Eyeglass wearers: Sunglasses with prescription lens corrections

[ashok....@streamlinity.com]

Hi folks,

Looking for some advice here on sunglasses with prescriptive correction.

I have astigmatism and short-sightedness.   Power is around 2.5 - nothing too bad, but unfortunately, but I can't really read either my Garmin device or my phone clearly without my prescription glasses.  I do need bicycling sunglasses; riding with just my prescription glasses is not an option - my eyes start tearing in all the wind. 

I can see, ride and drive without my prescription glasses (for e.g. if it rains), but not being able to read my screen on long rides and brevets without switching to my prescription glasses is a problem.

What has worked for you? Approaches that have been suggested and I am evaluating:

1) Lasik - maybe this is the most complete, if expensive solution... I am talking to some docs here as well.
2) Some sunglasses vendors like Rudy seem to support prescription lens inserts.   If you use these, how do these work for you?   From what I can tell, these cost about $500-$600.

3) Contact lenses under regular bicycling sunglasses.   While I do not use contacts personally, I have heard this also results in dry eyes and discomfort in longer brevets.

If I am missing any other options, please LMK.   Mostly, I would like to understand what you do if you wear glasses normally.

Thanks
Ashok Natesan

[Joshua Haley]

I've been using sportrx for the last 7 years to order prescription transition lenses for my Oakley cycling sunglasses. It's not cheap, but about half price from getting them from the optometrist.  Works well. I have the same issue of regular glasses make my eyes raw by the end of the day.

Josh

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[Noah Swartz]

I personally don't wear sunglasses but I know that there are some prescription glasses options with clip on sunglass attachments.

Zenni has a bunch for around $40 

https://www.zennioptical.com/b/sunglasses/clip-on-sets

On Tue, May 27, 2025, 3:13 PM ashok....@streamlinity.com <ashok....@streamlinity.com> wrote:

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[Paul Carpenter]

I was having the same issue reading my Garmin now that I need reading glasses.  I didnt want to go the prescription route  or have to take a pair of reading glasses with me on rides.

I came across the Tifosi Rivet sunglasses and picked up a pair - I felt the price was reasonable.  They have a magnifying strip at the bottom (comes with different magnification levels) and are photochromic.  So far so good on several 200, 300, 400, and 600K brevets.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sfrandon/CAM6r7g12tV4UD_Vqby%2BvV1sSEMYm09LAyq7TQsABShLmCOxALA%40mail.gmail.com.

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Paul Carpenter, PhD

Professor and Chair

Department of Kinesiology, PE - 130

California State University East Bay

25800 Carlos Bee Blvd

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paul.ca...@csueastbay.edu

Pronouns (he/his/him)

[paul]

I bought a helmet with a photochromic visor. I can wear regular prescription glasses underneath it. However, I rarely do as I can read my garmin pretty well without them. https://casco-shop.eu/

Paul

[Bruce Fritz]

Paul,

I have a similar prescription to yours and use progressives normally.  On longer rides I carry a light pair of prescription glasses along with sunnies.

My experience ordering sport sunglasses (Nike) through my optometrist was disappointing.  The glasses gave a feeling of vertigo that I don't experience with regular prescription glasses.  The doctor said the lens curve base was at fault and gave me several re-dos on the lenses, which helped but did not fully resolve the problem. I appreciate the optometrist's expertise and free replacement lenses but quit using the glasses as even feeling a little dizzy is disconcerting.  

The suggested Tifosi glasses look like a good solution.  They are the first brand I've seen that offers a reasonable price on photochromic glasses with a magnifying section in the lens.  

For work I was issued inserts that clip inside safety glasses.  Dust and sweat get between the insert and outer lense easily and is hard to clean.  I reverted to using a large pair of safety glasses over my prescription glasses.  

Amazon sells stick-on magnifying add-ons. Does anyone have experience with these?  I suspect that sweat would peel them off or gunk them up enough to make them a poor option.

Bruce Fritz

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[Bob Gleixner]

Hi Ashok,

I initially wore contacts and then had Lasik for distance correction. Both worked very well for me with normal sunglasses. 

Then 20 years after Lasik I experienced the "early 50's shifts" and started losing my acuity both far and near (not too bad, but hard to see road features on fast descents or read small text). I talked to my optometrist about prescription lenses for sunglasses. She suggested that I try an "athletic" frame with fairly large, photochromatic, progressive lenses and that has worked for me. My main concern was tearing in the wind, but this has not been a problem. Outside of riding, on most (sunny California) days I can even ski with them without over-goggles. So if you think larger lenses could resolve your tearing, this could be a good option. 

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[Jeff Hodges]

You might give contacts a try.  They can correct for astigmatism and can be worn for long periods (how long is person-dependent AFAIK).  I wear "monthly" ones (Biofinity Toric by CooperVision) 12+ hours a day, and have not had any issues with dry eyes when riding.

JeffH

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[Jim Gourgoutis]

Hi Ashok,

The question about Rx cycling eyewear comes up from time to time.  Personally, I wear contact lenses for distance viewing and then use sunglasses with built-in reader lenses so I can see things up close.  I've also had good luck with Bolle Vigilante Cycling Sunglasses with Rx inserts, but it appears that these are no longer available.

Here are earlier SFR discussions on this topic:

https://groups.google.com/g/sfrandon/c/87TxfEEbALo/m/Apmp6dZVAAAJ

https://groups.google.com/g/sfrandon/c/FSYZgnFtk-Y/m/uzULg1aNhSsJ

https://groups.google.com/g/sfrandon/c/uD6-tqNo9-k/m/xxKOLbRvsB8J

Hope that helps!

-Jim Gourgoutis

[alan...@gmail.com]

HI Ashok,

I have good success using SportsRX to purchase the frame and lens with my prescription.  I have some astigmatism on my right eye so I need glasses in the past 4 years to play any sort of sport in the evening.  I didn't purchase sunglasses but instead purchased an Oakley Crosslink Zero with lens from Oakley digital but could have gone with the lens from SportRX.  

I have in the past purchase other sport frame eyeware from optometrist but with the VSP insurance, the lens never seem to be properly made where its un-distorted when rotating my eye looking up or down.  Straight seems to be fine which is why I gone with the Oakley digital as the claim is continuous curvature of the lens prescription. 

More so recently I've discover that I'm needing to where my prescription eyeware during overcast days. I had good success recently purchasing a pair of Oakley frame with the lens through Costco with the basic brown transition.  I've found good success using it for Tennis but not so well with cycling (mostly because the frame style doesn't fit well with my helmet.  The crosslink zero does a better job and provide a good coverage like a pair of shield sunglasses will (I also own Oakley jawbreaker which I LOVE and upgraded to their transition lens made it more versatile).

Please note, I don't use a full 100% prescription because I have such an acute angle in my astigmatism and the optometrist sized down to 75% of the prescription power.  If I used the 100% prescription, I can't see my hands out of the eyeware.   I found this works way better for my type of use; tennis at night, general driving and riding out at 5 AM to avoid the wind. During the day, I don't actually need to wear glasses unless I want to see everything in HD level.  So sometime I clip the jawbreaker on my helmet and switch from my prescription when the morning light is sufficient.

Hope this helps,

- recommend SportRX, staffs are great and knowledgeable . The price are good especially if you happen to use a series of coupons they sometimes offer.

- The Oakley crosslink zero looks/feels/performs like a cycling specific frame, just option for the transition lens

Alan T.

Still new to Randonneuring and working the courage to complete a 100k and more (nearly there .. short 10 miles .. didn't know metric sounds a lot larger than the English equivalent.. per Strava stats)

[gstb...@mac.com]

I was surprised to find that my Ray-Ban (7047 frames) prescription glasses work quite well on the bike. I got the photo chromatic lenses hoping to avoid needing indoor and outdoor glasses. I've been riding with these frames for several years now without issue. I'm afraid to try a different frame as these work so well.

Before I got real prescription glasses I used stick-on readers so I could read my Garmin. (there are thick ones which don't work well on the curved lenses,  but the thin ones worked quite well for me)

[Kitty Goursolle]

My eyes are about as bad as it gets. I'm extremely nearsighted, about a -9.  I used to fuss with changing lenses from daytime to nighttime, popping in the clear lenses for night and shaded lenses for day. I gave up on that idea and now use photochromatic lenses instead. I carry a spare pair of glasses too, that are also photochromatic, with me on long rides.  I found these Kapvoe glasses to work for me as well as any. The outer lens is photochromatic, protects from wind, and includes the inner prescription insert.  got mine at amazon, search for KAPVOE-Cycling-Photochromic-Sunglasses. https://a.co/d/fvWGlVj