A lot of thrill comes along with the physical activity of cycling. Apart from being fun and alleviating your mood, cycling has multiple health benefits and it is one of the most effective ways to stay fit.
While indulging in the activity of cycling, safety gear becomes crucial and is a must-have, whether you are a professional cyclist or it is an activity that you indulge in just to stay fit. Just like in the case of other sports, you will find protective gear for different parts of the body when it comes to cycling and all these work in combination to provide a safe cycling experience.
When it comes to the sensitive eyes, there is no room for compromise here and cycling glasses are a must. And in case you require eyesight correction, you need to opt for cycling glasses fitted with your prescription, instead of going with your normal pair of prescription glasses. If you participate in cycling under the sun, cycling goggles are what you need to go with for that much-needed UV protection.
Cycling Glasses – Why Do You Need Them?
Before discussing the considerations that must be made to buy the perfect pair of cycling glasses, here are the reasons behind why you need a pair of cycling glasses. Read on!
- Regardless of the trails that you choose to ride on, if you need eyesight correction, prescription cycling glasses are your ideal sports eyewear option. They are a must so that you have a clear view of the obstacles in your way so that you can enjoy a smooth ride.
- During the activity of cycling, you are prone to impacts. To avoid any injuries to your eyes in case of impacts, cycling glasses are a brilliant pick as they are designed to withstand large impacts.
- As you cycle through the trails, you are bound to get exposed to external elements such as wind, rain, and dust particles, among others. Your pair of cycling glasses are a perfect barrier here and prevent these elements from getting an entry into your eyes.
What To Consider Before Buying Cycling Prescription Glasses
Recently, when I was looking for sports goggles over the internet, I came across the collection of cycling glasses at the site of Specscart (a Manchester-based eyewear brand). After browsing through their collection, one thing was clear to me that these pairs tick all the boxes that make up a great pair of cycling glasses, both in terms of function and style.
If you want to know about the considerations to be made before you go shopping for cycling glasses, read on!
Material
Whether it’s sports glasses or any other type of glasses, material consideration is a must. Talking particularly about cycling glasses, the desirable materials characteristics that you need to be looking at include things like high strength, good flexibility, and high impact-resistance. This applies both for the frames and the lenses.
Some of the perfect contender for materials that you can opt for include TR90 for frames and polycarbonate for lenses, as both are very effective in imparting a robust quality to cycling glasses.
Fit
The fit of your cycling glasses also plays a very crucial role in making up a perfect pair, more so in the case of prescription cycling glasses. You will certainly not want to be put in a situation where your pair doesn’t rest comfortably over your face causing discomfort, and every now and then you need to be adjusting them.
The use of flexible material goes a long way in imparting an exceptional fit to glasses, and hence, another consideration for material added into your list is good flexibility. Well-designed adjustable nose pads and temple grips enhance the fit of cycling glasses and ensure that their fit is perfect, with nose pads not slipping off your nose and temple grips holding well onto your ears. You also have the option of adding glasses’ strap with your cycling glasses to maximise the fit.
Wraparound Style
Apart from sunglasses, wraparound style of frames can be very effective even in the case of cycling glasses. With wraparound frames, a wider field of vision is guaranteed and if you are using UV protective lenses, full peripheral protection of eyes from UV rays is also provided. This ensures a better cycling experience by improving your ability to avoid obstacles with proper detection.
UV Protection
Cycling is an outdoor sport, and for all outdoor sports, UV protective lenses are not an option but a necessity for sports glasses as you will be performing under the sun’s UV rays.
Do make it a point to look for cycling glasses with 100% UV protection, which is made possible when both UVA and UVB rays protection is provided.
Protection From Glare
One of the most common complaints among cyclists is problems faced due to glare as it hinders their ability to see clearly while on a ride and causes discomfort. Glare is common during cycling as the surrounding contains a lot of light rays that are reflected after striking various obstacles. Among these, the horizontally reflected light rays is what causes glare.
To eliminate the occurrence of glare and enjoy your time while cycling to the fullest, an anti-glare coating is what you should opt for the lenses of your cycling glasses. This coating is super effective in filtering out the reflected light rays that cause glare, and imparting a perfect vision.
