Hello all,
Looking into buying a new set of shades for cycling and seen as Oakley seems to be very popular are they actually worth the price tags? At the moment I’m using some £30 DHB glasses which are not too bad but like the look of the Oakley shades and due an upgrade.
They’re probably not the £100 extra better but they are nice. Plus easy swapped lenses so can have more options although I tend to get different glasses instead of lenses since I have a problem!
If you’ve got the spare cash I like mine but if I hadn’t smashed out overtime I’d be happy with the budget pair.
Yeah would you say they are worth the extra for the build quality and lens tech?
Yes, I would say so.
I have a pair of Oakley Jawbones I’ve had since 2006 
And my latest pair of Oakley shades are proving just as good
Longer than any other shades I’ve had
Yeah, I think so.
I also tend to look after them more as they were so expensive! My 2005 racing jackets still get used and are in average nick as after 15 years MTBing.
I do love the Flight Jacket Prizms and Im getting a set of Sutros. The Jawbreakers are nice but the Flight and Sutros are lighter on my face and have a wider view, less obstructed which i do like. Individual choice though. Check out the Flight Jackets or Sutros before you buy
Yeah I’ve looked and the flight jackets and they look better than jawbreakers in my opinion. But the good thing with the jawbreakers is the quick lens change option which I would need on a regular basis. You know if the Sutros have a quick change lens system?
I really like mine. Got them on sale at £125 and feel they’re certainly worth it. Massive field of vision (although the okay logo does appear a little in your periphery) and they tend to suit most people.
I don’t have any Oakley glasses but an a big fan of Siroko Tech. They RRP at a premium price but often have massive sales of 50%+, i went for Siroko because they have easily swappable lenses and have a cheap insert for prescription lenses.
It’s hard to overestimate how convenient the quick change lens is.
I’ve decided on the sutros. Due to them being on sale, the change lens situation I’ll have to order a low prizm low light. Anyone got experience with these low light lens?
Jawbreakers are awesome!
You do pay more than basic glasses, but at least some of the cost of mine was for the Prizm lens, which is excellent.
I am replacing mine though, going to try the new Rapha sunglasses for fit, which are surprisingly competitively priced (for luxury sport sunglasses)
i have a pair of radar lock with the prizm road lenses. The optics are fantastic. It’s sort of like the first time you see a really high quality TV, the colors are vibrant and the clarity is super sharp. It’s hard for me the justify buying any other brand unless someone reports they have comparable optics. but then again, i’m probably just going to buy another pair of oakleys.
I like my jawbreakers but prefer my older Radar EV’s.
I’ve tried the flight jackets but found the top of the lens fouled on my helmet so sold them on.
The clarity in the lenses, i feel is the main USP of Oakley’s. Their prizm technology is phenomenal, both road and trail prizm.
Yes they are more expensive. But you only get 1 set of eyes so I’d rather ride in the best glasses i can afford.
I have a pair of Oakley Radar Path. Black with red tinted lenses. Had them for 6 years and they are brilliant.
Never really thought about it like that before. But now you’ve said it I can relate to the only 1 set of eyes thing. I always wear glasses when riding, not always with a sun lens but at least a clear lens.
I’ve been using Oakley’s for a long time and they really have nailed a lot of things in the cycling market with their combination of frame styles and lens options.
I got some Oakley’s last year with the Prizm Low Light Lens. Initially I had thought it might be good on on cloudy days road riding, but I still tend to gravitate towards Prizm Road lenses which is a little darker but still perfect on cloudy days.
However I recently found that the Low Light Prizm lens is fantastic on my heavily forested XC trails. I have found the Prizm Trail a little too dark on some of my XC trails due to the heavy forest canopy and tend to wear the non-Prizm photochromic lens instead. I noticed some of the Oakley sponsored riders, like Kate Courtney, wearing the Low Light Prizm last season for some races. They are fantastic on the XC trail and now my lens of choice for days XC riding under tree cover.
For more well lit XC trails, the Prizm Trail is still a fantastic option.
I would just buy several fake pairs & call it a day. I bought four pair of fake jawbreakers at the night market in penang. I still have one of them around here somewhere…lost two pair when they flew off the back of my jersey neck. Ear piece broke off the 4th pair.
Fake oakleys are functional for the most part.
We just got the Sutros and I LOVE them. Definitely replacing my Jawbones as my go-to shades. Jawbones are still good for night riding, since I can swap out for a clear lens.
I really like the Oakley lenses but had to tilt my head up a little extra to see through the Jawbreakers so I switched to something without a frame that goes across the top.