Downhill Mountain Bike Eyewear

Sunglasses do more than just make you look ultra-cool when mountain biking - they protect you from flying debris, shade you from the blinding glare of the sun, and make sure you always have 100% visibility on the trail. Eyewear is an important downhill mountain bike accessory to obtain. Oakley, Arnette, and Bolle are some of the more common eyewear companies that have tailored designs to meet the needs of mountain bikers. Protective eyeware can be expensive, yes, but would you rather spend the money to protect your eyes or be blind for the rest of your life? The choice is yours to make.

It is important to choose protective eyewear that is shatter-proof, as falling off a downhill mountain bike or colliding with a tree can cause glass frames to break and cut the eyes. Plastic or other composite, shatter-proof materials are lighter and more felxible than glass and ensure a safe, protective descent down any mountain. Yellow lenses are great if you forsee yourself doing a lot of downhill mountain biking at either dusk or dawn, as yellow frames allow you to easily see through shadows that happen during these times. Or, if you don't plan to tailor your riding schedule to either the rising or setting of the sun, get a pair of shatter-proof lenses that are either rose or amber colored - these colors are optimal for mid-day downhill mountain biking.

It is also important to make sure that your protective eyegear fits your head snugly, but not too tightly. There's not much point in spending the money on a pair of expensive glasses if they are just going to fly off your head when you are flying down the face of a mountain on your downhill mountain bike - take the steps to secure them to your head with Croakies, or with an elastic strap used for securing sport glasses to one's head while exercising or competing. Also, a snug fit ensures that your vision is not obstructed by the frame, or by an off-kilter lense angle.