To all the glasses I’ve loved before…
Posted in Blog on 15. Feb, 2010
Some of my old glasses have convened for a conference on the kitchen island. These days, since they are all getting up in age, they get together & talk about their various ailments, the Rudy Projects with their metal bits & corrosion from being drenched in gallons of toxic sweat, the Oakleys that look rather silly, the Brikos, with their horrendously scratched, anti-scratch surfaces whose rubber nose pieces have all deteriorated & fallen off. It is quite ridiculous really. They talk about their former mate, Oakley Pilots, who is lost somewhere in one of the great lakes. There are others, but no one really misses them, but they still talk about the grandfather of sports glasses, the factory pilots.
What cyclist doesn’t appreciate a good pair of glasses? They protect your eyes from harmful UV rays, let you relax your face when otherwise you would need to squint due to debris or other things getting into your eyes & they even help your precious eyes from drying out. I know, the perforations in the Stingers & Bolds are highly functional in keeping the small patch of skin between the eyebrows, prone to overheating, cool; but mostly, those holes just look high performance. Which is the main function of cycling specific glasses, whether the arms fold, rotate or have space age polymers adhered to their ends keeping them on your face. Why else could there be such a wide range of shapes, styles & ridiculousness?
Cycling glasses are a tribute to that which is beyond the functional: I love them.
Is that a pair of Oakley Frogskins I see on the far left? I still have mine from 1987. Love ‘em.
Is that a glass of Chimay I see in the other corner? I like the attention to detail.
More importantly, is that glass of Chimay on the far right?
If it’s Chimay then it’s in the wrong glass! It looks more like a glass of Tripel Karmeliet.
My first, favourite pair of specs were Rudy Projects like the ones Charly Mottet wears here (mine were in black).
http://www.grahamwatson.com/dublin/misc/images/image19.jpg
I did have a pair of Factory Pilots, but the foam eyebrow thing disintegrated quickly. I think from the Rudy Projects I moved onto Bollé. As an aside, I see Bollé has a presence at the Olympics with snowboard and ski goggle wear.
Nothing beats the Briko’s. Though, those colors would do best is AZ or NM.
I am also a connisseur of sunglasses. My wife doesn’t understand my affliction, but I’ve gotta have the newest, best things out there. The best pair I’ve ever owner are my current favorites, the Oakley Jawbones! They are amazing.
Those Oakley Jawbones are not the “Livestrong edition” I hope!
I have had good luck with my Adidas Evil Eye Pro (black and white frames.)
Have you yanks never heard of car boot sales?, os sell them on e/bay for your belgium beer fund.
Fun Run Robbie
P.S. Picture of the FRR Dutch style fixie [completion date thurs 18/2/10] latest picture see http://www.funrunrobbie.co.uk
Ummm, no, not the “Livestrong Edition”! I have the polarized black and red ones, with a couple extra vented lenses for racing.
I have also had good luck with the Adidas Evil Eye Pro (blue and white frames). They are nice. I tried the Evil Eye ones that had the single lens, however they had some issues with the lens staying engaged, so I went back to this model.
Without a doubt the Jawbones have the best optics of any sunglasses I’ve ever tried on!
When my adidas become worn out, I would certainly go with the Oakley jawbones, you are one of many who have been highly impressed with that model. Cheers!
I’ve got the silver jawbones with the transition lenses- hands down the best shades I’ve owned.