Do any of you use progressive glasses while unicycling? My eyes are slowly getting worse and I’m now generally using progressive lenses. This works for normal life, but the unicycling has been a bit more of a challenge. I find myself looking frequently at the in between area, neither near nor far, and the world is a bit distorted. But I really like to see the distance clearly, and I like to be able to look at my phone or a map too. What do you do? Maybe I just need more time on the uni with the progressive lenses to get used to them?
I think we call these varifocal glasses here in the UK, and I wear them. Initially I wondered about getting some different single-prescription glasses set for distance only for unicycling, but realised that I would need the closer vision to be good too, as you say. In the end I just kept wearing my daily glasses for unicycling and I now don’t notice any problem - maybe (as in all things when wearing these) I need to move my head up and down a bit more to be looking through the right focus point in the lenses, but it seems to just be happening naturally now. HTH
I have always been using progressive glasses while unicycling.
No problem whatsoever… but when chosing glasses they should be large enough to enable me to spot easily things that lay in the lower corners.
I just close my eyes while unicycling. That way there is no distortion.
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I have never got used to progressive lenses for walking let alone we unicycling. Fortunately for me I can function with my glasses.
@harper has the right idea! Let’s do it, Do It On A Unicycle style!
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I don’t wear my regular glasses for unicycling anyway. I either wear prescription cycling glasses (fixed focus, set for distance) or contact lenses (fixed focus, set for distance, in which case I’ll also carry reading glasses just in case).
Given how tricky walking down steps can be in my varifocals, I’d be a bit wary about unicycling in them.
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no problem for me going down steps. I think it depends on how your eyes and your varifocals glasses behave
About a year ago I got my first pair of progressive glasses. When considering them, I really had strong doubts about riding the unicycle, particularly commuting on my 36 in the city. I read about the people having problems going down stairs and vertigo and the like.
I think each person is maybe different, but I can report:
- absolutely no problems walking down stairs or other disorientation horror stories
- absolutely no problems unicycling on the 36.
Actually I tried to pay particular attention while riding the other day after reading your post, and the progressives work really well for unicycling and I don’t have to move my head at all - it just works: in the lower section I look down to the ground and the in front of me, so probably 1-5 meters. Then for the middle and top section I look further away, so pretty much perfect. Even mounting the 36 is not compromised. And I can easily read the small print on my wrist watch! Oh I guess I should mention that I have the additional “advantage” that my uncorrected vision is about -1.5d so good for near to close, so if I happen to look far down or to the side and outside of the lenses, then I still see well, like steps below me (If you have a higher prescription this could be different).
My guess is that some people are more susceptible to the slight distortion, especially in the peripheral to the sides, and maybe with a much higher dioptrine/add but for me it is at most a slight annoyance only in certain situations (when not unicycling, see below).
However, I am only somewhat satisfied with my progressives. I think most of my lack of satisfaction is that I was glasses-free until my late 40s, having worn contacts of -3d starting in 8th grade and then -4.5d in my 20s and then having lasik in my 30s with no corrective lenses for 15 years! (awesome!) And I generally hate wearing glasses. I usually take mine off indoors or when on the computer, so only wear my progressives maybe 2-5 hours per day, when the recommendation is to always wear them.
About 15-18 years post-lasik, I now need about -1.5 correction and my progressives have an add of around 1.5 (so near correction close to without glasses). For unicycling, driving and all outdoor activities they work great (although I wear contacts for all intensive sports like Muni, trial, freestyle uni, skiing, volleyball, etc. as I hate sweating in glasses).
I really dislike having to move your head thing or looking through the bottom to read, so I basically take mine off whenever I need to read more than 10 seconds. What I find most irritating is trying to read things at strange angles, probably the best example is lifting weights at the fitness studio: I bend forward and down to move the pin to my desired weight and leaning down and forward I’m looking through either the top or the side and so the numbers are so distorted that I can hardly read them, so I often have to remove my glasses to find the right number. I also find reading more difficult as although the text may be clear and in focus, I feel that the text is smaller when looking through the lower part of the glasses. When I take off the progressives to read I can place the item to be read anywhere and my eyes can look straight ahead and the text feels larger, so way more comfortable.
So to answer your question: for unicycling they’re pretty perfect. I can read my watch and see everything at all distances clearly (With my contacts I sometimes have trouble reading the small heartrate numbers on my watch). But I don’t like them much indoors, so I frequently take them off.
Actually, I think unicycling is the activity for which I needed the least adjustment time as the progressive just work (Looking for something in the fridge or other close spaces I still haven’t adjusted to).
With my -1.5 with +1.25 add, I don’t experience much distortion (only looking close-up to the side which doesn’t happen while unicycling). Is your prescription maybe higher?
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If progressives bother you, just order a new pair just for riding without the computer screen and reading levels.
I’ve been wearing varfocal/progressive glasses for about 30 years
Took me about a day to get used to them and no problems uni, muni, mountain biking & these days recumbent. Used for driving motorcycling and most other day to day things. My prescription is very strong and I can’t see much without them
However, for fast motorcycling, snowboarding, paragliding & water sports I use multi focal contact lenses as I prefer the additional peripheral vision they offer (they also don’t get fogged up or wet)
My multi vocals don’t work that well for close up work, but most stuff is on a screen these days and the text can be enlarged. I use disposable lenses, so can whip them out and put on my glasses at any time. So multi focal contact lenses might be worth a try…
I don;t know about progressive lenses, but I have a pair of distance lenses for biking and I cannot use them for unicycling because they distort the close up objects like the ground, making free mounting quite a bit more difficult. So I don’t use prescription lenses. Maybe I will try a pair of progressives, after reading more responses to your question.
Thats all ive ever worn for unicycling and its been no problem for me. I started riding a bit later in life. Are you fairly new with progressive lenses then? Youll get onto it just fine I think. Give yourself some grace and time to get used to them.
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Ditch the progressive, “head twister”, all-in-one glasses. Nothing is all in one, unless you are an efficiency nut resulting in mediocre gains.
I understand losing the “zoom” ability due to old age. I am also extremely myopic(need 8.0 for full correction).
So, I do 3 things for my vision:
- Medium distance, office work(keyboard, screen), daylight driving. Weak contact(6.0) lens. Amazing how strong sunlight improves vision, but if I see you in front of me your face is a blob.
- Long distance, night driving. Weak contacts + weak glasses = 20/20 super vision but cant see shit directly in front of me. Maybe if my arms were 4 ft long.
- Close, Macro distance, removing splinter from fingers: I just remove contact lens and now up close I can see atoms. However, if I look up now all I see is a world in a beautiful blur.
Don’t feel like a weirdo or “gear” nut, if you do as I do. It works great. Also, your myopic correction and “ability to zoon” are independent. One may change, but not the other.
So an “all-in-one solution” like progressives or even those stupid “bendable” lenses(Never buy glasses again! Now, available from Temu, for only $5.99)
…slam
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I’ve got a friend that wore progressives for months and just couldn’t get used to them at all, for anything.
But I’m another one in the “not a problem for me” camp - I’ve been wearing progressives for at least a decade and it’s never been an issue. I was also fine with them pretty much immediately, so I’m guessing that plays its part. My brain seems to be okay with weird vision changes.
But I definitely feel the presbyopia when I wear my old (that is, 15+ year old) prescription cycling glasses, which aren’t progressives (and aren’t quite my current prescription). Boy is it frustrating to look at a map or phone, and just be totally unable to force my eyes to focus on it…