The best sunglasses for cycling are designed to integrate seamlessly into your ride, so they can protect your eyes from UV rays and debris without you even realizing they’re there. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to find a pair that fits your face well and looks stylish too. Over the past few decades that we’ve spent on bikes, we’ve watched cycling shades progress to become even more comfortable, capable—and better looking—on and off the bike. Here are some of our favorite pairs for all types of rides, face shapes, and light conditions.
The Expert: To make this list of top cycling sunglasses, I used my own recent test experience as both a road and gravel cyclist and casual commuter, and also leaned on the exhaustive expertise and test experience of Bicycling’s gear team, which includes Deputy Editor Tara Seplavy, Senior Test Editor Matt Phillips, and Test Editor Dan Chabonov. Together, they have more than 60 years of experience in the bike industry, and extensive insight into what works and what doesn’t on a bike.
What to Consider When Buying Cycling Sunglasses
Frame Shape, Materials, and Type
For cyclists, frame and lens shape is important for field of vision and protection. It’s why even a lot of “frameless” designs still have a thin rim on the bottom of the lens—it keeps the lens from cutting your face in an impact. Many frames are made of plastic polymers like Grilamid that bend without breaking. Photochromic lenses, like those found in Rudy Project’s Propulse, adjust for varying intensities of light to help you see in a range of conditions, while Smith ChromaPop and Oakley PRIZM filter out specific wavelengths. Shop for lenses based on how you’ll be using them. Mountain bikers can get lenses that highlight reds and browns to improve trail visibility, for instance, and road lenses enhance shadows to help you see bad pavement before you hit it.
Rims or Rimless?
Note that some sport sunglasses have rims surrounding the lens, offering maximal protection in the event of a crash, and others may be partially rimmed. The Rudy Project Propulse has a rimless design below the lenses and rims above. Rimless designs like the Tifosi Rail increase your field of vision and make the frames lighter, although the absence of surrounding rims means your face could fare worse in a crash.
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Dialed-in Fit
Cycling sunglasses need to fit the size and shape of your face well enough to stay put as you ride, while being comfortable enough to wear all day under a helmet. To achieve this, brands like POC and Smith use hydrophilic rubber—which maintains its grip as you sweat—on nose and temple pads. Other pads are fully adjustable to conform to a variety of face shapes. Straight arms tend to be more compatible with aerodynamic cycling helmets that fit snug against the temples, and longer arms make for glasses you can stow away atop or behind the helmet.
Prescription Options
Outdoor cycling can be a hassle for glasses and contact lens wearers. Thankfully, several of the sunglasses we recommend here accept prescription lenses, and unlike frames from the optometrist, RX-ready cycling options don’t have to be too pricey. “It’s okay to have a $60 to $70 frame and put really nice lenses in; you might not get name-brand, but they work and they last,” says Rob Tavakoli, vice president of online sunglass retailer SportRX. We noted below which sunglasses are available in prescription options.
How We Selected These Sunglasses for Cyclists
Every pair of shades on this list has been thoroughly tested by me or the Bicycling gear team on a variety of ride types. We spent many hours and miles in these to determine which boast the best combination of comfort, visual clarity, and style, using all for their intended purposes—we’ve commuted to and from work with casual pairs, and we’ve tested the performance models on grueling road rides and trail jaunts. All the sunglasses below met our high standard for quality, durability, and value.
Weight: 26g | RX option? Yes
RUDY PROJECT Rudy Project Propulse Sports Sunglasses
RUDY PROJECT Rudy Project Propulse Sports Sunglasses
Pros
- Lightweight and comfortable
- No fogging issues
- Available photochromic lens works well
Cons
- No hard case included
Rudy Project’s Propulse can be had for much less if you don’t select the photochromic lenses, but we recommend them. Our clear-to-red lenses proved ideal for a night of velodrome racing, blocking glare as the sun set and letting in plenty of light after dark. The Propulse has a fit similar to Rudy Project’s Cutline model, with a soft and easily adjustable nosepiece and grippy temple arms. But the lighter and smaller Propulse didn’t have the Cutline’s tendency to slide down our face. The lenses provide plenty of coverage for trail riding, but they aren’t as close to the cheek as many oversize shades—that helps them ventilate better and not feel as hot, another plus for mountain bikers. The Propulse wins our Editors’ Choice award because the glasses have excelled on trail, road, and track in direct sun and low light. Our sole complaint? These don’t come with the robust hard case that Rudy usually includes.
Weight: 34g | RX option? No
Pros
- Nearly indestructible
- Cheap
Cons
- Dark lenses not ideal for shady trail riding
- Not much style
With a name like ForceFlex, these 34-gram glasses were begging to be put to the “can we break them?” test. Turns out, with our bare hands, we couldn’t—they really are so flexible that you can bend them 180 degrees in any direction. So then we sat on them. Then we stepped on them, jumped on them, ran them over with a bike, and threw them at a wall—no damage, not even a scratched lens. You can bend the temple arms with enough force, but they just bend back into place. The view isn’t as vibrant as pricier competitors, and the lenses don’t really enhance contrast, so we wouldn’t recommend them for trail riding beneath a leafy canopy. But the shades offer 100 percent UVA/UVB protection and cut down on glare well. For $30, that’s great value.
Weight: 22g | RX option? No
Pros
- Affordable but not cheap feeling
- Lots of colors available
Cons
- Not a lot of side coverage
If you’re not looking for full coverage—but you do want a lot of style options at a price that won’t make you panic if you lose or break a pair—Goodr’s OGs are the GOAT. Polarized, bounce-proof, and affordable without feeling cheap, the OGs are also among the lightest and most comfortable sunglasses we’ve tested, and transition seamlessly from on-the-bike-wear to casual use. No, you won’t get the precise optics of Oakleys, but it’s hard to beat the quality and style options for the price. For wider-faced runners, the brand’s BFG sunglasses offer a similar look plus a wider frame, larger lenses, longer arms, and silicone inserts at the nose and temples. You can find both in lots of different colors, patterns, and lens types—just be warned that the reflective lenses tend to fade after a year or so of heavy use.
Weight: 33g | RX option? No
Pros
- Big shield lens = lots of protection
- Unshakeable fit ideal for trail riding
Cons
- No lens swapping
- No hard case included
Smith’s Flywheel takes the oversize trend to the extreme with its massive one-piece lens. The bad news is it’s stuck to the frame, making it impossible to swap out—and there’s no hard case to protect the shades in your bag. But if you can get past all that and find a ChromaPop lens that suits your needs (there are six options), then you’ll appreciate the Flywheel for its excellent coverage and fit. The stubby, curved temple arms hook behind your ears and make it pretty much impossible for the glasses to move while riding. The adjustable nosepiece has two positions on each side, snapping into place with a satisfying click and staying there. The downside of the big, unvented lens is that it’s prone to fogging when you’re riding slowly or stopped, but the mist promptly cleared when we started up again.
Weight: 37g | RX option? No
Pros
- Comfortable fit
Cons
- Temple arms not grippy enough for narrow- and medium-width faces
These bug eye-shaped glasses from POC provide loads of coverage, protecting you from bright sun and spray from your buddy’s wheel. The adjustable nosepiece is among the thickest and most comfortable we’ve encountered, keeping the shades tolerable on a four-hour ride. The temple arms are also thick but similarly comfortable, although the straight-back shape and lack of grip meant they allowed the sunglasses to slide off our tester’s face when he looked down. The silver-violet Carl Zeiss lens on our “apophyllite green” test pair was ideal for bright days with a lot of glare but a bit too dark for overcast skies (there’s also a “trail” option with more visible light transmission for shadier riding conditions).
Weight: 28g | RX option? Yes
Pros
- Expansive field of vision
- Excellent grip
Cons
- Temple arm fit too narrow for wide faces
The Roka CP-1x offers full-frame protection in a lightweight package: Our test model weighed 28 grams, and the frames feature titanium core wires that help the glasses hold their shape. The temple pads and nosepiece are a hydrophilic elastomer that maintains grip even after you’re all sweaty, although the distance between the arms may be uncomfortably narrow for people with wide faces. There’s an anti-reflective coating on the back side of the lens and water-repellent coatings on both sides, and the bronze lens color on our test model provided ample protection on sunny days but shined in low-light conditions. We didn’t run into any fogging issues.
Weight: 32g | RX option? No
Pros
- Excellent coverage
- Contrast-enhancing lens
Cons
- Temple arms need more grip
- Sweat pools on bottom of frames
The Oakley Sutro is ideal for riders who prioritize coverage (and the big, bold, maximalist style). Our testers liked the wide lens’s protective feeling as they charged over gravel. However, both of them had issues keeping the big shades on their faces. One said the nosepiece needs to fit more tightly, like it does on other Oakleys, and said that the temple arms could also use a rubber gripper—repositioning the glasses mid-ride was a persistent frustration. And although the Prizm lens didn’t collect fog, it did pool sweat where the lens met the frame, said the other. But apart from that, they have great coverage for commuting or gravel rides.
Weight: 32g | RX option? Yes
Pros
- Good visual clarity
- Easy to change out lenses
- Hydrophobic coating
Cons
- Too big for some
Another high-coverage lens, the Wildcat is among Smith’s best due to its flexible fit, visual clarity, comfort, and style. The glasses come in several lens options, including the brand’s color-enhancing Chromapop technology in a black or red mirror lens, depending on your preferred amount of light transmission—with an additional clear lens thrown in as a bonus for low-light eye protection. (And unlike the brand’s Flywheel sunglasses, these lenses are easy to interchange.) Given the price of the glasses, the sharp, color-filtering optical quality is striking; we also liked Wildcat’s dual-sided hydrophobic lens coating, which repelled sweat, muck, and the elements without fogging up, due to the abundance of airflow behind the frames. The only downside of these full-coverage glasses is that they can overwhelm smaller faces—which can have the effect of pressing against some helmets.
Weight: 31g | RX option? No
Pros
- Half the price of competing pairs
- Wraparound coverage
- Easy-to-swap lenses
Cons
- Sized as “best for medium to wide faces”
For cycling-specific sunglasses that perform well without draining your wallet, the Rail brings a lot to the table. Built with a lightweight, frameless design that allows for plenty of UV coverage and solid airflow, the sunglasses come with two easy-to-swap-out polycarbonate lenses—including clear and photochromic options. The moldable nosepiece is comfortable and secure for different face sizes, though the sunglasses bill their size as “best for medium to wide faces.” In terms of visual clarity, the Rail performs far above its price point with an unobstructed, frameless view that’s sharp and undistorted.
Weight: 32g | RX option? No
Pros
- Good visual clarity and coverage
- Stylish
- Handy strap
- Extra clear lens
Cons
- Small line of holes feels unnecessary
Rapha’s Explore line was designed to blend the brand’s understated performance gear with a more casual look. The Explore sunglasses are right in line with this ethos—they’ve got sharp visual clarity in a range of light conditions, plus a hydrophobic lens coating with an anti-fogging treatment. They also come with a clear lens for eye protection while riding in low-light conditions. But they’ve got a more stylish aesthetic than many high-coverage glasses and don’t make you look as bug-like off the bike. We also loved the included extras, like a soft case, hard case, and strap to hold the glasses around your neck. Our only complaint is that the small ventilation holes along the top of the glasses can be distracting and take some getting used to.
