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The Benefits Of Clear Cycling Glasses And Why You Should Get A Pair Today

Oakley Radar EV Glasses

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Clear cycling glasses are protective eye glasses built to be worn while cycling. They have the same shape and form as cycling sunglasses, but these are clear.

Why clear?

Clear cycling glasses are worn purely for eye protection from branches or rocks kicking up. Since they have no tint, clear cycling glasses are quite often used during evening or night riding.

Benefits Of Clear Cycling Glasses For Cyclists

Cycling glasses are a type of protective eyewear that is designed to be worn when riding a bike. They are usually made from plastic or glass to shield the user’s eyes from debris, dust, dirt, and other objects in the environment.

The benefits of wearing safety glasses while riding bike are numerous:

  • Cycling glasses provide protection for the eyes against debris and harmful UV rays
  • They reduce glare and improve contrast in low-light conditions
  • They protect against windburns and sunburns on the face
  • They can also protect against insects in some instances.
  • They are perfect at night mountain biking when you want no light filtering

Clear glasses are your choice when you want eye protection but not sunglasses. Clear safety glasses are a smart idea to protect your eyes.

Tifosi Veloce Glasses

Things To Consider When Buying Clear Cycling Glasses

The best cycling glasses that are clear not only protect your eyes from the sun and wind, but they also help you see better. These glasses are designed with a lens that is more transparent than other lenses on the market.

Some people like to wear clear riding glasses while mountain biking because they don’t want to be distracted by their own reflection in tinted lenses.

The best cycling sunglasses that are clear are also perfect for those who need to wear prescription eyewear while biking because they don’t have any tinting on them. There are many glasses and goggles that have more room to accomodate wearing your prescription glasses underneath in fact.

One important thing to look for is UV protection if you plan on wearing them during the day. Not all clear cycling glasses have UV protection, and some have even more than sunglasses. If you plan on wearing them during the day, be sure to look for ones with advanced UV protection.

Another thing to consider is that some glasses have different color lenses you can switch out and switch between clear, yellow, and tinted lenses so they work for all conditions. If you don’t mind switching out lenses, this can be an efficient way to cover all bases and still have clear riding glasses when you need them.

Just remember you are buying glasses to protect your eyes. It’s worth $30 to ensure your eyes are protected.

In fact, I put together a list of cheap cycling sunglasses that are all under $40 that do a great job of protecting your eyes and look cool while doing it. They all have clear optics and are a pleasure to wear when riding.

Will Photochromic Glasses Work In Place of Clear Glasses?

Yes and no. Photochromic glasses will go from tinted to clear depending on the ambient light. In reality, they go mostly clear, but they won’t go completely clear.

If you want clear glasses, your best bet is to get a clear set. While photochromic glasses work ok for cycling, I would instead opt to get two cheaper glasses, one pair of clear cycling glasses and one pair of cycling sunglasses. You can sets for under $40 each, so they don’t even have to be expensive glasses. With clear glasses cycling at night is safe and a breeze.

About the Author

Tony K

Senior Technical Writer, MountainBikeExperience.com

Tony K is a technical editor at MountainBikeExperience.com. He has a focus on downhill bike riding but still loves xc bikes too.

With more than ten years of mountain biking experience and more than 5 years testing mountain bikes, Tony has ridden and tested hundreds of different bikes and products, everything from XC to enduro bikes. Tony regularly competes in mountain bike races while seeing how long those compontents can hold up which gives me a lot of insight.

When he isn't shredding down a mountain or camping out, he is writing reviews for Mountain Bike Experience.

Rides: Surly Lowside, Canyon Exceed