Eyewear for cyclists

Despite the lack of sunshine in the UK, there are many different brands of eyewear on the market and many reasons why cyclists are well advised to include a pair of sunglasses in their kit.

Sports glasses usually have polycarbonate lenses for strength, minimal weight and safety. They tend to be a wraparound design to help keep the wind, bugs, dust and other airborne debris from your eyes, so they are worth wearing whether you ride on or off road. Even indoors in a place like Manchester Velodrome, eyewear is useful, to prevent your eyes from drying out - which can be particularly bothersome if you wear contact lenses.

Many designs now have interchangeable lenses - anything from clear (for dark or cloudy conditions) to mirrored lenses (for bright sunshine), so that you can have just the right amount of ultraviolet (UVA and UVB) light protection - or pose with lenses to match your jersey.

Sports eyewear is even available for those who wear prescription lenses, either as a specially made lens, or as a special lens to clip in behind the regular 'shades'.