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Yellow or orange for poor visibility
Yellow and orange discs are a good choice when visibility is poor. The best choice is the orange lens. It absorbs most of the blue rays and lets green and red light through. The red-green channel in the eye is responsible for brightness, the contrasts appear brighter and the edges sharper. This works in a similar way with yellow lenses, although the visual impression becomes very harsh as soon as the sun comes through.
Example: Uvex Sportstyle 204
Price: 25 Euro >> e.g. available here
Clear windscreen, clear view
Although a clear lens has no contrast-enhancing effect, it allows much more light through than, for example, self-tinting lenses. This is because UV radiation causes them to darken even when the sky is cloudy, which can be dangerous on forest trails due to the weak residual light. For winter cyclists who train with light at dusk and in the evening, there is no alternative to the clear lens.
Example: 100 per cent S3
Price: 209 Euro >> e.g. available here
Orange is doping for the eyes and puts you in a good mood!
In this interview, sports optician and active cyclist Jens Heymer explains why orange is the best filter colour for the dark season and why it offers the best view on the road or gravel track. He also talks about phenomena such as glare and "night blindness", and gives his personal tips on glasses care.
TOUR There are many different filter colours for spectacle lenses - which one gives me the best view in rain, fog and at dusk?
Heymer The doctrine says that yellow and orange filters are best in bad weather with poor visibility. Yellow is good in drizzle or snow, but when the sun does come out, it quickly becomes too bright and is straining on the eyes in the long run. My personal favourite is orange. It reduces the amount of blue in daylight and therefore the blurring in the eye. At the same time, more yellow and orange colours come through, which helps with orientation when driving through wooded areas. Orange also stimulates the body and makes you feel fitter. Orange is like doping, but legal!
Why do I feel dazzled and what is "night blindness"? What can I do about it?
Glare sensitivity is more common in older people than in younger people. Roughly explained, the lens in the eye becomes less elastic and cloudy with age. In short: it ages. As a result, light passes through less easily and the image changes, appearing less sharp. If you wear glasses and have poorer vision at dusk and in the dark, you should definitely go to an ophthalmologist or optician to have this checked. This is really about twilight vision. Special equipment is required to create the environment in which this effect occurs. If it turns out that your vision changes in the dark, you may need special night glasses to correct it. For healthy eyes, a light yellow filter could help against the blue component, as already mentioned.
How do I clean my glasses while travelling? Is there anything I can do to prevent my glasses from fogging up?
If there is dust or grains of sand on the glasses, do not clean them dry if possible. One tip is to rinse the glasses with water from the drinking bottle and then dab them with a cloth. Do not wipe, as this will scratch the glass like sandpaper. To prevent annoying fogging of the lenses, I recommend adjusting the nosepiece so that the glasses are further away from the forehead, allowing the sweat vapour to escape upwards. The optician will be happy to help with this. Incidentally, I'm not a fan of rubbing the lenses with spit, as divers do to prevent fogging. This creates annoying streaks that cloud the view.
Matthias Borchers
Editor
