Cycling exposes your eyes to all kinds of risks including harmful sun rays, dirt, and strong winds. These risks make it crucial to wear the right protective eye gear.
When it comes to cycling sunglasses, Oakley is the most suggested brand simply because it has taken a lead in innovating technologies that make cycling sunglasses even more powerful.
In this list, we’re going to briefly discuss the features you need to look for in cycling sunglasses and the 6 best Oakley cycling sunglasses in South Africa.
UV Protection
The primary purpose of running sunglasses is protecting our eyes from the harmful rays of the sun. A good pair of running sunglasses filters out harmful UV rays while also reducing glare.
This is why polarized sunglasses are the best types of sunglasses for running.
Polarized sunglasses are specially designed to filter out horizontal light waves and only let vertical light through, effectively reducing glare.
What to Look for in Cycling Sunglasses
Cycling sunglasses need to offer three main things: coverage, optical clarity, and comfort.
1. Coverage
– Whether you’re cycling around the city or in the mountains, it’s crucial to protect your eyes from the sun, wind, and dirt from all directions.
Wrap-around sunglasses provide excellent coverage. The lenses should of course protect your eyes from 100% UV rays.
2. Optical Clarity
– It’s also important to have a hyper-clear view of the road for safety purposes.
In general, cycling sunglasses should enhance the contrast, depth perception, and clarity of your vision so you can better see more details and contours in changing environments.
3. Comfort
– The two main factors determining how comfortable a pair of cycling sunglasses is are the weight and fit.
Lighter frames tend to be easier to wear for hours, but some lightweight sunglasses bounce around when riding on bumpy roads.
The frames should of course fit well around your head. The temples should rest snugly on top of your ears and should stay in place even as you move around.
On the other hand, you don’t it to be too tight as that will produce pressure points over a few hours.
4. A Few Specific Features
– A few features will also make your riding life easier.
One, because you may find yourself riding under changing weather conditions, look for hydrophobic lenses or lenses with a coating that keeps water off.
Some frames also have long temple arms that may interfere with some helmets so be sure to factor that in as well.
What Lens Color is Best for Cycling?
The coluor or tint of lenses plays a huge role in the quality of vision a pair of cycling sunglasses produce.
Without going into too many details, most pro cyclists or cycling enthusiasts agree that amber and rose are the best tints for cycling.
These shades provide enough contrast to enhance visual clarity. Because they’re not too dark, they still provide good visibility even in low light conditions.
Blue, green, yellow, red, pink, and orange are also good tints for cycling sunglasses.
Are Polarized Glasses Good for Cycling?
Polarized glasses are designed to reduce glare, which is the harsh, bright light that reflects off cars, snow, and water.
Glares can distract cyclists and put them in danger, making polarized lenses a good option for increasing safety on the road.
5 Best Oakley Cycling Sunglasses in South Africa
OAKLEY JAWBREAKERS
“The most powerful cycling sunglasses in the market”
Lens height: 53.6mm
Ridge size: 18mm
Temple length: 18mm
Frame width: 137mm
Best suits: Men and women with medium to large fit
Released in 2015, there’s a reason the Oakley Jawbreaker now dominates the cycling sunglasses market.
It’s a visually stunning pair of full-rimmed performance sunglasses with amazing coverage on all sides.
You can look up, down, and to the side without moving your head and you’ll still be looking through the lens.
Equipped with unobtanium ear socks and nose pads, the Jawbreaker actually gets stickier the more you sweat!
So you won’t worry about it slipping down your face when you’re in the middle of the road.
It also has Oakley’s trademark PRIZM lens that enhances contrast and improves visual clarity, which allows you to see details in any terrain. The lenses are also hydrophobic.
A common issue among cycling sunglasses is sometimes their temple arms can interfere with helmets.
But this is non-existent in Jawbreaker. It has an ingenious sliding/lock mechanism that allows you to adjust the length of its small temple arms so they won’t touch your helmet and fit your head shape better.
Another unique feature that sets the Jawbreaker apart is the “Switchlock” system that allows the bottom frame to be unlocked and swung out of the way to allow the lenses to be quickly replaced.
The only downside to the Jawbreaker is the bold design that may look too strong off bike, so it’s not exactly a pair that you can sport when you hit the town post-ride.
But if you’re not really looking for an all-around pair, it shouldn’t concern you at all.
Overall, the Jawbreaker is off-the-chart a powerful pair of cycling sunglasses that’s absolutely worth every penny.
OAKLEY RADAR EV PATH
“Top choice for many professional cyclists”
lens size: 59.0mm W x 50.5mm H
Temple length: 128mm
Frame width: 140mm
Best suits: Men and women with large fit
The Oakley Radar EV Path is an evolution of the original Radar and has become a very popular cycling sunglasses since it was released in 2015 along with the Jawbreaker.
The Radar EV Path has a more toned-down design, with a half rim and extended upper field of view.
It’s 5mm taller than the original Radar which results in a massively improved upper peripheral field of vision when posed in the usual head-down stance of cycling.
It also has unobtanium ear socks and nose pads, PRIZM lenses, and a comfortable fit without pressure pains around the ears and nose bridge.
Lightweight at only 28g, the EV Path also has a great ventilation system that effectively prevents fog buildup.
A downside to the Radar EV Path is the lenses are hydrophobic only on the outside. The long temple arms also interfere with some helmets.
But compared with the Jawbreaker, it’s more affordable and has a more versatile design, so it’s a matter of deciding which features are non-negotiable for you.
OAKLEY FLAK 2.0 XL
“Balance between performance and style”
If you’re looking for a pair of cycling sunglasses that’s excellent on the road and still look fashionable off-bike, the Oakley Flak 2.0 XL is a perfect choice.
Thanks to its wide, contoured lenses, it provides enough coverage to protect your eyes from dust and wind from all sides.
It also has unobtanium nose pads and ear socks, PRIZM lenses, and a semi-rimless design that gives you a better downward view.
It’s also equipped with a three-point fit system that distributes pressure points behind your ears and on your nose bridge, effectively keeping it comfortable to wear even for several hours.
The Flak 2.0 XL notably lacks a lens ventilation system, but it already has good ventilation and airflow to begin with so that’s really not much of an issue.
Overall, the Oakley Flak 2.0 XL is an all-around pair of sports sunglasses that will perform and look great wherever you go.
OAKLEY FLIGHT JACKET
“Half-rimmed sunglasses with excellent ventilation”
Lens height: 57.1mm
Temple length: 136mm
Frame width: 138mm
Best suits: Men and women with large extra large fit
The Oakley Flight Jacket is a pair of wraparound sports sunglasses popular among both cyclists and trail runners.
It resembles the Jawbreaker except for the half-frame design which removes obstruction to your upper view while also improving airflow.
What really sets the Flight Jacket apart is the Oakley Advancer, the fog management system designed by Oakley.
The Advancer is a small switch on the nose bridge that can be pulled down to move the glasses away from your face to let moisture out and prevent fogging.
Pushing down the switch returns the glasses to their original position. It’s easy to use once you get the hang of it so it won’t interfere with your performance.
The Flight Jacket also has interchangeable PRIZM lenses that improve visual clarity.
To make it work with any cycling helmet, the Flight Jacket comes with two arm length options.
The end part of the temple arms can be removed and switched out with the other in a few seconds.
On the flip side, the Flight Jacket fits close to the face, making it prone to touching your cheeks as you ride.
This can cause the glasses to move which isn’t ideal. Overall, the Flight Jacket is a stylish pair of sports sunglasses with one of the best fog management system.
OAKLEY SUTRO
“For fashion-conscious cyclists”
Lens height 57mm
Temple length: 140mm
Frame width: 135mm
Bridge length: 16mm
Best suits: Men and women with large to extra large fit
With a ski goggle-style frame and beautiful wraparound lens, the Oakley Sutro is one of the more fashionable performance sunglasses by Oakley.
Part of the Oakley Latitude Collection of performance sunglasses, the Oakley Sutro provides amazing coverage on all sides to protect your eyes from the sun and other elements while also managing to prevent fogging with its great ventilation system.
It’s lightweight at only 32g, making it comfortable to wear the whole day. It also has ultra-clear PRIZM lenses.
Unlike the other sunglasses in this list, only the nose pads of the Sutro are lined with unobtanium.
Because the ear socks aren’t lined with the sticky rubber, it may not stay as securely as the other Oakley sunglasses.
Overall, if you’re looking for a pair of cycling sunglasses that balances performance and style, the Oakley Sutro is worth a shot.
OAKLEY FORAGER
“Trendy round sunglasses with serious performance”
Lens size: 50mm H x 58 mm W
Temple length: 134mm
Frame width: 133mm
Bridge length: 18 mm
Best suits: Men and women with medium to large fit
The Oakley Forager is also a part of Oakley’s Latitude Collection of performance sunglasses.
With its trendy round shape, it’s easy to mistake it as a lifestyle pair of sunglasses, but it’s equipped with all the features needed to make it a great cycling sunglasses.
The curved PRIZM lenses provide enough coverage and better form to the shape of your face while also improving visual clarity.
The frames are made of O-Matter, making it lightweight and comfortable to wear throughout the day.
Like the Sutro, the Forager also only have unobtanium nose pads.
But overall, if you love how it looks, it’s a great choice for a trendy sports sunglasses that you can use in cycling, running, skateboarding, and more.
And those were the top 6 Oakley cycling sunglasses in South Africa. If you want to see more cycling sunglasses by Oakley, check out our collection by clicking here!