mcman56 Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Does anyone have advice on how to get used to progressive lenses while riding trials? Or is it a bad idea in general? I have the common failing of close up vision that comes with age. I normally wear progressive lenses but do not wear any glasses to ride or drive on the street or in the dirt. Distance vision is probably starting to fade a little so I started to think wearing glasses to ride may be a good idea and gave it a try. Problem number one is that all obstacles look at least 30% bigger. They really magnify the bottom portion of an obsacle where it first becomes vertical. The second problem is that looking up and down by rotating your eyes produces a different view than rotating your head. (because you are looking though a different portion of the lens) This means that one particular obstacle or line can look two different ways and is disturbing to whatever part of my brain process this and needs to make control decisions. I had a good fall yesterday and think that progressive lenses were at least part of the problem. When first wearing progressive lenses at work, stairs were very difficult in a similar way to what I'm describing for riding. However, I could take them off for stairs before finally adapting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toetoe Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 i had the same problem so now i used contact lenses and they really changed things for me, i pay £21 for 3 months worth but thats just for riding so it works out at about 3 pair of lenses a week, im considering wearing them all the time, the other advantage is driving, i love the freedom. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Get a plain lens pair like I did. Focused at about 6' to 8' they go to infinity, or there about's, at least they did for me. I tried progressive lens's & they were torture. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bashplate Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 I agree with Dick, I need #3 mag for reading, but only #1 for long distance.....I have progressives for every day stuff, but just a pair of plain #1 for riding my bikes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totalshell Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 i ve worn vari focals for years now and my trials riding was getting worse so i left them in the van.. my riding got immediately better.. still where them for everything else i just think that our eyes are all over especially when riding sections looking up and down that etc that the brain becomes fuzzy when it should be sharp.. so there staying in the van.. its finding them when i finish thats hard.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob214 Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 i wear tri focals and have never noticed anything while riding. with work(welding) i need a cheater lens for overhead because of head tilt angle but other than that i've never had a problem. i've been blind since birth and always wear glasses, i tried contacts but can't get used to not seeing. they wanted me to wear one lens for close and one lens for far and ended up with headaches and not seeing anything just right. rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr neutron Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Agree with Dick & Bashplate. I wear progressive, or lineless bifocals for work (safety lenses) & my "fashion" (street) glasses. Personally, I think the progressives kinda suck for most everything, especially my "narrow" street glasses. I liked my old fashioned bifocals better, for everyday use, driving, & etc.. But the light (titanium framed) pair I have for riding is a prescription for focusing farther away the end of my arms, out to infinity. This works out much better for riding. When I do wear my progressive/lineless bifocals while riding, there will always be some point where my head is tipped wrong, and I'll have to try and focus through blurry bifocals at something 15 ft. away...... Jimmie Added in EDIT: Do you guys with contact lenses ever have any problems with dust? Not that often we get to ride in dust here in western OR (kinda like Britain, from what I understand), but we do have 2 months of summer some years..... Also, do contact lenses work for folks with astigmatism & nearsighted probs? Edited January 3, 2015 by mr neutron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmark1972 Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Agree with Dick & Bashplate. I wear progressive, or lineless bifocals for work (safety lenses) & my "fashion" (street) glasses. Personally, I think the progressives kinda suck for most everything, especially my "narrow" street glasses. I liked my old fashioned bifocals better, for everyday use, driving, & etc.. But the light (titanium framed) pair I have for riding is a prescription for focusing farther away the end of my arms, out to infinity. This works out much better for riding. When I do wear my progressive/lineless bifocals while riding, there will always be some point where my head is tipped wrong, and I'll have to try and focus through blurry bifocals at something 15 ft. away...... Jimmie Added in EDIT: Do you guys with contact lenses ever have any problems with dust? Not that often we get to ride in dust here in western OR (kinda like Britain, from what I understand), but we do have 2 months of summer some years..... Also, do contact lenses work for folks with astigmatism & nearsighted probs? I have both astigmatism & nearsighted probs and I CAN wear contacts but normally wear glasses. The lenses these days are pretty amazing and quite comfortable but for me it changes my "perspective" a bit things seem a little closer than I am used to or something just is not right. If you are going to wear them for a trials I'd suggest practicing with them as well because distances will look different, at least they do to me. I have a hard enough time getting through a section as it is. Something to think about... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2stroke4stroke Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 I couldn't use bifocals due to the distortion but wore bifocal contacts for about ten years and now use Clariti multifocals (even better). In each case my vision was just as it would be with good eyes without glasses. Back in the days when contacts were made of hard material one of the guys lost a lens whilst inspecting a section, but it was found. Remarkably this happened twice to the same guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axulsuv Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 OK ... Well about 6 years ago my 20/20 perfect vision went in the dumpster almost overnight !!): I now wear lineless trifocals all the time . I hate it and I won't ride my bikes with glasses on , Depth perception is wrong , I'd rather be a tick out of focus than too soon or to late at a object . And I have this weird fear about crashing (which I'm good at ! ) with glasses on . Plastic lens and such as they all are these days , but I always think about sharp pointy things in my eyes .... (aka broken frame ) I'm saving my spare change for some Lasik surgery , I hate lenses !!!! I mean I already take my teeth out when competing , I'd really like to save my eyes . Glenn 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadof2 Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 I have no problem reading car number plates at the required distance without glasses but find I need them for fine detail close up. I need glasses to pass the eye test for a MX licence but that eye test is done at about 5 metres in a surgery and is nothing like what you need to see in a section or on the track. No way would I wear glasses in competition, give me a hint of blurring over distance distortion anytime. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mags Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 I wear seamless trifocals all my waking hours so I'm most likely used to them? I wear them trials, enduro and on my road bikes. My script is so old I might try it next time without them? They are a pain in dusty conditions. Mags Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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