Sy Reene

Yeah ok, but a .22 travels at a minimum of 500mph. I guess some sunglasses that survive that, could be considered a good safety margin.

Abe_Froman

I have no clue. I just bought a pair of sunglasses for $25, which is about $15 over my normal limit. I regret it already....there's no need for expensive sunglasses. They do exactly 2 things...make the world darker, and keep some of the wind off my eyes. The $6 pairs I buy from the local brewery do both of those things perfectly effectively, and I'm not worried about losing or sitting on them. Generally look better too....

edit: I just realized I liked my old pair of sunglasses from Lagunitas better than my $25 pair....the stupid $25 ones have these little rubber inserts to keep them from moving around that are uncomfortable. The cheapies didnt have that. Much better.

Kimmo

Even if $200 sunnies were worth the extra, it's still a bad idea to pay more than $30 in my book, since they tend to get scratched, broken or lost. Occasionally I'll manage to make a pair last a couple of years, but median lifespan is more like a few months.

DrIsotope

I still have a pair of prescription Oakleys from 2002. It's a good thing I have a stable prescription, because they were absurdly expensive. My current "everyday" glasses are from 2011.

Methinks us folks with prescriptions take care of our eyewear a bit better than the rest of you.

TiHabanero

Daily wear sunglasses that are used year round on the bike, motor bike, car, walking, errands, etc. are Tifosi. cost $60 3 years ago, are scratched, but still fine. They should not have lasted this long, but they did. The sales rep said they are way under priced for the quality. I believe him.

On the other hand I have a set of prescription sunglasses with a titanium frame that are 12 years old. The script is out of date, but they still perform. Only wear them when I can't remember where I put the Tifosi!

MAK

I buy safety glasses from a local industrial safety equipment shop. Glasses are $4.00 and come in clear, smoke (indoor/outdoor) and tinted. They wrap around and they look just like $100+ glasses. They are polarized and optically flawless. Believe me that the slightest flaw would drive me nuts. For $7.00 I buy the same glasses with cheaters that allow me to read when necessary.

Racing Dan

$180 worth of marketing ... Im sure they are better than many cheap glasses, but I have a hard time believing a $200 price tag is a prerequisite for good glasses.

firebird854

IMO, those look like $7.00 safety glasses. Second, "Polarized" isn't a good idea for road riding, in winter it will make it hard to see ice, in all seasons it will make it hard to see glass because polarization attempts to get rid of indirect light bounces.

jon c. 

40 years ago, I had a friend who worked at B & L and I could get them wholesale. I think I paid about $35 and they retailed for $80+. Adjusting for inflation, $200 for a high end pair these days doesn't seem "unreasonable."

But whether they're good, bad or indifferent, I'm going to break them or lose them. I always do. So I wear only modest glasses these days.

bruce19

Oakley for $449 !

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/o...NjQ2F0MTAwMDE4

DrIsotope

Getting my first pair of polarized sunglasses was the best idea I've had recently. But then again, I live in The Land Without Ice, and have no idea when I would ever need to perceive glass as an obstacle. Unless like, this ever happened:

indyfabz

This afternoon I am going to get fitted for an Rx insert for a pair of Rudy Project Agnon glasses. They also adjust to actual lighting conditions. Got a good deal on them because new models are coning out for 2019. IIRC, about $115. It's the progressive inserts that are going to cost a lot.

indyfabz

But they are "computer glasses."

autonomy

I seem to destroy my sunglasses within two years. If they're not crushed or lost within the first year, they'll be scratched up and banged up by year 2 such that I will not want to use them. So I always get cheapos on sale at REI or TJMaxx.
This year I 'splurged' $50 on a pair of polarized photochromic (at least that's what they claimed on the case) Serengetis at Sierra Trading Post, they were half off. So far they've held up much better than the cheaper glasses I had before - they have better clarity and are somehow more scratch resistant. I feel like there's a sweet spot between cheap China crap and super-expensive marketing hype, but you need to find where that is. Oh, and polarized all the way for me, especially for driving.

firebird854

I'm talking about this:

Cause we don't all run indestructible tires.

DrIsotope

I can see glass just fine with polarized glasses. That image also appears to be tempered safety glass, which is far less of an issue than say, broken Miller High Life bottles.

The glass that gets us is the glass we can't see at all. Otherwise, I would never get cut tires. I've never hit a piece of glass that I saw first. I also haven't cut a tire since I got the polarized glasses, so let's just lump correlation in with causation and say polarized glasses prevent glass cuts (which they obviously don't.)

firebird854

Well, I'm just saying polarized is literally designed to make it harder to see the specular reflection off of glass, and clearly you agree it is the glass we can't see that gets us Sooooooo.....

I'm not saying don't wear polarized, if you don't get flats cause your lucky, and you like them, then wear them. If anything, the glare reduction is nice for eye strain, being blinded by reflections off cars, etc. It's not like you're trying to argue that not wearing a helmet is a good idea, it's just your empirical, 1 sample size, evidence that you're going off of to suggest that polarized glasses are as good as non polarized for detecting glass shards on the road, when science would argue otherwise (as they are literally designed for the opposite).

TimothyH

People are free to wear whatever glasses they want. Accidents happen and things wear out but glasses generally don't get scratched or break on their own. If your glasses are getting scratched or break constantly then examine the way you take care of them.

The first step is keeping them in the case when they are not in use. If you are not keeping your glasses in the case but shove them in a glove box or gear bag, leave them laying around, etc., then don't blame the brand or how much they cost. Oakley's come with cases.

People who wear prescription glasses because they need to see tend to take care of their glasses well. Others who don't need prescription lenses but take care of expensive sunglasses the same way can enjoy a pair for many years.

To me it is very simple. If you buy expensive lenses then take care of them. If you don't take care of them then Home Depot is probably a better option. The same can be said of automobiles, bicycles, cameras or anything else.

Either way, box store safety glasses or Oakley's, what someone else chooses to wear and how much they spend really isn't your business.


-Tim-

Clyde1820

For a good many years, I used a pair of Oakley "M" frame prescription glasses, for outdoor bright sunlight activities. Lenses were their iridium polarized. Made a tremendous difference on days with high glare and/or high reflected light (such as paddling on the river, fishing, cycling on blacktop that shined in the distance, wonky times of the day, etc).

That particular frame was a wrap-around style, as well. Kept quite a lot of the dust and wind out of the eyes.

Was north of $600 at the time, IIRC, with the prescription. Probably wasn't worth it, but I've never since had lenses that had such good optical clarity and glare reduction. Bummer of a pair of glasses to have on darker days, and all but impossible to drive with at night, but perfect for their intended purpose.

69chevy

I have to bring up the fact that chinese carbon bike makers can sell carbon fiber bike frames for $300 and still make a profit, yet we pay thousands for a chinese made carbon fiber bike.

Yes there are quality questions raised, but is it even plausible that the bikes are different enough to justify the 10x markup (same as oakely vs. knockoff)?

Succhia Ruota

LOL, that image is exactly what I thought of when I read the quoted post.

tagaproject6

Don't act like you are new around here.

colnago62

indyfabz

Total flashback. I had several pairs of M Frames BITD. One pair was really nice. I had a $250 gift certificate from a fundraising ride that was about to expire. Nice pair of Oakley's ate up about $180 of that. Think that was my last pair. Gave up on them because I was careless and would scratch or lose them.

VegasTriker

You actually need them to keep up with all the cops in my town. They all wear Oakey sunglasses. The reason they are so expensive is that Luxottica Group owns the brand along with Rayban and many others. They are an Italian conglomerate who make nearly all of the high end brand name frames. Are you paying for the name or are they really that much better?