With the summer seemingly over, winter is coming. And if you’re heading onto the roads for some winter riding, one problem you will most likely have to deal with is having your sunglasses repeatedly mist up. Although not the most obvious issue, once those glasses mist up, your vision is impaired and can put you and other road users in danger. This issue is most common with repeated stop starts, so cycling in urban areas and on local commutes can get seriously annoying.
So just remove the sunglasses? This is the most obvious solution. But then you’re faced with the problem of streaming eyes from the wind or cold, along with running the risk of getting dirt, grit or water in your eyes. Not an option.
So here’s a couple of simple but effective ways to tackle this:
- Quality products!
When it comes to cycling (along with most sports), you pretty much get what you pay for. And when it comes to protection its worth paying a bit extra to avoid any accidents or injury. If you’re a regular cyclist why settle for the cheapest options, it’s tempting, but the cheapest sunglasses use the cheapest plastic and you’ll find your glasses will steam up at the slightest decrease in pace on the bike.
When buying a pair of glasses for your winter riding, it helps to buy ones that are tinted yellow or orange rather than transparent ones. When riding in low visibility and foggy conditions the tint will help brighten up your ride all round.
- Anti-fog products
There are a variety of anti-fog products which you can buy to apply to your glasses. These products are designed to fight against the annoyance of fogged up lenses, are usually very affordable and easy to use. Most of these products consist of the application of a small quantity of product to your glasses and a quick polish before you set off for your ride. As ever, pop into any good local bike shop or large sports retailer and you should be able to pick up what you’re after or some extra advice.
Alternatively some products you might want to check out online are:
– Motosolutions FogTech
– MucOff Anti-Fog
– MicroclairSports Anti-Fog
- Experiment
Although there are solutions to the problem, there are also many factors which will cause misty lenses. A lot will depend on your specific route, the weather on the day, the quality of your sunglasses and how any anti-fog products you use react with your lenses. You may find that what works one day, changes with the temperature or the nature or your ride the following day. The key thing is to be aware of the issue and act accordingly, as being safe and comfortable on the bike will mean you can enjoy your ride on those crisp wintry days!
