Sunglasses for Road Bikes
Road cycling is the most popular genre and the most popular among Cycling competitions. Road cycling is practiced passionately around the world from millions of people, amateurs and professionals, becoming a true tradition. A sporting faith that began with the first official competition of 1868 in Paris organized by the Vélo Club Parisien. Later evolved over time, it became the discipline on a global scale of which we daily follow the news, through our favorite athletes and through direct media coverage.
Regardless of the level, agonist or simple amateur, it is well known that to enjoy 100% a bicycle ride , it is necessary to use and choose the right materials. Starting with your own racing bike, up to the technical clothing parts.
Specifically, concerning the glasses for road bikes, the cyclist’s needs vary greatly. For those who prefer the use of the typical mask, to the ones who prefer to have separate lenses.
We can therefore already define a real distinction of typology for road bike glasses:
- MASKED GLASSES: Generally created with mirrored lenses, they are very showy and with an aggressive look, they are recommended for those who want total protection from the air. Because unlike the two separate lenses, the mask offers greater protection from the air, especially due to the higher speed of the racing bike compared to the MTB. Thanks to the new materials of the lenses, the structure of the mask allows to maintain the same overall weight for racing bike glasses, but offering greater protection from air and any obstacles, such as: leaves, midges, dust, or small stones.
- GLASSES WITH SEPARATE LENSES: Glasses with separate lenses can also be used outside the road cycling. In fact, if the cyclist alternates the racing bike with the mountain bike, it does not necessarily have to have another sporting eyewear, but he can use what he already has. At the construction level, for those who practice both disciplines, it is advisable to choose a frame with thicker rods, which can protect from leaves and branches, and other small obstacles during MTB practice and that have only an aesthetic value when used for road cycling , as the rods have less influence in the protection against obstacles, when they are used while riding on the roads.
As for the lenses, here too it is a very personal factor. Every cyclist has his own preferences, in fact there is not a precise rule on the most suitable lens when choosing a pair of glasses for road cycling. However, we can list the types of lenses that we use on our glasses to understand which may be the most suitable for us:
- PHOTOCHROMIC LENSES: Photochromic lenses are lenses that, when exposed to UV radiation or sunlight in general, start a reversible chemical reaction and darken. Once the radiation of light disappears, the lenses gradually return to the initial state of transparency. They can be used both for the practice of MTB and for the Road Cycling, therefore it is important to specify which type is more performing for the chosen discipline:
»SMOKE: RECOMMENDED for Mountain Bike use, the lens starts from completely transparent coloring (Category 1). It darkens until reaching Category 2.5. It remains slightly clearer during maximum work to help the eye adapt more quickly from Light to Shadow. This allows the athlete to not interrupt his performance or slow down his ride to remove the “still dark” glasses for entry into the shaded area. In very dense wooded areas, the lens will be completely transparent, and will serve as protection from air and projections such as: leaves and branches. This special lens can be used for night-time rides as a simple protection from the air.
»DCHROM: Can be used for both MTB and Road Cycling, it starts from a slightly veiled starting color (Category 1) and darkens until it reaches category 3 (the same darkness as common sunglasses) It is particularly recommended for long ride uses without large clear variations dark, in fact using this lens in a road bike allows you to have a pair of glasses that you never need to take off. The same conditions apply to the practice of MTB without going into areas of dense bush where it may be slightly dark. We advise against this lens for those looking for a pair of glasses that can also be used for night-time rides.
As a comparison, a DCHROM Photochromic smoke and Photochromic lens:
Click Here for full Collection of Road Cycling sunglasses with Photochromic Lenses
- LENSES DCHANGE: Used mainly for road cycling. The DCHANGE lens package includes a set of 3 lenses that allow you to use the cycling eyewear in all weather conditions, from very intense sun to cloudy weather, rainy days and night or low-light outings. Included in the set of interchangeable lenses we find:
»Smoke Lens: Category 3, guarantees protection from UV rays. Achieves maximum performance in sunny weather and good brightness.
»Orange Lens: Category 2, guarantees protection from UV rays. Achieves maximum performance in cloudy or low light conditions.
»Transparent Lens: Category 1, also guarantees protection from UV rays. It achieves maximum performance with very low rain or brightness, or for nighttime outings.
This type of cycling eyewear can also be used for MTB practice; however we recommend a photochromic lens for the latter in order to achieve maximum performance.
Below is an example of lenses supplied (mirrored smoke, orange and transparent):
Click Here for full Collection of Road Cycling sunglasses with Dchange Lenses
- SMOKE LENS CATEGORY 3: It is the same Smoke lens base mounted in the DCHANGE package. This lens is particularly recommended for use in road bike with sunny days. This type of lens is often chosen for those looking for training glasses, where they can spend something less than more complete packages of lenses, but for which there is no need. Below is an example of a Smoke lens Category 3
Click Here for full Collection of Road Cycling sunglasses with Mirror Lenses
