Transition lenses

[Ypsylon]

The last couple of days have been really inconsistent weather wise and I ended up blind either because of too dark lenses with dark clouds or from the glaring sun in my eyes with transparent lenses.

Has anyone here tried transition lenses? Do you like them?

I took a look at the Oakley site, and some models have transition lenses, others photocromic ones, is that more or less the same?

[mdeth1313]

I'm emailing my wife- she's an optometrist-- I'll edit this once I hear back--

Ok- here's the deal-

apparently- Transitions are the best photochromic lenses on the market. They have the most advanced technology. There are other brands, but they don't go from clear to dark (and the various grades in between) as quickly as the transitions. As she and her boss put it, they are "the best you can get".

[FAQinc]

Just to clarify Transitions is a brand that makes lenses that darken Oakley had a deal with them to distribute their lenses with Oakley frames but since last year Oakley developed their own type of lense which they call photochromic which incorporates the Oakley lense making proces but doesn't use the same darkening techonology as the Transitions lenses I think the photochromic lenses change colour more in tune with eye so the transition is 1sec slower from one end to the other.

In short

Transitions: brand of light changing lenses with very good quality, fast transition from clear to completely dark

Photochromic: Oakleys own light changing lense again great quality with a slightly slower transition from clear to dark "in order to be more unnoticeable to the eye" also uses the Oakleys own patented molding process which is supposed to eliminate distortion.

In a nutshell both are great and the actuall differences are more marketing lingo than anything noticable, hope this helps.

[Ypsylon]

Cheers, that makes things quite a bit clearer.

So the Flak Jacket has the Transition TM stuff, and the M Frame has Oakley's own?

It appears all the riders on Team Garmin use Oakleys, is there any other brand of sports shades that uses transition lenses?

[mdeth1313]

I'd be hesitant to bet that Oakley's photochromic is better than transitions. Rudy project has photochromic lenses as well. I'm not sure who else uses the transitions brand.

Also, photochromic can mean different things-- transitions go from clear to dark, my rudy project lenses do NOT go from clear to dark, which may be the difference w/ the oakleys, but I never looked into them.

[FAQinc]

Also Specialized had what they called adaptalite lenses same thing one of my first sets of proper shades was a set of Spec Berms in White with Orange adaptalite lenses which I still have pretty beat up after numurous accidental drops but still alive and kicking. I have a very soft spot for the Chrome BMX Jawbones but still not enough income

[madcow]

I have some transition Oakleys. I love them. It gets so hot here in the summer that we like to start our rides just as the sun starts to come up so it will be a bit dark at the start and blindingly bright at the end the lenses work well for that. They also work very well up on the mountain where you are moving in and out of tree covered areas.

I will say that mine don't ever go clear, they always have a bit of tint to them, and they never get fully dark, at least not as dark as all my static lens oakleys, but still I like them a lot.

[Johnny Rad]

A wore a set of Oakleys with Transition lenses. They were the ones that G Hincaipe used to where on USPS / Disco - I forget the name.

They were neither too dark nor too light. Late in the evening, they were a much better choice than regular sunglasses; however, they never went totally clear so they eventually became too dark for the conditions.

I think I'd prefer a set of yellow lenses for low light conditions and that's what I'll get next.

[Oilman]

I have the new Photochromatic Clear-Black iridium and in my opinion it is fantastic. It's light enough to ride in the dark. Since I have the Radar with this glass my m-frames are collecting dust. The only downside, it ain't really flashy. When the sun is shining the lens mirrors quite nice, but without sun it's allmost like a normal clear glass.

[Ypsylon]

I figured I'd use this thread to ask a related question. I'm slightly short sighted (.25 and .5 dpt, IIRC) and have a pair of glasses I use for longer presentations or when going to the movies and while I don't really need them, I can definetly see better and am wondering if it would be worth it looking into getting something to use on the bike, too.

The two possible options obviously are contacts or prescription lenses. Does anybody here use either?

[slisk]

No, but I know a rider who had prescription lenses added to his Oakleys...he said it was the best thing he ever did.

[Gumgardner]

I wear contacts and I'm fine while I ride but after a couple hours of riding I have the driest the rest of the day. It gets to the point where I typically have to remove my contacts about 1 hour after I complete my ride. I don't know if it's wind related or dehydration related. Anybody else have this problem? I've tried doing eye drops but it doesn't seem to help.

[Matteo]

I am basically blind without my glasses, so the following might not apply to you. I used to ride with glasses for years, but made the switch to contacts some time ago. I now don't want to miss them while riding (I still prefer my glasses for work). The advantage with contacts is that I can take my sunglasses off while riding, e.g. when doing longer climbs. And for me, and again this probably does not apply to you, Ypsylon, another benefit is the added vision from the corners of my eyes. It most likely does not make much of a difference, but it seems like some additional safety in traffic. So for me it is contacts over prescription glasses.