Tested: Rapha's Sunglasses for Riders Who Hate Cycling Sunglasses
Cycling eyewear is a surprisingly divisive topic. The best sunglasses for cycling are shields like Oakley’s Radar: They have lots of coverage, an expansive field of view, are lightweight, and there's no lower frame to trap sweat.
But some riders have an aggressive distaste for the way shields look. Given the choice between shields and nothing, they prefer nothing. In fact, they dislike almost anything that could be considered “sport” eyewear.
I know because I work with people like this. It's not surprising. Sunglasses transcend "cycling gear" and float into the category of fashion, and fashion says something about you.
Rapha’s Sunglasses ($295) are intended to be cycling eyewear for people who don’t want to be seen in cycling eyewear.
They look a bit like overgrown Wayfarers, but the frames are swept back, and the lens curve horizontally and vertically. The frames are acetate, same as Ray Ban’s Wayfarer, with lenses from Carl Zeiss Vision that resist oil and water, and have an anti-reflective coating on the back of the lens. The temple tips have rubber grippers, the nose piece does not. They also accept prescription lenses for cyclists who need them.
Three versions are offered: black with gray lens (14.28% light transmission), tortoise with brown lenses (14.54% light transmission), and gray with a rose lens (69.28% light transmission). The grey and brown lenses are polarized. If you're not sure which lens is right for you, read this piece on how to choose the right sunglass lens.
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The sunglasses are a success in that they don’t look like cycling glasses, at least not modern cycling glasses. Because they’re pretty fashion oriented, and that's hyper subjective, you'll have to decide for yourself whether they look good or not. I will offer that I thought they looked a little large on my face.
The lenses are large and the frame pretty thin, so the glasses' field of view is quite good, even when I bent over in a tuck. The large lenses provide a lot of protection for your eyes from the sun and road debris, and I didn’t notice any swirling winds behind them at higher speeds (I dislike Oakley Racing Jackets because they can produce vortex behind the lens that drives me crazy).
The temples are short and thin, and play nicely with a variety of helmet fit systems. I am really impressed with how secure the glasses are, even though they lack a nose gripper. They are light and comfortable, and don't irritate me even on five-plus-hour rides.
They sit off the face enough that much of my rolling and dripping sweat missed the lens, though, like other full-frame glasses, sweat pools on the lower rim.
The lenses are excellent. Superb clarity and detail, and I haven't notice any distortions. They’re fairly scratch-resistant too, which I inadvertently tested several times by dropping them.
Where they underperform, at least when compared to a shield, isn’t surprising. The filed of view is more restricted and there’s little peripheral protection for when the sun is low and to the side.
They’re also more expensive than many cycling shades, even options from Smith and Oakley that also have polarized lenses. I believe shield-style glasses still offer better performance for cyclists, but performance is only one measure. For riders who want something unique that appeals to their sense of style, the Rapha Sunglasses offer a high-quality, very functional alternative. From that point of view, they’re successful. My coworker who would rather go naked than wear shields: He’ll wear these.
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