I am looking to pick up a pair of Rudy SGs for triathlons. Any recommendations/pans, rationale for why they are better, worse than the rest?
Don’t by the EKYNOX (Sp?). I bought a pair to replace my Oakley M frames. I bought them because they looked cool, big mistake. The large solid frame around the lens creates blind spots when there is a need to look behind you on the bike, and the sweat from my head seems to fall directly onto the lenses. I went back to my Oakleys.
I tried a few different Rudys at my local REI this past Sunday, and here are my observations:
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Ekynox SX: good fit, but will give you blind spots looking behind or to the side. The regular Ekynox were simply too big for my face (I’m 5’6", 135 lbs).
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Freeon: although on paper these look very similar to the Rydons, the lens is actually a lot bigger – they offer excellent coverage on the bike, they’re pretty light, but one should think of them more as a shield rather than all-around sunglasses.
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Rydon: Good fit, good coverage, pretty light, these seemed to be the best all-around choice for cycling and running.
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Kerosene: As good a fit and coverage as the Rydons, but noticably heavier – to the extent that I felt that these are going to bounce around during running.
Overall observations:
a) lenses on all Rudys are quite thick, and this can be thought of as both good (quality) and bad (inefficient).
b) the temples and nosepieces are adjustable so one can easily attain a perfect fit. However, I never felt that any of them was as securely attached to my face as an M-series Oakley. Maybe with more time spent in customisation that could be rectified.
c) The Racing Red lens does not have the pink hue that I had seen in all pictures; it’s actually quite orange, which I didn’t like that much.
I went to the store believing that I would like the Rudys far more than the Oakleys, but in my mind the M-series looks a slightly better fit for me than the Rydons.
John
If it’s gotta be rudy, go with the Ekynox SX. They look great on photos and ;-))