Riding with glasses.

mikebikemike

I've quite a problem with road biking long distances. I get neck ache because I have to keep tilting my head back to see through my specs rather than above them when using a drop barred bike. I can see v little over them and the glasses do fit reasonably well for all things other than cycling.
I require a very strong prescription for distance so have high index glasses (£400+). I can't afford spending that sort of cash on specialist cycling glasses but neither do I want to have heavy milk bottle type low index lenses perched on the end of my nose.
Has anyone come accross this problem before or have any thoughts on solutions?
Cycling in company is helpful as I can rely on others to spot hazards and don't need to see particularly well if on someone else's back wheel.

Twelly

Contact lenses?

MichaelW

Most modern glasses are styled very low and narrow. Look for a more traditional style with a larger area of glass and a raised top section. You don't need to go to a set of snooker glasses. Aviators are OK.
If you wear contacts, you still need cycling glasses for protection*. It is the one sport where spec users are not at a disadvantage.

*I has struck in the specs by a bouncing acorn that would have been very painful.

Twelly

MichaelW wrote:

If you wear contacts, you still need cycling glasses for protection*.

Yes but with contacts, you are free to wear any cycling glasses you like, Such as £3 cheapo ones which will do the job and saves buying a £400+ pair of prescription glasses which are suitable for riding with.

There is also the risk of damage. I paid £120 for my glasses. Even if they were suitable for taking out riding, I wouldn't in case I come off/have something fly up in my face.

desweller

What is your prescription, may I ask?

mikebikemike

Can't do contacts I'm afraid - my eyes (which I have to say now I think about it have been shockingly designed and put together compared to the rest of me) are v prone to allergies and consequently the tear ducts are blocked with I think scar tissue. Contacts consequently make tears flood down my face and irritate the eyes.
I can't remember the prescription but will try to find it.
The snooker glasses sounds like a good idea. I keep all my old specs in case I break my best pair so will try the ones which are highest. Hopefully I can get away with the old lenses for cycling and swap in my best pair when I need to -maps etc

the_cyclist_of_catan

Have you looked at the prices charge by Optilabs?

I'm not sure the prescription makes a huge difference to the cost (or any at all, with Optilabs); I've worn specs costing over £700 (they were sublime) and had almost the same prescription in some second-hand frames for £70 (my current specs; they're pretty mediocre, but I blame the prescription being slightly off this time). It's only once you're in the territory of extremely strong prescriptions that expensive ultra-high refractive index lenses are required; what was seen as cutting edge high index materials 20 years ago are now pretty bog-standard (and cheap as a result). FWIW, I'm -6 in one eye, -6.5 in the other. The one thing I need to watch for though is how close thick lenses get to my eyeball due to the geometry of my face.

simon_masterson

Sadly this is a massive problem for me as well. Enough that since my left eye is unhappy at the moment and I therefore can't wear lenses, i'm not cycling.

The best solution I've yet found is a glasses retainer strap - the sort designed for outdoor activities - holding them right up against my face. It's better than nothing but still pretty rubbish.

desweller

I've got a pair of these. They have a lens holder for prescription lenses that clips in behind the tinted lens.

I just got my local opticians to make up some bog-standard polycarbonate lenses to my normal prescription for me. The lenses cost more than the sunnies but they work pretty well; the Rx (prescription) lens is held quite high up so I can see through them when I'm in the drops, which I can't do with my day-to-day specs. The diameter of the lens is quite small as well, so the thickness of the lens isn't overly high. One of the downsides is that they seem a bit prone to steaming up on the inside of the tinted lens, which isn't very accessible while the Rx lens holder is fitted.

My eyes are not very bad following laser treatment a few years ago though (from -8.5 and -9.1 to -1.75 and -0.5), so YMMV.

DrDavros

FWIW my prescription is -9.5 or thereabouts, so way, way out of the range of any specialist glazing. Also have similar problems re contacts, so that leaves an insert as the only option.

I wear KontrolSports glasses (these: http://www.kontrolsports.co.uk/p/2/prescription-sunglasses/sports-sunglasses/prescription-gelshock-blue-smoke/details.asp) with their prescription insert. They aren't as fashionable as Oakley / Bolle, etc, but then they're a fraction of the cost. The insert system is actually very good - sits close to the eye, but works for me. Peripheral vision is limited, but that what your neck is for! (they also have a deal for 3 x pairs of glasses plus an insert for £80 ish - bargain)

Re lenses. You really don't have to pay £400 for ultra-high index lenses. My last set (1.74 index plastics) cost me just over £100 from CiliaryBlue (look on google) - you send them your frames (or the insert to be glazed), they send the glazed frames back 3 days later. Absolutely superb service - and no, I have no connection with them bar being considerably better off as a result of discovering them!

Bolle, Adidas, etc etc all do similar insert systems if you want to spend more ££.

mikebikemike

DesWeller wrote:

What is your prescription, may I ask?

sorry you did ask but I can't find where it's written down. Mind it's been a while since I had an eye test (free due to familial glaucoma history*) so I'll get one and try out those cheap online cycling specs.



*I did say my eyes really are a design flaw

lancj1

just remember you don't mean "glasses" as you don't want glass near your eye on a bike.

June 1982 accident as a 20 year old involving head/kerb and specs with glass lenses saw me become the happy recipient of plastic surgery and a lovely scarred left eye/cheek which to me adds character but for people with a little more vanity may have had quite a devastating effect on their whole life.

Gizmo_

lancj1 wrote:

just remember you don't mean "glasses" as you don't want glass near your eye on a bike.

June 1982 accident as a 20 year old involving head/kerb and specs with glass lenses saw me become the happy recipient of plastic surgery and a lovely scarred left eye/cheek which to me adds character but for people with a little more vanity may have had quite a devastating effect on their whole life.

I think you'd have to try very hard to find "glass" glasses these days: they're all plastic of some description.

desweller

Gizmo_ wrote:

lancj1 wrote:

just remember you don't mean "glasses" as you don't want glass near your eye on a bike.

June 1982 accident as a 20 year old involving head/kerb and specs with glass lenses saw me become the happy recipient of plastic surgery and a lovely scarred left eye/cheek which to me adds character but for people with a little more vanity may have had quite a devastating effect on their whole life.

I think you'd have to try very hard to find "glass" glasses these days: they're all plastic of some description.

The optom will actually discourage you from buying glass lenses. They're more expensive to make and, as you mention, more risky if you break them.

I actually prefer them; they are much harder than plastic lenses (which is useful to me as there's always a lot of swarf floating around at work) and I think they give better visual quality as they are slightly less diffuse (although I'm prepared to admit that this might be an imagined effect on my part).

janwal

http://www.uksportseyewear.co.uk/
I got mine from here.The lenses are in holders that clip behind the glasses. They come with sun,yellow and clear clip in fronts.I normally use varifocals but for cycling I only need the distance lenses that these offer.Just fill in your prescription online or ring them. Think mine were about £80 and been very robust and very comfy.