My opinion would be a resounding yes!
They are one of the essential bits of kit to buy when you first get a bike, regardless of whether you wear glasses. (For more essential kit, check out my article on where to spend your first £175 after buying a bike.)
Glasses protect you from 3 things when out on the bike:
- The wind when you’re moving fast. The last thing you need when shooting down a hill is your eyes streaming and losing visibility. When moving at spend or trudging into a headwind, your eyes can take a real battering, and glasses can go a long way to stopping this.
- Road debris/bugs. The moment I decided to buy some glasses was when I got hit in the eye by a bug shooting along a busy road. While I indeed came off better than it did, I was lucky it wasn’t something more serious. I managed to hold my line and pull over, but it certainly shocked me. A key consideration when buying glasses for the bike is shatterproof lenses. It’s incredible what can be thrown up off the road, so make sure you are well protected.
- The sun. Similar to putting sun cream on your skin, your eyes also need protection. Even glasses with clear lenses often offer some UV protection. Even 10 or 15% is better than nothing at all. For really bright days, having darker glasses reduces glare and keeps you safe, though be aware that these can make it difficult to navigate through the shade.
The key features I look out for when buying a pair of cycling glasses are:
- Comfort/Fit
- Anti Shatter Lenses
- UV Protection
- Inter Changeable Lenses
Do I Need Expensive Glasses?
No! You will see a lot of guys in their £100 Oakleys, and this is fine if you have the money, but my advice is to start cheap and see how you get on. When I first started, I was wearing safety glasses, which were about £7. I’ve been wearing them for three years now and have only recently upgraded! I would suggest you probably need clear glasses for the winter and sunglasses for when it’s bright, but some glasses come with interchangeable lenses, which is really handy.
So Why Do People Buy Expensive Glasses?
There are five reasons why people buy expensive cycling glasses.
- Better fit. I’m still deciding if I am 100% convinced about this. While companies will sell the benefits of expensive frames, I have found cheap ones to be just as comfortable.
- Visibility. Cycling-specific glasses try to increase visibility by having more lenses and fewer frames.
- They look ‘cool’. Well, they think they do anyway!
- Interchangeable lenses. Glasses with interchangeable lenses allow you to sport the dark stuff on sunny days and, during evenings, switch to clear (or mildly tinted) when your eyes don’t need shade but need wind, dust, and bug protection.
- Anti-fog. Many sports sunglasses have venting to help prevent fogging on the lenses, either from breath or facial perspiration; when I’m huffing and puffing, for some reason, I like to direct it upwards… the venting definitely allows the lenses to clear the fog faster.
The good news is that many of these features are available on cheaper models, too. Whilst you will find these features are better on more expensive glasses, it is a law of diminishing returns. The more expensive glasses are certainly better, but you can start with something cheaper and get to know which features are essential to you first.
Cycling Glasses Tips/Recommendations…
I would recommend starting cheap and seeing how you get on. My first pair of cycling glasses lasted me three years, and I still wear them.
My recommendations are as follows:
BOLLE SAFETY GLASSES
I started here with £7 safety glasses. I still have them and have only stopped wearing them recently.
They have clear lenses, though they still offer more UV protection than no glasses at all. The lenses are shatterproof, and you won’t feel guilty if you end up breaking them. The only downsides to these are that they can fog up quite quickly, and I find they slip down my nose a bit when in the drops. However, everybody will have a slightly different experience. Also, they could be better for really bright conditions, as there is no tint to the lens. I’ve always ended up wearing a different pair on really bright days.
VELOCHAMPION
Now we’re starting to get expensive! At £15, these are the glasses my wife wears when cycling.
They are an upgrade from the Bolle ones mainly because they have three types of lenses, and these are the ones I steal if the sun is out! The three lenses are designed to keep you covered in bright sunshine, normal conditions, and low light. Again, I’ve never had a problem with these. The plastic feels relatively cheap because it is, but at £15 for essentially three sets of glasses, you can’t go too far wrong.
BOLLE BREAKAWAY
After I’d been cycling for a few years, I decided to treat myself.
Because I’d spent so many years in my Bolle Safety glasses, I carried on with what I knew and upgraded to the Breakaway. I paid about £90 for them (they quite often come up in the used section on Amazon as returns; this is where I got mine). Do I notice a big difference from the safety glasses? Yes, but there are subtle differences.
The first thing is that they stay in place much better. I no longer push them back up my nose when they are in the drops.
Secondly, the lenses are great. They change tint depending on how bright it is, and you can buy different-coloured lenses (such as yellow for low-light riding). They are also better shaped, meaning less air comes around the sides and into your eye.
They also don’t fog up so much. This is really noticeable when pushing hard on a climb, as with the safety glasses, I would have had to take them off. Whilst I’m glad I got them, I certainly would have paid something other than this kind of money when starting. These were the first expensive pair of glasses I bought, and I was expecting something revolutionary. They are perfect, but it’s hard to say they are 10 times better than a pair of £6 (or 20 times the retail price).
Like a lot of things when cycling, they are a fantastic luxury to invest in when you have the money but don’t waste money early on. You’re better off spending on things like more comfortable shorts or gloves. However, if you’re at the stage of upgrading, then I recommend investing in a pair of these.