hyhuu

So I'm getting a pair of prescription glasses for cycling and there are all of these options for coatings, which can add quite a bit of addtional cost. Is it beneficial to get the more expensive coating? or I won't even able to tell the differences?

carpediemracing 

I get a UV something or another, some scratch resistant thing. Other than that I dunno. Since I have really poor eyesight I spring for the thinner lenses too. My lenses, 4 or 5 years ago, ran me $275. Something like that. $550 for the glasses complete.

My glasses typically last 3-5 years. My prescription hasn't changed in a while, but I think I'm due for a change now.

Ultraslide

I bought some Jawbones last year. 'Script lenses, transitions, anti-fog coating and mirrored front.They were around 550 total and worth every penny.
You may want to check the different lense options. Oakley optics come with some coatings as standard.
These guys were awesome and very helpful. https://www.bicyclerx.com/

eddubal

What coatings are you thinking about getting?

IMO There are four coatings that should come on all plastic lenses: Anti-Fog, Anti-Glare, Anti-Scratch and UV. Unfortunately, many times these aren't included in you basic lenses. Above this, you have to see what light conditions that you're riding in. The amber lenses that I have work great in foggy conditions as well as when riding in areas with both bright sun/shade. I'll use gray lenses when I know I'm only going to be in the sun. If you're hitting a lot of glare, you might opt for polarized lenses instead of an anti-glare coating.

Talk with your optometrist about it and he/she will be able to guide you to what you need and what coating would give you the best bang for your bucks. And YES they are expensive!

hyhuu

I ride in all conditions, except for blizzard, severe thunderstorm and hurricane. I'm looking at transition lenses. The available coating options are the various Crizal(s) for reducing glare, repeling dust, resisting scratches and smudges.

rdtompki

I bought a pair of Rudy Project Radon's with a clip-in prescription insert (rim-less). These are my first Rx glasses and I'm not sure my Rx is stable enough to take a chance on Rx lenses; plus I like the idea of being able to change the lenses for different conditions. If damaged the lenses can be replaced for $20. I have an AR (anti-reflective) coating on the Rx insert to reduce reflections (I haven't noticed any) and I really like the photochromic (transition) lenses with a slight red (contrast enhancement) tint. If I were wearing these glasses for a sport like skiing I would get a second pair of darker lenses, but for cycling we are basically looking slightly down, no snow or sand, and the 15% transmission of my glasses at the low end seems like it will be just fine.

adriano 

damn, paying $500 for workout glasses is wild.

oldster

go to wally world and buy a pair of clipons,they are hard coated fit well and are around 20$,then when you lose em,or whatever, its not a big deal...
Bud

Looigi

All glasses should block UV with the native lens material. This is not a coating. Do verify with your optometrist that all glasses you get block UV.

Each glass surface reflects about 4% of the light that hits it. That's 8% for two surfaces and this contributes to glare and cuts down on contrast. Anti-reflection coating reduces this way down to less than 1%. I personally think it's worth it but you may not even notice it.

I particularly don't like clip-in prescription inserts because they double the surfaces and reflections. The extra surfaces also get dirty, mist up, etc...

High index plastic lenses can be thinner and much lighter than regular plastic or glass lenses. They also slightly reduce distortion if you have a strong prescription so this may be worthwhile to you.

MattWithTwoTs

What brand of frames are you getting? I've been interested in Rx cycling glasses for the longest time, but don't want to cough up $500+ for them.

Durockrolly

I would not recommend transitions. I have them on my glasses and I also have prescription sunglasses. Transitions need direct sunlight to be effective. If the visor on your helmet or a hat bill or rim is blocking the sun, your transitions will not have any affect. This sucks on a bright sunny day because everything around you is bright and your transitions do nothing to help (again when the sun is not hitting them directly). Also, the transitions have no affect while driving your car or truck regardless if the sun is hitting them directly because of the uv in your windshield.

merlin55

I bought some polycarbonate polarized single vision prescription sunglasses at costco for about $100. They have anti scratch, glare reduction...and are OK, but it is hard to read the LCD display on my bike computer. I later bought some Oakleys frames (Trip Wire?) with acrylic single vision prescription sunglasses with a dark tint for $150. I prefer the Oakleys, and FYI the acrylic lenses are more scratch reistant than Polycarbonate, and they were mostly covererd by my vision insurance benefit.

StanSeven

The have problem with coating is they get little flake spots or cracks over time, which makes them worse than not having coatings at all. Mine were fine for 2 or 3 years though. So if your prescription changes frequently, you are fine.

generalkdi

I use UV Protection, Transition, Antiscratch and glare reduction.

Transition is a must if you don't get a pair of prescription sunglasses.

hyhuu

Thank you all for your suggestions. I also have a long bike commute and half of the time don't see the sun so a clear lenses are a must. I defintely don't want to mess with changing out lenses so transition seems the best option for me. It's no big deal if they don't get darken under some light conditions. I need the glasses to block out the wind out of my eyes so the clip-on is of no use for me. It's hard to find frame to fit my ugly face so I have to try it on first and the only one that fits me so far (that I can try on) is Liberty Sport Eagle with the Rider came second. This dam glasses is going to cost more than what I paid for my bike.

rdtompki

The high-end glasses will use coatings that are extremely durable. We apply coatings (anti-reflective and other) to pilot helmet-mounted display visors (think very thin polycarbonate). These sort of coatings are extremely hard and will not flake off if applied correctly. It's a bit of "you get what you pay for".