In cycling almost all riders wear glasses and that's a good thing. It is a mystery why even people who actually need visual aids all the time often use models without prescription correction. After all, good prescription sports glasses aren't just cool, they're also smart! For example the Rudy Project Cutline Graphene…
Germany is the number one nation for wearing glasses! Around two-thirds of adults need visual aids, as I found out while researching this article - I wasn't aware of that. The question now is even more why so many people rely on ordinary sunglasses or sports glasses, even when cycling. Ok, some use contact lenses for sports and then standard glasses that can do without prescriptions. A lot of acquaintances, it turned out when asked, but simply see worse when they sit on the bike. They value cool glasses with a lot of style than perfect vision.
See and be seen!
I was told several times that extra sports glasses with the appropriate glazing would certainly be far too expensive and that you would be inflexible with them. Where this is not the case is with sports glasses with an inserted optical insert. Here, proven and functional sports glasses are provided with an additional insert, the lenses of which correct vision in accordance with everyday glasses. These clips can often be used in different glasses models from one manufacturer, so you remain flexible as far as the glasses model is concerned, you can use several glasses or switch to a new model. In addition, changing the prescription does not mean buying new glasses, but only converting the prescription clip with other glasses.
To the optician you trust!
At an event, Rock The Hill, I got into conversation with Björn Albrecht – the master optician owns Optik Fink, around the corner from us. So I'm standing on the event area in the bike park and picking sand out of the corner of my eye when he speaks to me and tells me that this wouldn't have happened to me with good sports glasses. For me it was part of accepting limitations; I thought that if you wore glasses you would have to live with it. We then talked shop for a while and I was a bit hooked on the possibilities. Nevertheless, I rejected the idea again and tried it first with a pair of goggles that you can also wear over your glasses; I will report on my experience with it in an extra article. When I was talking to Rudy Projekt about another piece of content, the topic came back to me and Rudy suggested just trying it out. You would provide the glasses and I would only have to take care of the optical insert. You don't say no! So make an appointment with Optik Fink...
How do I find the right glasses?
Glasses should please the wearer, that's true. However, it is even more important for sports glasses than for everyday glasses that they fit well. The glasses should stay where they belong, even "in action". If it is to provide good protection, then it should cover the eyes well and close the head well - this prevents dust or insects from getting in. So general advice is impossible; it is a matter of trying out which of the pleasing models fits the head of the wearer.
A certain selection of glasses must therefore be tried out before the specialist then carries out an eye test and determines the exact requirements. After all, the prescription insert has to be positioned exactly right in the glasses so that it is exactly in the field of vision when the glasses are correctly placed on the head. Ultimately, one can put it simply that the lenses must be exactly on top of each other so that the glasses fit well and the correction clip is in the right place for the eye at the same time. So one more reason to choose the optician carefully and to trust someone with experience in this field.
Once all the parameters have been set, the glass must be manufactured. As a rule, the optician orders the right blanks if he doesn't happen to have the right one there. Today, of course, this is no longer done by hand, but is done by a machine with the utmost precision. This usually takes a few days, which you can spend looking forward to your new glasses. In my case, the whole thing was very worthwhile and I can only recommend that you don't just continue to have bad eyesight with a "...it's okay..." or tolerate mud splashes in your eyes.
Why Rudy Project Cutline Graphene?
The Cutline simply fits my head well. The nickname graphene is a clear reference to the injection molding material graphene. The substance is carbon in the broadest sense, with a special arrangement of its atoms. Graphene is now used in tennis rackets, solar cells and even medical sensors. When used in the cutline, two properties are crucial: Graphene is very elastic and yet very robust and durable. By default is a photochromic disc. One could simply translate photochromatic as "coloring by light". If UV radiation from sunlight hits the glasses, the lenses will turn darker. The more sun, the more they darken – if the UV radiation decreases, the lenses become lighter again. Thanks to the photochromic glass, the Cutline Graphene replaces glasses and sunglasses in practice. The Cutline also covers other features for high-quality glasses: there are various interchangeable lenses and other spare parts individually; the nose bridge and the frame of the glasses can be easily adapted to the shape of the head.
Conclusion on the Rudy Project Cutline Graphene
I would not have expected the comfort that really good glasses like the Cutline offer. As a rule, I was on my bike with my everyday glasses, either with sunglasses or the conventional version. It really isn't a comparison! I can't recommend the Cutline to everyone because everyone has a different head. However, what I can clearly recommend is going to a good optician to get advice on Rudy Project glasses. The quality, also in relation to the price, and the performance are convincing. The Cutline is available from around €150, the Graphene version with the photochromic lens and the prescription clip costs around €300, plus the lenses, depending on your needs. The photochromic lens is my first choice and I actually sometimes miss it when I'm out with conventional glasses.
