Clear, Yellow, Polychromatic Lenses
 

There was a recent thread on eye protection. I wore photo-gray/transitions prescription lenses for years before cataract surgery and currently wear amber/dark sunglasses for road riding.

This is more specific to trail riding.

I am finding that even the amber is not always good for shadows, and worse for tunnels. I won't ride without some eye protection and I want UV protection. I am not looking for the best cycling glasses either.

But I would like to know if clear or yellow is better, or more of a toss-up? And which is better in direct sunlight?

And... How fast do polychromatic lenses change from dark to clear? My old photo-gray/transitions were not immediate.

Thanks for any suggestions.

John

Light amber and light blue are generally better for shadows than grey or mirrored. I prefer polychromatic but they take a minute or so to compensate for ambient light. Some of the newer polychromatic lenses have a larger color change but because of the time it takes to change back in shadows I'm not wild about them. Lately I've been using very light grey, But that is mostly because that pair of glasses keeps wind out of my eyes on fast descents.

- Clear is for night time, pre-dawn, and shaded/wooded riding.
- Amber is best for diffuse light, particularly in overcast or gently raining conditions
- Darkened lenses for direct sunlight.

Amber is also good for night driving in rain with all of reflected/refracted odd lighting.

I think perhaps you mean 'photochromic,' whichchanges its amount of light transmission with the amount of sunlight. These are the kind of lenses I use. They do take a minute or so to react to changing light conditions, but for me this minor drawback is worth the other advantages.

They start out almost clear, perhaps 15% reduction in light. One drawback is that they don't get nearly as dark as true 'sunglasses,' only about a 75% reduction in light transmission, as opposed to the 85-90% as regular sunglasses.

I never understood how to use glasses that came with several sets of lenses; clear, gray, amber and green. What are you supposed to do? Carry the extra lenses around with you when you ride and change them as the light changes?

Nah! These guys work great. They're dark enough in bright sunlight, but not too dark when you duck into some shade. And when the light fades they're clear enough to continue riding without a problem, even at night. They might not suit everyone's needs, but they work great for me.

LOL! Yeah, I guess polychromatic doesn’t make much sense. But it does sound good. I could probably sell a few of them on Amazon.

John

I often ride without a helmet,
howver NEVER ride without eye protection.
for years, I wore a pair of yellow B&L shooting glasses (real glass, glasses).
they covered my face well, didn't seem to fog up much and were comfortable.
Only down side, riding in mixed shadows- seemed like depth of field perception
was slightly altered.

My eyesight is far from good, so I must wear rx glasses, which I use with clip on, flip up sunglasses. I see posts like this from time to time, and wonder if anyone has tried using glasses with non-rx lenses and clip on sunglasses, which can easily be flipped up? The combo of my glasses, with clip on sunglasses has worked well for me, particularly in the woods.

Decided to take your advice and got a couple pairs of these in clear..
https://www.ergodyne.com/skullerz-sk...y-glasses.html

Tried them out today and they work great for trail use where there are shadows.

Thanks!

John