If you wear glasses and cycle, do you just wear your normal specs?

[HappyThursdays]

I have picked up cycling again and am pondering it for my commute (about 17-20km).

Do you wear your normal glasses on your bike? Only asking as I saw someone with goggle type glasses the other day. Mine don't feel like they will fall off and I have a glasses cord round the ends of them anyway! My eyesight isn't good enough to cycle without them!

It depends.
If I am nipping to the post office or something so am not going to be out long, and it's not particularly bright then I just wear my normal glasses. If I am going out for a "proper" ride, then i have cycling glasses with a prescription insert. Wrap around style cycling glasses are better at stopping debris, insects etc going in my eyes as well as providing better wind protection which helps stop your eyes and nise running when you are riding. It is also sensible to have some UV protection, even in winter. I am a bit paranoid about that to be honest as my Mum had a degenerative eye disorder and my optician is always reminding me how important it is that I protect my eyes, but I'm sure it's sensible generally. Most cycling glasses come with a variety of lenses for different light conditions.

I wear my normal glasses for a similar commute. For longer road cycling I tend to wear contacts and cycling sunglasses.

thanks both.

Tried it out yesterday and it actually made me feel quite ill. I normally only wear them to drive and barely drive so I think it's the fact that i had them on for a long time (over an hour) when I'm not used to them!

also tried new bike and it's a bit heavy and unwieldy compared to my road bike but I just don't want to commute using the road bike so I need to have a think about what to do. Have a feeling I just bought the wrong (new) bike and should have gone for a more middle ground one!

@CovidCorvid what bike are you doing that length commute on?

I use a bog standard (heavy!) road bike for commuting. There was no point having anything fancy/ light as it is out in all weather and on salted and or muddy/ gritty roads. I have full mudguards (SKS bluemels I think) and bombproof (heavy) tyres - Schwalbe Marathon Plus. They’re 25’s, so not wide and clinchers. I’ve got ordinary time brakes which work perfectly (very hilly here). I also have a rack, so carry laptop, case files, change of clothes and food in my panniers. The bike is kitted out mainly in 105, so again, nothing fancy. I’ve got heavy wheels, (the cheapest shimano ones), again because there’s no point having anything fancy due to the type of riding I do.

At times I do commute on my full carbon, fancy, swanky race bike. But that’s only in the summer, in good weather and I’ll be doing a longer ride into work. I’ll have taken all my ‘stuff’ in the day before so I don’t need to carry anything. Also commuted on my mountain bike (also all out race setup) and cyclo cross bike, both commutes on these are off road.

It really doesn’t matter what you commute on, as long as it’s comfy and equipped for the conditions.

Commute time for me (distance is meaningless as it’s so hilly!!) no matter what bike I’m on is approx 90 mins to 2 hours on the way in (always do a longer route) and 35 minutes back home (most direct).

I have always just worn my normal glasses or prescription sunglasses, regardless of length of time on my bike. From my old commute of 50mins each way to longer pleasure rides to my current 10mins commute. Never really thought about it!

I wear my normal glasses on my commute, or if it's incredibly rainy then contact lenses. But I'm not exactly a keen cyclist - I do it because it's cheap and quicker than public transport - so I haven't got fancy kit and I'm not going anywhere quickly!

I’ve done the commute for a few years on a Liv Alight hybrid. Only cost about £200. No way would I use a road bike, too high value to put them through the use and risk of being stolen. I’m a lot slower than in my road bike but it’s just totally different. I’m on a gravel tow path, I have a rucksack with stuff in it. I just take it steady. Must admit a few months ago I bought a swytch kit to electrify it as I always seem to have a killer head wind coming back. Not sure about it though, the bike is even heavier now and I’ve had issues with power loss.

I have prescription cycling glasses from EyePod which have different outer layers depending on conditions - clear, orange, mirrored etc.
I prefer them as the wrap around keeps more stuff out of my eyes. I am dependent on my glasses so don't want to get mine damaged by a stone chip, but my sunglasses wouldn't be suitable for riding in low light either!