I tried on a pair of Tifosi photochromatic sunglasses today and stepped outside in the bright sun and although they got dark, I didn’t feel it was dark enough. I was outside for maybe 1 minute.
Is this a common issue? Or did I not wait long enough?
Anyone know if Oakley’s photochromatic are better in this regard?
I’d love to have a single pair of glasses that work in all conditions (including night riding with street lights), but they have to actually work!
got dark enough for me when I had bolles
takes 5min or so.
I have the Tifosi’s and they get dark enough for me. Maybe it was the color you tried on? Mine are the High Speed Red lenses.
These were completely clear when inside.
i have a pair that don’t get dark enough, though the name escapes me at the moment.
but the real annoyance is the Car windshield that blocks UV light makes them not work! pi$$e$ me right off it does!
i only use them for early morning/late evening rides when the sun is changing.
I tried on a pair of Tifosi photochromatic sunglasses today and stepped outside in the bright sun and although they got dark, I didn’t feel it was dark enough. I was outside for maybe 1 minute.
Is this a common issue? Or did I not wait long enough?
Anyone know if Oakley’s photochromatic are better in this regard?
I’d love to have a single pair of glasses that work in all conditions (including night riding with street lights), but they have to actually work!
I have never had luck with photocromatics, I just carry an extra set of yellow lenses which will actually brighten up the world
it’s not an “all in one” solution but the benefits outweigh the very small added hassle of keeping the second set of lenses in the saddle bad.
YMMV
I have a set of Rudy Project Noyz with photochromatic lenses. Work great for sunny days.
I’m on my second pair of Oakleys with prescription Transitions lenses. My original pair, which I ordered through my doc, transitions to a darker shade of grey than my newer pair (ordered direct from Oakley). Both are the Transitions brand, and in grey, so I can’t really tell you why they differ. But they both work well.
I have Oakley Radars with the G40 Photochromic lens and I really like it. It’s a pale rose color at their lightest, which is great in low light/ cloudy/ shadowy conditions, and it’s gets pretty dark as well. At they’re darkest they don’t cut as much glare as a mirrored lens does, but it does the job for me. If I know it’s going to be super bright the whole time I’m riding, I’ll swap the lens out for the Fire Iridium that I’ve got to help cut down the glare, but I use the G40 like 90% of the time and I’m really happy with it. And it does take a minute or two to go from the lightest to the darkest shade.
i use the ryders photochromic, i am in Florida they get dark enough
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My everyday Rx glasses are the Transitions brand… they get quite dark pretty quickly (almost immediately); it’s at least as dark as my regular Oakley lenses that I use for riding, although the Oakleys are an amber tint for greater contrast instead of flat gray. They take a lot longer to go clear when I return indoors, though (probably 4-6minutes? long enough for it to be annoying sometimes).
I have a couple of pair of Rudy Project, and they get perfect! I have the clear, but also the red photo, which are also exceptional at night. One of the men’s magazine declared them the best night glasses. Try them; I think you’d be pleased and they have a great return policy if you’re not. Not many will go that far.
Gary
I have a pair of the photochromatic for my Oakley Jawbones. They work, but I wish they would get darker. They are good for hazy, cloudy-sunny days and lower light conditions (i.e. early morning rides or dusk rides). I do not really prefer them for very sunny days/no clouds…I go back to the polarized lens for these days.
use rudy project and they work great … changing weather or rain - no problem they become clear in a matter of a minute
i’ve got a question for y’all with photo-c lens’. am i wrong that the sun has to actually be on the lens for it to darken? i generally have a hat on and my helmet has a visor on it, so i very rarely get direct sunlight on the lens itself. i have a pair of rudy’s, don’t remember the model, and it seems like they never got that dark. which to me makes sense in hindsight.
just a point to ponder when buying photo-c lens’. i like a really dark lens, but also like to keep direct sunlight off my eyes as much as possible.
cheers, j-
I got a pair of Transitions lenses (we can buy this in Canada, don’t know about US), in my presrciption that I inserted into a pair of $35 frames. They get plenty dark when exposed to UV light, in fact in the snow, sometimes they literally get too dark! This is what I use for racing, and when I am not at work I even use these for my casual prescription glasses.
Dev
I think I have the same ones as you are talking about.
They don’t get stare at the sun dark.
They do get dark enough to ride in the middle of the day.
And, I am always glad I have them when my rides last until dusk.
Hope this helps
Drivewear!!! It is a type of transition that adapts perfectly depending upon situation, whether driving, road biking, mountain biking or even paddling.
They come in both prescription and non prescription.
That being said, they don’t get that dark, however they are polarized.
I have the Oakley lenses. My initial thought was that they were not dark enough. Since using them for the last two years, I was wrong. They are not as dark as the Black Iridiums, but do get dark enough for very bright light.
I’ve got the Tifosi Fototec “red” lenses, one of the darker ones (I think only the brown ones are darker.)
They are definitely not dark enough for summer afternoons. You’ll be squinting hard. Use a dedicated dark lens (fixed) for those days.
BUT - for everything else, including dawn/dusk, and even early night, these lenses are great. Since we tend not to do most our training in peak sunlight during summer, I find that these are my go-to glasses. Work especially well on trail runs where there’s alternating significant cover and then exposure. It’s not even close to perfect, but it’s been my most useful sunglass set to date.
If they could get it to darken a lot more, it would be amazing. But as long as you know its limitations, its a very good lens.