There is something supremely Fantastic about a precisely manicured set of sunglasses, particularly when they’re not being used for their intended purpose. Certainly, there are times when circumstance offer no alternative but to actually look through them, but for the most part, it’s a bit pedestrian to use sunglasses for seeing through.
I’ve been obsessed with sunglasses since I was a kid; photos of the Smallest Frank Imaginable feature sunglasses in close proximity, usually perched atop my head of wavy brown hair and rarely anywhere near my eyes. As an athlete, sunglasses have never been far adrift, whether in skiing or cycling, and – in all seriousness – for good reason: eyes are fragile things that should be protected.
Nevertheless, whenever any kind of effort is required, I quickly find myself moving the eyeglasses away from my eyes in an almost claustrophobic panic, and it wasn’t until my most recent ride up Haleakala in my 30th year of sport that the reason for this occurred to me. As athletes, we are hugely dependent on our vision to gauge our effort.
Flying by V-Meter only, our vision offers a constant feedback loop to how near the Man with the Hammer has wandered, and how sharp his blow might be. As we approach sustained effort at or above aerobic threshold, one of the early signs of Diminishing V Returns is the flushing of blood from our cheeks followed closely by the tunneling of our vision. Color is desaturated, then the sides box in a bit, then things get a bit narrow and blurry, and after that the deterioration is not normally recalled in any degree of clarity.
It struck me like a bolt from Merckx’s Crankset: when my vision starts to go, I tear away my sunglasses in order to gauge my effort without the abstraction of the lens. So long as I ride within myself, the shades happily cover my eyes; when I am at my limit, they come off and pop onto the helmet. I used to blame claustrophobia, now I realize it is a matter of gaining an unobstructed view on the V-Meter.
Vive la Vie Velominatus.
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I perch my glasses on long climbs only, since I need prescription glasses and don't get along with contacts. Perching them allows me to maximise every square cm of ventilation available, and allows me to blur out the environment - I don't want to see the road ahead when I'm putting out every watt left in me. All I can see, then, is a blurry contour of the road below. This, however, will depend on the situation - if we're actually competing up the climb, the glasses stay on: One shouldn't reveal anything to the competition.
I used to ride Rudy's ubiquitous Rydon, but upgraded since. Smith's Pivlocks come in V-Orange and are the tits: I ride the V1 (left, though mine have blue arms) since I need inserts, my mother rides the V2 (right). What started out as a curious "Can I try them?" at an expo quickly became a family purchase. They're fantastic for on-the-rivet, head-down laying of the V (all frameless designs are superior in that regard), but I've found them perfect for perching, too - the arms grip tight and are super-flexible, and I've securely fitted them both right-side-up and flipped into the vents of my helmet. Right-side-up for the Schleckian climber's look, upside-down for the longer periods (or rough conditions).
Funny how every time I try a helmet on, I first test it's ability to hold me glasses.
@DerHoggz
I was going to say there is no such thing but that photo of Ullrich is pretty awesome.
In general though I think 95% of helmet+cap combos look pretty awful.So Jan falls within the margin of acceptable error.
Choose one or the other, people.
@ChrisO
How come he gets a Rule #37 pass? Is it because you can break this rule provided your first name is Jan and your second Ullrich and you pay €35,000 a year to doubtful doctors?
@the Engine
That's exactly it. I actually do like Jan and think he was/is awesome. But once I made fun of his current weight here and was given the stinkeye by a few people.
@graham d.m.
I remember it well - perhaps he employs people skilled in mass hypnoses too
@ChrisO I think a lot of it comes down to head shape. If you've got the wrong shape head a cycling cap is never going to look good whether it's worn by itself or with a helmet.
I've certainly got the wrong shaped head as cycling caps just make my head look more like a bowling ball. (This isn't necessarily a bad thing as in the past when i was younger and somewhat more impressionable it probably saved from some disastrous head wear faux pas)
@tessar
@frank
I got a free Giro AEON in 2011 and although the brain bucket is superior in fit and comfort over the IONOS, the vents of the AEON aren't as glasses friendly as the IONOS which is disappointing. With all the pros popping their sunnies in their helmets, you'd think that this would be an important design consideration.
@Chris
Or the type of cap - I look like an utter tool in a three panel cap (like a Pace or Rapha), but much better in a four panel cap (Santini or Nalini) As far as looking good under a helmet, I think it also depends on the helmet. I think Lazer's design with the cutout in the front goes a long way to accommodating a cap.
I also always though VDB knew how to properly wear a cap under a helmet and managed to look pretty fucking bad ass
like others, i wear prescription lenses (with jawbones), hate inserts and don't work well with contacts. before i had proper cycling glasses, i just rode with my normal everyday glasses (see: fignon, laurent). so the idea of taking them off for any particular reason never really occurred to me. as such, i got used to riding with them always on and so that's what i do.
i wish i could take advantage of the awesome transition lenses like frank has in his radarlocks; those really are great all-around lenses. but the black iridium/clear option (where it's black iridium coated but does fade to 100% clear as well) is also available for jawbones, but not for prescription lenses. the only options are transitions (either straight-up brown or black tint) or iridium transitions, which only fade to about 40-60% light transmission, depending on the tint. neither of which i'm happy with. as such, if i'm setting out on a late ride (normal this time of year) i have to bring my clear lenses along and stop to change mid-way. annoying, yes (especially when it's cold and your body temp drops). but being able to see is good too.
@CanuckChuck The helmet might still be salvageable - try it with differed shades. The straight arms of the Rudy Project are easier to get into the vents of some helmets, while the curve of the Smiths or Oakleys fits other vents better...