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bifocals


Anden

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You have to get the line between close and far vision at a point where it does not interfere with your vision while riding. In a vehicle its easy to raise your head or lower it a smidge, but on your bike with your helmet its a different issue. You can also increase or decrease the size of the 'close' portion or even make it shaped to fit your line of vision. I took my helmet in with me when I tried on the new pair, but......

it all depends on how you sit on your bike where your bi focal line is going to be compared to your line of vision looking forward, seeing and reading signs, etc.

I have to have the 'close' part or I couldn't even read my speedo, let alone road signs and the like. It can be done, just takes some careful reasoning and making sure.

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Not sure how bad your eyes are but I had to get glasses for reading and anything up close a couple years ago. I never really needed them on the bike till last year when trying to read the dash,gps or mp3 player was becoming a chore. I picked up a set of the cheap sunglasses with bifocals in them and they really helped and do not seem to interfere with my line of sight. I am going to try a set of these this year http://www.aerostich.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=bifocal+inserts&dir=desc&order=relevance in my regular sunglasses.

Getting old sux:(

Edited by rsvRidr
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I need them and my question is. Do they bother you riding or should I bite the bullet and just pick up some glasses without the bifocal?

No problem at all. Just get them from someone that knows what they are doing and not one of those bs mall places. And get the progressive ones.

They will take some getting used to but won't be an issue on the bike. The issues will be reading and computers and close up detail work. You will adapt and figure it out.

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I refuse to get bifocals, mostly because of contact lenses.

But the result is extremely good far vision, and I cannot read the gauges at all.

Choose wisely.

edit: Never thought of bifocal sunglasses, I might try to find some cheap ones and try that out.

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I've worn bifocals for 15 years and been an optometrist for over 30 years. Your best choice visually is progressive lenses. They are more expensive by approximately $100 but will give you more natural uninterrupted vision once you learn to use them. There are different quality levels and a "cheap" lens is definitely inferior in visual quality to one of the better lenses, such as a "Varilux Physio". If you ever ride without a faceshield, then by all means get a polycarbonate lens, which is essentially "shatterproof" should a stray rock come at you at 60 mph. Polarized sun lenses are not recommended for riding, as they will reduce the "sheen" given off by an oil spill on the road, making it more difficult to pick out those slippery areas you need to avoid. A transitions lens works well for varying light conditions but may not get quite dark enough under certain conditions, especially facing the late day sun.

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I will be rocking the progressive no line with transition lens. My helmet has a tinted flip down in it. Found the coastal website. Going to grab the free first pair and leave out the bifocal part. I can still see for the most part without glasses.

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I've ridden all of my 400k miles wearing bifocal and then trifocal glasses. Wore Photogray and then Transition lenses with lines and never had a problem with the lines in seeing the guages clearly as well as the road ahead. The photochromatic lenses are good for all around use but are of little help riding into a setting sun. Now using clear glasses along with helmet sunshields. A light tint shield on a RF1000 worked well for a while but am using a helmet with internal shield now that flips up quickly. When riding from bright sun into deep shade it's best to flip up the shield to see the road surface clearly.

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Beware of online purchase of glasses, especially with progressive lenses!!! There are certain measurements that need to be taken when fitting progressive lenses. You need a split PD and seg heights measured to within 0.5 mm. There is no way to do this without having these measurements taken with the frame you want actually sitting on your face. Also, many online optical stores use Chinese sourced labs which do not use lenses that meet U.S. impact resistance standards. Buyer beware!

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