cycling and glasses

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charlieivan

Active Member
Don't know if this question has been asked before (surely it must have). I wear varifocal glasses and when cycling have difficulty looking ahead comfortably when down on the drop bars. As a consequence I very rarely ride this way, just using the tops and the hoods so I'm riding more upright. What do other glasses wearers do to overcome this problem?
 
I don't wear mine
I got rid of my varifocals and go gegs free nw
 

Accy cyclist

Legendary Member
Glasses aren't really suitable for drop handlebar riding i've found. Unless you can find some like the snooker player Dennis Taylor wore, with their frame and lenses that allow you to look clearly ahead when your head is down. I wear contact lenses with safety glass/goggles types to stop the usual things from making contact with my eyes.
If you can comfortably wear contacts i'd suggest it as they're only about 15 quid a month which for me is a lot cheaper and comfier than specs as i have a jam jar bottom prescription which costs a bomb to have them thinned down. I always carry a spare lens in case i lose one, and my reading glasses to read my cycle computer.
 

Oldspice

Senior Member
I don't have a problem with my specs unless i am wearing a helmet or it's foggy/misty. I think it has more to do with design and type of specs. For me, one eye is short distance and the other long (stupid genetics). I can still bend over and see ok.
 

Andy_R

Hard of hearing..I said Herd of Herring..oh FFS..
Location
County Durham
I don't have a problem with my specs unless i am wearing a helmet or it's foggy/misty. I think it has more to do with design and type of specs. For me, one eye is short distance and the other long (stupid genetics). I can still bend over and see ok.
..brilliant example of natural selection. Come the apocolypse, your offspring will never need varifocals as they'll have them built in. While everyone else is stumbling around in a foggy shroud of dim vision, your progeny will be able to take over the world.
 

green1

Über Member
I've never had a problem, I always wear Oakleys (got good eyesight fortunately) on my bike even if its just with clear lenses. Maybe look for a pair that have larger lenses similar to sunglasses?
 

naminder

Well-Known Member
Glasses aren't really suitable for drop handlebar riding i've found. Unless you can find some like the snooker player Dennis Taylor wore, with their frame and lenses that allow you to look clearly ahead when your head is down. I wear contact lenses with safety glass/goggles types to stop the usual things from making contact with my eyes.

Or perhaps a single vision distance only pair
 

guitarpete247

Just about surviving
Location
Leicestershire
I have some Wind Rams with my prescription lenses in. I'm short sighted and have no problems on the drops.
 

boydj

Legendary Member
Location
Paisley
Or perhaps a single vision distance only pair
+1
A cheap basic pair with a frame that's relatively 'long' from top to bottom of the lens would do the trick. You don't really need the 'reading' section of the your glasses when you are on the bike. That's certainly my experience in the last few years since I got Oakley's with distance lenses - though I'm primarily long-sighted and have needed reading glasses for the last 15 years or so.
 

lb81

Senior Member
Another glasses wearer here. Im only short sighted and find my regular glasses fine on the drops. They are not particularly high on the face either.

Maybe as has been suggested already and try a cheap pair of single vision and choose frames with a large lens area? You could also go for a photochromic lens and they will serve as sunglasses as needed as well...
 

defy-one

Guest
I wear my old glasses when riding. The prescription isn't that far of my current needs but they are photochromatic and darken lighten as needed.
 

RedRider

Pulling through
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