oakley - overpriced or worth it
shiznit76
Posts: 640
Hi, just been riding with a new pair of oakley radars with prizm lenses, to be honest, don't see massive difference compared to the wee £20 northwave glasses i had been wearing. So, what do people think, oakleys are they overpriced and well marketed, or good value for money. I know the pros in the main all wear them, but does that actually mean they are best glasses on the market?
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Kinesis Racelight 4S
Specialized Allez Elite (Frame/Forks for sale)
Specialized Crosstrail Comp Disk (For sale)
The following winter I took them skiing and the lanyard lace thing I used wore the coating off the lens when in my pocket. I claimed under the warranty and Oakley replaced the lens no questions asked (they have a rigorous process to confirm the glasses are genuine).
For the 5 years prior to buying the Oakleys I usually had to buy a cheap set of glasses each year (say £20). Typically they would snap after a year's wear. My riding mates typically buy "Joakelys" from Ebay at about £10-15. They too usually last a year or so.
I have replaced the grips on the legs at £10.
So at 7 years they have not quite paid for themselves however they are as good as new and showing no sign of wear. I expect them to easily outlive 10 pairs of cheap alternatives. On that basis they offer VFM.
Not sure how they compare against Rudy Project glasses - quite fancy a pair of these as the design and colours look good.
Performance wise the Oakleys are great. Comfortable, don't steam and are hard wearing. I also have a pair of Specialised Arc titanium framed glasses with reactolite lenses. I love these and they cost £50 2nd hand from this forum. However they steam up at the drop of a hat so I can't use them. My wife wears them.
Are Oakleys worth it?
Maybe!
Oakley are good but nothing so wonderful ahead of others.
De Sisti wrote:
This is one of the silliest threads I've come across.
Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour
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One thing I can compliment them on though is the strength of the frame. When I crashed in October one of the injuries was a badly broken nose which was actually caused by the radar frame (ok, so by a bus pushing the frame into my nose) but whilst I suffered, the radars were fine.
Bianchi Impulso
BMC Teammachine
“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"
Sure they're expensive but you'll get years of wear from them.
Kinesis Racelight 4S
Specialized Allez Elite (Frame/Forks for sale)
Specialized Crosstrail Comp Disk (For sale)
Came back with a pair of Oakley Half-Jackets because they fitted comfortably & nothing else did (including other Oakleys).
They're still going now!
So I guess, just buy whatever fits well & does the job. If they're uncomfortable you won't use them.
The other pair I have are the full framed Rad8 glasses - they seem good, not quite as comfy on me, but still good. They're anti scratch on the outer surface & anti fog on the inner which seems to work well. You can choose normal or photochromic, and while the photochromic lenses don't appear to go that dark, they do keep the glare down - https://www.instagram.com/rad8mtbglasses/
http://www.rad8.co.uk
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https://www.chasingtrails.comThe lens have good optical vision but;
1) I find it pretty difficult to remove or change the lens on the Radar.
2) I've found that the lens coating is all too easily damaged.
Whilst my el cheapo pair has clear vision, I concede they aren't quite as good optically as the Oakleys. However, this optical benefit of the Oakleys is completely negated in heat because a thin film of sweat and suncream generally coats the lens surface. With all these issues being taken into consideration, I don't feel they're so good for the premium being asked to pay therefore I'd be unlikely to consider further purchases of Oakleys.
Click here to view Top_Bhoys RC2:
Got some bright yellow POC Crave from Sports Pursuit for £80 the other week and they are on Wiggle for under a £100 in some manky colours
CK - Maybe I'm just not a bright yellow sunglasses kind of a guy but if you consider them OK to wear, I'd hate to see what you thought were manky!!
Kinesis Racelight 4S
Specialized Allez Elite (Frame/Forks for sale)
Specialized Crosstrail Comp Disk (For sale)
Dark green.
Barf Green?
They do make Oakley look worth every penny I reckon.
One plus for the Smiths sunnies though. I did like the look of the method adopted by them in their PivLock lens design...avoids the non-user friendly flexing and bending method required when changing an Oakley lens.
Click here to view Top_Bhoys RC2:
Easty commuter
Tripster AT
They are Italian, which is all you need to know.
Voltaire
The problem comes I suppose when your prescription changes.
Works to a point obviously, if say for example you have a wrap around lens then the possible prescription options are less, so my -5 is a no no one a Jawbreaker but fine on say Frogskins or similar flat lenses.
Easty commuter
Tripster AT
Yes mine is a full wrap around and Oakley were the only ones I could find doing it. They were expensive but I was a bit daft instead of doing mail order with them and sending them my prescription I went through my opticians who will have put their mark up on them.
You live and learn!!