My eyes are very light sensitive, I always need something when the sun is in the sky.
When there is no sun, I wear clear for safety.
During these darker times, I wear transition glasses so I can still get some sun protection if/when it comes out, and eye protection at all times.
True for road and MTB. MTB is by far the most important to wear them on; way too much dirt and/or bugs getting flung up.
I came here cos I tot OP meant reading/seeing glasses instead of sunnies.
while the sun donāt bother me as much, but the wind in the eye and all the debris cloud and such is what makes it indispensable. SO yeahā¦ sunnies FTW.
A few pairs of glasses are in the mail. Will try a few to see what suits me then eBay the remains.
Thank you everyone.
Pretty much except for the height of summer I use photochromatic lenses. Again, normally ali, but I find they transition fine - itās actually that they donāt get that dark in full sun compared to more expensive options (so fine on the bike imo)
I only wear shades if I am following another rider in the rain, and usually its with photochromic lenses, which are great if you race in evenings.
I permanently have my shades in my helmet, for style reasons.
Donāt own any, never worn any. Eye incidents: zero.
I certainly hope your luck continues. But this is as silly as saying I have never crashed my car so I donāt wear a seatbelt. Or see how you feel the next time you fly and the pilot comes on the intercom and says, āfolks, we have disengaged all of the safety features of the plane, since we have never had any incidents.ā
Iām really surprised there isnāt a better range of different photochromatic options out there, especially for cyclists (and gravel/MTB racers in particular). Most manufacturers offer one photochomatic option (if any) and itās nearly always a clear-to-smoke colour. A photochromic version of Oakley Prizm or similar would probably be ideal for the vast majority of cyclists.
Iāve gravitated towards Julbo for this reason. I definitely prefer other brands in terms of fashion/fit, but Julbo is the only maker Iāve found who does a pink/purple high-contrast photochromatic lens. I can wear it in low light almost to the extent of full nighttime and it also goes dark enough for all but the brightest full-sun days. And they have like 3 other photochromatic options that cover different ranges/colours of light too. I canāt imagine their lens tech is that unique - why havenāt others taken a crack at something similar? Itās probably what we all should be wearing - at least all of us that live anywhere with weather or trees.
I use āFlaxā brand from Ali. They are smokey at their lightest, but I find them good enough. Iām predominantly road and gravel (which is mainly fireroad in Ireland), so itās only on the occasional single track that theyāre too dark.
cool tyty. ordered. thatās perfect as I commute to work when sunny and drive home at night.
I found a few other brands with photochromatic but like you said they are all silver.
not sure the difference yet but Iāll sort it out within a few weeks and try a bunch.
Report back : Do they change sufficiently while inside of a vehicle? Iāve been very unimpressed with every pair of photochromatic lenses Iāve owned when it comes to changing while driving. They just donāt get dark enough with the UV blockers built into automotive glass.
I never wore them when I was younger, and for the most part it was fine. I always wear them now, and I donāt know why it took me so long to change. I also mountain bike a lot, and I wouldnt ride dirt without eye protection.
Thatās a false equivalence and not a valid argument for wearing glasses.
Always, especially if in a group ride or mountain biking. A couple years ago I was in a Fondo and a rider in front of me kicked up small stone that smashed into the lens of my sunglasses. Had I not been wearing them that stone would have gone into my eye. Prior to this it wasnāt uncommon for me to have the glasses docked in my helmet (e.g. when the inside of the lens got coated in sweat) but I will never do that again on a group ride. Last year I had a large bug hit my eyeball while riding and the pain was intense for a good 20 mins after. Thankfully no damage was done but that was a wakeup that even riding solo itās not a great idea to go with bare eyes.
No it isnāt. I would consider glasses a piece of safety equipment. The poster is choosing not to use and justifying it with their experience of not having an incidents (so far).
Equivalence needs a far stronger link in terms of risk and impact than āsafetyā. No bro science of all risk and consequence is the same.
Look, I am not interested in trying to win arguments on the internet today.
I consider my eyes important and donāt want to risk them. You do you.
OP asks if anyone does not wear one and wonders about the risk. Your response comes across as proselytizing and now dismissive. No one needs to win, but sticking to the subject might be useful.
I really like Julbo glasses as well, and have a pair of their photochromatic ones, but I didnāt realize they had different flavors of photochromatic. Iāll have to look again.
Skimmed this and didnāt see any mention of UV light as a likely cause of cataracts. It would take many decades of not wearing sunglasses to see this effect, similar to skin cancer from UV exposure. Cataract surgery is widely done, but is not without possible serious side effect risks.
Iāve always worn them on the bike due to comfort in the wind and keeping bugs/debris out, but have also been trying to wear glasses of some kind outside all the time now. āNeedingā corrective lenses makes this easier, as I now wear glasses all the time inside too 