I love sunglasses, both on and off the bike, so testing over 35 pairs over the last year or more hasn’t been a chore. While they’re undoubtedly a style choice first and foremost for a lot of us, or a cheap way to emulate our favourite pros, the differences between an average pair and something truly great can be stark. I’ve been hunting through the best pairs on the market across a range of price points to find pairs that are comfortable, have fantastic optics, don’t fall off, don’t fog up, and keep the wind out of my eyes. Most pairs tick a couple of these boxes without breaking a sweat, but only a very select few get close to the full set.
For the full rundown of my favourite pairs on the market you can of course head to my guide to the best cycling glasses and pick something that fits your particular bill, but in this segment, there was a clear winner: The Oakley Encoder. While many pairs came close, none offered up the optical clarity, retention, comfort, and wind protection. It helps that they look good too, but that’s honestly a secondary consideration.
The winners
Best overall
For a lot of buyer’s guides and these awards, it’s a little tricky to pick a winner, but that’s not the case here. In my opinion, if you can afford a set of Oakley Encoder glasses and choose to get something else it’s a style-led decision, which is absolutely ok because that’s important too. Still, in terms of performance, the Encoder is noticeably better than any other pair I’ve been fortunate enough to try.
Like many of the best lightweight options, it’s a frameless design, but crucially it has a ridge on the upper of the lens which stiffens the whole thing up considerably and so you never get that floppy, insecure feeling that comes with more or less every other frameless pair of cycling glasses out there. This stiff lens, combined with an extremely tacky nose and arm grippers means that they absolutely will not budge, even on small heads (mine is tiny).
While the retention and comfort are superb, the thing that won me over was the optics. The field of view is unobstructed by any frame, is…
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