Sun Glasses; Rudy Project mmm nice!

After wearing Oakley for so long I thought I would not be able to make the change to another brand, so with trepidation I ordered the smallest fitting Rudy Projects from their catalog, as I don't have a big (wide) head. Apart from the first Oakley's that were really big, you remember them? Phil Anderson and Greg Lemond made them famous, they covered half your face and gave you a stupid sun-tan, most Oakley after that were on the small side, which for me is great.

Rudy History

Rudy Barbazza started his Project in Italy in 1985, using technology and design he has come up with some great ideas, not only with glasses but also with helmets and goggles for many sports and top sportsmen, Rudy Project equipment is very available in North America as there is a fully committed Rudy Project North America which is backing up there distribution with a replacement Lens Guarantee.

Both Glasses

To The Rudy Projects

I ordered a pair of Ekynox SX because they are full frame and a pair of Rydon SX because they are half frame, both SX as this means they are a smaller fit for the narrower head, this stops the glasses sticking out at the side, which looks stupid and also doesn't help the lenses do there work if they are at the wrong angle to the face. With both glasses you can change the lenses, both have adjustable arms and adjustable nose pieces and both are very cool! So let's look at each pair separately.

The Ekynox

The Ekynox comes in five different frame colors and sixteen different lenses, the ones I went for was the standard black frames and the Multi Laser Red lenses, the look is more conservative and not over the top. The "Ergonose" nose piece is very adjustable and is the same on both glasses, one draw back is that they are metal, so with some sweat they corrode if you don't keep them clean, but they do adjust for a comfortable fit. At first look it seems that the lenses don't fit properly, this gap is so you can change the lenses more easily, you don't feel any air through to your face. Once adjusted properly they fit well with a good wrap around feel and don't feel loose any way, very good for cycling.

Ekynox

The Rydon SX

With the Rydon I went for the red frame and the Racing Red lenses, there are twelve different lenses for the Rydon and four frame colors. These are again close fitting and wraps around the face for complete protection of your eyes. the big difference is that you don't see any frame below your eyes, that's because there isn't one, the biggest advantage being that even on a long climb in heat they don't steam up, on my local climb which takes around an hour to get to the top, in over 30C, there was no problem, well not for the glasses anyway.

Rydon

The Lenses

The color of the lens is very important for different weather and light conditions, they can reduce glare, enhance the contrast, obviously protect from harmful rays and with perfect optics they will make sure that you see perfectly without distortion, which is very portent for seeing any objects in the road while cycling, cheaper lenses are not always true and can bend what you see, so its always advisable to spend that little bit more on glasses to get proper lenses, like Rudy Project. With both glasses and with many others you can get the RX clip on adapter so you can ad your own prescription lens to the inside of the glasses, great idea for those of us without 20/20 vision.

The Frames

Wow! There are so many frames on the Rudy Project range, made from such diverse materials as Kynetium, which is an aerospace aluminum alloy, Grilamid a thermoplastic, Carbonium plastic and carbon, Copper-Berillium, Monel a Nickel-Copper mix, Harmonic a steel and Magnesium mix and Megol which is the soft rubber they use for temple and nose grips. These materials help to make Rudy glasses so comfortable and durable.

Which Were My Favorite?

Ekynox & Rydon

The Ekynox were very comfortable on and off the bike, but I didn't like the way I could see the bottom of the frame, this was a bit awkward when looking down, say at the gears or for the bottle, the Rydon on the other hand were perfect on the bike in all ways, but I didn't feel right wearing them on the streets, just a little bit much, so the answer is have two pairs of sun glasses, one set for cycling and another for posing around the cafe after your ride. Both come with case and cleaning bag.

Our Vote- 8/10, they have style aplenty!

Check out the Rudy Project web-site here.