# Lenses for early morning/evening riding



## camp10 (Mar 2, 2015)

I wear contacts when I ride, and I like a little protection over my eyes. I bought a pair of the Oakley Half Jacket sunglasses. The included lenses are a bit too dark for when I ride. 

I might buy some of the replacement lenses. Are clear lenses the best for lower light levels? Or something else? I've seen people wearing yellowish lenses. Are they any good?


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## d365 (Jun 13, 2006)

If you ever intend to night ride, I would go with a clear lens. Yellow or red would be OK for low light, but clear is more versatile. 


I wear Tifosi (fototec) glasses that transition from a not too dark - medium tint, to basically clear. Perfect for day or night use, and any condition between. 100% uv protection. Good optical quality. Decent price. One of my favorite pieces of gear.... never ride without them. - Not sure if Oak has something similar.


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## milliesand (Jun 29, 2015)

Use yellow to help rapid transitions from full sun light to dimmed, and better shadow contrast (trees/underpasses/etc). Night riding I use clear.

I wouldn't ride WITHOUT eye protection. Your eyeballs are remarkably fragile and irreplaceable.


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## Impetus (Aug 10, 2014)

d365 said:


> If you ever intend to night ride, I would go with a clear lens. Yellow or red would be OK for low light, but clear is more versatile.
> 
> I wear Tifosi (fototec) glasses that transition from a not too dark - medium tint, to basically clear. Perfect for day or night use, and any condition between. 100% uv protection. Good optical quality. Decent price. One of my favorite pieces of gear.... never ride without them. - Not sure if Oak has something similar.


I have a pair of Scattante (Performance house brand) glasses that transition from "almost clear" to medium-dark. I ride in them 100% of the time, including a weekly Wednesday night ride that starts at 630-7pm, and goes well into the night. I will admit there's about 10 minutes where it's not really dark enough for lights, but too dark for sunglasses where I would prefer zero tint, but if I just pay a little more attention, ride at 90% and deal with it, a few minutes go by, the lights take over and I honestly forget my eye-pro is even tinted. At full dark, blackout, it makes effectively zero difference in my vision.


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## sfgiantsfan (Dec 20, 2010)

I just got new lenses for my oakley's from a website -a Fuse Lenses, I got a yellow and amber. The amber work great in low light. 25$ for polarized.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

I have two pairs of prescription glasses, both that I wear equally. A pair of 100-50% transitions (grey/black), and a pair of 70% yellows. During the colder months/under tree cover, I prefer the yellow lenses; at night, either works, but I actually don't mind the yellow lenses, as I ride with a decent amount of light, and most modern lights you see, be they car or bike, have some kind of blue cast--the yellow lenses help normalize that.

As always, your mileage may vary.


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## TraxFactory (Sep 10, 1999)

I am a fan of the Rose lens for low light although I mostly wear clear. Smith makes a nice Rose lens.


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

Yellow, amber or rose for low light, clear for night and smoke for daylight.


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## EBG 18T (Dec 31, 2005)

Rose or yellow lens for low light.


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## c8stom (May 19, 2015)

I usually wear Oakley Enduros on early morning rides. They are gray and don't cut out too much light and when the sun does come up, I get decent protection from the sun.

On evening rides, I bring two pairs. A pair of enduros ( gold or gray ) and a pair of Radar Path photochromatic clear lenses which are great for in low light / darkness. 

The problem here is the sun is very intense and when starts getting dark, it gets dark very quick. There is no single lense that I know of that can be used in both light conditions. The oakley photochromatic is at best an expensive attempt at this and fails to darken enough in sunlight.


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## spyghost (Oct 30, 2012)

i don't ride at night, but i do go out early (still dark) and get home before lunch. i'm using a photochromic prescription lens in my rudy project rydon and am happy with it.


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## Bail_Monkey (May 8, 2007)

I have the radars and have used the persimmon lens for a while. It has 61% light transmission through the lens. I use these for the road as well and it's great for the shadows.

I've used the yellow colored lens before and it is a bit bright if your out in the direct sun.

Oakley Sunglasses Lens Tint Guide | evo


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## Surly29 (Jun 8, 2009)

I've been using Half Jackets with G30 lenses for over 10 years now. Don't remember all those lens choices when I got mine, but the G30 have been great for me. I have clear lenses I will swap out if it gets past sunset and I have them with me. My point is the G30 works (for me) in even the lowest levels of daylight, and I think clear lenses are needed after dark only.

As far as which color, yellow vs rose, I think its personal preference. I have never like looking through yellow tints, but that's my eyes, some people love them.


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

I've got a pair of Racing Jackets with the Transitions lenses. They work for pretty much everything...maybe with the exception for extremely bright days.


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## InfamousMS (Apr 22, 2009)

Try the Oakley Prizm trail lenses. They have a bit higher light transmission but have insane contrast characteristics that let you see better. Prizm is not marketing hype. I work for Oakley, so don't take my word for it, but please check them out for yourself - you won't be disappointed!


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

InfamousMS said:


> Try the Oakley Prizm trail lenses. They have a bit higher light transmission but have insane contrast characteristics that let you see better. Prizm is not marketing hype. I work for Oakley, so don't take my word for it, but please check them out for yourself - you won't be disappointed!


I've been wearing these for mtb and trail running (since April). I am a big fan. They are ideal for contrasting light from bright sunlight to shadow.


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

You might need three lenses. A low light transmission lens for mid-day sunny rides, overcast and snow conditions, a medium light transmission for 90% of your day rides, and a clear if you ride at night or during very low light conditions (anytime you need lights on the bike to be seen).

You can get light transmission numbers from the mfg's sites to help you determine if the lenses you are considering will pass the amount of light you desire. Every other factor (color, coatings) pertains to contrast, lens protection, and water repulsion.


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## camp10 (Mar 2, 2015)

As the OP, I thought I'd come back and report what I chose. I bought a pair of these https://www.rei.com/product/851282/tifosi-veloce-fototec-photochromic-sunglasses-mens.

I've used them on about 10 early morning rides and am really happy with the purchase. They are pretty light, quick to change tints, and not too much $$$.


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## Mdex (May 27, 2016)

InfamousMS said:


> Try the Oakley Prizm trail lenses. They have a bit higher light transmission but have insane contrast characteristics that let you see better. Prizm is not marketing hype. I work for Oakley, so don't take my word for it, but please check them out for yourself - you won't be disappointed!


I have a pair of these and was shocked at the difference they made on the trail... so much so I had to buy the GF a pair.


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## JNKER (Feb 19, 2016)

InfamousMS said:


> Try the Oakley Prizm trail lenses. They have a bit higher light transmission but have insane contrast characteristics that let you see better. Prizm is not marketing hype. I work for Oakley, so don't take my word for it, but please check them out for yourself - you won't be disappointed!


I'll throw my recommendation for Prizm lenses, too. I had them made into prescription by my eye doctor and there's nothing better I've used. Ever. They are great in the sun, shade, mist, dust, wherever.


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## Crankyone (Dec 8, 2014)

milliesand said:


> Use yellow to help rapid transitions from full sun light to dimmed, and better shadow contrast (trees/underpasses/etc). Night riding I use clear.
> 
> I wouldn't ride WITHOUT eye protection. Your eyeballs are remarkably fragile and irreplaceable.


I agree with a yellow lenz (NW forests are dark even in the brightest sunshine). I also agree with milliesand that eye protection is more important than a helmet, and I never ride without a helmet. I have had the yellow lenses broken or slapped off my face by a limb, and they would have taken the eye in a flash. Try to imagine a blackberry cane raking across your eye socket at a high rate of speed!


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## MTBR_Saris (Apr 26, 2016)

I'm digging some Julbo glasses with the Zebra Light tint. It goes clear enough that you can almost wear the glasses indoors.


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## primoz (Jun 7, 2006)

JNKER said:


> I'll throw my recommendation for Prizm lenses, too. I had them made into prescription by my eye doctor and there's nothing better I've used. Ever. They are great in the sun, shade, mist, dust, wherever.


Except in sun/shadow transitions  I have been using G30 lenses with my Radar glasses before and changed it lately to Prizm Trail. Lens is super cool everywhere, just as you wrote, EXCEPT in sun to shadow or vice versa transitions. There it feels like shadows are completely black and sun parts are completely burned out, so you end up with black and white spots without anything, and that's one thing I really don't like. First I was thinking I'm alone in this, but then I have been talking with few friends, and they all mentioned same thing, so I guess it's not just my eyes


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