- If you're thinking about buying some riding glasses,
and why wouldn't you?
You only get one pair of eyes so protection is important,
then you are in luck.
With the help of Oakley, who are sponsoring this video,
I'm going to talk you through the various different types
of mountain bike eyewear and the different features
to look for when making that purchase.
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Of course, Oakley is just one
of many other brands out there,
but when making this purchase, I would definitely consider
cycling or even mountain bike-specific glasses for the job.
So just like when you're buying a bike,
there's some of the same considerations come into account,
like the type of riding you do
and the conditions you ride in.
That will influence your riding gear and your glasses.
Downhill or trail riding, Southern California or Yorkshire,
picking the right glasses, or should I say eyewear,
'cause actually I'm going to talk about goggles, as well,
is going to make a big difference to how useful you find them.
The great thing with most glasses, you will be able
to change the lenses out to make a certain piece of eyewear
really versatile and usable in different riding situations.
Before I get into the nitty gritty,
why is it a good idea to ride with eyewear?
♪ Oh, boy, you got me really good ♪
♪ Yes, I ♪
- Eye protection from debris, from the sun
and its harmful UV rays, flying bugs,
eye-watering winds at speed.
Does that look fast, yeah?
And they even give you some protection when crashing,
but I don't crash (laughs).
♪ Boy, I'm going to get it ♪
- Right, let's start with the different types
of riding glasses and the size of them.
So bigger isn't always better.
We've got three different size glasses here from Oakley.
So these are the Flight Jacket, the largest.
Compare that to the Jawbreaker, getting slightly smaller.
You see the coverage definitely changes.
And then down to these Radar EVs,
definitely a bit more slimline.
Different size glasses will give you
obviously different amounts of protection
from things like debris and the wind,
but you also need to think about compatibility with helmets.
So I don't consider myself a style icon,
but if I'm wearing a full face helmet,
then I'm likely to be wearing goggles
'cause I'll be riding downhill, enduro,
or hitting some big jumps, and goggles just offer
the best protection from the elements, from debris,
but also a bit from crashing.
Some people do choose to run glasses with full face helmets,
which some consider to be a fashion no-no
in mountain biking, but if it's hot,
it probably does make sense because the ventilation
is much, much better than with goggles.
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Getting glasses that are sort of compatible with your helmet
is going to help, as well, so the frames and the arms
of the glasses, making sure they don't touch the helmet
or are getting pushed inside your head,
'cause that can be uncomfortable.
So that's the sort of size the frames will influence that,
but also, some glasses will have adjustable arms
to make sure you get a perfect fit.
Does the top of your glasses touch the brow of your helmet?
I know some people have helmets that sit a little bit lower,
and if that touched when your helmet moved around,
that would become super annoying.
So these don't, so I can choose a larger set of glasses
like these Flight Jackets.
If you do get any sort of interference
to your glasses and helmet, then you may want to go
for some more modestly size frames.
Also on looks, maybe if you've got a slim face,
you might want the smaller ones, as well.
The big ones might look a bit extreme.
That might be the look you're going for.
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What about the glasses' arm under or over the helmet strap?
Well, you may know that roadie rule, it's an unwritten rule
that they have to run their glasses over the top.
I don't think us mountain bikers have to,
and actually, these fit much more comfortably
with the arms underneath the strap.
Bigger glasses, more protection,
but that does make a difference to the wind
that rushes underneath them, as well,
so the bigger glasses will help with that.
I find that happens probably more
on a road bike, to be honest.
I think the average speeds are just that bit higher.
Doesn't happen quite so much on a mountain bike,
but I'm sure plenty of you watching this
will ride road bikes and mountain bikes,
so you might want to consider buying one pair of glasses
you can do both things in, and obviously, as well,
you can swap out different lenses that will be better
for each different discipline.
Right, let's get into the lenses.
So these are tinted lenses,
obviously better for the sunny conditions.
Going to take some of that glare off.
Got a bit of a sunny day here in England today.
But also don't forget, importantly, UV protection, as well,
so keep your eyes nice and safe from the sun.
These are, in fact, Oakley's Prizm Trail Torch lenses
on these glasses now.
So you may have heard of this Prizm technology
that Oakley have.
So Oakley have designed this to filter out
the different wavelengths of light, basically give you
a very vivid and vibrant view of the trail,
so you see better contrast between things
like roots and rocks and the trail surface.
So we have Prizm lenses designed for golfing, got Road ones.
These are Trail, so designed for mountain biking,
and actually the Torch version of those.
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Got the two different versions
of the mountain bike lenses here, the Prizm Trails.
So in my left hand here, you've got the Jawbreakers
with the originals, they're a bit more bluey.
In my right hand, got the Flight Jackets
with the Trail Torch, the brand new one.
See there a little bit more sort of red-dy tint to them.
Oakley have designed these to be a little bit more balanced,
a little bit less punchy, so they work well
under the trees, like we've got here,
and out in the sunlight.
It's definitely worth considering having spare lenses
for, you know, eventually when they get a bit scratched,
but also to have spare lenses for different conditions.
So if you live somewhere like the UK where most of winter
is too drab and dark to actually wear tinted lenses,
then a good set of clear lenses will do the trick.
Also, you might even consider buying a set of lenses
for riding on the road, so with Oakley,
you can buy that Road Prizm if you wish.
So it's easy to get a pair of sunglasses
that will suit both mountain biking and roads.
Would you then go so far as considering
the aerodynamics of the glasses?
Well, I wouldn't, but Oakley do, and you might want to
if you're very serious (coughs) nerdy mountain biker
or more likely, closet roadie.
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Back to the size of the glasses, smaller-framed glasses
like this Radar EV will offer better ventilation,
so potentially better in hot conditions,
but also when things start to get wet and slow
and that dreaded steam starts to happen.
Some other glasses offer different ways
of trying to get around that.
There are different ways that manufacturers design
their anti-fogging abilities,
from specific coatings on the lenses
to actually design features.
So on the Jawbreaker, you can see there's actually vents
in the lenses, bottom and top.
Also over on the Flight Jacket,
you've got that sort of frameless top there
so steam can rise out of there nice and easily,
and this clever little feature,
I've not seen this one before.
See how the nose piece moves back,
move the glasses further away from your face
to give you a bit more ventilation.
What about goggles?
Well, I've already said what they're really good for,
downhill, enduros, more extreme types of riding,
but also some of the same considerations
need to come into account, like do they fit
inside your full face helmet?
Lenses, you'll have probably lots of options,
actually, on clear to tinted.
So same, different types of riding conditions
will suit different lenses.
A question I've heard before is do ski goggles work
for riding your mountain bike?
Whilst they look very similar,
there will be a few small but quite important differences.
That does come down to things like the foam on a ski goggle
is likely to be fleece-backed for keeping you warm.
On a mountain bike or motocross goggle,
more like a sort of CoolMax foam there,
designed for ventilation to keep you cool.
Also, with lenses, you're likely to get
mirrored lenses on ski goggles,
and it's just to give you a different visual dynamic
as compared to a mountain bike goggle.
What about goggles with an open face helmet?
Well, yeah, some riders like the feel of extra protection,
maybe not on a cross-country ride.
You will overheat, but for some shuttle-assisted riding,
why not, that's another good option.
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Other considerations to research before making a purchase?
Well, price is obviously a big one.
The more expensive, the more premium materials
are going to be used, the more features, the more technology.
The lower the price, less of that.
Also think about the actual protection they offer,
so have those lenses been tested, are they safe to wear?
What about the amount of different lenses
you can get for those glasses for replacements
but also for options like premium lenses,
clear ones, different riding conditions?
What about fit?
Some glasses will offer
different types of fit, like Asia fit.
Also the adjustability of the temple length with those arms.
Finally, what do you get with your glasses?
Do you get a nice little hard case to keep your glasses safe
and a pouch that doubles up as a lens wipe?
Because probably your glasses get damaged more
in your gear bag than they do out on the trail.
Right, if you want to see a couple more videos from Oakley
with GMBN, then over there for GMBN Meets Greg Minnaar,
a Factory-sponsored rider, has been for years and years.
And if you want to see a Factory tour,
Si Richardson takes you around that place,
the crazy place in Southern California, click over there.
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