cycling specific prescription lense advice needed

[dekindy]

I will be measured for progressive lenses for prescription cycling glasses for the first time. I have previously had single prescription lenses for cycling.

Should the technician measure my pupil height normally or should compensation be made for the fact that the fact that I will use them for cycling? Intuitively I would think that I would want the reading prescription to be at a lower height for cycling than for normal wear.

Also, I have learned that there is no standard for measuring pupil height. What is generally recommended? Measure from the bottom of the pupil, middle, etc? If no adjustment is needed for cycling I would probably have them measure using the same methodology as they did for my regular progressive lenses.

[Dave]

I think you have to trust that your optician knows what he's doing. I've had two pairs of progressive bifocal cycling glasses (Rudy Apache Sx). I don't even notice the bifocal while riding and I can read news print just fine. No problem seeing my bike computer either.

[Ken Robb]

the good news is that if these are your first "reading" glasses you will have a relatively low magnification so the transition from distance to close correction won't be severe. As your presbyopia progresses with age and your magnification goes up you will have enough experience by then to tell your optician what you need.

[seshboy]

I had Sports Optical http://www.sportsoptical.com/ make some progressive lenses for my Rudy Project Rydons. They recommended making the correction a little lower in the lenses. Just enough so that I can read my bike computer. They also did them in transitions, which I like.

[dekindy]

the good news is that if these are your first "reading" glasses you will have a relatively low magnification so the transition from distance to close correction won't be severe. As your presbyopia progresses with age and your magnification goes up you will have enough experience by then to tell your optician what you need.

Unfortunately no. I just had not been willing to spend the bucks before. My astigmatism and +3 correction severely limit my choices to the most expensive options.

[11.4]

Depends very much on the frames themselves. Generally for riding you get a small benefit from having the prescription shifted downwards a bit (so as you look a bit upwards through the upper part of the lens while riding, you are seeing through the infinity-focus portion of the lens). However ...

Remember that off the bike they may be a little frustrating to use, first of all.

Second, some frames such as several Oakleys have two different nosepieces, such that one positions the glasses lower on your face. Depending on your face, you may get more adjustment that way. And for those that have nosepiece wires, you'll have to make the determination around a frame after you've properly fit it so it holds like you want while in a riding position.

In short, you really need to fit the frames, then figure where you want the lens ground. I've ordered many such glasses over the years and only a couple times have I found an optician that actually thought it out properly, even though several were supposedly sports opticians versed in cycling.

To make it a bit more complicated, you can actually get a progressive lens ground in a number of ways. In particular, you can (and probably should) get the near-focus distance measured for the distance from your face to your cycling computer or powermeter head. You don't need anything closer or farther for most purposes, but that distance will likely be a bit closer than your typical reading distance, at least for use on a road bike. Second, you can choose how much of the lens area is dedicated to the near-focus section -- if you were reading a lot you'd want more, and have it go all the way across the lens, but for cycling you can make it a small spot in the center that doesn't go all the way across and doesn't go up very high. And you can sometimes choose intermediate points as well. After all, the point of a progressive lens is that it's an aspheric grind -- you can make it anything you want. This ability calls on a good optician willing to work with his customers, and some lens brands don't offer such customization. If you are getting third-party lenses, Nikons have had some of the best customization available, plus the best coatings I've found (almost on a par with the new Oakley ones). Oakley has some of the least customization but does very good simple progressive lenses and of course their frames are among the best. I've never been a fan of Rodenstock lenses, which unfortunately are what you tend to find from most opticians simply because Rodenstock is owned by Essilor, the primary distribution arm to US opticians. Their coatings are poorer and the options in grinding are much fewer.

Now you can throw your arms up in disgust at the whole project. But if you understand the real options available to you in progressives, you will realize you can get much better optics for cycling and for other use if you hold out for an optician who really knows his stuff.

[Charles M]

Just call Bret at Sports Optical...

You tell him what style and he'll tell you what he's going to need for the lense to be perfect within the frame selection...