If you are seriously into your cycling, you may already have at least one pair of cycling glasses specifically for riding on the roads. Most people do not bother with specialist cycle eyewear, or they wear their usual corrective eyeglasses if they are shortsighted and need glasses anyway. There are several reasons to choose bike specific eyewear however, which are all to do with safety.

If you do not use glasses at all, you might think it is just a brazen fashion thing to get some wrap around bicycle sunglasses, so you don’t want them. Or perhaps it isn’t very sunny outside, so you don’t need them. Firstly, there is nothing wrong with wearing some really stylish road cycling glasses, but in any case, the design is all about keeping dirt, dust and other debris out of your eyes while you are riding. The wrap around frames help to keep the wind from blowing into your eyes, which otherwise would fill with tears, affecting vision. Other people do not tear up, but quite the opposite; their eyes start to dry out, and this is a big problem for people who wear contact lenses. So there a big element here concerned with looking after your eyes.

The next misconception about road cycling glasses is that people use different colored lenses in them because they are posers, or narcissistic and want everybody to look at them. Well, they might be, but that’s not necessarily why they wear green lenses or amber or yellow ones. It is all to do with the ambient lighting conditions, and different colors give riders a better ability to see in the changing conditions they might encounter on long rides.

So in extremely bright conditions, highly effective sunglasses are required; these will probably have dark gray lenses to block out as much light and glare as possible without interfering with the cyclist’s ability to see the road. In this kind of intense light, and the milder lighting of a moderately sunny day, the amber lenses – as well as brown ones – can play an important role, as they help to improve contrast. The better contrast will have its own safety implications, as it better enables riders to see obstacles in the road, such as potholes or larger debris. Squinting without cycling sun glasses would potentially mean missing these dangers and causing damage to your bike or yourself if the result was a crash.

When light conditions deteriorate, like on an overcast day, yellow lenses can be worn as there may still be a substantial risk of glare, especially when there is broken cloud, with the sun constantly being hidden and reappearing. Yellow cycle lenses can reduce this type of glare and allow you to see the road clearly. Green lenses also play a similar role if you are constantly riding between alternating bright and overcast conditions; they can help to give a good depth-perception and are anti-glare, so are therefore a good all-rounder.

Finally there are photochromatic lenses which have coatings that react in realtime to changes in ambient light. So in bright sunlight they darken, and look like proper sunglasses; whereas in darker lighting, such as early morning and dusk or on overcast days, they become lighter to let more light into the eyes of the wearer.

So as a serious road cyclist, you might now realise that it’s a great idea to own at least one pair of cycling eyewear. If you invest in a single pair, it is probably best to go for the photochromatic type. If you are a tourer and spend a huge amount of time on the road, then you should either get a pair for bright light and a separate pair for darker conditions. Or there are several types on the market that have easily detachable lenses. Just buy a set of different colored ones, and switch them to the correct ones for the type of light you are about to venture out in. Cycling glasses are not just a fashion statement – they are fashionable though. But they are also an important piece of safety equipment.