My fellow nearsighted riders, I have a question for you:

Contacts and sunglasses. I did the glasses/prescription sunglasses for a while and I found it to be a pain carrying both pairs around and potentially forgetting one somewhere. My nose also sweats a lot and I found it annoying how much my glasses would slide down my face.

I've been wearing contacts for 14 years, and swear by them for all sports, not just cycling. I also wear contacts when I'm going out (especially if I'm going to be drinking) as it means I don't have to worry about my glasses.

I would strongly recommend you give contacts a shot, get over the "oh no I'm touching my eye" (this can take a while) and I'm sure you'll love the flexibility they give you. They're also much cheaper than prescription sunglasses!

I've worn contacts for 27 years now (I'm 57) and never had a problem with them. Your other option is prescription inserts for cycling glasses. Good sunglasses are not cheap, but you don't have to go the Oakley route. There are lots of good brands out there that cost half as much, or less. Buy ones with interchangeable lenses (clear, dark, yellow).

I get the prescription sunglasses I ride with online from Zenni Optical. I just use tinted versions of my regular glasses with polycarbonate lenses. I doubt I've paid more than $50 a pair. They have sporty looking ones under the goggles section. I wouldn't go shooting with them because they don't even seem to be ANSI impact rated, but they should be fine for bicycling and such.

Speaking of which, if you want really impact resistant stuff, consider the some shooting glasses. The Smith Aegis Arc I use for the range performs very well and has an inexpensive RX insert available.

I had LASIK in February. It's been pretty good for me, especially since I could never get comfortable in contacts no matter how hard I tried. For cheap prescription sunglasses, I used to use zennioptical.com. Just be prepared to wait several weeks for your order to arrive since they ship from China.

Contacts, unless you have a good reason not too.

• Much better peripheral vision, which is important for cycling in particular mostly due to the position of your head.
• Not limited to prescription frames/lenses. You can freely buy anything your like.
• Benefit from the cycling glasses with different lenses, e.g. yellow for cloudy days or dark for sunny ones
• Contacts usually work very well outdoors and a lot of problems when used for reading or watching at screens are not present when cycling.

In the end though, it is a matter of personal preference. A lot of people just don't like contacts and this is what matters.

It is easy to try though, by e.g. getting daily ones. In addition, you can use them only when you are riding. They are usually tolerated better even by people with sensitive eyes. However, it is better to visit an optician so that your eyes get measured properly. Except form the power, you will usually need the base curve to get contact lenses. The majority of people are close to the average, but better be sure.

Vote for contacts with sunglasses. Way better peripheral vision.

Prescription sunglasses, mine cost over $900 but they are worth it. Aside from anything else they will save your sight!

I'd really like a pair of these with photo-chromic lenses. http://www.rxsport.co.uk/products/Rudy-Project-Horus-Directly-Glazed-Prescription-Sunglasses-%252d-Anthracite-%26-Graphite-%7B47%7D-Photochromic-Grey-%28Transitions%29.html

I've tried the glssses with optical inserts, but the peripheral vision is appalling. I'm currently wearing my regular Oakley whisker glasses with photo-chromic lenses.

How bad are your eyes? If they are worse +/- 3 or 4 (i think) they are going to cost a lot more then if they are between +/- 0-3. Cost will also depend on if you buy a brand-name company, and polarization, scratch resistance, etc. Make sure to factor in if you need an eye exam or not.

For an idea, i needed around-the-town sunglasses so i bought a pair of ray-ban new wayfarers. With polarization, thinner lens, and scratch resistance it ran me ~400.00. The sunglasses by themselves run 150-200 dollars. They should last me years, so to me the cost was worth it.

For contacts you need to look at different costs. Annual cost to buy the contacts, as well as the upfront cost to get the contact eye exam, which is different then a glasses eye exam. With that you need to look at the cost of the glasses, again brand-name and options are going to play a roll. Different contacts will react to your eyes differently.

One cheap suggestion is wear safety googles. Pick them up from your local hardware store.

I've had to wear some sort of corrective lens since I was very young and started wearing contacts in grade school. When I made the switch, I immediately noticed my field of vision widen. This is probably due to how bad my eyes are, but I can see much more with contacts than with glasses. When being active, I couldn't imagine wearing glasses again.

Your optometrist should be able to let you try a few different pairs so you can get used to them and see which feel better on your eyes. Newer brands are a little more expensive, but they are also better for your eyes as they allow more oxygen to get to your corneas.

As for sunglasses, I prefer the $10 Walmart specials. They have sports pairs to shield your eyes from the sun and debris, and you wont be upset if you lose or sit on them.

I prefer the contacts and sunglasses approach.

But for a simple, inexpensive option, there are always clip-on sunglasses like these.

In May I had PRK which is similar to LASIK. Before that I wore contacts and sunglasses for many years.

Contacts and good sunglasses works very well for me.

I have prescription sunglasses - they were not cheap - but I love them and to me they were worth every penny.

I do contacts and sunglasses. Multiple lens options are great, especially for variable weather. I have a pair of Tifosi glasses that came with 3 lenses (clear, sun, and rose) for $60.

I didn't wear contacts ever and got them specifically for sports. I got used to them pretty quickly. I use daily wear contacts now, and they are pretty comfortable. For quick errands I will still wear regular glasses, but for exercise/training I use contacts.

Since nobody seems to have mentioned it, sports glasses are much better for rain/cold/fog than regular glasses. They typically have vents which prevent them from clouding up as much. Plus the shape and coating typically helps prevent rain from sticking as badly, so it is much easier to see in wet conditions. If you are a fair-weather rider it probably doesn't matter as much, but it you are going to be out in rain/cold, it makes a big difference. For me at least, I need clear lenses in the winter, so I would have to get another set of prescription lenses if I went that route.

I used to wear contacts, but found that for things like cycling my eyes would dry up in the wind and contacts would fly out. Of course with glasses I have the "rain on the windshield" thing to deal with. Here in Portland, OR we only have two seasons: the rainy season and August. I have glasses that came with magnetic clip-on sunglasses that I use for those rare sunny days and I love them.

I have transitions lenses in a sunglasses wrap around frame. I wear them for everything and they are awesome. I highly recommend this.

This only works if your prescription isn't too strong for the wrap around lenses though.

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My solution: get an eye exam at a respectable optometrist, ask them to give you the details for your stem length and pupil distance on your prescription sheet, and get your own copy.

Go to zennioptical or coastal, and order yourself a pair that look good. Once you pick the frames there's options to get tinted lenses. Pay attention to the dimensions and get a good ruler to check things out on your face. Zenni has a thing where you can upload a picture of your face and see how it looks.

I've found zenni to be a lot cheaper, and their products tend to be of good quality. Even if you destroy them (like I managed to, with a backpack full of beer), you're out less than $100 (mine was under $50).