marcosbullock

Simple enough. I know many cyclists are big fans of the Oakley brand and I'm with you. I want to know which pair of Oakleys from the poll you would pick and why. Some seem lighter, some more ventilated, some have different lens choices.

Followup question is about lenses. What do you consider to be "need to have" lenses? I would imagine a dark polarized pair for the bright days and a clear pair for the rainy/dark days. Enlighten me further.

Thanks,
Marcos

P.S. I kindly request that "I hate Oakley!" posts be submitted on bikeforums.org and if you have trouble loading the page, please refresh until it opens.

cwk132

If I could afford any I'd get the M-frames mainly due to aesthetics...

CrockerCock 

Absolutely love my Half Jackets. Wear them with fire iridium polarized during bright summer days, and the green non-polarized( not sure of real name ) on darker days. If its windy, foggy, dusty, etc I pop in the xlj fires because they block more of my face and make it better agaisnt stuff in the air. They are pretty light relatively inexpensive and lens changing is a breeze. Those are my vote.

fauxto nick

I'd choose the ones I like and not ever ask for opinions about fashion here.

That being said, I have neon Radars as well as neon Jawbone and like both of them aesthetically, but end up always going back to my Atomic Orange Radars because they have less blind spots as well as they're a little more reserved looking.

wrr1020

I have polarized radar paths and like them a lot. Not really a big fan of the jawbones, have a strange shape to them.

fauxto nick

Agreed, I bought them because the pair they had at my shop really matched my team kit, but I find my self having to turn my head more to see things because of the elaborate wrap around the lens frame.

andrewluke

Jawbones here with the Black Iridium or whatever they call the color and Persimmon lenses (for those not so bright days). I paid extra for the "custom" option to get the lenses and a matte finish with the polished black joint thing. The Persimmon are the clearish orange color that have increased contrast. They're perfect for those early morning/late evening rides and when I ride PCH and it's way overcast.

I tried the Radars and was going to buy them but they fit my face poorly. I love that the Jawbones are kind of higher because I have zero vision obstruction when i'm deep in the drops and looking up.

ETC12

I have "inaudible noise" pairs of Oakleys and like them all for one thing or another. I go back and forth between the Jawbones and Radars on the bike - the Jawbones are the most comfortable pair I think I have where the Radars offer the largest field of view. Lens options? Hell, all of them. Current favorites are the VR50 photochromic (SUPER versatile), the VR28 black iridium, and the new and AMAZING Jade iridium. I tend to wear the persimmon in very low light and on rainy, dark days. If you want all around function, comfort and good looks that won't make you question what you're wearing, I'd suggest the Radars (black or white frames) with the VR28 black iridium lens. Tough to go wrong with that combo.

rollin

This is what works for me:

A day just on the bike - M Frame
A day off and on the bike - Radar Path
More off the bike than on the bike - Flak Jackets

I have never tried Jawbones.

Atol

My favorite looking Oakleys would probably be the Jawbones with a black frame/white accent. When made with the right color combinations, it can look pretty badass.


Would I buy one? No. My $5.00 clear safety glasses pretty much do the same thing.

oroy38

I use the Oakley M-Frame Pros (the hingeless ones) with the "sweep" lens and I love them, but they lack the same "hydrophobic" lens coating that the Radars have, so when you really start to sweat and it drips on the glasses, it can become a bit difficult to see. On the bright side, they offer really good coverage and I pretty much never feel any wind in my eyes, even when descending at absurdly high speeds. Think of the Radar as the new and improved M-Frame. I still have to pick up a pair.

As for lens recommendations:
Black Iridium for anytime its not cloudy, and Violet Iridium for cloudy days.

simonaway427

I can't count how many pairs of Oakleys I've owned..its all I've ever worn for 20 yrs.

I currently have M-Frames for riding, and Gascan S and Crosshairs for casual wear - although I've been wearing the Gascans for riding lately, as the M-Frames are getting a little dated. As far as lenses go, I only ever used the yellow clear in the M Frames. They were perfect for cloudy days, but they also worked just fine on the brightest of days. I have clear, clear yellow, and standard tint sweeps, but I rarely used anything but the yellow clear.

Jawbones are next to replace the M-Frame.

Falcon64

I definitely prefer the Radar Range over the Jawbones for riding...better coverage with less interference as has already been mentioned.

Creatre

I've loved every pair of Oakley's I've owned, so I think no matter the choice you will be happy. However, I love my Jawbones for cycling. They do the job perfect, and look great. Plus, I wear them as my normal sunglasses too, and people always mention them because they look so crazy. I'll probably get another pair non livestrong colors to match some kits later on this year.

Ti Guy

Flakjacket xlj with red iridium

Menel

M-Frame fan here, treated me well for years, on the range and on the bike.

Jasper Storm

I bought a pair of Jawbones (black frame w/ black iridium vented + yellow vented lenses) at REI with my 20% off coupon. I immediately had buyer's remorse due to the crazy styling. When I put in the yellow lenses (for rainy days), I thought I looked like Buddy Holly meets Lindsay Lohan.

I ordered a set of light+ red iridium vented lenses from Oakley's website and slapped them in the black frame. Those make the Jawbones look pretty cool.

If I could do the whole thing over, I'd go through the Oakley custom builder site and spend the $$ to pick my own frame, jaw, bolt, and lense color options.

The three colors I now have cover the whole riding spectrum:

Yellow-rain/night
Light+ red iridium- cloudy/moderately sunny/don't want others to see suffering
Black iridium-bright sun/altitude/snow reflection

I'll probably cave in and buy some blue transitions lenses at some point.

mrbUSA

Never had Oakleys. I do wear a pair of Maui Jim's though.... Maybe that's why I'm so slow. Too relaxed.... [pondering]

NickDavid

M-Frames here. My favorite by far. They stay put, are light and work perfectly. The new Radar glasses are super sharp and it seems that everyone is rockin' them these days.

Namenda

Just got a black pair of Jawbones. They fit me really well, have excellent vision every direction, and I think they look good. The only downside for me is the difficulty I have cleaning the lenses, since the frame sticks out around them so much, especially at the bottom. I'm a compulsive lens-cleaner, so that bugs me. Not a lot, though.

Radars don't fit me well. M-frames I have no experience with, I don't like the look of them, so never tried them.

I have two pairs of Flak Jackets with xlj lenses. These are my everyday glasses---driving, riding, going to the beach, yard work, you name it. They fit great, and look good. The cut out on the bottom of the lenses are perfect for me, keeps my cheeks from hitting the bottom of the lenses, as they're supposed to. Every time I go in a sunglass shop with my white/text frame Flak Jackets, the person working there will say "hey, cool glasses!" Never seen another pair like them. My daughter picked them out for me, I guess she has good taste in eyewear.

ACE77

The Oakley radar path. It has a great athletic look and a perfect lens size. It's not to small but it doesn't swallow your face like the mframe would unless you have a bigger face the. I would go mframe

AmericanMade

I wasn't so much worried about looks, I went with the Radar for the simple reason my old Oakleys made it possible for a blind spot at the bottom of the lens frame. I wanted nothing on the bottom of the lens to block my view when looking behind me, after missing an oncoming car a couple times. I'm not big on surprises anymore.

Now for the heresay, I was told the M-frames didn't fold up and I wasn't too keen on that for storing them, but I could be very wrong on that. If I'm wrong call me on it.

Oakley puts up a list for their UV ratings for the lenses. https://www.oakley.com/innovation/opt...ity/lens_tints so it's all up to what you feel is best and how many different lenses you have the coin for. And I'd suggest looking it over carefully if you are only going to get one or two lenses for all your needs.--EDIT--it appears that list doesn't show their basic tinted lenses which UV ratings can be found in the replacement lenses area

ACE77

There are two versions of the m-frame some that fold and some the do not. I agree though the pair that don't would be very inconvenient

chasmm

I'm a big fan of the Oakley Flak Jacket XLJ frames/lens. I've got too many pairs, and I tend to coordinate the frame/ear sock colors with the jersey I happen to be wearing. My favorite pair might be the True Carbon frames with the Black Iridium Polarized lens. I get a lot of compliments on that set. I also really like the versatility of the Red Smoke frame with the G30 Transitions lens. I took those out on a century that we started at 5:30am (just after sunrise on a cloudy morning) and ended up wearing them until the end under bright sunny conditions. My eyes are very sun-sensitive and it surprised me that I was so comfortable with those lens in such a wide variety of conditions. I had originally purchased the Clear lens as well as the High Intensity Persimmon lens for darker/overcast conditions, but I've found that the G30 Transitions work fine for both. The G30 Transitions don't get quite clear, but unless it's nighttime, they work for me.

As Namenda mentions above, I've got a pair of the White Text frames and always get a lot of comments on those. The other frame that has been getting compliments is the Desert color. It's an Oakley SI (Standard Issue, for military/law enforcement primarily, but available to the general publc) that is a khaki/sand color with black and brown (technically Oakley calls it 'root beer') earsocks. I put a pair of Tungsten Iridium polarized lens in that frame.

And...just a bit of praise for the technology behind the frames and lens. The HDO coating on the lens really does help keep them clean in sweaty/wet conditions. As for the 'unobtainium' material used for the nose pads/earsocks/temples...well that also does get stickier when wet, which means the glasses aren't slipping off your head.

I went with the Flak Jacket style frames because I thought they were less radical looking than some of the other styles and thus I would be more likely to wear them off the bike as well. I've always been a loyal Maui Jim customer and also have too many of those sunglasses. I find myself now wear my Oakleys almost as much as the MJs when I'm not riding...

Probably the biggest compliment I can give the Flak Jackets is that I forget I'm wearing them...that's how nicely they fit and feel.

Charles

Menel

A lot wrong with this post.

#1. M-Frames come in both foldable and non-foldable "pro" models. Your choice, I've never seen anyone with the non-folding... you can see this very simple on their website...
https://www.oakley.com/mframe
https://www.oakley.com/images/brochur..._m_compare.gif

#2. I see no listing of UV ratings... I see VLT ratings... https://www.oakley.com/innovation/opt...ity/lens_tints