Contact lenses
 

I currently wear glasses and want to try lenses for when I'm on the bike only. Any advice as to what type or other help would be gratefully received. I'm only on the bike for days/weekends at the moment but may use it more in the future.

make sure you carry a pair of glasses with you, just in case you suddenly find you can't for a while use a lens or two.

I've never got on with contact lenses on a bike. My eyes always seemed more sensitive to wind when I was wearing them and of course you get plenty of that when riding, even with the visor down. Any bit of grit or insect strike or even a stray hair and my eyes were streaming so I'd have to stop - and of course you can't rub your eyes with them in either. Taking a pair of glasses with you is good advice.

That's been my experience but as they say, your mileage may vary.

I've been wearing contacts for a while for riding. I find the dailys are best for camping and travelling as you don't have to mess about with cleaning solutions. You just need to make sure your hands are clean when you put them in and take them out. It can be a pain sometimes trying to put them in when it's windy and in a tent. As oldbmw says always keep a pair of glasses. I usually take them out during the evening and use glasses or manage without for the last couple of hours or so.

I have used contact lens, but I did much the opposite to Mustaphapint, with monthly lens fitted - the big advantage to me was when I got absolutely drunk, most evenings, I didn't have to take them out!! I don't get quite so legless nowadays, so I have gone back to wearing glasses all of the time.
Even with monthly lens, I would try to remember to take them out and clean them after about two weeks of constant use.

I've been wearing contacts since I was 12 which, now I tot it up, means 31 years! The best thing is to find a good opticians who will spend the time discussing the different options with you, personally I opted for Specsavers, and have always had good service from the numerous different branches I've tried over the years, but pop into a few and see which one you like best, who listens to what your requirements are, and who has a range of options.

Personally I prefer rigid gas permeable lenses, they're smaller so easier to insert and remove, they don't fold over or turn inside out like my wife's soft lenses, they use a single cleaning, rinsing and wetting solution and they're slightly easier to find in a tent. I've a theory that because they're smaller and move about on the eye constantly they're less prone to grit, but that's just a theory.

The downside is that when you're first getting started you can feel then more which means you need to be patient, and start off wearing them for a hour or two, building up slowly. The other downside is cost because of course you have to buy them up front whereas with daily/weekly/monthly soft lenses there are payment schemes - my wife pays £18 per month for instance, and every month Specsavers send her a new set of extended wear soft lenses and the cleaning solutions. Over the lifespan of my RGP lenses (18 months- 2 years) mine work out much cheaper, but the initial investment is higher.

BUT - the good old NHS rides to the rescue here. Because my prescription is over a certain strength and I need complex lenses for my astigmatism, my lenses ended up FREE this time, a huge surprise which I wasn't expecting. And then Specsavers had an offer for a cheap pair of glasses for lens wearers so the whole lot came out at £59.

Anyway, what it all comes down to is personal choice, the point of all of this it's find an opticians who will let you choose not try to sell you what they're getting the biggest kick-back from.

I just use Dailies, and think they're great for riding in, and the implications of losing or damaging one are fairly minimal. Not tried any of the other options though.

I now wear monthly disposable lenses and they are great. I take one spare set with me if away a few nights but otherwise don't bother as after 3 years I haven't lost one. I get them from my local independent optician for £30 per month, with twice year aftercare and replacements if I did lose one included.

My wife puts in a pair of daily wear lenses when riding her bike. Chuck 'em out when finished riding. Downside is on longer trips she has to carry loads of lenses. She gets hers from Specsavers at about £1 per set. On a recent 6 week trip she tired monthlies and got on really well them too.

If you want only occasionally wear lenses then I would have thought the daily wear one's would be best.

I have been wearing contact lenses for about 33 years or so. Started with the old hard perspex non oxygen permeable lenses, but after a year I switched to yearly soft lenses. Yearly, meaning they lasted about a year, but you took them out at night to clean and sterilise them.

Recently I tried high oxygen permeable Rigid Gas Permeable lenses and they possibly give slightly better vision - not much in it, but if you have very slight corneal astigmatism, they may improve that too. However, they are more expensive initially, but could, with care last 2 years. The downside (for me) is that because they don't sit quite so close on the cornea as soft lenses do, I find that they are prone to dust/dirt/sand, etc. getting between the cornea and the RGP lens, which makes them unbearable and they have to be taken out and cleaned. They do take a little longer to acclimatise to, but that is no biggie.

After a year with the RGP lenses, I switched to a highly oxygen permeable soft multifocal contact lens. I wanted some better close vision, but wanted to preserve my good long distance vision. These work quite well for me and I replace the lenses every month. I take the lenses out each night and soak them in a hydrogen peroxide solution for 6 hours before neutralising them and reinserting.

Camping needs a little care as I find I tend to get dirt in my finger pores and this comes out when I insert my lenses in the morning. Not so much an issue in official camping sites where there is hot water, etc. but wild camping needs a little more care.

I have very little problem with soft lenses and wear them on the bike and even for swimming, scuba, etc. I do wear goggles when swimming though.

Remember, they are in contact with your eyes, so you MUST follow your optician's care advice closely.

Most opticians recommend Daily Lenses, though I think there is less choice for high oxygen permeable lenses and multifocal variants.

+1 for the advice on carrying a set of spectacles (may be a legal requirement in some countries) and a set of spare lenses in case you tear or loose a lens.

One word of warning from bitter experience! If you are BarBQing something like a pork steak marinated in pepper, etc. be very careful to get the pepper marinade off your hands. I did this once and even though I had thoroughly washed my hands, I got some from the pores in my skin onto the contact lenses when I took them out at night. Next morning, put the cleaned lenses back in and after about 2-3 hours they became more and more unbearable. I had to leave work and go home. Bathed my eyes in Optrex solution and after several hours, the discomfort subsided. Biggest problem was I did not know what was causing the discomfort and this was a worry. I am much more careful now though!

Grey Beard

lenses
 

Thanks for all your replies, they're extremely helpful and detailed. I have a friendly optician and will speak to him 1st and will definitely take the spare glasses. Thank you :)

im riding with them for 10 years never ever needed glasses , im even a scuba diver and was without mask on 40 50 meter deep, no problems, so go for it
just choose soft lenses ask your optician

Hi,

I wear contact lenses on the bike...

Just a couple of things..

As already said carry your specs, just in-case..

In hot dry dust conditions keep your visor down as the dust can get onto them and you'll end up with sore eyes and ruined lenses.

Carry some eye hydration liquid.. Such as..

Optrex Eye Care: Advice on dry eyes with or without contact lenses

Contact Lens Travel Tips & Contact Lens Care | ACUVUE® Brand

HTH.. Greg