Glasses to reduce glare of headlights

[SoulOnIce]

I've got a pair of cheapie clear lens glasses that I wear when commuting to keep the dust and flies out of my eyes.

My commute involves a long stretch of unlit roads and now the nights are drawing in I'm getting problems with glare from car headlights and I know teh glasses are making it worse - but they are just a cheap pair.

Is it possible to buy clear lens glasses for night riding that will help to reduce the glare of car headlights on unlit country lanes? If so have you got any recommendations?

 

[fossyant]

It's very difficult, glasses or not - been there....fight back with some stupidly bright lights yourself.....

 

[SoulOnIce]

It's very difficult, glasses or not - been there....fight back with some stupidly bright lights yourself.....

LOL.

The majority of my commute is unlit roads so my front light is pretty bright - a Light and Motion Vega - sometimes assisted by a Tesco torch.

May just have to get used to it and remember to keep my head down.

 

[GrasB]

I find yellow tinted glasses are better for keeping the glare down.

One note on fighting back, as a driver of a Lotus Exige my eyes are very low compared to most car drivers. I have been forced to go to main beams so I can see well enough to stop/slow down to a crawl on a few occasions, we're talking 4 or 5 times over 3 years, by cyclists with very powerful lights aimed high. Ironically I've been more dazzled by one cyclist in the Lotus than I have been by cars driving with full beams/fogs on when cycling.

 

[Funk-Meister]

The reason your getting glare is probably due to the fact they lenses are scratched or dirty or even both. Any light hitting a non optically perfect surface will be scattered and therefore cause haloes or as you say glare.

Perscription lenses can be anti-reflection coated which reduces reflected light i'm not sure you'll get them on 'cheap' cycling specs. You're better off trying to avoid looking at the light source.

Yellow filters are used to improve contrast. I'm not sure they'll aid night vision.

Hope this helps

 

[fossyant]

as a driver of a Lotus Exige my eyes.....

Don't come here expecting sympathy


4 x AA battery powered LED vs 12v and 2 x 55w halogens, or indeed HID's

 

[redjedi]

I wear Tifosi glasses when cycling. They have replaceable lenses and find the All-Condition red lenses very good when riding at night.
They help cut down the glare from headlights significantly.

I've got the Ventoux in black. They also look good enough to use off the bike. This was the first time I've bought glasses which cost more than £15, after snapping the last 2 pairs of DHBs (free lenses if anyone wants them), but well worth the investment.

I've had mine for about a year, and despite coming off my bike a couple of times, the lenses are still perfect and there is not a mark on them. In fact the lenses have a lifetime guarantee, not bad for £40.

Tifosi

 

[very-near]

You are probably going short sighted as this is how I found out my vision was changing. Corrected vision doesn't have this problem.

 

[tyred]

I would go to the optician and have an eye test as a precaution but some people have bigger problems with glare from lights than others. It's why I find cycling or driving on a busy road at night to be such a strain and I paid an extra £100 to have a special anti-glare coating on my specs. It helps but not that much. I still avoid busy roads at night when I can. With my glasses on, my optician informs me my eyesight is above the standard required to be an airline pilot but the glare of lights thing is something I need to live with.

As mentioned, examine your glasses for scratches and dirt as this makes the problem worse. If you drive, keep your windscreen squeaky clean.

I always wear a baseball cap when cycling at night so I can dip my head and use the peak of the cap to block any very bright lights. I think it's a huge help.

 

[jay clock]

I agree about clean lenses. Even clean ones will eventually get minute scratches. Try no glasses and see if that helps. I have these http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=G1009 and they are good value and superb quality with 5 lens types.... They were as low as under £10, but still good value at £18

 

[GrasB]

/slow down to a crawl on a few occasions

Don't come here expecting sympathy [/QUOTE]
It's not so much sympathy & I understand it to a certain extent however basically blinding the driver of a 900kg car is rather stupid... just remind me what is the likely outcome of a 900kg car v's a cyclist?!

I don't mind & in fact encourage people who ride in the country side to have good lights, just aim them properly else you might end up causing your own fatal accident.[/b]

 

[Jonathan M]

The reason your getting glare is probably due to the fact they lenses are scratched or dirty or even both. Any light hitting a non optically perfect surface will be scattered and therefore cause haloes or as you say glare.

Perscription lenses can be anti-reflection coated which reduces reflected light i'm not sure you'll get them on 'cheap' cycling specs. You're better off trying to avoid looking at the light source.

Yellow filters are used to improve contrast. I'm not sure they'll aid night vision.

Hope this helps

Any tint will reduce the amount of light coming through the lens, which is not a good thing at night.

Having said that the yellow lenses (Persimmon in Oakley speak) are wearable in low light conditions, but I find that there still gets to be a point where the reduction in transmitted light through the lens is a greater hindrance than any enhancement in contrast, think wet day in the Lakes under some trees, they are just a nuisance then.

They do give a lovely false impression of "warmness" though, once I take them off and see the world without persimmon tinted lenses on I realise sometimes how dull & dank it has truly been.

If glare is a problem at night, wear something with a peak - cycling helmet or a cap, and use that to sheild some of the oncoming vehicles headlights from your eyes. Other option if it is safe to do so is just raise a hand to block the headlights out, as you may do to keep the sun out of your eyes on a sunny day (whatever one of those is.........). Sometimes this makes the cage driver realise that they are dazzling you so they turn off main beam.

 

[GrasB]

I've never found yellow tint glasses to be a problem with reducing the available light levels even at night. One may suggest that I have good low-light vision & it may well be true.

 

[Funk-Meister]

if you look at the transmission of light through any optical surface it will never be 100%, due to reflection. Yellow lenses will absorb some parts of the spectrum and as pointed out by Johnathan M 'any tint at night is not a good idea'

 

[GrasB]

I know that the actual light received by my eye is reduced however this has never been a problem for me. With yellow tinted glasses on when night riding with my partner I almost always see things before her & also with the same glasses on I usually can see fainter stars than most people naked eye.