Mountain bikers who wear glasses for vision correction have two choices when it comes to sports sunglasses; either wear contact lenses with an ordinary pair of sunglasses or invest in a pair of prescription sports sunglasses.
This article looks at the best sports prescription sunglasses you can buy for mountain biking with wrap-around styling, where the prescription is built into the lens.
Prescription Cycling Sunglasses
Sports cycling prescription sunglasses come in two main types: either an insert known as a clip-in lens which simply clips to the inside of the frame at the nose-piece, or an in-frame prescription lens, where either the entire lens has corrective power or just the central portion (see image above).
The problem with wrap around styles of sunglasses is that it is far more costly to produce a curved lens with full corrective power, which is why many branded prescription lenses from companies like Oakley or Rudy Project only offer corrective power in the center of the lens; the result is a loss of periphery vision when looking sideways. The best option is to buy sports prescription sunglasses with full corrective power over the entire surface of the lens.
Prescription Designer Sunglasses with Mirror Lenses
Many mountain bikers prefer designer style sunglasses with mirror lenses which look super cool on the bike, but if you need prescription lenses, adding a mirror finish increases production costs even more, not to mention a complicated eye prescription which may need to allow for astigmatism or a higher power level outside the standard prescription range offered by Oakley, which, for example, is between +2.0 and -3.0.
It is possible, however, to get cool wrap-around styling with a fully built-in prescription lens, both polarized and mirror finish, for a lot less than the +$400 price tag charged by many of the top brands.
Cheap Sports Sunglasses with Prescription Lenses
The way to find cheap sports sunglasses with prescription lenses is to buy direct from an optical laboratory like UK-based Optilabs, which offer a personalized service and international delivery for just £10/$16.
The Optilabs website (Prescription Sports Sunglasses.co.uk) has a complete range of sports sunglasses including wrap-around styles for cycling with UV anti-scratch and anti-mist lenses as standard and frames made from “virtually unbreakable polycarbonate.” Prices for their popular wrap-around Sprint frame start from just £159.95/$250; bifocal and varifocal options are also available.
To avoid any confusion over ordering the correct prescription, customers are asked to purchase online first and are then called personally to give prescription details. Alternatively, customers can ring the company direct or send an e-mail if they are not sure whether a particular lens is the right one for them.
Either way, buyers have access to a comprehensive array of styles and lenses and the assurance that their exact prescription can be built-into the best prescription sports sunglasses available in the market, at a far cheaper price than buying from an optician.
Buy Wrap-Around Prescription Sunglasses for Cycling Online
If you want to buy wrap-around prescription sunglasses for mountain biking or road cycling, take a look at Optilabs for great value, stylish sunglasses that are high quality and built to last. After all, why pay more for a branded pair, when you can get the same look for less?
If you’re a brand junkie, then read about the best prescription sunglasses for cycling before making a purchase. If you don’t need sunglasses for vision correction, an ordinary pair of sports sunglasses for cycling will be fine, either a unisex pair or a great value pair of cycling sunglasses for women.
Helen Smeaton - Helen Smeaton runs a cycling and hiking business and is also a freelance writer and web designer. Read her profile for more information
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