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JhnBssll

Veteran
Location
Suffolk
Myself and a few friends seem to collect sunglasses so figured it must be something that other people do too. As such I thought it might be nice to have a thread to share our collections and any new additions as they come along 😄 I'm applying the term sunglasses loosely as I'm also including a pair of goggles :tongue:

My small stash is currently made up entirely of Oakley's - I bought my first pair (Eyejackets, in metallic bronze with gold iridium lenses) from a branch of Sunglass Hut on main street in New York about 25 years ago. I was in my mid teens and had saved up for months as it was a big outlay at that age so was pretty gutted when I dropped them lens down on the tarmac about 10 feet out of the door :ohmy: I was very lucky to get away with just a tiny ding in one lens but that was the last time I dropped a pair for a very long time. In fact it was only when I was stung on the head by a wasp 24 years later that it happened again :laugh: I got the glasses tangled in my helmet straps, launching them down the road as I tried to extract the pesky blighter :laugh:

Anyway I looked after and loved my Eyejackets and was impressed with the Oakley brand so when the titanium alloy X-Metal Juliet's were launched in '99 I was deeply besotted and again started saving. When I was able to afford the upgrade I gave the Eyejackets to my cousin, the only pair I've parted with to date.

I still have my original first gen pair of Juliets but at now 22 years old their not 100% original anymore, more like Triggers Broom :laugh: I took the opportunity to freshen them up so they're now sporting polarized ruby lenses and new rubbers but the metal frame is still original. I've added two more pairs of Juliet's to the stash - a dark framed pair of customs that my wife bought me about a decade ago and much more recently (arrived this morning!) a custom Violet Iridium pair which may well be my new favourites :smile:

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I'm quite protective over the Juliets so the thought of taking them out mountain biking made me come over all funny, so some time ago I bought a couple of pairs of Flak 2's in quick succession to keep the mud out of my eyes - a pair with Prizm lenses and a pair of photochromics which work very well. The prizm lensed ones were the unfortunate candidates that were flung down the road fairly recently and you can see the scars on the left hand lens :laugh: I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a pair of replacement lenses on eBay and some came up at a reasonable price recently so I'll be able to swap them out soon 😊

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For road cycling I originally bought some Radar EV's on sale. They're great on my Pilot with its relaxed riding position but on the Bianchi I end up trying to look through the frame at the top as my head is so low, hence the Flight Jacket's were purchased. I find when wearing these my neck is in much better shape at the end of a ride and the Prizm lens is much nicer to look through than the bronze of the radar's too. They look pretty silly, and I look pretty silly wearing them, but they do a grand job :laugh:

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Then there are my Crankshaft's - why do Oakleys have such silly names :wacko: Bought on a whim due to a crazy low price in a sale plus having money left at the end of a gift voucher. I really like the look of them and the Jade Iridium lenses are really lovely, but I can't wear them for long as the thin arms seem to dig in above my ears :sad: In reality I could probably sell them for more than they cost me but for what what it's worth I'll probably just hold on to them for the occasional wear :smile:

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My goggles are O-Frames with the carbon effect frame and a couple of different lenses. I generally use the clear ones - they only get used when I'm using my full face helmet which normally suggests the weather isn't nice enough to be out on my road bike :laugh:

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My second oldest pair of Juliet's are in desperate need of a refurb so I've got the bits on order. I know from the first pair that this can be quite a fiddly job but well worth it when they're back together. The frames are made of 5 sections - 2 arms, 2 lens surrounds and a nose bridge. The lens surrounds and nose bridge are pinned together with rubber spacers between them - these deteriorate over time so the frames go floppy. To fix it the lenses need removing, the pins need pressing out and the rubbers need replacing. Here is my eldest pair with the frame disassembled when I refurbished them a few years ago to give an idea of whats involved...

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And the same frame re-assembled with new rubbers 😊

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This time around the lenses are in good shape so I'll keep those original and just replace the bits that are perished but in future I can see some Green/Jade lensed Juliets in the collection... Whether that means another pair or just some replacement lenses remains to be seen 😄 I've also got my eye on a pair of Eyejackets on eBay in the same colour combination as my first pair - if they don't go for silly money I might put a cheeky bid in at the end :whistle:

So then... Any Ray-Ban fans? Is Bolle your bag? Whether you're a Rudy Project collector or still sporting a pair of original Arnette Catfish it would be pretty cool to see them all - they don't have to be rare or expensive, they just have to be sunglasses :becool:



or goggles :blush:
 

Drago

Legendary Member
Mine are in the car, Randolph Engineering Aviator Skytec.

May as well lock the thread now :okay:
 
OP
OP
JhnBssll

JhnBssll

Veteran
Location
Suffolk
Never bothered with sunglasses even on holiday- I've had them bought for me but tend to leave them on walls or in cafes so people gave up.

I hear you - most of my friends and family are the same. There would be no point in MrsBssll owning any nice glasses for example as the lenses would be smudged within minutes and they would be lost or broken within days :laugh:

I guess the fact I still regularly wear a 22 year old pair of sunglasses and a 10 year old pair might suggest I'm a little anal about looking after them :laugh:
 

Archie_tect

De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
Location
Northumberland
Not even cycling ? Not had any insects or stones in the face
I don't need to wear corrective glasses so have never got used to checking I've still got cycling glasses on when I set off after a stop... just buy the cheapest clear plastic glasses for cycling- don't like tinted lenses- even then I'm always leaving them all over the place when i do stop so just get the cheapest Decathlon or Aldi ones I can- I think my current pair were £3.99! I usually end up swallowing a few insects when I'm cycling!
 
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Drago

Legendary Member
Nice :becool: Skytec are the glass lenses right? What shade are they and how long have you had them? 😊
The greeny grey 'AGX', satin chrome frames. Had them about a year. Previously wore Ray Ban aviators, but they were getting very old and beaten. I'd always fancied a pair of Randolphs, and they're 88.45 times cooler than the Ray Bans.
 

Jenkins

Legendary Member
Location
Felixstowe
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My cycling glasses - 3 pairs of Oakleys and a pair of Uvex - all with prescription lenses for distance use.
From left to right, the Oakleys are Flak 2.0 XL from Extreme Eyewear and with Transitions grey lenses, another pair of Flak 2.0 XL this time with RX Sport supplied prizm tinted lenses, Flak XLJ frames with RX Sport supplied grey Transition lenses and then some Uvex sunglasses that came with swappable inserts, but my local opticians found somewhere that supplied prescription inserts which are no longer available, but I can get these re-glazed if necessary, and again these are Transition lenses for commuting (shift work).
There's also afour or five pairs of cheapo Selectspecs glasses scattered around the house/car/work for general use when required.
 

mustang1

Guru
Location
London, UK
I had some DHB specials from years ago where you could initerchange the lenses but they were a pita. Then I got Specialized San Remo which I really liked and started delvinig into various Oakleys like Flak Jackets, half jackets and especially several Radars. Not sure why I mentioend the Oakleys because I never bought those but i wanted to. It was around that time that I decided I better start wearing prescription sunglasses and all the models that I liked were not compatible with my prescription so I came out of that hobby.
 

Jody

Stubborn git
Sunglasses are worth every penny, especially if you are overly sensitive to light. I've always got a pair with me as even when cloudy I struggle to open my eyes outside.

Currently have a pair of Oakley Bottlerocket with brown polarised lenses which are my main cycling glasses. A pair of Oakley Holbrook with clear frame and blue prizm lenses. Also have a couple of pairs of Police glasses but they've been retired now as the style has slipped out of fashion.
 
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I have several pairs of Oakley, sadly the Mumbos have fallen victim to age (& possibly UV exposure)

The yellow lens frame cracked on two places, & the nose-piece turned to 'chewing gum'
(the iridium nose-piece & ear-pieces did the same)

I think the green framed are fakes?
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For the commute/day-to-day riding, I just bought a cheap pair of (DeWalt?) safety glasses that looked reasonably sporty
You can see the difference in the lens colouration
If you look carefully, you can see the cracks in the Mumbo frames, & that the lenses are glued in (due to cracks)
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Somewhere, in the house in a box/drawer(?) there is a pair of original shaped Frogskins, with a clear frame & a 'purple iridium'(?) lens

It doesn't seen that long ago, that I sold my Factory Pilots (with clear & iridium lenses) to someone on RetroBikes, for close to what I remember paying for them, back in (probably) 1990

Yorkshire Mountain Bike Club event (my first race?)
Post Hill, Pudsey
1990

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There was also a pair of 'Blades'(?) in the early 90s too!

Tong (aka 'Park Woods')
91 - 92?
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Later on (1997), the yellow Mumbos saved my sight, when I hit the back of (what we found out, on contacting the Police) was an abandoned/no registered keeper car
For anyone who knows the area, it was on the main A61, between Leeds & Wakefield
I'd finished work in Leeds, about 23:30, then was riding home
I'd passed Wood Lane ('Jawbones') & was blinded by traffic in the opposing direction (national speed-limit & no street lighting in those days)
Far too late, I saw the car (Metro), I hit it, & went through the rear-window, hanging out of it

I had to walk to the nearest pub, ask to use their phone, to call g/f (I had no mobile in those days)
Then carry the bike home

She took me to the local A&E, at the time, she was the Bed Manager, so pulled a few strings knowing Martin - the Charge Nurse, & I jumped the queue (1), was seen by the on-call ENT Consultant, who she'd rang (at home)

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I still have the scars, & it's a reminder to wear glasses all the time, unless just testing gears/brakes in the side-street.
On a funny note, if I blew my nose, snot came out of the side of my nose for a few days:laugh::laugh:

The Jaw-Bones(??) were purchased for a holiday(?!?!) to Florida, in 2012
I very much doubt, I've worn them since this was taken, date on JPEG is March 2014
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1. Please note, things were very different then, it was unusual to have more than 20 patients in the department at midnight - 01:00, until the nightclubs closed
Nowadays, we can (& do!) have 100+ patients in at that time........... one night last week, the department peaked at 146 booked in
 
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