Somewhat sleepily but unerringly, the mayfly crosses the mountain biker's path and breathes its last on his hard-coated spectacle lens early in the morning. For the biker, on the other hand, the encounter ends without too much trouble. After a brief moment of shock due to the small smack, he continues his journey undeterred. However, without a privacy screen, the cute little animal might have brought him down. There's a reason why goggles are one of the most important pieces of equipment for bikers. They filter out harmful UV radiation and reduce the glare of the sun. But above all, they protect the eyes from foreign objects.
Models with up to three interchangeable lenses are available for as little as 40 euros. No unnecessary frills, because one tint level does not cover all light conditions by far. The ideal glasses would be those that reduce glare to the ideal brightness, those that improve contrast in changing conditions and those that provide a clear windscreen for the evening journey home. Naturally, it is tempting to reach for a self-tinting model. These high-tech lenses are available for as little as 70 euros and make the annoying task of changing the windscreen superfluous.
In order to test the scratch resistance of the lenses, the lenses were sprinkled with 1.5 kilos of quartz sand in a special device in accordance with the DIN standard. This will soon simulate the life of a pair of glasses, in which the lenses are maltreated by being bombarded with dirt or wiped dry with a jersey.
All test results from the laboratory and practice for these eyewear models can be found below as a PDF download:
Inexpensive models:
- Alpina Dribs 2.0
- BBB Arriver (BIKE tip: price/performance)
- Casco SX 20 Polarised
- Cratoni Air Blast
- Endura Shark
- Northwave Volata
- Shimano S20R
- Uvex 109 (BIKE tip: test winner)
Self-tinting:
- Alpina Eye-5 VL+ (BIKE tip: test winner)
- Carrera C-TF02
- Julbo Stunt
- Oakley Radarlock XL
- Rose Photocromic 05 (BIKE tip: price/performance)
- Rudy Project Agon
- Swisseye C-Shield
- Uvex 107 Vario
Downloads:
Stefan Frey
Editor
