Glasses wearers
Discussion
Garlick said:
Probably only a couple of years ago to be honest. Interested in an eye op myself but for two reasons:
1. I've worn glasses since I was three, so I know myself better with than without
2. I'm scared of it going wrong!
My eye op wasn't by by choice, it was more to do with a piece of metal in my eye, leading to cataract removeal and lense replacement 6 weeks later, and all at the tender age of 221. I've worn glasses since I was three, so I know myself better with than without
2. I'm scared of it going wrong!
It means I couldn't have my eyes lasered if if I wanted to, and having a friend who ahd it all go wrong (apparently 1% do), makes me want to do it even less
My advice would be to have a word with a few different opticians and try and find one that has a contact lense specialist - They really do change things for the better if you can get used to the feeling of having something in your eye - just teh simple things like being able to wear whatever sunglasses you like, rather than having to find prescription ones etc
I', -2.5, so not so bad still no way to drive or ride etc without correction.
My first bit of advice is - you should realy wear eye protection of some sort at all times when cycling properly, road or off-road.
Secondly - normal 'glass' glasses I dont think are adequate eye protection.
There not shatter proof.
I personally wear lenses. I have done for years now. The modern lenses are very good - I'm lucky that my optcician has a really good guy who actually knows a lot about the different types etc, and has let me trial various types.
When wearing lenses you MUST wear something over the top though - if you get dust or a fly in your eye you can end up damaging or loosing your lens, and then you can't see.
I wear a variety of specs - Cheap clear Decathlon specs when its muddy or at night, nice Oakleys or Addidas for racing or summer riding.
Alternatively, Oakley, Addidas, Bolle etc all do 'rx' versions.
A ncie set of RX Oakley racing jackets or such-like would be lovely for road biking.
My first bit of advice is - you should realy wear eye protection of some sort at all times when cycling properly, road or off-road.
Secondly - normal 'glass' glasses I dont think are adequate eye protection.
There not shatter proof.
I personally wear lenses. I have done for years now. The modern lenses are very good - I'm lucky that my optcician has a really good guy who actually knows a lot about the different types etc, and has let me trial various types.
When wearing lenses you MUST wear something over the top though - if you get dust or a fly in your eye you can end up damaging or loosing your lens, and then you can't see.
I wear a variety of specs - Cheap clear Decathlon specs when its muddy or at night, nice Oakleys or Addidas for racing or summer riding.
Alternatively, Oakley, Addidas, Bolle etc all do 'rx' versions.
A ncie set of RX Oakley racing jackets or such-like would be lovely for road biking.
If you have the cash then Oakley as well as a few others (Adidas etc) do perscription lenses for a range of their glasses, go to any decent Oakley stockist and try a few of the glasses on (I know you wont be able to see what the hell they look like but you should be able to feel how closely they fit your face). This option will not be cheap and you may want to persue the contact lense route first. Contacts are what I use and I find them to be perfect, my eyes are no where near as bad as yours though. You can also get perscription inserts for Oakley goggles, not much good for road of XC biking but for downhill MTB or skiing that are a viable option.
Oakley Jawbones with a perscription lens. You wont look like a plank, the glasses are superb, light and comfy and designed for riding. I am not sure if Oakley offer perscription lens for the Jawbone but my Optician does - a decent optician will get you the perscription for nearly all glasses.
Limit for prescription Jawbones is -3 or -4 IIRC. I was -7 and out of luck 
The answer was to be found at the business end of a laser beam! Custom Jawbones and perfect peripheral vision.
http://www.theinternetopticians.co.uk/ were the best I found for prescription Oakleys.
The answer was to be found at the business end of a laser beam! Custom Jawbones and perfect peripheral vision.
http://www.theinternetopticians.co.uk/ were the best I found for prescription Oakleys.
I got some prescription specs through this lot:
http://www.rxsport.co.uk/
They have to be the single best purchase I've made for cycling.
Good service too, you can get some specs on trial to make sure the fit is ok.
http://www.rxsport.co.uk/
They have to be the single best purchase I've made for cycling.
Good service too, you can get some specs on trial to make sure the fit is ok.
Garlick said:
Probably only a couple of years ago to be honest. Interested in an eye op myself but for two reasons:
1. I've worn glasses since I was three, so I know myself better with than without
2. I'm scared of it going wrong!
3. Your eyeballs fall out after ten years.1. I've worn glasses since I was three, so I know myself better with than without
2. I'm scared of it going wrong!
I had a look at som Oakleys last weekend at Optrifair as my gfs dad was thinking about stocking them (but they have a daft minimum order) and they looked really good for cycling.
Garlick said:
My eyes are terrible, bad prescription coupled with astigmatism means even my optician warning me that contacts would be uncomfortable. Hard lenses and an odd curve to cure the astigmatism.
That's quite outdated advice now. I have really bad eyesight and hate contact lenses. The ones needed for astigmatism are alot more comfortable than they used to be and are gas permeable, although are alot more expensive than standard contact lenses. I have astigmatism in my left eye. However, I can still feel it in my eye, which irritates me.I discussed this in detail with my optician and he recommended that as I only use contact lenses for sport - cycling, hockey and trackdays that I don't actually need the specialist astigmatism lense. So I now have monthly disposable lenses which are very comfortable and alot cheaper than the toric lenses I used to have. You can also get daily disposables which are even more convenient but a bit more costly.
I would definately try this first. If you go to any good optician and get an eyetest and contact lense test they will usually give you a months supply free to test the lenses and ensure you're comfortable with them.
It's been ten years since I had mine but i was a similar prescription to you and couldn't get 'proper' sports glasses made in that high a prescription.
I ended up with a pair of Bolle that took a prescription frame and lens clipped in the back, Wasn't ideal but did work well. Also meant that if I did wear my contacts (also not too comfy and a hard Gas permeable) that you just unclipped the prescription part and fitted the normal nose piece. All the Bolle lens 'shields' were inter changeable so I had clear, Yellow and a dark tint depending on the weather.
They were way better than my ordinary very small glasses.
I ended up with a pair of Bolle that took a prescription frame and lens clipped in the back, Wasn't ideal but did work well. Also meant that if I did wear my contacts (also not too comfy and a hard Gas permeable) that you just unclipped the prescription part and fitted the normal nose piece. All the Bolle lens 'shields' were inter changeable so I had clear, Yellow and a dark tint depending on the weather.
They were way better than my ordinary very small glasses.
http://www.optical4less.com/clipin-sunglasses/
Not the most stylish, but pretty damn cheap. Higher strength may cost more than the base price given there (I think mine came out about £80; I'm -11.5/-12).
Otherwise, a tight-ish sports band can keep your specs up on your nose and so you looking through them! Mine slip due to sweat.....
Not the most stylish, but pretty damn cheap. Higher strength may cost more than the base price given there (I think mine came out about £80; I'm -11.5/-12).
Otherwise, a tight-ish sports band can keep your specs up on your nose and so you looking through them! Mine slip due to sweat.....
Contact lenses have come a long way over the years. I used to be limited to non-disposable gas permeables which were uncomfortable and a pain to clean. For my limited use I.e. Just sports couple of times a week my optician has recommended disposable lenses that are suitable for high astigmatism and strength (acuvue moist for astigmatism -8.5 / 2.25 / 180).
Combined with a pair rudy project photchromatics they are perfect for all conditions.
Try it you may be surprised!
Combined with a pair rudy project photchromatics they are perfect for all conditions.
Try it you may be surprised!
Garlick said:
Maybe it's time, but as I say I hardly recognise myself without glasses!
Yeah, I’ve been wearing specs since I got out of the pram(like you, maybe),so without glasses I feel somewhat naked. However, even though I pay a
packet to get my lenses ground thin, they are still thick. And weigh a ton.
I see my contact lenses as tools to do activities that my specs
are less suited to. And that’s how use them.
I feel far more comfortable wearing specs, so use them ~80% of my waking hours.
Sort yourself a free trial. After a couple of weeks the optician
will want to see how you’re getting on. If you find contacts
aren’t for you..., well you’ve got nothing to lose, really.
Go on, give it a go. You know you want to!
I'm a week in to a trial of monthly continuous wear lenses (coopervision comflicon dk128). Am finding them much more comfortable than my dailies and therefore more practical for cycling. I ride twice a day and used to find the dailies getting sore mid-afternoon, so tended to ride home in normal glasses.
Take a look at WileyX glasses/goggles, I had some SG-1's I use for cycling(not prescription though) and they sit right against your head giving a full field of vision through the goggles with various colour lenses available for different conditions and prescriptions available too. They have cut out's in the foam to allow air in and avoid misting to some degree, I had to increase the width of the cut outs to get it to work for me. I got them quite cheap in a bulk buy on the Lotus Seven website (blatchat.com) a few years back.
My prescription is only -2.00 in both eyes but with -1.50 astigmatism in the right eye. I wear glasses for work and when on the bike I wear daily disposable contact lenses, the reason for daily disposables being I only wear contact lens at the weekend or when out on the bike. A normal soft lens for the left eye and a toric lens for the right eye. This works fine for me and I always wear a pair of cycling glasses when riding.
Contact lens technology has come a long way and I think you will be surprised at what is available.
Contact lens technology has come a long way and I think you will be surprised at what is available.
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