Today while riding at 9mph on a mix use trail I had a UPD that nearly caused two bikers behind me to collide with my unicycle. :o I’m so glad nobody was hurt. I was thrown off when I hit one of those awful tree root bumps at a shady spot. This incident proves that I need new sunglasses before anyone gets hurt. Any suggestions on a good pair of sunglasses that would work well in shade and occasional sun? I’d like to clearly see the road and protect my eyes from sun and wind, while riding as fast as possible.
I suppose another option would be to get out on the trail earlier in hopes of avoiding crowds.
Surprised to see I don’t have much to add - was expecting everybody to be recommending some expensive brand, but like others I now wear cheap safety glasses. Mine are made by Bolle, who were once a well known brand for cycling glasses (I think Greg Lemond wore them) - £5 (about $8) rather than £50+ for those sold for cycling, and I don’t think there’s actually much difference in the quality.
They’re a medium tint so work fine in sun and shade, but I’m not sure anything will work perfectly to help you spot things in patches of shade.
I like the Maui Jim Lighthouse . So lightweight that I forget that they’re even on. Sunglasses are a must riding around here, especially with tons of flying insects near the waters. I like how well they stay on too, even after a good tumbling fall
I love the Kroops Goggles for unicycling and for bike riding. Inexpensive, protective against flying insects and grit, comfortable, and very unique. Plus, the band is much more comfortable than the frame of regular sunglasses.
Unfortunately, no glasses are going to cure something like a root that’s parallel with a bar of shade. When you have a mix of sun and shade, that’s the worst because the shade is always going to be pretty devoid of detail.
The last time I “used” my helmet was with a full-on speed bump, a harsh one, that was perfectly lined up with the shadow of a pole. I was actually riding a bike when that happened (I know, those things are dangerous and all…). The jolt knocked my hands off the handlebars and I went down very ungracefully!
My primary need for riding glasses is UV protection, I want to still have good eyes until I’m too old to ride, and I expect that to be a very long time. Now I have some nice looking Oakleys that my wife bought me, with yellow lenses that kind of lighten things up. They’re light and comfortable, and they stay on. I clip my mirror onto those and I’m good to go.
What doesn’t work for me is dark lenses. It’s hard enough to see terrain in those patches of shade (especially on trails!), so I keep them light. And cheap, usually. Disposable is much better than destroyed!
By the way, I’ve been using the Kroops Oregon style. They’re about $15 and they come with tinted or clear lenses (I carry both). Recently, Kroops added the other styles, which are quite a bit more expensive.
I always used to like having dark lenses for riding - usually mirrored ones. Was expecting the ones I pictured above to be too light in the brightest sun, but actually they’re fine and much better than really dark ones when riding in and out of patches of shade. I’ve seen the light (boom, boom). Also cheap of course, but it seems we’re all on that page.
I switched from cheap to not cheap about 5 years ago because I wanted to reduce glare when I wore sunglasses. I get whatever is polarized, wrap-around, and closing out at Big-5 sporting goods. They usually have something they sold for about $130 closing out for about $30. I have a pair for my motorcycle, one for unicycling and car driving, and one for Karen. CHECK TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY’RE POLARIZED. Big-5 has a photo you can look at that displays part of the image only through polarized lenses.
For normal sunglasses I’m looking at Tifosi glasses with fototec lenses. Apparently the lenses will adjust to light conditions. Haven’t decided which pair to get.
I hear you can pick 'em up on Amazon though! The camera isn’t TOO bad as long as you don’t shake it around much