Your choice in eyewear may very well be your last line of defense against road hazards like glare and stray pebbles. – Jordan Rapp

Bicycles can travel at car-like speeds. That means you need to protect your eyes from more than the sun’s rays. Sand, bugs and debris kicked up from the open road all present potential threats. Quality sunglasses aren’t just a matter of style; they’re a matter of safety.

Sunglasses can be life-changing in the event of a crash, where shatter-proof lenses can keep your eyes safe. Triathlete Jordan Rapp discovered this humbling truth after a hit-and-run accident in 2010. He thanks his shatterproof eyewear for saving his precious eyes. After his accident, Rapp did some research into sports eyewear.

Rapp learned that sports eyewear has three functions – impact protection, UV protection and optical clarity. According to Dr. Hylton Mayer of the Cataract Surgery Center at Yale University, ocular impact is the number two cause of blindness, meaning that impact protection is arguably the most important function of your sports eyewear. Look for eyewear with the ASTM F803-3 standard or, even better, with the ANSI Z87.1 standard.

To protect your eyes long-term, you want sunglasses with full-spectrum UV protection. 100% UV protection protects your eyes from UVA, UVB and UVC light.

The last function of sports eyewear seems obvious. Optical clarity means that your eyes are free to do their job of protecting you. For those who require prescriptions, most sunglasses manufacturers have the ability to customize your glasses with your prescription.

Since sports eyewear isn’t just for sunny days, manufacturers offer options for a variety of light conditions. For cycling through any conditions, Higher Gear favors transition lenses – lenses that change in sunlight, going from colorless to varying degrees of darkness.

Some people prefer darker lenses in the sunlight than the transition lenses provide – which is why we also offer sunglasses where the lenses can be swapped accordingly for the light conditions.

Whatever your preference, our staff will be happy to help you pick out the perfect pair for you. We promise that as cool as you’ll look, you’ll see even better.

At Higher Gear, we recommend SPY and Uvex eyewear. Stop by to try on a pair. We’ll keep you safe and looking good on your bike. Heck, this eyewear looks so good, you’ll probably keep it on long after you park your bike.

SPY Optics

SPY sunglasses have impact-resistant ANSI Z87.1 certified polycarbonate lenses that can be changed for a variety of light conditions. SPY makes function-forward facewear for fast fashion freaks who care about what they wear.

Jeremy McGrath, 7-Time AMA Supercross Champion, SPY founder and rider says about his company:

SPY’s connection to technical eyewear goes all the way back to the beginning of the Company, when we invented our anti-fogging technology, so the whole ‘Performance’ thing is an evolution of our heritage as much as it is about design or innovation. We started out as California racers who did other sports, and that vibe is still what SPY is about today. If I don’t have to wear goggles, whether it’s mountain-biking or hitting golf balls or whatever, I’m wearing these glasses.

Features of the SPY Performance series eyewear:

• SPY-patented anti-fogging Scoop venting system.
• Virtually unbreakable Grilamid frames.
• Impact-resistant, optically-correct and distortion-free ARC (Accurate Radius Curve) lenses.
• Glare-reducing Premium Trident polarized infusion in select models.
• Bounce-back glare-diffusing lens coating.
• Anti-scratch and hydrophobic and oleophobic technology.
• Environmentally reactive Hytrel rubber nose pads and temple tips.
• UVA, UVB and UVC protective treatments.

Uvex Sunglasses

Without a clear, undisturbed view any kind of outdoor sport is getting a non-calculable risk. For this reason good sports eyewear should be part of your equipment. Only high-grade eyewear with special coated lenses are providing the best protection. All uvex  eyewear have a special UV filter, which excludes the harmful radiation 100%. This is also the origin the company name uvex: uv – ex = ultraviolet excluded.

Features of uvex lenses include:

• 100% UVA, UVB and UVC protection
• Variomatic lenses – tinting in response to variable light conditions
• Uvex Supervision – scratch-proof outer lense, fog-free inner lens
• Polavision – protection from reflection and glare
• Litemirror – protection from infrared rays
• Dégradé – color gradient, providing glare protection at the top and clear vision towards the bottom
• Decentered lens technology – distortion-free vision
• Easy to clean – sweat water and dirt slide off
• Direct lens and frame ventilation – permanent fog-free vision