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Just got progressive glasses. Any tips for making adjustment?

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PeterF1963

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I recently accepted that my 56 year old eyes just aren't as sharp as they used to be. And my arms aren't long enough to read my phone. So I made the leap and got prescription glasses. One pair was for day to day, and some ray ban aviators for driving. I found myself using the aviators on my road bike with no problems, so I had a set of MTB specific sunglasses made to match my prescription. Rode the trails on them this morning and it was very dicey.
Anyone riding the trails with progressive glasses, and can you offer any advice on making the adjustment?
Thanks in advance
 
#2 ·
I just did a road ride with new glasses that have 1.5 magnification at the bottom/inner part of the lenses, I give them a thumbs up. Very easy to read my distance, power, etc on my garmin compared to using my normal riding glasses. Haven't ridden off-road with them yet but expect them to be just as good there.
To me that's the worst part (thus far) about being in my 50's, I despise having to have readers on me at all times now.
 
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#3 ·
What do you mean by progressive?

Are you referring to glasses that darken in the sun but have only one prescription or the ones that are good for reading and distance. I.E. like bifocals?

I've heard the term progressive applied to both types.
 
#4 ·
I have trifocals for everyday, which cater for distance at the top, working at a desk in the middle, and reading at the bottom. Just keep wearing them and they'll come good. Took me maybe a week. I also have a pair ground just for computer work. Since I can be working on a large screen surface a lot of the time, that is a lot better for me.
 
#5 ·
If you're talking about varifocal, they're terrifying the first time you do fast downhill.

I initially thought of that as a criticism, but then realised it saved me having to travel to find a set of gnarly trails.

Just pop on the goggles, and fear becomes your co-pilot :)
 
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#7 ·
Varilux or other brands

Like others have pointed out, you get used to them pretty quickly. Having worn them for decades, I reserve my previous pair for riding just in case I break them.

I also had a pair of wrap around sunglasses for riding with a rose color lens and only my distance prescription used. They are designed for motorcycles and have an impact resistant lens. All my prescription sunglasses are the distance prescription only.
 
#8 ·
Rev Bubba said:
Are you referring to glasses that darken in the sun but have only one prescription or the ones that are good for reading and distance. I.E. like bifocals?

I've heard the term progressive applied to both types.
Click to expand...
Yes, progressive lenses have variable focus, transitions change color.

Imagine my consternation, the first time I wore them landing a 767!
:D
 
#9 ·
I have a pair, can't stand them, but my wife loves hers, so maybe it take time.

Mine are relaly only for reading, so I should probably ditch em and get readers.

Have you considered Lasik? I got it twenty years ago, best thing I ever did for me … other than marrying my lovely and talented wife :)
 
#10 ·
I've had progressives for reading and about the house and office for years. But once I go outside, they come off -- walking, running, riding, driving. My distance vision remains fine, but can't read a lick without glasses. I always carry a cheap pair of readers on me when I ride in case I need to do a repair. I just had to get over not being able to read a speedometer or my gps watch while riding. If I really need to see something, have to pull out the readers. But I agree, riding in progressives -- not a viable option for me.
 
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#11 ·
rockerc said:
I have trifocals for everyday, which cater for distance at the top, working at a desk in the middle, and reading at the bottom. Just keep wearing them and they'll come good. Took me maybe a week. I also have a pair ground just for computer work. Since I can be working on a large screen surface a lot of the time, that is a lot better for me.
Click to expand...
same here...it took me a day or two to get used to them...but honestly, I don't use them now b/c I don't want them to get trashed. Luckily, my far sight is fine other than reading far away signs.

Honestly, I can't wear sunglasses of any type in the woods b/c they mess with my perception of the light and dark. i have amber colored cheapy work glasses from Home Depot that work perfect.
 
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#12 ·
How well the work can depend on the prescription. If you need really strong correction or have a lot of astigmatism they may not work as well. I'm moderately nearsighted with no astigmatism so progressives have worked very well for me. I started wearing progressives sometime around '95. A the time I was racing motos on/off road and used to wearing contacts so was concerned, but they turned out not to be an issue.
 
#13 ·
I've always said I wouldn't get progressive lenses, but lately I'm not so sure. I'm nearsighted but not too badly. I used to be 20/100, but I think eye doctors use different measurements these days.

I need glasses to drive a car, ride a bike, watch TV, and see things across the room. Up close, however, such as when reading or using a desktop computer, I take my glasses off. This has worked great for most of my life.

Nowadays, I notice the change most when working in the garage, such as cleaning and tuning our bicycles. I need to put my glasses on to find a tool hanging on the pegboard or on the workbench, but then I need to take off the glasses to see what I'm working on up close. Then put them on again to find the next thing I need, and then take them off again to see the work I'm doing.

I also can no longer eat while watching television. I need to have my glasses on to see the TV, but I need to take them off to see my plate, or everything is blurry up close.

Having watched a friend stumble around and miss things he was reaching for with a brand new pair of progressive lenses, I'm not so sure I want to make the leap just yet. My eye doctor, who happens to be the same age as me, told me a couple/few years ago, "when you're ready, you'll know it."

I'm not ready just yet, but maybe someday. I appreciate the opinions and experience everyone has shared in this thread so far.
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
like bifocals, only the lower lense is for reading, the upper is for distance, and just straight glass in the middle. I could have just gone with reading glasses, since the short vision was more impaired than distance, but decided to bite the bullet and get improved reading and distance at once. But when you look down at the ground through the lens, its the reader part, so it gets blurry.
 
#17 ·
PeterF1963 said:
like bifocals, only the lower lense is for reading, the upper is for distance, and just straight glass in the middle....
Click to expand...
It can vary. There will be straight glass (no diopter or cylinder correction) only at the angle in the vertical plane where your uncorrected eyesight would need none. So it depends on your correction. Since I'm nearsighted with no astigmatism, I can read fine print and see my watch and Garmin sharply without glasses, so the bottoms of my progressive lenses have very little if any correction. The middle of the lens has some correction for mid-distance correction and the tops have more stronger correction. If you have astigmatism, that correction (cylinder) will be applied equally from top to bottom of the lens. It's optically impossible to perfectly do what these lenses try to do, so in the transition zone between the tops and bottoms, and especially off to the left and right, there will be distortion. How much there is depends on the details of your prescription, and how the different brands try to minimize this distortion, so some brands of lenses may seem better to you than others.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Nurse Ben said:
I have a pair, can't stand them, but my wife loves hers, so maybe it take time.

Mine are relaly only for reading, so I should probably ditch em and get readers.

Have you considered Lasik? I got it twenty years ago, best thing I ever did for me … other than marrying my lovely and talented wife :)
Click to expand...
LASIK is great, but you can't see close, right (if you're old)..Unless you got monovision or a corneal inlay like the Kamra or Rain Drop lens.

I didn't have any problems at all going to mountain biking progressive lenses. I put them in a wrap style sport WileyX frame.

I did purposely set the position lower than my normal office and daily life progressives when I had them made. I figured I'd only need the reading part occasionally for seeing my phone or doing trailside repairs.

One thing I like that I didn't expect is that the intermediate range is just about right for seeing my front tire and immediate obstacles when maneuvering in slower tech sections.

Disclaimer: I was already used to progressive lenses when I finally got some for mountain biking.

To the OP, you may have your optometrist set the seg height lower if you still aren't getting used to them after 2-3 weeks.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#19 ·
The hardest part is getting used to moving your head the right amount so you are looking out of the right "zone" in the lens for the distance you are trying to see. Looking down at your feet is the hardest to get used to, in great part because the lenses are curved so you get some distortion. Looking out of the corner of your eye is second worst because there just isn't any focus over there (my distance vision has been bad for decades).

You'll get used to it. Try to work on doing more looking out in front of you. Gives you more time to react and you can see it without seeing distortion from the lens curvature.
 
#20 ·
One of the oddest things with wearing multi-focal is when you ride rigid hardtail and hit a rough section fast.

I don't mean technical stuff, more like Paris Roubaix surfaces with lots of small rocks showing through, maybe an inch or two above the surface. The sort of thing that's well within the capabilities of the bike if you trust it.

My experience is that my glasses bounce up and down and I get a very blurred view of the world, a bit like double vision with my eyes trying to adjust focus in time with the rapidly oscillating changes in diopter as the glasses bounce.

That's when the old maxim "Trust the bike" really needs to be observed. Naturally I now slow down when that happens, but it's also improved my riding in that I ride looser on those surfaces and manage to stabilise my head better.

But it's a bit of a fright when you hit an unknown section and that happens. :)
 
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