Cycling
Prescription lenses for cycling
Lenses for the way you ride: head down, on the move and in changing light.
Prescription lenses for cycling
Lenses made for the way you ride
The right lenses for cycling depend on your prescription, how you ride and the light you ride in. Here is what riding asks of a lens, and the lens designs, materials and coatings we make for it.
Looking for sunglasses? Frames, tints and polarised lenses are on our prescription sunglasses for cycling page.
On the bike
What a cyclist asks of a lens
On a bike you look ahead, to the sides and down, in sun, wind and sometimes rain. Here is what that means for your lenses, and what helps.
| On the ride | What helps |
|---|---|
| Looking ahead with your head down | A wide, clear view into the distance. A High-Curve multifocal is set for how you hold your head: a cyclist's head is often down, so the distance zone sits higher than in everyday glasses |
| Checking the riders around you | A wide area that is clear at arm's length and to the sides, with as little distortion at the edges as possible. The Vario has a large zone at arm's length |
| Reading a navigation device, such as a bike computer or phone | Near vision. A multifocal has a reading zone for it, and the Vario's is small and low in the lens |
| Sun behind or beside you | Anti-reflection on the back of the lens, which stops reflections when the sun is behind or beside you |
| Sweat and rain | A water-repellent coating: the surface of our Iridio coating helps against sweat and rain |
| Wind and flying debris | A wraparound frame for good coverage, and a tough, impact-resistant lens material |
| Changing light | Lenses that darken in the sun, or a tint chosen for the day |
Lens designs
High-Curve and Vario: lenses made for sport
Both are made in our own lens lab in Cape Town, with German precision technology. The surface of each lens is calculated for your prescription and cut by computer-controlled machines. Our multifocal designs are called Flexivue.
High-Curve
A balanced lens with more distance, calculated for sporty frames that wrap around the face. A wraparound frame holds the lens at a steep angle in front of your eye, and a regular lens at that angle blurs the view, especially away from the centre. High-Curve is calculated for the frame's curve and how it sits on your face, which reduces that blur and gives a wide field of view.
It is made as single vision or as a multifocal. The multifocal is set for how you hold your head.
Good to know: It suits low to moderate prescriptions in a wrap frame. Strong prescriptions need a flatter frame, and our lab advises.
Vario 7
The Vario is our driving and sports lens. It has a wide, flat distance zone that is clear right to the edges, and a large zone at arm's length, which in an ordinary multifocal is the narrowest part of the lens. It comes in three versions, and the Vario 7 is the one for golf, running and cycling.
Good to know: Its reading zone is small and low in the lens, so it is a second pair rather than an everyday one, and it needs a larger frame.
A pair for the bike can be a second pair, next to the glasses you wear every day. We make the lenses we sell, with no middleman, so a second pair for another part of your day is affordable.
Materials and coatings
Tough lenses, with coatings for sun, sweat and rain
Impact-resistant materials
1.53 Strong & Lite and polycarbonate are both highly impact resistant, far tougher than standard plastic lenses. Strong & Lite is lighter and optically clearer, and polycarbonate is a little thinner. The right one depends on your prescription and your frame.
Anti-reflection on the back
Anti-reflection on the back of the lens stops reflections when the sun is behind or beside you. It cancels most of the reflections off your lenses, so more of the light reaches your eye.
Iridio
Our hardest, cleanest anti-reflection coating. It is extra-hard and scratch-resistant, and its water-repellent surface helps against sweat and rain. It also repels smudges and dust, and has an anti-static layer.
Clarity Comfort
An anti-fog coating with Clarity anti-reflection built in. Its surface spreads condensation into an even, invisible film instead of droplets, so your lenses stay clear. If your glasses tend to fog up, Clarity Comfort is made for that. It is cleaned only with its own anti-fog cloth.
Every Torga lens has a scratch-resistant hard coat on both surfaces at no extra cost. Scratch-resistant is not scratch-proof: no lens is. Anti-reflection cuts reflections, not glare. Only a polarised lens blocks glare.
Sun and changing light
From an early start to the midday sun
Lenses that darken in the sun, polarised lenses and tints each deal with light in a different way, and all of them can be made in your prescription. They are part of choosing cycling sunglasses, so we explain them on that page.
Lenses that darken in the sun
Clear at an early start, and darker as the sun comes up. Flexi-Tint is made in our own lab, and we also offer Transitions. Photochromic lenses.
Polarised lenses
They cut the glare that bounces off the road and off water. In some conditions they can make water on the road harder to see, which matters to cyclists. Polarised lenses.
Tints
A tint cuts brightness, not glare. Brown, amber and copper add contrast and depth perception. Sun tints.
If you ride early in the morning or at dusk, tell your optometrist, so your lenses and tint are chosen for it.
Choosing your lenses
Start with how you ride
Tell your optometrist how and where you ride, and how often you look down at a navigation device. They will talk you through the lenses for your prescription. Your lenses are made in our lab in Cape Town and sent to your practice for you to collect, and your practice gives you the date they will be ready when you order.
Already have a cycling frame? We can often make your prescription lenses to fit it. Bring your own frame.
Lenses for the way you ride
Book an eye test, and your optometrist will talk you through the lenses for your prescription.
Book an eye test