Cycling Sunglasses

Availability

You'll obviously find cycling sunglasses in various cycle shops but we've also listed a few shops that specialise in sports specs. Amongst these are some retailers that will also provide you with prescription in whatever model you've chosen.

Why do you want sunglasses when cycling ?

Ask a non-cyclist what sunglasses are for and you'll probably get a puzzled look. "For keeping the sun out of course", could be the answer.

However, they have clearly not been downhill at 30mph in mid bug season and been peppered by a swarm of flies ! Its most unpleasant, especially if you wear contact lenses and if you shut your eyes at the wrong time you could end up as a cycling accident statistic, going at that speed.

Wearing sunglasses while cycling can also protect you from bits of flying grit or dirt, because of course you'll be travelling at speed if you are at all competitive in your riding. There is also the issue of wind causing you problems if its consistently blowing into your eyes while you're cycling; cycling sunglasses protect you against this as well.

Of course there is also some glare and the sun itself to protect against, probably more important to leisure and touring cyclists than when your head is down on the drops in competitive.

Types of cycling sunglasses

Most sunglasses are available in polarised and/or adaptalite type lenses, but when it comes to cycling, the ability to swap lenses easily may be just as important, especially on long competitive rides or when the lenses get obscured for one reason or another.

Also having interchangeable lenses allows you to keep one pair of sunglasses for use in both summer and winter and in changeable weather conditions.

Features to look for

If you are looking specifically for cycling sunglasses, the chances are you need something a little better than the average pair.

Two key features are comfort and weight particularly if you are a long distance competitive cyclist.

Firstly comfort is somethingyou won't necessarily get with a standard pair of sunglasses, because they have to fit under your helmet without being pushed into your head in some awkward way.

The next thing is the weight. Most cycling sunglasses are already designed to be light so as to avoid any sort of fatigue or annoyance.

Its also worth checking what sort of adjustability is built into the design, such as the length and also whether the tightness / grip on your head can be varied.

You should also find that many of the top sunglasses have a variety of lenses available in packs that you can use to change the amount of protection you get. They are also likely to get scratched or damaged, so some spares are useful anyway.

Make sure you don't buy anything too dark though - its important to have maximum visibility if you're travelling at speed.

If you are mountain biking, which often involves frequent stops, starts, slow and fast sections, you'll need to have a look at the ventilation in the sunglasses as well. This is important to stop your glasses steaming up while competing; you need all the clarity of vision you can get to avoid those tree roots.

Specialised features

The most obvious need that some cyclists will have is to get sun protection when they already glasses. Cyclists aren't particularly unusual in this requirement, but the main brand models are available in prescription sunglasses, especially for sports.