Advice on Road Eyewear please

Raffles
Raffles Posts: 1,137
edited May 2012 in Road beginners
Ive been looking at various retail outlets and specifically at the eyewear for road cyclists. I had a ball park figure in my head guessing what the cost would be , but I was most surprised at just how much you can pay. I looked at the review section here at this forum and saw reviews praising eyewear that was priced at around the £40 mark alongside reviews for different brand eyewear priced in excess of the £300 mark. Id be grateful for advice as to what you are getting for your money from well thought of eyewear at £40 level and £150+ level.Im not prying my wallet open just yet as I want to look around and get the very best value I can find.
2012 Cannondale CAAD 8 105

Comments

  • tight_git
    tight_git Posts: 57
    If you want the very best value you can find do a search on Ebay for Bolle Contour and see how well many people on here rate them (I do too!).

    HTH
  • houndlegs
    houndlegs Posts: 267
    For the past couple of years I've been using the Aldi/Lidl glasses and have no complaints at all.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I swear by Oakley. Expensive but you never know they are there and they last forever.
    Per use - very reasonable.
  • slowondefy2
    slowondefy2 Posts: 348
    Tight Git wrote:
    If you want the very best value you can find do a search on Ebay for Bolle Contour and see how well many people on here rate them (I do too!).

    HTH

    +1 for this. They're available for less than £10 and they're all you need. I prefer the ESP lenses for all conditions, although you can get darker smoke lenses if you want.
  • P_Tucker
    P_Tucker Posts: 1,878
    Raffles wrote:
    Ive been looking at various retail outlets and specifically at the eyewear for road cyclists. I had a ball park figure in my head guessing what the cost would be , but I was most surprised at just how much you can pay. I looked at the review section here at this forum and saw reviews praising eyewear that was priced at around the £40 mark alongside reviews for different brand eyewear priced in excess of the £300 mark. Id be grateful for advice as to what you are getting for your money from well thought of eyewear at £40 level and £150+ level.Im not prying my wallet open just yet as I want to look around and get the very best value I can find.

    Good question. When you pay £300 for a pair of cycling sunglasses, what you are getting is a decent pair of sunglasses, probably very similar to the ones that your cycling hero might wear. In addition, you are paying for the marketing of such sunglasses, which is what allows the manufacturers to charge a nice fat premium. Said marketing will include, but is not limited to: free sunglasses for sponsored athletes, big cheques for sponsored athletes as well as the usual marketing bolleaux e.g. ads, TV etc etc. As an added bonus, you have the sweet precious knowledge that a marketing manager somewhere is getting a big slap on the back for bending you over and rogering you and your wallet senseless.

    In short, in terms of "performance", there's the square root of bugger all difference. Cover your eyes? Check. Stay on your head? Check. Obv you won't look as awesome, but if that's not important to you who cares? And the best thing is, when you put said sunnies in the back of your helmet and they drop out, you won't cry for days like you would if you had spend three hundred f**king quid on a pair of sunnies.

    NB I own more pairs of Oakleys/Rudys than I can count at the moment (I'm wearing socks), and the aforementioned marketing manager and I are on first name terms.
  • BillyMansell
    BillyMansell Posts: 817
    Raffles wrote:
    Id be grateful for advice as to what you are getting for your money from well thought of eyewear at £40 level and £150+ level.
    Things that come to mind are, first and foremost, eye protection which they should all do admirably including the cheap eye protection form the likes of Toolstation.

    Then you start to get personal. The fit, which can include the feel, or ideally no feel, of the frames on your head and field of vision they provide both when looking forward and looking behind. The range and tints of interchangeable lenses available will have to be considered as you will find glasses provide benefits throughout the year, plus our eyes and brains respond to different tints in different light conditions so what provides clarity for you may cause a nauseating discolouration of the world to someone else.

    You have to consider the importance of the brand to you. The material costs are much of a muchness but to be seen wearing the brand brand is important to some and worth paying a premium for.
  • rowlers
    rowlers Posts: 1,614
    I've used both Bolle Contour and currently use Oakleys. Whilst the Contours are very good, the Oakleys are far far better, I was a skeptic until I tried a pair on in an Oakley shop I was instantly converted. The don't fog up, the lens clarity is unbelievable and you don't even know your wearing them! I use Flackjacket XLJs and wear them daily in the car etc.. so I get good use out of them
    Felt F1
    Deda Acciaio
    Pro6
    Cotic Soul
  • Peddle Up!
    Peddle Up! Posts: 2,040
    Tight Git wrote:
    If you want the very best value you can find do a search on Ebay for Bolle Contour and see how well many people on here rate them (I do too!).

    Another Bolle fan here. There are a couple of recent threads you might like to search for.

    Agreed the Oakleys may have an edge, and look the part, but eyewear gets dropped on gravel you know, especially if you insist on wearing the arms over the helmet straps. :)
    Purveyor of "up" :)
  • Raffles
    Raffles Posts: 1,137
    Did as was suggested here about going to ebay and looking at the Bolle Contours. They look great and appear to offer just what I need. My glasses let so much air get in that my eyes are watering like a tap, I hope the wraparound design of the contours will help here. I ordered the smoked set and they come delivered with pouch for the measly sum of £9.10. Thanks for the heads up guys.
    2012 Cannondale CAAD 8 105
  • crescent
    crescent Posts: 1,201
    Function over form every time for me - make sure they will actually protect your eyes first, especially from impact. You could do worse than Screwfix, they stock Bolle among others and are cheap as chips.


    http://www.screwfix.com/c/safety-workwear/safety-specs/cat850392

    Cheers
    Bianchi ImpulsoBMC Teammachine SLR02 01Trek Domane AL3“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. “ ~H.G. Wells Edit - "Unless it's a BMX"
  • mog812
    mog812 Posts: 66
    Cheap and cheerful:
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000W4CSU4/r ... B000W4CSU4

    works for me :D
  • Peddle Up!
    Peddle Up! Posts: 2,040
    There was a programme on manufacturing in China a short time ago (it may have been part of a series presented by Evan Davis) which included a massive sunglasses factory. The chap in charge claimed that just about all the major brands were made there, on the same production lines, from near identical materials. The "added value" didn't get added until the sales and marketing guys stepped in with their "perceptions of brand worth" etc. :evil:
    Purveyor of "up" :)
  • Simmotino
    Simmotino Posts: 295
    P_Tucker wrote:
    NB I own more pairs of Oakleys/Rudys than I can count at the moment (I'm wearing socks), and the aforementioned marketing manager and I are on first name terms.

    If you're tired of him giving them to you, you could always pass on my address! :lol:
  • jpf51
    jpf51 Posts: 35
    Can't praise these guys enough - http://www.optilabs.com/site/prods.php?pfid=0,8,11,17 Bought a pair of rapides 6 years ago lost the nose pieces a couple of times since then, most recently a couple of weeks ago. One phone call to Optilabs and replacements in the post next day and free of charge. I use them because I need prescription lenses but they also come in plain flavours.
    nearly there.
  • Raffles
    Raffles Posts: 1,137
    JPF51 wrote:
    Can't praise these guys enough - http://www.optilabs.com/site/prods.php?pfid=0,8,11,17 Bought a pair of rapides 6 years ago lost the nose pieces a couple of times since then, most recently a couple of weeks ago. One phone call to Optilabs and replacements in the post next day and free of charge. I use them because I need prescription lenses but they also come in plain flavours.



    Its way cool that those guys can even provide glasses made with your lens prescription in mind. Im very longsighted and have a clear lens for the left eye and a thick one for the right , id look like Olive from on the buses if I wore prescription cycling lenses unfortunately.
    2012 Cannondale CAAD 8 105
  • spitfireace
    spitfireace Posts: 19
    I use bolle safety classes clear lenses, super for cycling and supplied free to all british gas engineers and as stylish as the big brands. :lol:
  • kentphil
    kentphil Posts: 479
    how about these Giro glasses. 50% off too!
    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/giro-havik-2-fu ... sses-2011/
    1998 Kona Cindercone in singlespeed commute spec
    2013 Cannondale Caadx 1x10
    2004 Giant TCR
  • kayakerchris
    kayakerchris Posts: 361
    Oakleys as they are the only company at the moment who actually can do a complex prescription out to the edge of a wraparound.
    Lidl prior to that as they were cheap and just as good at protecting my eyes.
    www.hand-surgery.co.uk
    www.dupuytrens.co.uk
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Do the safety glasses block the UV rays ? Some of them I've looked at don't..
  • slowondefy2
    slowondefy2 Posts: 348
    cougie wrote:
    Do the safety glasses block the UV rays ? Some of them I've looked at don't..
    Bolle's do. They've got an impact protection rating too.
  • thefd
    thefd Posts: 1,021
    cougie wrote:
    Do the safety glasses block the UV rays ? Some of them I've looked at don't..
    See point 5
    2017 - Caadx
    2016 - Cervelo R3
    2013 - R872
    2010 - Spesh Tarmac
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Thats good then - but some of the clear safety glasses dont mention UV protection - so worth double checking.

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