Prescription Cycling Glasses - Where From?

crossed

I need to get myself some decent glasses for cycling as I'm not getting on with contact lenses.
I realise that there's plenty of online places where I can order glasses from but I'm trying to find a proper , bricks and mortar, shop where I can get my eyes tested and try some glasses on before buying.

Does anyone know of any opticians that have a decent range of sports glasses in the London or Surrey area?

rafletcher

Not sure of London shops, but as to suppliers, Optilabs for one. And I believe you can get prescription inserts for Rudy Project and Oakley sunnies.

EDIT Optilabs are in Croydon and you can visit the factory showroom. I'm sure they'd help if you decide on that route.


However... I'd recommend sorting out your contact lens issues by going to a specialist. I would recommend the following pace

http://www.thecontactlenspractice.co.uk/

I've used them for 25+ years no matter where in the UK I've lived, as they're so good.

dawebbo

I used Eye Contact at Liverpool street, to get my Oakleys. Think they do other brands, but I'm a brand sucker...

volvo_fatboy

I'd try persevering with contacts, they can take a while to get used to especially if you don't get the exact prescription.

cattytown

First off - what sort of prescription are you on? Stronger prescriptions reduce choice dramatically.

munkster

I've bought two pairs of prescription sunglasses from RX Sport online and they've been brilliant. You can also do a "home trial" thing with them where they send you 3 (I think it was 3) pairs for you to try out at home. They are very very responsive if you call or email which I have found reassuring.

I got an eye test from my local optician and asked them for my inter-pupillary distance on top of the basic prescription. They weren't keen to give me that in fairness, but they don't stock or supply Oakley so they couldn't help me anyway...

Anyway, HTH. YMMV ;-)

rafletcher

munkster wrote:

They weren't keen to give me that in fairness,

Keen or not, if you pay for it you get it, no argument. They can't not (legally) provide you with the prescription. I guess the inter-pupillary measurement is technically outside that though..

Mad_Malx

rafletcher wrote:

munkster wrote:

They weren't keen to give me that in fairness,

Keen or not, if you pay for it you get it, no argument. They can't not (legally) provide you with the prescription. I guess the inter-pupillary measurement is technically outside that though..

When I had this I pointed out they held personal information about me and asked to talk to their data protection compliance officer. At which point they decided it was easier just to give me the information.
If they sold a reasonable choice of sports glasses I might have had more sympathy.

NB Some suppliers will calculate IPD if you upload a selfie with a scale bar.

Mad_Malx

My Optilabs have been excellent value, assuming you like the choice. Been abused on daily commute and shoved in pocket for 6 years and still unscratched and arms firm. Silicone bits dropped off a while back, but doesn't seem to make much difference.

munkster

Keen or not, if you pay for it you get it, no argument. They can't not (legally) provide you with the prescription. I guess the inter-pupillary measurement is technically outside that though..

That is what I said, prescription was clearly freely given, IPD I had to ask for and persist. But similar to another poster, they didn't stock what I wanted so my argument was that without that data it was a wasted trip (to an extent).

daniel_b

munkster wrote:

I've bought two pairs of prescription sunglasses from RX Sport online and they've been brilliant. You can also do a "home trial" thing with them where they send you 3 (I think it was 3) pairs for you to try out at home. They are very very responsive if you call or email which I have found reassuring.

I got an eye test from my local optician and asked them for my inter-pupillary distance on top of the basic prescription. They weren't keen to give me that in fairness, but they don't stock or supply Oakley so they couldn't help me anyway...

Anyway, HTH. YMMV ;-)

Another vote for RX, superb and fast service, and at the time the best price.

whosthedaddy

[quote


However... I'd recommend sorting out your contact lens issues by going to a specialist. I would recommend the following pace

http://www.thecontactlenspractice.co.uk/

I've used them for 25+ years no matter where in the UK I've lived, as they're so good.[/quote]

+ 1 on this. Have to agree. Got me sorted and wear my lenses all day now.

crescent

I've just received a pair of prescription safety glasses from UVEX. They are not specifically for cycling - they are designed to be worn in areas where hard hats, safety specs etc are required - but would not look out of place on a bike. My company provides them for free but the process involved going to a local optician who filled in a form and sent it to UVEX who sent the glasses out within two weeks. I'm sure UVEX ar contactable directly though.

http://www.eyekit.co/glasses/industrial ... asses.html

These are like mine but others are available as well.

napoleond

RX Sport are great.

wishitwasallflat

I'm very happy with my prescription Oakleys from RxSport, I used their try before you buy system twice so tried six frames before choosing, I then uploaded my prescription and sent them a spare pair of glasses so they could get ipd. If I ever needed more I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again excellent prices and CS. Very helpful if you phone them too.

themogulman

rafletcher wrote:

munkster wrote:

They weren't keen to give me that in fairness,

Keen or not, if you pay for it you get it, no argument. They can't not (legally) provide you with the prescription. I guess the inter-pupillary measurement is technically outside that though..

The PD does not form part of the prescription,which you should be given after an eye test.

The PD can alter depending on the frame that you chose and so its part of the dispensing of the lenses. In practice it is generally the same but can depending on nature of the prescription, make a difference to the quality of vision you get.

You can ask the optician to measure it for a fee. I would charge if asked £15, the same as a dispensing fee on safety spex .

team47b

I got mrs T to measure my PD using a vernier scale, accurate to two decimal places is near enough!

cattytown

Two DP is precision not accuracy. My PD is 61.3296mm +- 20% :-)

dov2711

I would offer that Optilabs are second to none when it comes to customer service. I had a 3 year old frame fail and after a few emails all of which were promptly answered I was offer a replacement frame.

I would not hesitate to use them again and would add that the wrap around effect has caused no distortion to the vision quality in my experience.

mm1

Another vote for optilabs, ordered mine online giving prescription and pupil distance. The optical quality seems (to my eyes at least) far sharper than my normal glasses. Frames are comfortable and robust. Overall faultless really.

evs78

NapoleonD wrote:

RX Sport are great.

Another vote for Rx. I got the inserts for my Rudy Project glasses and they are great. Arrived within a day or two and very helpful on the phones too.

crossed

After a bit of hunting around I managed to get an eye test sorted and found that Vision Express had some good prices on Oakley glasses.
With their promotions they're currently running they only work out a few pounds more than RX Sport so it looks like I'll be using them

cyclinghaggis

Bit of a thread resurrection but I'm on the hunt for a pair of sports/cycling glasses. Probably after something with a light tint as I'd want to be able to use them for mountain biking in the forest as well as road cycling. How do prescription cycling glasses work. Do you get a complete field of vision with them over the entire surface of the glasses or is it just the centre area?

I normally either wear lenses or just my regular glasses when cycling but I find the lenses a bit of a hassle to put in just for going our cycling and my regular glasses don't really give enough coverage to keep the wind/draught out of my eyes when going at speed plus it would be nice to have a tint on them to keep the glare down.

Given the cost I'd really want to try a frame on in a shop somewhere before spending the money on them. Do any of the major retailers (vision express, spec savers, Asda opticans,etc) have their own sports/cycling ranges which might be cheaper than stumping up for a brand name like Oakleys?

Don't really want to pay £200+ for a pair of glasses if I can avoid it. I'd prefer wearing glasses when cycling to contact lenses but if it's going to be that kind of money it could keep me in lenses for several years so I feel I need to be pragmatic about it!

Any recommendations or thoughts on my predicament? I'm in North-East Scotland so don't suggest anywhere in Southern England!

thegibdog

The non-insert Optilabs give you a full field of vision across the entire lenses. If I recall correctly there was a small amount of distortion when I first started wearing them but it's something I soon got used to - certainly clearer vision than contact lenses in my experience.

I've found Optilabs' service very good so far, they will send out three pairs for you to try out for free including return postage. I'm just about to replace my ~10 year old pair of Optilabs specs with a new pair, I'm going for some with adjustable nose bridges that are great for fine tuning the fit for better vision in a head down position. I'll also be opting for the photochromic (Transitions) lenses again so they can be used in all conditions.

I have recently got some daily disposable contact lenses for time trialling with a visor but they're a bit of a faff and I prefer prescription glasses for day to day use. £150 (£20 discount for returning my broken pair) is a lot for a pair of glasses but it'd cost me >£300 a year if I were to wear disposable contacts every day and hopefully the new pair will last another 10 years!