While regular sunglasses work just fine for keeping the sun (and mud) out of your eyes, there’s no denying the experience that is wearing high-end sunglasses. Ask just about anyone what the #1 brand of sunglasses is, and they’ll say Oakley.

When looking for some top-notch eyewear, I considered Smith, Spy, and Rudy Project, but in the end, Oakley won thanks to their new Oakley Jawbone Polarized Sunglasses.

I wanted something with a full frame that was great for riding, but didn’t look so out of place off the bike. They needed to work well for other sports, too – running, kayaking, and XC skiing. I also wanted them to come in white, fold, and have interchangeable lenses. The slick new lens changing method sealed the deal – Jawbone it was!

Without even trying them on in a store, I scooped some up off eBay. Now two years later, I’m glad I did!

Here are my thoughts…

Price

When I first started riding, I wouldn’t have even considered Oakleys. My only prior experience with Oakleys was when a friend described why his gold Oakleys cost $400, so getting some for myself was a distant dream! (At the time, I was training on a rigid Trek 800 that cost $280.)

Luckily, not all Oakleys cost that much, and it’s easier to find good deals today. I found the Jawbones on eBay for $169 total, and that included the white frames, brown polarized lenses, orange regular lenses, hard case, and soft case. I consider that a great deal since $250 is the retail price!

Looks and Style

As for looks, the Jawbones are probably a “love em or hate em” type of sunglasses, kind of like their cousin the Racing Jackets. So if you don’t like them, you don’t like them.

But… I like them! They are very aggressive looking, and they don’t have that “bug eye” overly-sporty look where they can’t be worn in other situations. Maybe they’re a little too aggressive and sporty for a night on the town (if you wear sunglasses at night,) but they work well for any situation where I need sunglasses.

Comfort

These glasses look fairly “bulky” due to the tall/thick frames, but you’d never know it once you put them on! They are super light and comfortable. I’ve never bothered to weigh sunglasses, but even if these weigh a few more grams than other nice sunglasses, it’s no big deal.

Because, despite the aggressive looks, the Jawbones rest delicately on your face. I think they are designed to only touch your head at three points – the ear pieces and nose piece. Somehow the weight and design is so balanced that you hardly notice theme.

Optical Clarity

This is why you buy Oakleys – the optical clarity is amazing! Literally, it’s best I’ve ever worn. It totally blows away my last pair of sunglasses from Bolle. I’ve tried on some other nice sunglasses and the Jawbones are the best, even compared to some other Oakleys.

It’s like there isn’t even a lens in front of your eye!

The Lenses

The two lens colors I have are (I think) VR28 Polarized and Persimmon. In reality, this is a brown/amber lens and an orange lens.

For me, those two cover all conditions. The brown lens is great for road riding, XC skiing, kayaking, and running. Orange is for anytime it’s very foggy, or if I’m mountain biking under dense foliage. If I had a 24 hour MTB racing coming up, I’d get a set of clear lenses.

(Need help deciding on lens colors? Check my lens color guide.)

Oakley offers just about every color option you need. A photochromatic lens is available, but I haven’t tried it yet.

Polarization

First off, let me just say that polarized lenses serve no benefit to cyclists. There’s no need to pay extra for polarized lenses unless you actually need them.

Who needs polarized lenses? Anyone dealing with reflected light. For example, I’d say fishermen get the most out of polarized lenses; rather than seeing glare off the water’s surface, they see right through it and see the fish.

For me, the polarized lenses are spectacular for kayaking and XC skiing. Glare off of water and snow is terrible, and the polarized lenses really save my eyes. I’ve worn cheaper “polarized” sunglasses, but after wearing these, I don’t believe those other sunglasses ($40 and less) were actually polarized! That’s how big of a difference it was!

When it comes to mountain biking in nasty conditions, I typically wear my regular orange lenses. I only wear the polarized brown lenses on bright sunny days. The polarization actually gets really annoying when you’re riding on wet, rocky trails because wet rocks and leaves give you this nasty reflection that can be almost like a strobe light! (That’s probably not a great description, but it’s weird.)

Field of view / Peripheral vision

Before buying these, one thing did concern me – people said they had issues with the large frames taking away their peripheral vision and limiting their field of view.

In the two years I’ve had these, it never bothered me once. Yeah, sometimes you can see the frames when looking up, down, or to the side. But it never concerned me. I could always see wherever I wanted to.

If it’s that big of a concern for you, you might want to stick with more traditional cycling sunglasses like the Oakley M-Frame. But I don’t see a problem.

Swapping Lenses

The most prominent, new and exciting feature on the Jawbones is the hinged design for swapping lenses. To swap lenses, you flip the nose piece back, swing the bottom of the frame down, and pull the lens down. The hinged frame moves like a human jaw, hence the name.

This is the feature that really sold me. See, my last sunglasses, Bolle Vigilante or something, had interchangeable lenses. But you had to bend the frames quite a bit to get the lenses to snap in. The Bolle’s lasted for years and the frames are actually still as solid as ever, but I never *liked* bending them.

With the Jawbones, there is no bending, thanks to the hinge design. It’s pretty simple to swap lenses, although it still takes some patience to line them up correctly. And you’re limited to holding the bottom of the lens during the install, which usually means putting it between your fingers if you want it done quickly (i.e. you leave a fingerprint.)

Even in the Oakley videos, where they say you can swap lenses without leaving fingerprints, the person places the lens between their fingers when putting it in the frame! I’ll just say it takes some practice to insert the lenses without actually touching the lens face.

But once the lens is in, it’s in solid, yet not under tension. Another feature to ease your mind about bending stuff! Oakley calls it a “lens suspension system.” It means the lens is held in place without force being applied to it. Supposedly this is a reason why the optical clarity is so good (no tension means the lens isn’t distorted.)

Staying in one place

The “staying in one place” factor. Unfortunately, I’ve found a slight problem with the Jawbones in this regard.

Under certain circumstances, these glasses seem to pivot up and down, at the nose piece. As in, the nose piece lifts up off my nose. Like if I’m running, sometimes the glasses will bounce. Or if if riding and I look down and back at the cassette to check my gear, the glasses slide up.

Luckily, if I’m wearing a skull cap or sweat band, that seems to keep them in place. I guess the skull cap has more friction than my hair does, and by holding the frames in place at my ears, there is no pivoting around my nose.

So, while it’s really cool how lightly these rest on my face, it’s not cool when they don’t stay in place!!

Fogging

As with every pair of sunglasses I’ve ever worn, there’s some fogging. Even these nice Oakleys aren’t totally immune. Eventually you just get to the point where you accept the fact that your sunglasses are going to fog up, no matter what you paid for them!

If I’m running or riding and keeping a good pace, there are no issues. But if I’m out for a run and then I stop for a minute to rest or check my shoe, they fog up a little bit. Likewise, if I’m racing hard on my mountain bike but have to stop for a mechanical, these can fog.

And if I’m out skiing and my hot breath hits the relatively cold lenses, they’ll fog for sure.

But, I’ll give Oakley some props for their hydrophobic lens coating (kinda like “Rain X” for sunglasses.) Water beads right off the lenses! It’s actually fun to rinse dust and sweat off them post-ride, because the water from the sink just hits them and runs right off like nothing!

My final verdict is…

I wouldn’t say the Jawbones are the perfect cycling sunglasses by any means (M-Frames are probably a better choice.) And I think the new “Jawbone” hinge system doesn’t quite live up to the hype.

But for the overall versatility I get with these, and with the cool styling, I really like these sunglasses. They are very comfortable, and the optical clarity is simply amazing! You don’t have to spend $169 on sunglasses, but if you can afford it, these Oakleys are well worth the price!

Official website: www.Oakley.com

There are probably days you come back from a ride, totally worn out, covered in dirt, grit, sweat, and bugs. And like me, you probably just toss your gear on the floor. But you shouldn’t toss your sunglasses around. (Be careful with your helmet, too.)

Your sunglasses could have easily cost over $200, so you gotta keem em clean!

How to clean your sunglasses:

1. When you get back from a ride, take off your sunglasses and rinse them under cold water. This should get most of the sweat and dirt off.

2. Once they dry off a bit, clean them with the provided lens cloth. If you don’t have that, be sure to use a very soft cloth designed for sunglasses.

3. Put them in their protective case or at least in a safe place. Don’t put the lenses face down.

Special precautions for Oakley sunglasses:

With Oakley sunglasses, you get a warning – “do not clean lenses with anything other than the soft carry cloth.” That means don’t be wiping them on your t-shirt to clean them off! But it also means there’s a chance to scratch the fancy coating on the lenses even if you use a cleaning cloth that isn’t from Oakley.

So here are my slightly altered instructions for Oakley lenses:

1. Rinse under cold water to remove sweat and dirt.

2. When dry, place inside soft Oakley carrying case and press/wipe the cloth against both sides of the lenses to clean them.

3. If that doesn’t do it, bust out the Oakley lens cleaning kit. It’s only $15 and includes free refills of the cleaning solution. (A small price to pay for keeping your expensive Oakleys free of scratches and smudges.)

With this, you can use the cleaning solution and cleaning cloth to wipe the lenses clean. It provides a more thorough cleaning than the soft case does, so I think it’s well worth it, especially since I’m a mountain biker and can abuse my sunglasses!

Just follow those simple instructions and your sunglasses should stay in great condition for years to come!

Today’s question is about finding sunglasses that keep wind out of your eyes when cycling…

Q: I have problems with my eyes when wearing cycling glasses. The wind comes over the top and stings my eyes, i wear contact lenses and find that the wind drys them. Over long distance i struggle. I have tried loads of different types and found nothing. Can you help?

Thanks,
Winded Willy

Hi Willy,

Sorry to hear about your problems. I wear contacts too so I am almost always wearing sunglasses. I never ride without them. Luckily, regular cycling sunglasses have been sufficient for me.

In your case, the best suggestion I can make is to look at the sunglasses that are like a combination of sunglasses and goggles. There are quite a few that look like sunglasses, but then they have a foam ring around the frame which seals out the wind. Typically these are favored by motorcyclists dealing with lots of wind and an open face helmet, but would probably work for bicycling as well.

Here are a couple examples:

There are sunglasses called Guard Dogs. Here is a neat looking pair.

There are others, such as these, available to online motorcycle retailers.

Those look like they would keep wind out without making you look too obnoxious. If those don’t help, though, the only other thing I can think of would be to go with the full-on goggles.

Get this – not only can you find super duper deals on cycling clothing online, you can even find extreme discounts on prescription eye wear! “Extreme” as in $8 for frames and prescription lenses!

I guess this isn’t something new, but this was the first I’ve heard of Zenni Optical, a discount online store for prescription glasses. Prices start at $8 for frames and lenses, which sounds too good to be true, considering how I pay $200-300 for a pair of prescription glasses from the optometrist.

It’s not that bad if you wear glasses every day, but normally I wear my Focus Night & Day contact lenses, and only wear my glasses on rare occasions. So I’d rather not spend too much money on the rare occasions I wear glasses.

Unfortunately, some of those “rare occasions” when I wear glasses are days I want to ride, but I hate to ride in my prescription glasses. They’re not very sporty, they’re expensive, and they’re fragile. And they’re not sunglasses!

So if I had a sportier pair of prescription sunglasses, I’d be pretty happy. Too bad the good ones from Rudy Project cost $300, and it’s just not worth it for all the more I’d wear them.

But for $17.90 ($8 glasses, $4.95 tint, and $4.95 shipping,) Zenni Optical is worth a shot. (FatWallet.com and Yelp.com show both good and bad reviews of ZenniOptical.com, so I’ll just hope for the best.)

Worst case scenario, I only wasted $18, and I could probably even donate the glasses to charity if they’re not too screwed up. And if I get plastic frames, they should be fairly comparable to some cheap sunglasses. Check this…

“All of our single vison, lined bi-focal and progressive bi-focal lens are of a premium-quality, high-index, polycarbonate composite polymer, high-impact resistant lens with full UV protection and a special strong anti-scratch coating.”

A plastic frame with polycarbonate lens – exactly what I wanted for mountain biking! These should be lightweight, tough, and safe.

I’m sold, let me order a pair…

ZenniOptical.com – The Ordering Process

Starting at www.zennioptical.com…

First, you have to pick out your frames. I thought these ones looked good:

They’re fairly nice, plastic, and only eight bucks. I picked the brown/yellow frames, and then scrolled down for ordering options…

Now, you do need to know your prescription details. If you have a form from your optometrist, you’re all set. Just follow the instructions provided by Zenni Optical on how to input your info. I was confused at first with all the numbers, but their simple instructions solved everything in a matter of seconds. (So this is a time when it pays to read the instructions first!)

Once you fill that out and add the glasses to your cart, the ordering process itself is very simple. You just go through a few steps to give them your name, address, billing info, etc. There’s no need for your optometrist info or prescription verification.

You don’t even need to sign-up for a customer account, so the checkout was fast and easy.

I placed my order on July 20th at 8 AM. The site says, “most orders will be delivered in two weeks. Orders which require some extra, special or custom lab work like progressives, bi-focals, custom suntint, or extra strength prescriptions can take three to six days extra.” So mine should arrive between August 2-8.

So I sit back and wait…

Fast forward to August 4th. The glasses arrived nicely, packed safely with a case and cleaning cloth. The case is hard plastic – nothing special, but nice and sturdy. The glasses are also plastic, with one arm too tight and the other one a little loose. I expected that, especially because I’ve had some more expensive sunglasses come like that.

I messed with my eyeglasses screwdriver a little bit and got the glasses a little better, but not perfect.

Overall, the glasses are not spectacular, but they are nice. I really like the 80% amber tint – as I mentioned in my sunglasses lens color guide, amber is great for sunny and cloudy days. The prescription seems correct and on par with my other glasses, too.

Unfortunately there is some sort of glare with these when I’m riding towards the sun. I’ve never had that with my real sunglasses or with my regular prescription glasses.

That’s kind of annoying, not to mention unsafe, depending on the road or trail you’re riding. Maybe I should have spent another $4.95 for the anti-reflective lens coating?

If I did, we’d be getting a little too far off the $8 price tag!

My final verdict is…

These are decent glasses. They are not quite “good,” but what do you expect for $8.00? I might buy another pair someday, but I don’t want to press my luck any more. I mean, I kind of got lucky that the glasses fit. Since you can’t try them on, you have to go by the measurements listed on the site.

So the glasses are low quality, but very usable in normal circumstances. They’re not that great for riding, though. But $8 glasses and $4.95 shipping is worth the gamble if you want some cheap, backup prescription glasses for lawn work or something.

Official website: www.zennioptical.com

When it comes to sunglasses for cycling, you have a seemingly endless array of options. Sunglass frames in colors to match your bike, lenses for every possible lighting situation, and some even have a built-in MP3 player!

But just one of these options will really affect your performance – the lens color. I’m no optometrist, but I’ve worn many a sunglass lens and have a pretty darn good feel as to what to wear, and when. (Plus, I’ve studied light as a photographer, and the principles apply here, too.)

Here’s a guide covering what lens to use for the conditions in which you ride:

Black/Gray Lenses

Black, gray, and/or smoke lenses are best for bright conditions – they dim the bright sunlight to ease the strain on your eyes. While the lenses do darken your vision, gray does not alter color, so everything remains the same color.

Gray also makes a great lens color for driving sunglasses.

Best for: road rides, especially on sunny days.

Not for: mountain biking. The dark lens may be too dark for trail use, especially if you are dealing with shady areas and shadows. Gray won’t improve contrast, clarity, or depth perception, either, and those things come in handy on singletrack.

Brown Lenses

Brown is a good “all around” lens color choice. It is dark enough to save your eyes in bright conditions, but brown also improves contrast, clarity, and depth perception. Plus, it really enhances shades of green (i.e. trees, bushes, and grass.)

Brown does this by filtering out blue light waves.

Best for: mountain biking in good weather.

Not for: night riding.

Amber Lenses

Amber is somewhere between a light brown and a dark yellow lens. It will block blue light, which greatly increases contrast, making it a good choice when rocks and roots are jumping out at you from the shadows.

Best for: mountain biking under cloudy skies or on dimly lit trails.

Not for: bright, sunny days.

Red, Rose, and Vermilion Lenses

Red lenses, usually referred to as “rose” or “vermilion,” will increase contrast and brighten cloudy, dreary days. These lenses will distort colors, however, so don’t wear them in situations where you need to see perfect shades of color. (That’s not necessarily bad, though, because sometimes this distortion is pleasant and easy on your eyes.)

Best for: rides in cloudy, hazy conditions.

Not for: bright, sunny days, or situations where you must identify poisonous snakes by their color.

Orange Lenses

Orange comes in somewhere between red, brown, and yellow lenses, and as such, works well in darker, cloudy weather.

Best for: mountain biking on hazy, cloudy days.

Not for: bright, sunny days.

Yellow Lenses

I have found yellow lenses to be my favorite for foggy, hazy conditions. Yellow increases clarity so you can actually see where you are going, even if you’re in dense fog.

Best for: road rides in the early morning fog.

Not for: bright, sunny days.

Clear Lenses

Clear lenses do not alter your vision, so they work great in dark conditions when you still need to protect your eyes from dirt, debris, and harmful UV rays.

Best for: dark conditions, such as night riding.

Not for: bright, sunny days.

Green Lenses

I had a pair of fishing sunglasses that used green lenses. They will enhance your perception of red and yellow light, and increase contrast much like brown lenses.

Best for: a fishing trip (when the fishing hole requires some mountain biking to reach it.)

Not for: bright, sunny days on the road bike.

Blue Lenses

I haven’t found a good use for blue lenses when it comes to cycling, because they make things look funky. And if you want to filter out blue light to increase contrast and depth-perception, blue lenses just ruin that.

Best for: a fashion show.

Not for: road or mountain biking.

Photochromic (or “Transitions”) Lenses

These are the lenses that transition from clear to a dark gray color depending on the sun. If you’re out in the sun, they’ll be dark gray; if you’re in the shade, they will be either a very light gray or clear.

Best for: road rides, when the weather is changing or you’re going in and out of wooded areas. They may also be a good choice for 24 hour mountain bike races if you only want to carry one pair of sunglasses.

Not for: mountain biking during the afternoon. The lens won’t transition quickly enough if you go from a sunny section into a dark, shadowy section, and brown would be a better choice, anyway.

Sunglass Lens Summary

In the end, you only need a few different lenses to get by. It seems it would be ideal to own 10 different lenses, but in reality, it’s a hassle to change your lenses all the time (especially if you are on vacation or doing a multi-day race.)

So here are the popular lenses…

Get gray lenses if most of your rides are on the road in nice weather.

Go with brown lenses if you are a mountain biker.

If you venture out in rain or fog, get some red, yellow, or orange lenses for those conditions.

But… if you were getting just one pair, I’d say brown is the way to go. Brown is great in the woods, especially on shadowy singletrack (due to increased contrast and depth perception offered,) and it’s not bad on the road, even in the sun (since it is dark enough to dim the brightness.)

*TIP* Whatever lens color you get, be sure the lens is shatterproof. Most lenses will be polycarbonate, which is the ideal material. Polycarbonate lenses are shatterproof, durable, and they filter out 100% of the harmful UVA and UVB rays. (Yes, even the clear lenses do this.)

Photo credits: Oakley | Smith | Tifosi