If you only or primarily focus on visual coolness when choosing your cycling glasses, this can backfire when you hurtle downhill and miss your braking point before the bend because the wind makes your eyes water and the pretty frame restricts your vision. Perhaps you would have been better off sitting in the ice cream parlour with your new lifestyle glasses.
The M-Frame model from Oakley has been a classic and a symbol of design with function since its market launch in 1990. The glasses with the slim, lightweight frame and large lens became a trendsetter and are based on the Razor Blades model, which owes its fame above all to Greg LeMond: He wore the glasses during his spectacular Tour de France victory in 1989. Because the glasses catered to the tastes of cyclists and still do today, they are probably among the most copied cycling glasses. Cyclists realise that this image is literally worth its weight in gold when they reach the checkout - Oakleys have their price.
For our current test, we selected two models from each of twelve eyewear brands - one cheaper and one "more expensive", which should cost a maximum of 70 euros. The participants include established specialists such as Alpina, Carrera and Uvex, as well as newcomers and lesser-known brands such as Endura and Julbo. For most providers, the cheaper model is 20 to 30 euros cheaper than the more expensive one, with only the two pairs of glasses from Casco and Swiss Eye costing 60 and 66 euros respectively.
20 models have a half-frame open at the bottom, into which either a continuous lens or two separate lenses are hooked; Swisseye and Uvex each sent full-frame glasses into the race, Carrera (R&B X-Lite) and Endura (Marlin Glasses) also sent two frameless variants, in which the temples are clipped or screwed directly onto the lens.
Holding point nose
In addition to the actual size, the flexibility of the temples, which should fit snugly on the head without pinching, determines how well the glasses sit on the head. Small, non-slip rubber strips on the temples are now standard, providing support even when sweat is pouring off your head. The other central support point is the bridge of the nose. As this can vary individually and often independently of head size between a delicate, narrow model nose and a broad boxer nose, the nose pads should be as flexibly adjustable as possible. The glasses must be able to be positioned at eye level without slipping, but without leaving red pressure marks on the nose.
The test results of these glasses can be found below as a PDF download:
- Alpina Dribs 2.0
- Alpina Splinter VL
- BBB Arriver BSG-26
- BBB Impulse Team BSG-38
- Carrera Pugno
- Carrera R&B X-Lite (TOUR test winner)
- Casco SX 20 Polarised
- Casco SX 30 Polarised
- Cratoni Air Blast
- Cratoni Blitz
- Endura Shark Glasses
- Endura Marlin Glasses
- Julbo Access
- Julbo Dust
- Northwave Sitch
- Northwave Volata
- Rose RBS 19 sports glasses
- Rose Photochromic 05 sports glasses
- Shimano S20R
- Shimano S20R-PH
- Swisseye Freeride
- Swisseye Slide
- Uvex Sportstyle 109
- Uvex Sportstyle 210
Downloads:
download
