Best Rx-able Cycling Frames (sunglasses)

[grognaak]

Suggestions for a quality Rx-able frame at a reasonable price much appreciated. I will order the frame through my optometrist if possible and have them create polarized transition lenses. Thanks!

[parris]

It's a little tough to say which frame is "best". Depending on your RX some frames may not physically work with the lenses you're thinking about going with. I learned this several years ago with Oakley.

My RX is mild enough that I can use any of the Oakley or Smith Optic sport frames. My son has a heavy RX which greatly limited his options to frames and lenses with much less curve. Oakley was able to build him a good set of glasses but Smith wasn't even an option.

I'm running a few pair's of FlakJacket's and he's running a pair of Frogskins. I also have a pair of Smith Optics Approach which I believe they discontinued.

Good luck and let us know what you end up with.

[thegunner]

i keep going back to the halfjacket 2.0's, the lenses are thinner than the other brands i've tried rx'ing

[makoti]

Rudy Project fits me best & has RX lens options. I use the Rydons.

[cmbicycles]

I got a pair of half jacket 2.0 recently, they are non Oakley lenses. They fit nice and work great, although they fold up weird so they aren't as compact as they could be when folded. Minor complaint, but pretty happy with them overall.

I would recommend to NOT get polarized lenses for cycling. The polarized lenses filter out glare that can otherwise warn you of wet roads or glass. I got a medium shade tint from the optometrist and think they are great for road riding.

[buddybikes]

If you want a polarized/transition lense ask for drivewear they have amber changing tint. Agree previously, you may not need polarization, I have a cheap pair for very bright sunlight, but can't use them for anything else, especially looking at a map.

I love my Oakley Blenders, you can use standard optics. The half jacket, is a different animal when getting lenses, either Oakley or specialty (sportrx), thus expense. That said the half jacket i like also.

Rudy Project Horus can also fit (surprisingly) standard angle lens, don't know if they still make that model

[benb]

Sports Optical will be able to give you a recommendation specific to you.

I’ve had 2 pairs of Oakley’s and currently have a pair of Rx Rudy Project Rydons.

They Rydons are way nicer frames than either of the Oakley’s I had as they are much more adjustable like an Rx eyeglass wearer comes to expect.

Edit: actually I’ve had 3 pairs of Oakleys that were Rx.

[duff_duffy]

Plus one on the half jackets. Skip the Oakley lens and have local optometrist make lens. I saved a ton this way and love them.

I got a pair of half jacket 2.0 recently, they are non Oakley lenses. They fit nice and work great, although they fold up weird so they aren't as compact as they could be when folded. Minor complaint, but pretty happy with them overall.

I would recommend to NOT get polarized lenses for cycling. The polarized lenses filter out glare that can otherwise warn you of wet roads or glass. I got a medium shade tint from the optometrist and think they are great for road riding.

[oldpotatoe]

Suggestions for a quality Rx-able frame at a reasonable price much appreciated. I will order the frame through my optometrist if possible and have them create polarized transition lenses. Thanks!

Do you need distant as well as reading type lenses? If just reading(to see computer, type lenses), you might look at Dual eyewear..glasses with a wee reader section at bottom..I know the owner..good product.

https://www.dualeyewear.com/

[Veloo]

I've got a pair of Rudy Project Rydons with the clip-on Rx lenses that go behind the regular lenses. They're ok but not very comfortable - clip-ons touch my face.

I found these optical docks online for a good price and decided to try them even though Rudy told me that they don't do a cyl greater than +-2. I'm -3.5.

https://www.bikeinn.com/bike/rudy-project-rx-optical-dook-rydon-eyewidth-54-h-34-dbl-20-only-direct-clip/135918641/p

Worked out well. I got Carl Zeiss lenses which were able to accommodate my Rx and they are photochromic. I like the Rydons a lot and didn't want them to stay in a drawer unused as I don't like wearing contact lenses anymore either.

I also have the Adidas Evil Eyes that I mentioned in this thread.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=192435&page=2&highlight=evil+eye

[Veloo]

Oh, and also found these optical docks for the Salice 005 glasses.
I was tempted but can't find the glasses anymore.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Salice-005-Optik-RX-Kit-Cycling-Sunglasses-Optics-Lens/192663020152?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

[54ny77]

Can someone recommend a good site for sunglasses in general? I lost my prescription Rydons and don't particularly feel like dropping several hundred bucks again for friggin sun glasses just for cycling. My prescription isn't too strong and Rydons were fine re: lens curvature. My understanding is curvier the lens combined with a strong prescription, the more visually warped reality can be.

[parris]

54ny77 if you don't want to go for big dollar you may want to check out Zenni Optical. I've picked up a couple of pairs of their very inexpensive glasses to use when I don't want to worry about trashing a pair that I've paid much more money on.

If you have some frames you could check out freeprescriptionlenses.com He's in the Carolina's and I've been thinking about using his service.

Hope this helps.

[54ny77]

Thx will check em out.

[parris]

You're welcome. One of the things with the last place is that he's got a Youtube channel so you could get a vibe before sending him any questions.

[ultraman6970]

Besides the frame the guy that is cutting the lenses can make wonderfull things.

For example I use oackley crosslinks for everything, everybody locally said my prescription was non doable in progressive because my prescription is really high. Went to the usual suspects that actually make cycling stuff and they did not have a single problem taking my stuff.

So besides the frames you have to go sometimes to the right guy to get those lenses cut.

[buddybikes]

Zenni's work, but to me that's about it. Few eye alignment (stigatizm) resulted in the glasses to be uncomfortable. Use on super sunny/snowy days. They may get you threw the knothole, just don't expect much with their frames either.

If your script is pretty low you probably won't have much issue.

[benb]

I was mentioning the Rydons but I was talking about getting them from Sports Optical, they will do a much wider range of prescriptions than are recommended by the frame manufacturers and you won't need inserts, so you're getting a much better experience.

I am not sure if Rudy Project is owned by Luxottica... the issue with "you need inserts" and "you can't use that frame with your Rx" I think is largely because the Luxottica labs do everything and they are setup to do all the lenses a certain automated way very cheaply to extract the most money from us. (There was a recent article where someone who worked in one of their labs was saying 99% of the lenses cost < $5 to make, even when you're paying for the $300+ set of lenses with all the fancy coatings.)

That is the issue with the Oakleys and Rx constraints.. I had Rx Oakleys before and after Luxottica crushed them and then bought out their name. The lenses are absolutely not the same and the new Luxottica Rx lenses were greatly inferior to the original Oakley ones.

The wear/degradation of the Sports Optical lenses is much more similar to the old Oakley lenses I had... basically impervious to wear compared to the ones that came from Luxottica.

My only thing with the Oakleys is to make sure you get a frame with adjustable temples, adjustable nosepiece, etc.. that is more like normal Rx eyeglasses. The Rudys are nice because they are totally adjustable & the nosepiece is replaceable if it breaks. (Though the non-adjustable Oakley nosepieces are pretty much unbreakable.)

[Jaybee]

Zenni's work, but to me that's about it. Few eye alignment (stigatizm) resulted in the glasses to be uncomfortable. Use on super sunny/snowy days. They may get you threw the knothole, just don't expect much with their frames either.

If your script is pretty low you probably won't have much issue.

Haven't tried Zenni, but Goggles4U* gave me the same experience. Super cheap, reasonably fast, found some styles that I liked, but for my combination of eye issues and serious cylinder (-4.5), they just didn't work. I can see out of them, so they work in a pinch, but I'll have a headache after a couple hours. If you have really bad vision, it's worth the cost, IMO, to do some work with a good optometrist to get it right. You look out of your glasses almost 100% of your waking time. You might be in your cycling sunglasses for 4-6 hours at a stretch. You'll probably be in your ski goggles for 6-8 hours/day. For that reason, good optics are something I'm always willing to invest in.




*Yes, the horrible branding should have been a tip-off

[parris]

benb thanks for the info about the limits that have happened since Luxotica took over. If anyone's interested in the brands owned by Luxotica I'm pretty sure they're listed on the Luxotica site. The number of brands they actually own and control is shocking.

I may be wrong but I think Rudy Project is still independent as is Maui Jim.

[benb]

I have a pair of Maui Jim Rx sunglasses right now too. They are badly in need of replacement.

I think Maui Jim was one of the last frame brands my eye doctor carried that wasn't Luxottica.

I don't know if it was a Luxottica lab that did the lenses but they're terrible... the coatings/polarization were super shot before 18 months, I usually try to get 2 years of wear out of Rx sunglasses, but my prescription has started to not change so I'd like to get more.

Those glasses were babied too.

Luxottica owns almost everything.. they own the "Vision Insurance" plans too, which are not "Eye Care insurance", they are just "Eyeglass payment plans" that siphon even more money into their company. They own the brands, they own a lot of the chains that do exams & glasses, etc..

[choke]

Unlike some others in this thread, I've been using Zenni for years and have had zero complaints in that time.

FramesDirect is another option. Their prices are higher but they often run 50% off prescription lenses.