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Prism and Mirror Glasses
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Hello jackmott and All,

This recently posted on BTR:


Hello Nico and All,

Thanks for the report.

Regarding one aspect of your report - prism gleasses:

I have been experimenting with prism (and mirror) glasses for several years.

As you may know there have been many patents filed for various prism and mirror glasses and set ups over many years.

Few if any seem to have made it into production or as a useful application.

I have construted several different units over the years and my most recent unit I have used with slight variations over the last 2 years in Ironman and other races.

The unit was useful to me in to win Ironman Florida in 2008 and Ironman Arizona in 2009 for my age group.

http://www.asiorders.com/...7879&ID=78361802

http://www.asiorders.com/...7879&ID=78354265

When on the aerobars it increases my speed considerably to keep my head down all the time (nose to the grindstone so to speak) and rests my neck too, and when on the brake hoods I can still keep my head down and my neck relaxed and mitigate the effects of Schermer's Neck, with 'two position' viewing.

http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/...-daily-wrap-up-day-9

"Peter Oyler was also forced to abandon, unable to ride through the agony of “Schermer’s Neck”. The Canadian has been almost a mainstay in sixth position over the last five days, but there was no way he could ride 1,400 more miles in such pain."

I have investigated patenting the unit but it appears difficult to find something 'unique' or 'non-obvious' about the unit. My patent attorney is reviewing the issue however.

Sweating, even in Hawaii, is not a problem except if I stop as the normal breeze and a sweat band keeps the lens clear.

Rain is a problem but can be mitigated with a visor.

Cheers,

Neal

Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster
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Re: Prism and Mirror Glasses [nealhe] [ In reply to ]
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http://www.asiorders.com/...7879&ID=78354265

I like how you're not in aero for this picture.

-Jot


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Re: Prism and Mirror Glasses [gamebofh] [ In reply to ]
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Hello gameboth and All,

Good point and you are right in that I am not on the aero bars and that is why I included this picture.

More aero than you might think though ..... my head is down .... my neck relaxed .... an advantage of the 'two view' glasses.

Cheers,

Neal

Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster
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Re: Prism and Mirror Glasses [nealhe] [ In reply to ]
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I also like how your baggy clothing is costing you a bucket of watts ;)

Seriously though, I'm really surprised that these are not against the rules. Even if there is no explicit rule against them I would imagine there is some kind of "dangerous equipment" clause that would allow a ref to disqualify an athlete using them, which would make me nervous enough not to use them. I'm sure they are hard to spot in the crowd, but still. I can almost guarantee if you showed up to a USAC TT with something like that and the officials caught wind they would not let you use them. Not sure if that applies to you or not, just a thought.
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Re: Prism and Mirror Glasses [ontherivet] [ In reply to ]
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Hello ontherivet and All,

Another good point about the baggy jacket I picked up day before race at second hand store. (Poor planning) I was damn cold after swim and the extra warmth was worth the watts. The 'throwaway' (albation) jacket was shed about half way. I was sick with flu before race and was not sure I would finish in any event but thought I would give it a shot and conservation of energy was key.

To make that judgement (that the unit is dangerous) you would have to try the unit and make an evalualtion based on fact .... field of vision ..... quality of vision ..... and so on. I suspect it is much different than what you imagine.

In my opinion the unit is safe since normal vision is always available by just looking up and head down vision is excellent as evidenced by my safe use in training and racing. It is just another place to look ..... think about your rear view mirrors on your car or bike.

To your point about ruling on new equipment ...... quite awhile back I asked Charlie Crawford at USAT about using a miniture video camera with a presentation like a power meter and he said he would guess that USAT would not approve it so I did not pursue that option.

As far as I know racing with glasses or contact lens is approved by USAT and for Ironman races.

Cheers,

Neal

Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster
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Re: Prism and Mirror Glasses [nealhe] [ In reply to ]
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HELLO!

I got dizzy using such "a unit" laying in bed, reading a book and taking notes on the side.

But I wasn't on shrooms.... can't comment on "the unit" working better while on them.

But maybe you can recommend something BETTER?

___________________________________________
Ego numquam pronuncio mendacium,
sed sum homo salvaticus
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Re: Prism and Mirror Glasses [de-tri-mental] [ In reply to ]
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Hello de-tri-mental and All,

The same pair of shoes do not fit everyone.

To each his own.

Different ideas suffer the NIH syndrome and are generally only slowly accepted, and sometimes not accepted at all.

Cheers,

Neal

Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster
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Re: Prism and Mirror Glasses [nealhe] [ In reply to ]
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This idea isn't new, I'm aware of it having been proposed in the early '90s by an ultramarathon athlete, sorry, can't remember who it was.

I suspect the only reason this hasn't been banned by relevant agencies is that it's never had any serious commercial introduction. And I suspect it's never been commercially introduced due to daunting safety/liability issues.

I have no doubt that you could achieve a more aero position with these glasses but for the reasons mentioned above I wouldn't be in any rush to invest in this as a commercial product.
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Re: Prism and Mirror Glasses [tttiltheend] [ In reply to ]
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I work for an eyeglasses/sunglasses website and oen of our owners said he could make some lenses with a prism built in to shift your vision "up" no problem.

But, I don't think we could sell them if you didn't have an RX for it.



Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter
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Re: Prism and Mirror Glasses [nealhe] [ In reply to ]
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Hi Nealhe,

I thought you might enjoy this video of me riding in my prism glasses I made over the winter after being inspired by your ideas.

I want to try it in an Oly in May.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR9hYXL0KOE

Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
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Re: Prism and Mirror Glasses [DrTriKat] [ In reply to ]
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Hello DrTriKat and All,

Way to go!!!

Let me know if you have any questions about using them and how much they increase your speed at same watts.

Cheers,

Neal

+1 mph Faster
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Re: Prism and Mirror Glasses [ontherivet] [ In reply to ]
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ontherivet wrote:
I can almost guarantee if you showed up to a USAC TT with something like that a

Pretty sure mirrors are in both the USAC rules and the Ironman rules. Just looked it up, Ironman prohibits mirrors attached to helmet, body, or bike. Google even pulled it up.

The USAC stuff is split in a couple books, I didn't bother.
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Re: Prism and Mirror Glasses [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]
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Hello burnthesheep and All,

I have not seen mirror restrictions in venues other than Ironman .... and that restriction appeared more recently .... primarily implemented for rear view mirrors .... as used by Kevin Moats to evade marshals when illegally drafting.

With many triathletes keeping their head down for comfort and speed and impairing their forward vision I think some form of forward vision improvement will evolve .... to create safer cycling.

Perhaps something like the Garmin Varia.



What do you think?

Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster
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