The Importance of Wearing a Good Pair of Sunglasses
by Michael P. Lange O.D., C.N.S. December 27, 2008
Many of the Doctors, technicians and opticians at Lange Eye Care are involved in competitive and recreational Mountain Biking. This passion of the sport of Mountain Biking is directly reflective in the performance improving eyewear available at any of the nine Lange Eye Care Centers. When consulting an eye care specialist regarding specific eyewear wouldn't it be best to go to a center with experience in the particular sport. Lange Eye Care stays on top of the rapidly changing field of performance eye wear for all types of cycling sports. So whether you are a mountain biker, road biker, time trial competitor, criterion racer, triathlete, training for an ironman or a recreational cyclist, Lange Eye Care has the performance enhancing eye wear that is right for you.
Mountain biking is an incredible sport filled with plenty of adrenalin pumping action. Whether you are an expert / pro mountain biker or just out for some exercise on the weekends one of the most important pieces of biking gear is a good pair of performance enhancing sunglasses. A good sunglass will enhance the contrast on the terrain allowing you to miss the large rut on that wide open downhill. A good pair of sunglasses may also protect your eyes from the potential impact of a tree branch that could cause a very painful scratched or abraded cornea or even a vision threatening retinal detachment. A good pair of sunglasses may also eliminate the possibility of developing a solar keratopathy (sunburn to your cornea). Proper sunglass will improve visual performance but will also protect your eyes form the harmful suns rays and potential serious ocular trauma.
After investing in your new mountain bike and helmet you need to purchase a good name brand pair of performance sunglasses like Oakley, Bolle or Costa Del Mar or Nike. These are all great sunglasses with a variety of lenses and frame designs. You will need plastic non polarized impact resistant lenses and NO glass lenses. I do not recommend polarized lenses for any type of biking. Polarized lenses will not give you enough contrast when you are riding in the shade, early morning or evening. Polarized lenses are terrible for the road biker because they miss the oil slick on the road because the glare was blocked by the lenses. Polarized lenses are a great for boating or fishing but they will interfere with reading the terrain on any mountain bike single track or trails.
One of my favorite sunglasses for mountain biking is the Oakley Radar Path with the VR-28 Black iridium lens. These sunglasses are designed to improve airflow over your face for cooling and have interchangeable lenses and nose pieces for fine tuning performance. The VR-28 black iridium lens is a super high contrast lens that blocks UV and HIV (blue light) making it a lens that may reduce your risk of developing certain eye diseases like macular degeneration or cataracts. The lens is also made of an impact resistant material called Plutonite.
One of the hottest new technologies available for the mountain biker is the Bolle Traverse Sunglass with the rose modulator lens. This is a lens that is a high contrast rose for dim and shade conditions that will become a darker grey color out on in the direct sunlight. This is becoming very popular for competitive and recreational bikers. If you want some serious contrast for reading the terrain in those very technical areas while mountain biking then get the Bolle 100 Gun lens.
One of the newest and most advanced lens frame combos is made by Nike - released end of 2008. All nine Lange Eye Care locations now carry the complete line of Nike and Nike Flex sunglass and opthalmic performance eyewear. I have personally been wearing the Nike Max Hi-Vis Tint while training on my Mountain bike. This lens is ideal for riding under a canopy of trees and then out into the open at 12 noon. It gives the enhanced contrast necessary to read the best lines on a rugged downhill. The Nike Max Hi-Vis Tint filters out colors that can be visually distracting. This Nike lens combined with the incredible comfort and design of the Nike Sunglass frames is a win win !Lange Eye Care has been custom making lens and frame combinations for mountain bikers for over sixteen years. Lange Eye Care and Associates have also sponsored numerous mountain biking teams throughout the years. Many of the staff at Lange Eye Care are avid mountain bikers wearing custom designed lenses fabricated by the lab at Lange Eye.
I have worked very closely with the master opticians in the lab at Lange Eye Care to help create a super high contrast lens that can be worn in early low light conditions which will then darken significantly in much brighter conditions. These lenses come in two initial colors of yellow and orange. These lenses will darken to a dark amber and dark orange in the bright sun. Both lenses block 100% of the UV light and block close to 100% of the HIV blue light as well. These lenses can be put in almost any frame with almost any prescription, single vision, bifocal or progressive lens technology. These lenses solve the problem for the avid mountain biker that needs a prescription to see clearly in all conditions while biking. The lenses will adjust accordingly to the amount of light that is available, so while you are under the canopy of oak trees your sunglasses have adjusted to less sun and allowed you super high contrast and sharp acuity while your competitor may be having difficulty with the terrain because of the dark lenses he / she is wearing.
These two custom lenses are also great for shooters, hunters and golfers. Lange Eye Care can be reached by calling 1-888-781-2020. You can bring your prescription into any of the Lange Eye Care locations or you can see one of our Board Certified Optometric Physicians for a new exam to make sure your prescription is as accurate as possible.
Lange Eye Care is in the center of Mountain Biking for the entire state of Florida. Some of the best Mountain Biking is with in 15 to 20 minutes of Ocala and Gainesville Florida. We ride the trails and continuously research the lens frame combinations that are ideal for mountain biking. You can get a new exam and often times your new performance sunglasses all on the same day.
If you are interested in the very latest in Performance Enhancing Eyewear stop by any of the Lange Eye Care locations in Ocala, Gainesville, Summerfield, The Villages, Inverness, Clearwater or Williston.
Enjoy the single track and be careful on the downhills!!!
Dr.
Michael P. Lange
Board Certified Optometric Physician
Lange Eye Institute / Lange Eye Care
December 27, 2008
Dr. Lange has been involved in Mountain biking and road biking since the early 80's.
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