I currently have a pair of Rudy Project sunglasses that have the optical insert. My eye doctor told me on my last visit that i could use bifocals now if I so desired. I currently just take off my glasses to read things as I really do not wear my normal eyeglasses that much, except for driving. I currently wear these sports sunglasses for basically everything outside except driving. For driving I just use the sunglass clip thing that came with my normal glasses. I would like to have bifocal sunglasses so I can actually read outside with my sunglasses on as I did find that rather challenging this past summer!
My question is, can one wear bifocals for sports and not go insane? I have money in my health care spending account left over for this year and was trying to decide if I should spend it on bifocal sunglasses.
If I do I have 2 options;
Buy a new insert for current Rudy sunglasses and get it with bifocal lens.
Skip the sports sunglasses and just get a new pair of sunglasses that I would only use for non-sports activities, so more fashion glasses verses sports glasses I guess.
I do bike tours and such for training so I guess I could make use of the bifocals for that when reading route maps, etc. so I did not have to take off glasses. I just did not know if having bifocals in the lens would work for biking or not - have no clue!
Any advice would be appreciated. Like I said, I can at least just get a pair for vacation, running around I guess…
I found these small semicircular plastic reading lenses that stick on the inside of my sunglasses, turning them into bifocals. They come in various strengths and can be placed however you want. Now I can read my watch and computer. Can’t recall the name, but I got them at Walgreen’s.
In order to answer this properly for you I would need to know:
-your age
-your spectacle Rx
-what you would like to use them for
The short answer is “it depends” which sounds like a cop out but it really isn’t. I have had many patients who do fantastically with progressives for all activities and others who can’t us them at all for things like golf, tennis, etc. It often comes down to the visual tolerance of the wearer.
Feel free to PM me more info if you like and I will do my best.
I have a pair of Rudy Project Graals in a bifocal. No insert. At the time the optometrist said he couldn’t do a progressive because of the lens shape. I don’t know if that’s changed as it’s been several years since I got fitted for the RX Graals.
I think right now what I really want them for is just for normal wear, verses sports wear. I would like to be able to not have to take off the glasses to read when outside where I need the sunglasses to protect my vision from the sun. If I find they do not annoy me, I think I would proceed to wear them for sports activities such as biking, running, hiking, XC skiing, snowshoeing.
My current Rudy glasses are the Ekynox SX with the optical insert. I am thinking just to save money in case I hate them, I can just get another insert and get the new lenses in them and then I can use whatever insert I want at the time.
I don’t know what all these numbers mean, but my prescription card says this:
-1.75 + 1.00 X 108 20/15
Reading Addition: +1.50 optional (+1.75 if prog.)
I wear a pair of Rudy glasses with the prescription insert with a progressive bifocal. They are great! I really love being able to read my cycle computer, watch/timer, HRM, and GPS virtual partner when racing.
Now the fact that the insert is very close to your face and the progressive bifocal is very small creates a more difficult challenge for your optician. It would be worth your while to find an optician who has made thiese inserts for a number of cyclists or is a cyclist him/herself.
I got a pair of bi-focals last spring. They are Sundogs - got them because I was told that model was the most curved they could go and still grind the prescription into the lense. The one thing I did do was have the reading portion of the sunglass ground a couple of millimeters lower than where they would normally grind it.
I wanted to be able to read my bike computer, but did not want to have it interfere with my distance vision. They have worked out quite well, even for driving the car. I don’t know it I would want to sit down and read a book with them, but they suffice for occasional reading, changing flats etc.
That is a fairly mild Rx which will make things much easier to adapt to (I’m going to assume that it is roughly the same in each eye and you can correct me if I’m wrong). So then, here’s what you should notice given the following scenarios:
Insert with distance Rx only: improved distance vision, obviously, but REDUCED vision up close (think cyclo cmptr, HRM, etc. but ground should be fine). Since you are still quite young, you have some flexibility left in your lenses so this may not cause too much difficulty.
Insert with progressives: improved distance vision without reduced near acuity…BUT, if you are down in the aero pos’n and not looking through the appropriate area of the lens (bottom 1/3), you will not benefit from the reading Rx and may not notice any improvement over the single vision distance option. This sort of depends on how the lens is positioned in the frame and how it lines up with your pupils as well as the location of your cmptr. You also MAY notice some peripheral distortions from the progressive lenses (think down and out). Again, your reading add power is low at this point so this should be minimal but it is a huge factor for some. Ask for a progressive designed for sports (AO B’active is one) which has a smaller reading area but less distortions.
Two inserts - one single vision distance, the other a progressive and switch them around as needed: may be the best solution to your problem since it could give you the best of both worlds.
I think your plan to try progressives in an Rx sunglass is a good one. See how you like that and try it on a ride or two. If all goes well, then fire a set of progressives in an insert. Don’t be surprised if your reaction to progressives is different for cycling and running, hiking, etc. and dont be discouraged if they seem “wierd” initially - this too shall pass.
Best of luck and let me know if there are any other questions.
Actually, the proximity of the lens to the eye makes it easier to fit. Think of the reading area as a keyhole - the closer you are to the hole, the wider the field of vision you get on the other side. I agree about the cycling experience part, though. It is critical that the progressive height measurement is taken while the Px is in his/her normal cycling head position.
I wear progressive sunglasses and they are great. Your head and neck learn just how to look at things depending on how far away they are and after that you don’t even notice you are doing it. I wouldn’t want bifocals.