POC, a Swedish helmet and accessory manufacturer, has expanded its line of avant-garde sunglasses with the release of the Propel model. The Propel, in keeping with the POC canon, is not just massive and brash but also incredibly aerodynamic.
Design
The Propel is made to sit closer to the rider’s face. It has a wraparound shape and precise side fairings that direct air away from the rider’s ears. This careful control of airflow improves a rider’s aerodynamics by directing air over the shoulders instead of letting it hit the rider’s ears and cause turbulence. This makes the airflow smoother and improves the rider’s aerodynamic profile.
Many of POC’s performance sunglasses were tested in CFD alongside the Propel’s. The Propel’s always came out on top, saving watts and with a new design that was the most aerodynamic. Also, the Propel glasses have a special Clarity lens that wraps further around the head. This gives the wearer an amazing field of view and makes it easier to see and react to dangers earlier.
Technical Details
The 3/4 frame wrap-around sunglasses are made of Bio-Grilamid, which is a polyamide plastic made from castor plant oil that can be used again and again. The glasses have earpieces that can be adjusted for length and a large, interchangeable Clarity lens that makes it easy to see. However, they are not so big that they will get in the way of most helmets.
All of the POC Propel aero sunglasses come with one violet and silver or gold mirrored lens and an extra clear lens. Brown/Light Silver Mirror, Brown/Silver Mirror, Brown, Clear 90.0, Violet, Violet/Gold Mirror, Violet/Light Silver Mirror, and Violet/Silver Mirror are some of the different colored lenses that can be bought separately.
Pricing And Availability
The EF Education-EasyPost and EF Education-TIBCO-SVB teams wore the new POC Propel aero glasses for the first time in a race last week at the Tour Down Under. But you can now get a pair as well.
The Propel is now available for $250/250€ in six frame and lens color combinations:
- Hydrogen White / Violet/Silver Mirror
- Uranium Black / Violet/Silver Mirror
- Grey Translucent / Violet/Silver Mirror
- Fluorescent Orange Translucent / Violet/Gold Mirror
- Purple Quartz Translucent / Violet/Silver Mirror
- Fluorescent Pink/Uranium Black Translucent / Violet/Gold Mirror
Conclusion
Even if the aero claims aren’t true (and even if they aren’t true compared to other sunglasses and helmets with similar shapes), the Propel still has some interesting features.
Instead of using straight earpieces that clamp the rider’s head between them, POC has gone back to the old style of hooking the temples behind the ears. Since there are many different distances between the ear and the face, the length of these temples is adjustable, and there is a small piece of non-slip rubber at the end to help keep them in place. The hooked design could make the helmet fit better, but perhaps more importantly, it should also make it almost impossible for different helmet retention systems to get in the way.
As you might guess, the huge interchangeable lens and wide half-frame design give the camera a huge field of view.
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Featured Image Via Poc