds about $50 to the price of the glasses? The only place it doesn't work out is driving on very bright days - the windshield glass blocks the UV that makes them change. I have a pair of polarized sunglasses I had made years ago that I use if I can remember to take them.

[melissam]

Hi Trisk,

I ride with prescription Transitions lenses and love them! I bought a pair of Oakley frames at my eye doctor's, and they ordered transitions lenses with my prescription. They even billed it on my VSP plan, so it was cheaper than buying a pair of non-prescription sunglasses at the bike store.

What do a I like? Well, it's nice not having to put contact lenses in before riding -- they get so dried out! I also find that the lenses get dark enough for me. During today's ride, the weather changed from overcast to raining to sunny and back again. I never had to remove my glasses because they were too dark.

They also wrap around a little bit, so I get protection from the wind coming in when I'm descending. When I rode with my regular glasses, my eyes would tear up big time while I was descending from wind irritation.

What don't I like? Hmmm...sometimes when I'm wearing the glasses while not riding, they seem a little distorted, probably because of the curve in the lenses. It really isn't a problem when I ride, though. I also sometimes miss the peripheral vision correction you get with contacts. My frames don't wrap around as much as others, so I still find that I get a little wind irritation during some descents.

All in all, I'm really happy that I bought my prescription glasses with Transitions lenses.

-- Melissa

[redrhodie]

A+++ for transitions! I love them. You don't even notice them darkening. I just have regular frames, and would love a second pair that wrap around. My frames do let a little too much light in at the top, causing some (very minimal) glare issues that wrap arounds wouldn't have. I'll never get plain old clear lenses again.

I also have "Crizal" coating, and it was expensive, but no scratches so far, so an A+ for that, too.

[Tokie]

Hey Triskie! I have the same dinky face close set eye problem as Eden. I ended up with Rudy ekynox , in the small size. The optical insert Rudy makes would make the insert lens touch my eyelashes- annoying! I actually met several people who had this problem. So my optician sent the Rudy frames in to Rudy, and they made a set of rx lenses directly (non-removable) into the frame. The lenses are the darkest blue Rudy color. I only wish I had asked for polarized, as I can see the Garmin screen with polarized, I just thought I couldn't. And polarized is sooo nice at cutting reflected glare. I have transition lenses on all my other glasses - handy except for driving - as mentioned, it doesn't work through glass. But for cycling, my blue eyes are so sensitive to light that the transition lenses are just not dark enough. And I have had the type of sport glasses with optical inserts, and the visibility you get with the full lens having your rx is much better. I also give Crizal 2 thumbs up - it is much sturdier than previous lens coating. And if you use the "blended" or progressive bifocal lenses in your regular glasses, don't let the optician tell you it won't work well for your cycling goggles - I have them and I really like them. Let us know what you pick out! Tokie

[Triskeliongirl]

Thanks for all your help. I ordered the transition lenses yesterday. I'll let you all know how I like them after I pick them up next week. BTW, I was told they can make them varying degrees of darkness. I opted for 'normal' but the optician said if they aren't dark enough they can add stuff to them to make them darker.

[xeney]

Too late for Triskeliongirl, but one thing I wish I'd done before I ordered my expensive prescription cycling sunglasses a couple of years ago is tried them on with a bike helmet. They are actually skiing glasses but they should work fine for cycling, except they don't fit well with any of my three helmets, and I wind up with miserable pain at each temple. I wind up riding without sunglasses more often than not because they are so uncomfortable.

I just ordered new sunglasses yesterday but they are not cycling-specific; I really needed just a general pair. Transition lenses are a great idea, though, so if I ever get to the point where I can afford a new pair of cycling lenses I will do that. I should really also talk my husband into doing that, too, after the number of times I've had to go pick him up because he didn't have his regular prescription lenses with him and it got too dark for him to ride home in sunglasses!