Cycling glasses are like a windshield, but for your head. Not only do they protect your eyes against harmful UV radiation, they also shield them from other “external evils”: rain, wind, dust, stones and bugs. That’s why you shouldn’t just own high quality cycling glasses, but also handle them with care. After all, you’ll enjoy them longer.
1. Choose the eyewear that suits you
The best glasses are the ones that you want to put on all the time. So they shouldn’t only be comfortable to wear and fit well; BBB offers glasses for normal, larger and smaller faces. We even have appropriate cycling glasses for children. However, they should also be functional; road cyclists and competitive mountain bikers often prefer glasses with little frame material and a large field of vision, such as the Avenger. Trail riders usually opt for eyewear with a more robust frame that offers greater protection from low-hanging branches, such as the Adapt model.
2. All you need is hand soap and lukewarm water
The lenses in your glasses can’t withstand the pH values of cleaning agents, which is why they damage your lenses. It’s best to clean your lenses with lukewarm water and some hand soap.
3. Use the proper cleaning cloth
Obviously it’s very tempting to quickly clean a dirty spot with the corner of your shirt. Some cycling jerseys have a special cleaning cloth sewn in. That’s no problem, of course. Watch out for fine dust particles that may be sticking to your glasses or jersey and that can have a scouring effect if you make a rubbing motion. The best thing to do is use the cleaning cloth that comes with your glasses.
4. Keep them safe
We suspect that more glasses have met their fate in the back pockets of cycling jerseys than any other place. All BBB glasses come with a small storage bag or even a heart-shaped pouch. That’s obviously the best place to keep them. But when you’re on your bike, it’s most convenient to put your glasses in the ventilation holes of your helmet, on your forehead (if you’ve taken off your helmet while you’re enjoying a cup of coffee) or, as some of the pros do, put them backwards on your neck.
5. Photochromic lenses and trees are an ideal combination
With some of its glasses, BBB offers the option of a so-called photochromic lens. It’s a lens that gets darker when the ambient light is stronger, and becomes lighter when it’s darker. It seems like such a simple idea that it’s not getting much attention. However, in our experience it’s the ideal solution for cyclists who ride a lot amongst the trees: mountain bikers who search for nice trails, for example, or gravel riders who take their bike deep into the dark pine forests. Situations in which you sometimes ride in the bright sun, but sometimes also in the shade.
Courtesy of Bowral Classic Supporting Partners BBB Cycling, Photos Wielrenblad & Rotgans Photo.
