# Anyone have experience with Prescription Oakley glasses?



## InnocentCriminal (Apr 5, 2004)

A friend just gave me a pair of Pro M Frames because he doesn't wear them anymore. Luckily, it's exactly the glasses I wanted for riding.

Now however, I want to get some replacement lenses. Prescription clear, and prescription yellow if available. Anyone ever use prescription Oakleys? Any problems with them or are they pretty good? About how much will prescription lenses cost? Right now, I don't wear my prescription glasses while riding because my vision isn't absolutely terrible, but glasses certainly would help with getting crisper vision on the trails.

Thanks

...iC...


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## Toxic Avenger (Jan 16, 2004)

InnocentCriminal said:


> A friend just gave me a pair of Pro M Frames because he doesn't wear them anymore. Luckily, it's exactly the glasses I wanted for riding.
> 
> Now however, I want to get some replacement lenses. Prescription clear, and prescription yellow if available. Anyone ever use prescription Oakleys? Any problems with them or are they pretty good? About how much will prescription lenses cost? Right now, I don't wear my prescription glasses while riding because my vision isn't absolutely terrible, but glasses certainly would help with getting crisper vision on the trails.
> 
> ...


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## Old and Slow (Jul 13, 2004)

Have a pair of "20s". Not cheap, but excellent optics. Though more companies are making prescription wrap lenses these days, Oakley probably has the most experience doing so. Lenses were about $200 - $250. The frame was a little small so I got a fair amount of wind into my eyes, but you shouldn't have that problem. Stayed on my head perfectly. Never fell off. 

My prescription got worse so moved to Zeals (wanted a pair with removable lenses and Oakley didn't have prescription Half Jackets yet). You do have to go through an authorized Oakley optician to get the lenses though.

Good luck. I believe it's worth the cost to be able to finally see the trail.


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## billybobzia (Jan 10, 2004)

i have a pair as well, but the lenses were done by a local store and not oakley. it saved me a ton of money. i paid $140 including frames and lenses. a lot of places wont do it but an independant store might, not a lens crafters etc (if they break in the process, they can send them back to oakley for replacement). like you i didn't really need them as i have a mild prescription, but now that i have them i don't know how i rode without them, especially at dusk. good luck. 
if you live in denver by chance i can tell you where i got them, otherwise just make some calls


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## triscuit (Apr 26, 2004)

If you have a mild prescription you can do it. But the stronger your prescription the more difficult it is because of the curve of the lens. And I don't know how they deal with astigmatism.


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## Trevor! (Dec 23, 2003)

I actually just picked up a set of RX M Frames in clear just 2 days ago after 4.5 weeks of waiting. Thus far I am totally happy with them. I got them with a sweep lens (Which has a quite a curve). The glasses feel just as good as my other M frames and with the prescription I am happy not having to bother with contact lenses.

I am going to pick up some RX VR28 M frames too since you cant get G30 in RX. You can get 15 different shades BTW in prescription and get the RX service covers a great range from -2 or something to +4. 

You can get clear, persimmon (yellow/orange for dull conditions) and then all the usual. 

Cheers
Trevor!


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## bulC (Mar 12, 2004)

*rx oakleys suck*

I had a pair. good vision.. lousy durability. the lenses started developing little hairline cracks around the edges until one day I put them on and one lens just snapped in half.
Exact same thing happened to the founder of Avid, he told me.
Unless you're sponsored, Oakleys are a major ripoff.


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## Jm. (Jan 12, 2004)

i have perscription A-frames. Insurance covered most of the cost, the cost to me was pretty cheap.

perscription glasses (and high end sunglasses) are one of the biggest washes in the medical field, up there with jacking up perscrption drug prices to "insane"...

basically it costs them a couple dollars at most to produce the frames, and the lenses do not cost much more. There's no reason why eyeglass frames should cost 200, 100, or even $50 bucks. They basically just "get away" with it. Same thing for lenses, there's nothing super special about oakley or others "optics", it's just a wash. To make optics that are generally free of distortion is not that hard, and should not cost more than a couple dollars. 

it is a little more difficult to make the perscription lenses for oakleys or similer glasses, but it's well within just about every "eye-glass shop's" capability, it's not hard, and should only increase the price by 1/4 to 1/3, which for lenses may bring the cost to about $40 bucks.

you should see how cheap they can crank out glasses for 3rd world countries, maybe not with the best frames, but better frames would only be a little more money, they could crank them out distortion free and just as "good" as anything you pay $200 for, for about $2-20 per pair.

the proffit margins on glasses and sunglasses is just insane

my dad did some work getting glasses made for those 3rd-world situations when he was in the navy.


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## mtnrider (Jul 14, 2004)

I never had Oakley but I've had Spy glasses w/ prescriptions in them. You can generally take any quality frame and get Rx lenses put in them. Where you run into a problem is if your Rx has thick lenses and the frames have a lot of curve in them. Don't fret though you just have to pay more money to get thinner lenses  I had laser surgery done, but before that I couldn't stand being w/o my Rx sunglasses!


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

*Just got a pair last week.*

I forget the model frame but that cost me $89 while the prescription black polarized lens cost $145. I'm happy with them.

My riding glasses are a pair of Ray Ban wraps with a yellow prescription lens which cost less thn $100 because that lens is not polarized.

Hope that helps.


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## mattv2099 (Apr 15, 2004)

I have the Oakley Racing Jacket http://www.hdosport.com/hdosport/oakley/eyewear/rcingjacket/index.shtml

Mine are blue frame with an orange lense.

I bought them from a local eye place and they installed RX lenses for me. My RX is pretty bad, like 20/200 or something. Cost a bit more than $300. Worth every penny. I absolutely love these glasses. I've had them for 2.5 years and have had no problems. I race XC but spend all my time riding my road bike. These glasses are perfect.

good luck

matt


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## Jm. (Jan 12, 2004)

mattv2099 said:


> Cost a bit more than $300. Worth every penny.


I got some used parts I could charge you 600% for.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

InnocentCriminal said:


> A friend just gave me a pair of Pro M Frames because he doesn't wear them anymore. Luckily, it's exactly the glasses I wanted for riding.
> 
> Now however, I want to get some replacement lenses. Prescription clear, and prescription yellow if available. Anyone ever use prescription Oakleys? Any problems with them or are they pretty good? About how much will prescription lenses cost? Right now, I don't wear my prescription glasses while riding because my vision isn't absolutely terrible, but glasses certainly would help with getting crisper vision on the trails.
> 
> ...


I've had two pair of Oakley Rx glasses, and am currently wearing the Straight Line 4.0 shown below. I'd go have lenses made at an optician rather than mail order via Oakley. They'll end up costing about the same, but you'll get the benefit of having an actual optometrist to consult. The last time I got Zeiss lenses, and this time Hoya, both lens specialists. How much your lenses will cost depends upon your prescription, choice of lens material, and additions such as tinting. With my horrible eyesight my lenses cost me about $350.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Jm. said:


> i have perscription A-frames. Insurance covered most of the cost, the cost to me was pretty cheap.
> 
> perscription glasses (and high end sunglasses) are one of the biggest washes in the medical field, up there with jacking up perscrption drug prices to "insane"...
> 
> ...


I've thought about that too. The materials couldn't cost more than a few dollars. I figure the cost goes towards the training of the optometrist to use his or her expensive eye exam equipment to use his or her knowledge to write a prescription then grind a lens that actually lets me see. I know I sure as hell couldn't do it myself without going to school for several years, doing a residency, buying optometry equipment, then setting up a lens grinding lab. I try not to think of things in terms of raw material cost too much, because everything's marked up. Even the cheapskate 99 cent, two egg/hash browns/toast breakfast special probably cost the cafe all of 20 cents. It's less painful to think of expenses in terms of buying someone else's expertise or labor, with a little bit of materiaI thrown in.


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## Jm. (Jan 12, 2004)

Nat said:


> I've thought about that too. The materials couldn't cost more than a few dollars. I figure the cost goes towards the training of the optometrist to use his or her expensive eye exam equipment to use his or her knowledge to write a prescription then grind a lens that actually lets me see. I know I sure as hell couldn't do it myself without going to school for several years, doing a residency, buying optometry equipment, then setting up a lens grinding lab. I try not to think of things in terms of raw material cost too much, because everything's marked up. Even the cheapskate 99 cent, two egg/hash browns/toast breakfast special probably cost the cafe all of 20 cents. It's less painful to think of expenses in terms of buying someone else's expertise or labor, with a little bit of materiaI thrown in.


yes, except those of us that know our perscription


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## alleygrinder (Jun 6, 2004)

I've got the same deal - Oakley's with lenses done by a local shop - a lot cheaper, and as far as I am told, the lenses are much higher quality...

I can't live without them.

Custom Eyes - Frisco, Colorado - great shop.



billybobzia said:


> i have a pair as well, but the lenses were done by a local store and not oakley. it saved me a ton of money. i paid $140 including frames and lenses. a lot of places wont do it but an independant store might, not a lens crafters etc (if they break in the process, they can send them back to oakley for replacement). like you i didn't really need them as i have a mild prescription, but now that i have them i don't know how i rode without them, especially at dusk. good luck.
> if you live in denver by chance i can tell you where i got them, otherwise just make some calls


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## Trevor! (Dec 23, 2003)

Jm. said:


> I got some used parts I could charge you 600% for.


In the long run everything has markup on it, and generally a good bit of profit is made. Like it or not. Look at a simple disk brake pad or brake cable.

I don't think it matters what the cost is (Within reason) if the item provides the functionality one requires. No need to make a fuss me thinks (Not that you are!)


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Trevor! said:


> I don't think it matters what the cost is (Within reason) if the item provides the functionality one requires.


Sometimes we pay way the price even if it's out of reason, such as $4 coffee, $100 dinner, $190 bike shoes, $150 bike helmets (it's just styrofoam!). Sometimes the stuff we buy (e.g., art) doesn't even have functionality. Land o' plenty.


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## Jm. (Jan 12, 2004)

Trevor! said:


> In the long run everything has markup on it, and generally a good bit of profit is made. Like it or not. Look at a simple disk brake pad or brake cable.
> 
> I don't think it matters what the cost is (Within reason) if the item provides the functionality one requires. No need to make a fuss me thinks (Not that you are!)


yeah, but the injected pastic for your glasses frames probably costs about 5 cents, then they charge like $150 for those same frames....not just "no", but "hell no". Then for the lenses yes, it might actually cost around $30 bucks or so, a normal price for lenses, ....the markups are not reasonable, oakley is definitely not the first company to do this, in fact they probably got the idea from perscription glasses, but the point is that the prices that are charged for glasses and sunglasses are highway robbery, they are in no way "worth every penny". I have these A-wire frames and there's no way they could cost more than $5 to make (vrs injected plastic for those other ones I saw in this thread), and $5 is probably stretching it...yet they cost like 120-140 bucks..., that's not a fair markup, that's just ludicrous.

notice how oakley has had an excess amount of cash to expand into other markets within the last few years 

There are some things that command higher prices, but there are usually good reasons that they do so (the lack of market for disc brake pads, the fact that they are not cranking them out by the hundreds of thousands, the fact that disc brakes change and require totally new kinds of pads every few years...etc).....there is no good reason though why eye-glass frames should cost in the hundreds, nor why lenses should be excessive (except for a few excessive-curving lense situations).


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## Trevor! (Dec 23, 2003)

Jm. said:


> yeah, but the injected pastic for your glasses frames probably costs about 5 cents, then they charge like $150 for those same frames....not just "no", but "hell no". Then for the lenses yes, it might actually cost around $30 bucks or so, a normal price for lenses, ....the markups are not reasonable, oakley is definitely not the first company to do this, in fact they probably got the idea from perscription glasses, but the point is that the prices that are charged for glasses and sunglasses are highway robbery, they are in no way "worth every penny". I have these A-wire frames and there's no way they could cost more than $5 to make (vrs injected plastic for those other ones I saw in this thread), and $5 is probably stretching it...yet they cost like 120-140 bucks..., that's not a fair markup, that's just ludicrous.
> 
> notice how oakley has had an excess amount of cash to expand into other markets within the last few years
> 
> There are some things that command higher prices, but there are usually good reasons that they do so (the lack of market for disc brake pads, the fact that they are not cranking them out by the hundreds of thousands, the fact that disc brakes change and require totally new kinds of pads every few years...etc).....there is no good reason though why eye-glass frames should cost in the hundreds, nor why lenses should be excessive (except for a few excessive-curving lense situations).


Actually when you put it like that I totally see what you mean.

Shame everything costs so much, but I suppose thats how big business operates. Why charge just a bit when you can charge a ton knowing suckers will pay the $$$ - I suppose thats the attitude in the marketing department..

The price of glasses in Australia is somewhat reasonable, and the price becomes more palatable when my health care fund kicks in.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Trevor! said:


> Actually when you put it like that I totally see what you mean.
> 
> Shame everything costs so much, but I suppose thats how big business operates. Why charge just a bit when you can charge a ton knowing suckers will pay the $$$ - I suppose thats the attitude in the marketing department..
> 
> The price of glasses in Australia is somewhat reasonable, and the price becomes more palatable when my health care fund kicks in.


I wonder what the actual cost of the metal and plastic is for a bike? Then again, maybe I don't want to know.


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## Jm. (Jan 12, 2004)

well, the metal is comparatively dirt cheap obviously, the cost is the fabrication, the welding, machining of dropouts, heat treating, certain alloys are much more pricy as well, there's painting and then paying the fabricators, then there's warrenty, and the costs associated with running a company, etc...they add up quicly. The thing though is that comparing eyeglass frames is just not a comparrision, in terms of work required to fabricate it's way way easier, and they crank them out in mass-production methods. This is a big distinction.


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## richde (Jun 8, 2004)

mattv2099 said:


> I have the Oakley Racing Jacket http://www.hdosport.com/hdosport/oakley/eyewear/rcingjacket/index.shtml
> 
> Mine are blue frame with an orange lense.
> 
> ...


For less than that you could get a pair of Zeals and three lenses. I went that route, I like them alot, although I don't wear them much. Picked them up in preparation for a week long (camping) guided bike tour in NM. I looked hard at the Oakleys, but I wanted both tinted and clear, and that was just too much to pay for something so infrequently used. Normally I wear contacts whenever I'm out of the house, the only exception being long airplane flights, and even then I wear contacts for a while and just take them out and put on my regular glasses, which coincidentally are Oakley A-frames.

Rich


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Jm. said:


> well, the metal is comparatively dirt cheap obviously, the cost is the fabrication, the welding, machining of dropouts, heat treating, certain alloys are much more pricy as well, there's painting and then paying the fabricators, then there's warrenty, and the costs associated with running a company, etc...they add up quicly. The thing though is that comparing eyeglass frames is just not a comparrision, in terms of work required to fabricate it's way way easier, and they crank them out in mass-production methods. This is a big distinction.


But bikes can be mass produced too. I wonder how the percent markups compare, eyewear v. bikes.


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## pting (Mar 8, 2004)

I have Straight Line 4.0s as well, and they work well. The weird thing is that Oakley didn't make the same style in different sizes. If you look at the Rx catalog, each size of the Straight Line 4.0 is a completely different look. The stupidity of it blows me away.

Oakley also has a pretty lame Rx lense department. They won't even make my perscription. Mine were sent out to an independent lab that makes better lenses with better lense material than Oakley has. I have grey Transitions lenses with a slight amber tint. Next time I will get the amber Transitions with the amber tint. I like amber alot more than grey. This combination makes it dark enough for me in the sun and light enough with just a slight tint normally.

While I like the styling, the frames are pretty fragile. I really do like how comfortable the straight arms are, though. I agree that the frames are way overpriced. The lenses are materially cheap, but each lense is basically custom ground, and that costs money. Each person fits each frame differently, with different optical centers, and different perscription/astigmatism etc etc. The optometrists will send it back to redo the lenses up to a year after you get them. I average about 2 redo's for every pair. So you have to figure that for every person that gets a pair, they grind 4 lenses on average, and then add the shipping and overhead on top of that.

If my sister wasn't an optometrist, I probably wouldn't be wearing Oakley bling. 

On the flip side, vision insurance through VSP is *WAY WAY* more sane and practical than your regular health insurance cr*p. You just show up, they look you up online, and have all your benefits info right there. No forms to fill out, call here call there, fax this fax that.


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## mattv2099 (Apr 15, 2004)

Jm. said:


> that are charged for glasses and sunglasses are highway robbery, they are in no way "worth every penny". .


When you ride as much as I do you realize how integral to comfort and joy these glasses are. My 300+$ Oakley Racing jackets changed how I ride. They made the experience more enjoyable. Of all the components and gear I've bought over the years these glasses have made the biggest difference in terms of comfort for racing and training. The racing jacket is like a goggle. No unwanted air gets to my eye. I can now scream down 55 mph decents on my road bike and not have any eye trouble due to wind in the eye.

I used to have major problems with riding because of my eyes. I couldn't ride 30 mph without going blind due to the major amount of tears generated by my eyes. Forget the downhill in my XC races - I had to slow down so I wouldn't go blind. Now all these problems are gone. These glasses have changed my riding experience.

300$ for a product that has worked flawlessly for countless thousands of training and racing miles? Dude, thats cheap when considering what I've spent on biking. If I had to buy all new gear tomorrow these glasses are what I'd buy first.

Anyways, you can ***** and moan and belittle my decisions as much as you want. It doesn't matter. Because I am a happier biker because of these glasses.


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## mattv2099 (Apr 15, 2004)

richde said:


> For less than that you could get a pair of Zeals and three lenses. I went that route, I like them alot, although I don't wear them much. Picked them up in preparation for a week long (camping) guided bike tour in NM. I looked hard at the Oakleys, but I wanted both tinted and clear, and that was just too much to pay for something so infrequently used. Normally I wear contacts whenever I'm out of the house, the only exception being long airplane flights, and even then I wear contacts for a while and just take them out and put on my regular glasses, which coincidentally are Oakley A-frames.
> 
> Rich


Do you have a link to the zeals? I need the shape and size of the Oakley Racing Jacket. They are like goggles. DH racers can use them because they prevent the air from hitting your eyes. I have to use them because my eyes are so sensitive to wind. My eyes generate a huge amount of tears when they get wind in them and I basically go blind. These frames are my saving grace. They are also uber burley. They don't fold up.


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