smashndash

I'm trying to get some glasses and I saw an ad for them. They make a frameless pair called the SL-1 that looks perfect. But I can't find much about them online. Anyone have any opinions on these guys? They seem to charge a lot for a brand I've never heard of. What about frameless glasses in general?

tagaproject6

A few riders that I know love them, and rave about how light they are.

smashndash

I'll probably pull the trigger on these before the end of the month but... Any others?

jfoobar

I first heard of these today when I was trying to figure out what glasses Daniel Martin was wearing in the TdF. He signed a deal with them pretty recently. Looks like he wears either the SL-1 or the SL-1x.

I love the frameless style as it reduces neck fatigue for me. That said, I don't really do $100+ glasses so I recently picked up the Tifosi Brixens. They are a little small for my face (I have a rather large noggin) but otherwise I am very happy with them.

smashndash

Yeah. I've started noticing a lot of people using these glasses, not just in the tour but also on GCN. Frameless in general seems to be taking off as well.

I've put in a few hundred miles with these glasses. Here are my impressions:
They don't look super great. I saw some photos online and hoped they'd look better in person but... they really lack any sort of character. They're never going to turn any heads. Maybe the SL-1X would but I would say that the SL-1 is for people who do NOT want to make any fashion statements, which is fine.

They let more air in than I thought. I use contact lenses with these and I was hoping that at 50mph these glasses would magically block all the air coming in from my sensitive eyes but nah. I guess I'll try a shield next. Also another reason that maybe I should have swallowed my pride and gone for the 1X.

They geko stuff is legit. super tacky almost to a fault. Personally I would prefer that my glasses stay in place "passively" ie would rather stay on than fall off and no adhesion is necessary but. Oh well. I was originally afraid that a lot of sweat combined with the sticky nosepiece would cause a rash but so far so good.

The arms are kind of long. They interfere with my Rudy helmet retention system, which means that they move around as my face contorts or I look up or down... For some reason. Not a fan of that. One more reason to try a shield I guess.

The purple ion whatever works. I didn't care too much about this but the optics are actually great. No distortion and contrast is slightly better than just graying everything. If I had to describe the effect, I'd say it makes the sky and road seem less different in brightness. Trees look much greener though that hardly matters.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

timsmcm

I just purchased a pair and an extra set of lenses. Mine are frame less. Look badassed. Work even better. Very light. Absolutely love them.

pvillemasher

I just bought the Roka SL-1x with Dark Arctic Mirror lenses ($155) and took my first ride.

It is almost always very sunny here, so a good pair of shades is pretty important.

I have a pair of cheaper cycling glasses that I got from Performance Bike (remember them?) that were ~$35 which I have used for about the last 6 months. I also have a pair of Costa (I believe they are the Brine model @ $160) that I use for driving, hiking and chilling but not cycling. I don’t have a pair of other similarly priced cycling glasses so I can’t compare.

Comparing the frames of the PB cycling glasses to the Rokas: Every time I prepare for a ride I have to clean the sweat off the PB glasses. It is pretty hot here in the summer, so lots of sweat gets on my glasses. Today was in the mid-90s and after my 1-hour ride I had lots of sweat dripping from my nose and chin but none on the Rokas, and none in my eyes.

Comparing the lenses between the Costas and the Rokas: I absolutely love the lenses in the Costas. They are so clear and make everything contrast so things look bright, but they are shades and provide a good amount of…shading (?). I am on my 2nd pair of these in ~10 years, well worth the money. I stood in my back yard and compared the Costas and the Rokas, and I preferred the Costas by a small amount. They seemed to be a little more neutral whereas the Rokas had a slight yellow/orange tint and were a little darker. I’m not sure how this translates to riding however as the tint was subtle and the darker lenses may be better after a several-hour ride. Both the Costas and Rokas have excellent lenses, making everything much more clear and contrasting.

Comfort: The Rokas are very light and comfortable. They did not move on my face at all during my 1-hour ride, I never needed to adjust or push them back. They come with 4 sizes of nose pads so although the nose pad is not adjustable you can try different sizes.

SL-1 vs. SL-1x: The 1x is the larger version lens. I was worried that the larger lens would be too big on my face, but one of the things I wanted from the glasses was to be able to see the road ahead without the need to crank my neck up. The 1x is not too big and I can have my head lower and still see the road. It’s easy to forget you have them on because you don’t see any frame or lens edge. I recommend the 1x to any cyclist.

Well made, look good, glad I bought them.

TXBDan

Interesting. I hadn't heard of them either until i did their Strava challenge and got a $50 coupon. Perhaps i'll check it otu.

_ForceD_

They make wetsuits, and other athletic apparel. Some open water swimmers consider their wetsuits the best available.

Dan

2cam16

Never heard of them until I watched Lance's podcast of the TdF.