Icebikers have more reasons to wear glasses than most cyclists, and more problems with them too. In addition to prescription lenses, other reasons to wear glasses include howling winds and blowing snow. When riding on broad expanses of snow, such as a frozen lake, sunny days can be so bright as to be downright painful, and snow blindness (photokeratitis) could result. Some forms of Sunglasses are called for.
For many icebikers, the need to wear glasses means dealing with all the usual winter hassles that glasses seem to bring. Seldom a problem in summer, glasses in winter are subject to fogging over seemingly at every breath, and in some cases frosting up to the point that you simply must stop and clean them. Even moderately fogged glasses can obscure ruts in the trail leading to some sudden spills.
How To Choose The Best Winter Cycling Goggles
In the wet weather of fall, rain buildup on your glasses can be a constant annoyance and can impair your vision to the point you may hit that patch of broken glass that you’ve successfully avoided every day this week up till now.
1. Prescription glasses
Prescription lens wearers often have no choice. They have to wear glasses just to be safe. The attendant fogging and frosting can be manageable with little tricks every eyeglass wearer learns over time, blowing breath down – or over your shoulder, cocking your head to the side to let air flow behind the lens to help clear away the fog, etc.
In addition, there are other steps you can take to reduce fogging and frosting.
2. Ski goggles
In blowing dry snow, or severe cold, you may want to try ski goggles. These are made with colored or clear lenses and come in sizes that can be worn over eyeglasses. Newer smaller goggles, while not accommodating eyeglasses, can be fitted with prescription lenses, and look less alien.
The best I can figure, even skiers don’t like ski goggles. They are the last item put on before a run and the first taken off. They can be confining, hard to get on and off, and can restrict your vision.
Skiers seldom have to worry about the 18-wheeler coming up from behind in the next lane. Cyclists do. Be sure to try them on and see if you can still see behind you. I have tried them but found them so restrictive of the over-the-shoulder view that they simply were not suitable for transportation cycling. Other icebikers, usually from much colder climates, report good results. You have to be the judge.
3. Safety goggles
Icebiker Marvin Lewiton reports: “I’ve got another tool for eyewear – they’re called “VisorGogs”, and are available through various health and safety product vendors.
Designed as impact or splash protection, they’re a one-piece lens attached to a brow pad and use an elastic strap to hold them on your head. As an eyeglass wearer, I find them great for wind/snow/sleet protection while riding. I use them over sunglasses on really cold days. They also seem to direct rain downwards – not sure of the aerodynamics involved, but it sure beats riding without them. Replaceable lenses for when (not if) they get too scratched.”
Lenses are available in various colors, are light and non-confining, they work over regular glasses, and they don’t make you look like you just came out of a welding shop. VisorGogs are manufactured by Jones and Company and are available for under $7 from Lab Safety Supply, and they have a far more “nerdy” picture on their web page.
Independent review available Here.
2. Sun Glasses
It’s no accident that Inuit (Eskimo) people invented sunglasses thousands of years before anyone else. Bright days on snow can be tough on your eyes. That sunny Saturday on the frozen lake can leave you with a mild case of snow blindness. (technically sunburned cornea).
Even regular sunglasses or cycling glasses may provide enough protection. Tinted Ski Goggles would also be helpful.
Some colored lenses, notably yellow and red, enhance contrast and can make bumps or ruts in the snow stand out more clearly, even on overcast days. The early sunglasses designs (shown at right) also didn’t suffer from fogging, because they had no lenses.
Tips For Rain riding
For rain riding there are a few chemical approaches to keeping your glasses free of rain and the associated fogging. Not always effective, and sometimes just snake oil, various remedies have been tried over the years. Among those the icebikers find worth mentioning are the following:
1. Treat the lenses to shed water
Some icebikers have used RainX for this during the rainy season. Made for automotive windshields, RainX increases surface tension, causing drops to hold together, and not adhere to the glass surface. You don’t need your wipers at automotive speeds as the wind will blow these large round drops off your window. At cycling speeds, an occasional sharp shake of the head is sufficient to dislodge most of the rain.
In heavy fog, RainX can cause the fog to bead up into microscopic beads, but never achieve a size sufficient to fall by their weight, even with a shake. In cold weather, RainX does not seem to help, and fogging still occurs.
Is RainX safe for eyeglasses?
I posed this question directly to the customer support representative of the RainX manufacturer. Their reply:
“Rain-X is a strong Alcohol solution before applied and would be an eye irritant. Once applied, however, the polymer will not harm the eye or be toxic in any way.
Rain-X is safe on all glass lenses that don’t have anti-glare coatings. If your prescription lenses have such coatings DO NOT USE RAIN-X ON THEM or they will not be coated for very long.”
2. Treat the lenses to sheet water
Sheeting water is exactly the opposite approach. With sheeting agents (the cheapest is dish detergent) we attempt to break down surface tension so that the water, while it will still adhere to the lens, will flow smoothly over it and drip off the bottom. There will be some distortion of vision, but not as much as having the lenses full of raindrops.
Just put one drop of detergent on each lens, rinse lightly, and don’t dry them so thoroughly as to remove all the soap. Don’t leave a visible film, it doesn’t take a lot.
3. Other commercial treatments
More than one icebreaker has recommended “Cat Crap” as an anti-fog treatment. This is billed as a lens cleaner, which leaves a residue that prevents fogging. Available from Campmor and other outdoor vendors.
The RainX company has a new anti-fog product which they claim is good for eyeglasses. It is called, imaginatively enough, Anti-Fog, and is stated to be a “micropolymer” treatment for glass and plastics that prevents the formation of Fog. No one I know has tried this product, as it is rather new.
FogTech Review
FogTech, by Motosolutions (yeah, ok, they were originally a motorsport group) is a new product that claims to work well in rain or temps down to -20F. The formula is proprietary, but they claim it is safe for coated lenses. Having ruined a pair of prescription-coated lenses with RainX, this was the first question that came to my mind.
I tested FogTech by applying it to one lens of a pair of prescription eyeglasses and leaving the other lens untreated. Both were washed with soap and water and dried completely before the test began.
The first thing I noticed was the “oil sheen” look of the coated lens when applied as directed. (A thin wet coat on each side of the lens). I expected this to dissipate but left it to dry overnight, it was still apparent. When wearing the glasses this sheen was ever so slightly apparent, sort of like mildly fogged lenses.
I then went out in the snowy damp Southeast Alaskan winter on our test ride with one lens treated and one lens clean. I had just had a heavy dump of wet snow. But by the time I hit the road, it was slush and constant mist. Huffing and puffing through the churned-up snow, I expected prime fogging conditions. As luck would have it neither lens fogged on this ride. But I did find the “oil sheen” annoying. This can’t be right, I thought.
Back at the hearth, I cleaned the classes again with soapy water. This time I applied FogTech sparingly. Very sparingly. One drop per lens. This still left a fine but visible mist. We just could never get it right. However, I was able to demonstrate that the lenses did not fog, as long as I was willing to put up with mild visual deterioration (fogging) due to the anti-fog treatment.
Tips For Cold Weather Riding
The most difficult temperatures for fogging are within 5 degrees above or below freezing. There is plenty of moisture around, and all of it seems attracted to your lenses.
When stopping, your breath rises around your glasses. Unzipping your jacket you will release a small cloud of warm moist air. You will often find your lenses fogging up at every stop sign, and clearing by themselves as you get going again.
Well below freezing, fogging of glasses is usually caused by your breath condensing on your lenses. Really cold air is also very dry, and moisture tends to disperse instantly. Often fogged lenses will clear by themselves in a minute or so. Simply by riding along, providing some ventilation from movement through the air, you will often be able to de-fog lenses. Those fitting close to your face will be harder to defog by ventilation.
If fogged lenses don’t clear themselves quickly in real cold weather, the condensate will freeze and you will have to stop clearing it manually.
Conclusion
That’s it for now. One more thing before I go! Make sure that your winter cycling goggles are impact-proof. They’d be great in case you fall!
Also Read
- How To Choose Between Winter Cycling Gloves, Pogies And Mittens
- How To Choose Extreme Winter Cycling Shoes, Boots And Footwear
- Winter Cycling Techniques For Any Kind Of Snow And Ice
