Over the years a few people have tried to express the virtues of industrial safety specs for use when riding. I pretty much dismissed this, partly through a hatred of wearing specs while riding, and partly because I thought I could so without. It needs to be pretty damn sunny before I’ll even consider breaking out the sunglasses, and even then I’ll have them on my helmet more than on my face. Poland of course, was the place that had enough sun to change my mind.

Over the last year I have had a few incidents that have made me think more carefully about whether I wear glasses when riding or not. In a nighttime cyclo-cross race last year I lost a contact lens, as I did in the second round of the Ingliston Crit Series this year. At the Fort William SXC, and the recent Selkirk Merida I had plenty of trouble with dirt in my eyes, at some points being unable to see for the water in my eyes.

Enter a set of Superior Safety Specs from Screwfix Direct. At £4.29, it was worthwhile risk to see how good they actually were. From here on I’ll split the review up a bit for convenience.

Aesthetics

Conventional safety specs tend to be clear plastic numbers, function at any cost. These safety specs look like regular riding glasses, in fact, they are hard to tell apart from their considerably more expensive counterparts.

Optics

While the optics are never going to win awards, they do the job well enough. I never felt while using these that the lens was interfering with my vision. The lens also wipes clean with the snot-wipe on your glove, leaving only a few minor streak marks behind. I’ve yet to scratch them, probably something to do with the lenses being pretty tough polycarbonate.

Build Quality

Despite the cost, these are really well build. Not surprising when you read the minimal documentation that comes with them, which informs you they should protect you from medium-speed small projectiles. Ideal on the bike then!

Fit

These fitted me perfectly, surprising considering that my eyelashes touch the inside of the lenses on most glasses. The wide wraparound means that peripheral vision is excellent, and the chunky frame wasn’t as obtrusive as I had expected. The only fault I can find, is that the optic quality drops within 1mm of the frame, but this is only an issue if you ride with your head down, and your eyes up to see 200m+ ahead.

Overall

I like these so much I’m going to buy the 5-pack. Several riding friends have tried them on, and been impressed by the fit and optical quality for glasses so cheap. It really is hard to find fault with them, and apart from those who ride with their head at odd angles, everyone should rush out and buy a pair of these.

For more photos, check out my Superior Safety Specs Flickr Set.




Questions

It looks like I missed some good points in my review, thanks to Iain for the following questions:

Do they fog up in humid conditions? – Rode them in the rain the other day, they only steam up if you stop for a good few minutes, but it quickly clears when you start riding again. I didn’t experience any fogginess while riding.

Do the lenses stain? – After a muddy ride the other day, I cleaned them with soapy water this morning. There was no marks on the lenses at all afterwards.

Are the legs and nose bridge rubberized, and do they slip around when things get sweaty? – I hadn’t actually looked at this previously, as the rubber is exactly colour-matched to the rest of the frames. But yes, they are rubberised, and no, they do not slip around, they stay firmly planted even in the roughest and wettest of conditions.

If anyone has any other questions, stick them in the comments below and I’ll get them answered.