Can you wear other sunglasses or sports glasses on the bike? That's a really good question! You can, but is it smart to do so? We'll answer that question for you here
Fashion sunglasses, sports sunglasses, cycling sunglasses - which is better?
Of course, sunglasses are always a question of optics. But with your bike sunglasses, you should also attach importance to a few other points in addition to a stylish look.
Sports glasses are safer than fashionable glasses
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Sport always means a certain risk of accidents. For this reason, glasses for athletes - and that of course includes cycling sunglasses - are always particularly robust and shatterproof. So let's keep in mind: sports sunglasses are already a better choice than fashion sunglasses, even for bike sports, because they do not break or shatter. To ensure this, frames and lenses are made of innovative high-tech materials that are, above all, lightweight and durable.
But then why should it also be a pair of bicycle sunglasses?
Today there is a suitable pair of sunglasses for every sport, and for good reason. For one thing, every sport has certain basic requirements that can lead to very different ambient light. For example, the light faced by the eyes of hikers in the mountains is different from the reflections that occur during water sports. As a result, the glasses or lenses are optimized for different intentions and only in this way can ensure clear vision and good protection of your eyes at all times.
Also the movement sequences and posture are of course different in each sport. Especially for bikers, special rules apply here, because in hardly any other sport the athlete sits permanently in a bent-forward posture. Here the design of the glasses must adapt absolutely! In most cases, the glasses have to share the space on the head with a bicycle helmet, but they must not pinch around the ears. And last but not least, they must also fit tightly on bumpy ground and not bounce around or rattle.
That's why you can wear sports sunglasses for many different sports, on the bike a special pair of cycling sunglasses simply works best.
The perfect lenses for bike sunglasses
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Tinting
By coloring we mean the color of the lenses. While you have a wide choice of shades for other cycling glasses, the lenses of sunglasses are usually dark colored. Blue, brown and black are the most common colors here. It also depends on the tint of the lenses whether the glasses can make contrasts more visible.
Tinting
Tinting determines how dark sunglasses are, because there are different shades that affect how much light can pass through the lenses. A more tinted pair of sunglasses is great for bright and sunny days, plus they're perfect for your bike training at higher elevations. You can wear lighter tinted cycling sunglasses in changeable weather or on overcast days. There are categories here to help you choose. By the way, the tint has, as well as the coloring of the glasses, a great influence on the function, the optics play here (unfortunately) a subordinate role!
Lightly tinted sunglasses are best for riding on cloudy days and at dusk. They absorb about 20% of incident light.
On overcast days, you'll be well equipped with sunglasses from this category. They filter out about 60% of ambient light.
From filter category 2 you get a real sun glasses, which is suitable for Central European summer days. Here about 80% of the light is kept away from your eyes.
Because bike sunglasses in this category absorb up to 92% of light, you can wear them in the high mountains, in the south or in the snow.
In the high mountains or on sunny glacier tours, you need sunglasses with maximum protection. Since these glasses swallow up to 97% of the light, they are not suitable for participation in road traffic - even on a bike! - not suitable!
Photochromatic or self-tinting sunglasses
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Viewing the diverse landscape is one of the most beautiful facets of cycling life! If you're riding your mountain bike through the woods or going fast on a country road on a road bike, you probably know it: the light conditions change in a split second. You ride through shady sections, then roll back into the sun ... constantly putting on and taking off your glasses is difficult, after all, you need your hands on the handlebars. This is where photochromic or self-tinting cycling glasses can be a real help. The lenses react independently to the incoming light and adjust the tint in seconds.You don't have to take off your glasses, change them or replace the lenses to see well.
Absolutely important: the UV protection
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Sunglasses not only protect you from collisions with objects or other road users that you might have missed in the glaring sunlight. They protect your eyes and thus your vision from permanent damage! You will therefore often find the indication "UV 400" on high-quality cycling glasses. This means that UV radiation up to 400Nm is filtered by the glasses and thus cornea, retina and lens are well shielded from harmful waves. The UV protection is invisible and has nothing to do with the tint or coloring of the glasses, darker sunglasses do not automatically provide better UV protection. And just for the sake of completeness: sunscreen belongs under the sunglasses, that's for sure!
Polarized bike sunglasses
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Polarized lenses are refined with a coating that significantly reduces reflections, avoiding mirroring and glare.
Toughened, anti-reflective, oil and scratch resistant...
.. there are many features that make your bike glasses more durable and quite simply better! Especially when you're out and about in nature on your mountain bike, the lenses shouldn't be immediately scratched by sand or dust - that's why tempered lenses are mandatory for MTB sunglasses. All coatings on the glasses must also be sweat and oil resistant. A anti-fog coating prevents the glasses from fogging up. Especially in summer, a well ventilated goggle shape is very important, so sweat does not collect around the eyes, burning or clouding the view.
The 7 most important features of a good bike sunglasses
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1.Effective mechanical protection for your eyes
Regardless of look, tint, or tint, every pair of glasses is always a mechanical protector as well, preventing insects, raindrops, branches, or kicked-up dust from getting into your eyes. If you want to have this protection even on less sunny days, you should stop by our Bicycle Goggles. There you'll find bright goggles that won't obscure your vision in less light, but will still prevent small items from finding their way into your eyes.
2. The glasses are lightweight
Like all cycling accessories, cycling glasses are particularly lightweight. This increases the wearing comfort and prevents unsightly pressure points on the Nese. In addition, you can transport your glasses so particularly easily in the saddle bag or in the bicycle backpack.
3. Large-area glasses
When you look at the sunglasses you can buy here in the online store, you may notice that it is rather rare to come across frames with two separate lenses. Modern sports glasses often have a single lens, this is also called the lens, or the English term "lens" is used. The reason for this is actually very obvious: more material can cover a larger area of your face and thus protect it. The large lenses also don't let dust in around the nose and seal well at the sides.
4. Bicycle glasses are curved
To ensure that the large lenses can cover the area around the eyes as well as possible, cycling glasses are curved. This curvature adapts the glasses to the shape of the head, but especially in the peripheral area of the lenses can cause the environment to be distorted. This is usually only with inexpensive glasses a problem and with high-quality cycling glasses not to worry.
5. The sunglasses fit the helmet
When you buy a special pair of cycling sunglasses, you can assume that the manufacturer has thought about how the glasses can best be worn at the same time as a helmet. Therefore, cycling sunglasses usually fit most mountain bike helmets and road bike helmets. Take your helmet best when you have cycling glasses or sunglasses fitted at the optician, so pressure points can be avoided directly
6. Soft temples for more wearing comfort
To make the glasses under the helmet really no trouble, the temples are soft, thin and at best malleable. Some goggles have "cold moldable" temples. You can bend them a bit yourself and keep adjusting them. You can have other cycling sunglasses adjusted to your head shape and helmet at an optometrist.
7. Bicycle sunglasses for men and women, MTB and road bike?
Most of the sunglasses here in the store are unisex models that fit virtually everyone. Some models fall out a little narrower, others are suitable for wide faces, but generally the fit of the glasses is very versatile. Here is also - quite unlike other bike accessories or the rest bike clothing - not differentiated by bike discipline. Our bike sunglasses are suitable for road cyclists and mountain bikers, for gravel tours and bike trekking.
