The Oakley brand

jimmythecuckoo

Bit of a cross roads for me at the moment.

I am starting to think that Oakley have over exposed their brand and I might be looking for alternative eyewear.

I was thinking of getting a new lens for my Radars but a couple of factors keep putting me off.

(1) the cost... a lens costs more than the Endura range of photochromatic glasses including frames and that is hard to justify.
(2) are there just too many pairs about? It feels like about 80% of pros are wearing either the Radar or Jawbone.

Somehow Apple managed to get everyone wanting an i-pod and they never felt over exposed to me...

Why am I turning against a brand that has been part of cycling culture for years?

mrushton

They are arguably the best but other firms particularly Rudy and Specialized make a great product.BBB look quite good as well. Oakley just have that marketing thing sorted so well.

Gazzaputt

I was told it costs $3-5 to produce a pair. There is a small R&D cost and the rest is marketing.

Markup on them is ridiculous.

I got some Rudy Project Sportmasks for £49.99 online. Lovely glasses.

ExeterSimon

Gazzaputt wrote:

I was told it costs $3-5 to produce a pair. There is a small R&D cost and the rest is marketing.

Markup on them is ridiculous.

I got some Rudy Project Sportmasks for £49.99 online. Lovely glasses.

The lower end Oakley Fives maybe but the higher end products cost considerably more to make.

Oakleys are the best out there IMHO.

Heckler1974

As poncy sunglasses I love Oakleys (I've got a couple of pairs) but as bike wear I always worry at some point I'll go over the handlebars and see my £150 bins go flying under a car. 30 quid specials for me....

jimmythecuckoo

I agree with that but I had a pair of these for over the winter and the light reaction and comfort wasnt far behind... they were a third of the cost of the Radars.

It wasn't worth trying to get a photochromatic lens for the Oakley's when I got those for £40...

shmo

jimmythecuckoo wrote:

Why am I turning against a brand that has been part of cycling culture for years?

I'm wearing an Oakley T-Shirt as I type this so possibly contributing to the problem.

andrew_b_1975

I will always buy Oakley, there customer service is fantastic ...

About 15 years ago I spent a large chuck of my meagre pay packet on a pair of Mumbos (Crystal Frame / Blue Iridium Heater Lens) after many years faithful service I managed to snap the arm off. I spoke to Oakley and sent them back at their request. One week later I returned home to find they had put my lens in a M-Frame for Free.

The £115 pounds spend didn't seem to bad an investment.

cougie

They are expensive, but work out cheap in the long run.
I have some M frames for winter with a yellow lens in, and Radars for brighter weather and some Half Jackets for everyday use. They're very sturdy and as they cost a bit - I do look after them.

I dont like the oakley fashion range though. :shock:

rf6

I wear them off the bike, but as mentioned above by Heckler1974, I'm a bit worried about smashing them up in a crash. So it's £6 Bolle safety glasses for me (as recommended by someone on this forum, but can't remember who).

System_1

I've had a few pairs of glasses over the years and Oakleys have been the best. I've had Rudy Project Kerosene, Specialized San Remo and a couple of cheap Lidl things. The specialized are still going because I look after them, but my Oakley monster doggles are about 6 years old now and have been through the wars and are still fine. Maybe I've got an Oakley shaped face but they've always been most comfortable too. I just bought some Jawbones and they're the best glasses I've ever owned by a long long way.

I also don't worry about them getting broken in a crash. Seems a bit daft to worry about £130 worth of glasses when I'm wearing £150 worth of lycra and riding a £2k bike.

rjh299

System wrote:

I also don't worry about them getting broken in a crash. Seems a bit daft to worry about £130 worth of glasses when I'm wearing £150 worth of lycra and riding a £2k bike.

+1
If I come off i'll purposely land on my face, if it will save my Super Six!

dodgy

andrew_b_1975 wrote:

I will always buy Oakley, there customer service is fantastic ...

About 15 years ago I spent a large chuck of my meagre pay packet on a pair of Mumbos (Crystal Frame / Blue Iridium Heater Lens) after many years faithful service I managed to snap the arm off. I spoke to Oakley and sent them back at their request. One week later I returned home to find they had put my lens in a M-Frame for Free.

The £115 pounds spend didn't seem to bad an investment.

Same experience here. I've had numerous Oakley glasses over the years. On day one of an overseas holiday in 1999 (I think) I snapped the arm off a pair of Eyejackets. When I got home I made a quick call and for £9 they extended the warranty for a few years and returned them to me in as new condition.
I've had similar experience with Brabantia (bins), though I didn't take my bin on holiday, the back up in case of a failure is awesome - that's what you're paying for, well partly anyway!

MRadd

I love Oakley +1 for their customer service. The aftercare is fantastic (as are their reps!)

BUT...

I do like to use my spesh Tarzo Adaptalites when out on the bike, mainly. Where I ride there are lots of wooded shaded areas, so it is nice to be able to have a lens that adapts quickly to the conditions.

I use the Oakleys when working (driving the van), driving, climbing (!!!) and when out and about. I can't fault them, plus... they're the only Sunglasses brand I've found that actually suits me.

bristolpete

I wear Roolys. As good as and cheaper and cooler innit'

a_n_t

I dont care how much my jawbones were, nor how many people are wearing them cos they be the tits!

Donnic

+1 to a_n_t

although in my case: radars.
Best damn glasses I've worn. Had some cheapo Madison 3 lense ones.. Which were ... okay really.

Bought a pair of Radars (Albeit heavily discounted )
Fit perfectly, so comfortable and no complaints so far.

symo

I have always had Oakleys as soon as I could afford them for sports. Off the bike it's Raybans Sidestreets now. I have had my squarewires for about 6 years, then the hinge failed, Oakley immediately took them back, fixed them and even came back with a couple of scratches polished out of the lens.

Worth it. My new Red Photochromatic Jawbones are the shazbat.

andrew_b_1975

+1 Radar (Custom White / Black Iridium)

haggisinlondon

Who does the best online deals on Oakleys?

ro63rt

I hate to admit it but I'm a bit of an Oakley snob! I have four pairs. They are simply THE BEST THERE IS! They do what they say on the tin & the customer service is second to none. I came off my bike & snapped an arm, so I rang to ask if I could get a replacement telling them why. I sent them off as requested & I got both arms replaced with a letter telling me there products are designed for that abuse & it shouldn't have happened. Also I had a set of White Chrome Custom Radars replaced after the paint was peeling off around the nose where the lens were being changed. Then when it happened again they exchanged them for a different colour. Cheapest deals online are sunglasses shop.

Monty Dog

When they started to focus their marketing on fat blokes who play golf and use guns, they became distinctly uncool about 1998....

Most glasses cost a couple of quid a pair - I worked for a company that had an optical retail division and saw the costs and margins - the price is purely down to the cost of marketing and intangible 'brand value' nothing to do with the actual cost to make them. I had a couple of pairs of Oakleys at wholesale, but in time they broke and I couldn't be ar$ed looking like another wannabee so have generally stuck to Rudys instead.

disgruntledgoat

I have a pair of Plus Fives, I got them as they were only £50 and had a white tiger pattern. Cna't complaon really, I don't think they're amazing (although they did stand up to falling off my head at 20mph) I don't think they're crap. They're a decent pair of sunglasses.

giant_man

I've ummed and arred over Oakleys the last couple of years and I still can't get round the fact that the Radars, and I'm sure other models too, feel and look sooo damn plasticky!

MattC59

Bottom line, from the point of optical quality, Oakley lenses are some of the best out there, and the after sales service is second to none. I had a pair of 'Straight Jackets' and had single lenses and arms replaced free of charge. It was very mich a case fo trigger and his broom !!

I've worn Oakleys since the days of clear framed, purple lensed Frogskins (how I miss them !!) back in the early '90s, and to be honest haven't found a better lens for clarity. Style wise, it's up to you.

That said, I tend to wear Oakleys just as sunnies, I'm currently wearing Wardens, which are a sort of aviator style. For mountain biking I don't wear Oakleys, as the general filth kicked up makes short work of the coatings. Now I'm road biking, I may well treat myself to some 'Radars'.

For mountain biking, I wear Bolle Contour ESP safety specs. They're wrap around and style wise, you wouldn't know the difference. The best thing is they're about them is they cost about £6 !!!

I had a conversation with a Bolle rep at a Health and Safety show last year and he told me that they come off the same production line as the leisure wear glasses. Optically, the safety and biking glasses are identical. (I was exhibiting, so the rep had no need to spin me a sales yarn)

Anyway, I like Oakleys, they're great and I don't mind paying the hiked up price for them

disgruntledgoat

MattC59 wrote:

I had a conversation with a Bolle rep at a Health and Safety show last year and he told me that they come off the same production line as the leisure wear glasses. Optically, the safety and biking glasses are identical. (I was exhibiting, so the rep had no need to spin me a sales yarn)

Same with Uvex. Although they go the other way, their PPE glasses are extortionate compared with other manufacturers.

jimmythecuckoo

a_n_t wrote:

I dont care how much my jawbones were, nor how many people are wearing them cos they be the tits!

Brilliant post that

BigG67

Cost of manufacture on ANYTHING is always a tiny fraction of the sales price.

The sports shops I've run used a 2x/2.5x mark-up (i.e. add VAT to the wholesale and then double it) and I'd suggest most non-volume shops would be that or more...I think some high end fashion can be 4x or more depending on the shop rental cost/location.

So a £150 pair would be around £50/£60 wholesale ex VAT. Half that at least for the "landed price" - being the cost to the wholeseller/distributer - gives £25/£30, then probably half again for cost of manufacture..£12/£15 or a little less...

I've a mate at Oakley in the USA and he can buy as staff at around £20 for a pair of Jawbones or Radars which probably covers the manufacturing cost plus a little for shipping and managment of the staff sales process.

jimmythecuckoo

Can we place an order with him then

Radioactiveman

When I am mountain biking and someone accidentaly fires a load of Quarter-inch steel shot traveling at 102 mph at everybody's eyes I will the one laughing while the shot zips around inside your skulls.

MUHAHAHAHA

http://uk.oakley.com/innovation/optical ... protection

jimmythecuckoo

You convinced me I have ordered an Ice iridium lens for my radars instead of selling them.

Well done Steptoes.