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Fogging Goggles/Glasses

(17 posts)
  • Started 10 years ago by Beano
  • Latest reply from Beano
  • This topic is resolved

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  1. Beano
    Member

    I've muddled through my first summer of cycling with two sets of ALDI glasses; one dark and one orange for low light and they worked ok-ish but still fog up. I knew the low light ones wouldn't be good enough for when the clocks went back so bought a pair of clear DHB ones (low price, hundreds of good reviews).

    The trouble is i'm really struggling with them fogging up and cycling almost blind sometimes. I do wash and clean the lenses pre-cycle but still same issue. i do pull them off the face but still fog up.

    The thing is...I have this weird thing where air escapes out of my eye near the tear duct. There is obviously expelled air coming out of my eye and the fogging the glasses. sitting the glasses off the face a bit doesn't work and wiping the lens isn't practical as i need to wipe constantly.

    any ideas? any other weirdos with the nose-air-fogging thing? If its seeing a GP then fine but i'd rather not...

    I gave in and rode the 16 miles home without them on last night and other than a bit of eye watering it wasn't too bad but i don't know if this is a good long-term solution!? why do we wear goggles/glasses anyway? just for bug strikes?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  2. SRD
    Moderator

    you used to be able to get glasses cleaner spray that specified itself as anti-fogging. i used to use it when i skied competitively.

    edit: I notice that wiggle sells anti-fog spray...

    the reason your glasses fog nearest your eyes/nose is because of the air being warmer there/warming up there first (this being CCE, doubtless a cleverer person will disprove this....)

    Posted 10 years ago #

  3. MediumDave
    Member

    Speedo and Kiefer make anti-fog solution (ostensibly for swimming goggles) Maybe try this?

    I've used it on safety and ski goggles before now with reasonable success. Make sure you polish it off thoroughly before wearing the glasses as the fumes will make your eyes smart!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  4. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @Beano

    Tip from the motorcycle world; use a soft cloth and take a dab of the congealed yellow gunk from the top of a washing-up liquid bottle. Polish the inside of the lenses with this.

    Motocycle visors are now fitted with anti-fog polypropylene inserts. Not sure that would work for specs.

    Are you absolutely sure you need to breathe?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  5. Beano
    Member

    thanks for the tips...especially IWRATS :-)

    will try the fairy liquid tip then get some anti-fogging spray if required.

    it's definitely my weird eye and its only on one side (RHS)...trouble is that my right eye is the good one so when that's fogged i'm struggling.

    it's even worse if i have to do a nose blow which is common for me.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  6. Morningsider
    Member

    Beano - Do you need to wear prescription glasses? If not, then I would say ditch the glasses. Any solution is unlikely to solve the fogging problem 100%. Why risk a possible accident through impaired vision? If you can't think why you need to wear them (and your eyes will still water with glasses on) then I would say you probably know they aren't strictly necessary.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  7. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @Beano

    Pleasure all mine. My best mate at primary school's dad could blow cigarette smoke out of his eyes. He also owned Anderson Cycles on Rosemount Viaduct in Aberdeen.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  8. Roibeard
    Member

    Edinburgh Diving Centre will have anti-fog substances, although divers are told to clean the lens well before applying. Oils or coatings left over from manufacturing can aid fogging, so you may need to clean the lens well with a mild soap first.

    From experience with diving masks, this may need to be repeated to become effective, and have require a mild abrasive - toothpaste is a good bet in terms of diving!

    Obviously don't do this, if the lenses already have an anti-fog coating, as removing it would defeat the purpose!

    As to why to wear glasses when cycling - to keep bugs/debris out of your eyes, and to stop tear formation due to the (sometimes even self-induced) wind. If you're not going quickly, then they won't be required, however if you're riding with traffic, then going quickly is often required under current UK conditions and official advice!

    Robert

    Posted 10 years ago #

  9. amir
    Member

    Not just bugs and dust - stones can ping out from the wheels (of cars but particularly cycles).

    Posted 10 years ago #

  10. scotti
    Member

    It's possibly just me, but I've found that my cycling glasses would mist up when I had a buff or scarf pulled up over my nose. Glasses cleared again when I uncovered my nose, doesn't help when you are trying to keep some heat in your face though.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  11. gembo
    Member

    I don't have a leak in my eye but steam comes off me at an alarming rate from various parts of my anatomy. I take glasses off to climb and put back on for descent. I do have a clear pair in garage so might start using them again now the Aldi orange and Aldi black ones are no use. Also very odd iridescent blue pair which was all EBC had in their cheap range one time I needed them, I only use them to spot kingfishers.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  12. KeepPedalling
    Member

    I like to use glasses that do not have their frames continuing above the lenses. They can slip down my nose a touch so that I look just over the top of them. This allows perfect vision while still channelling air away and protecting from stones from the wheel in front. Maybe doesn't look cool though!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  13. sallyhinch
    Member

    As someone who can barely see without their glasses, I go for the KeepPedalling manoeuvre as well for when they are fogged up (or rain spattered). At least that way I can see something, even if it's a little blurry (that said, I did once manage not to see a London bus (double decker) when looking behind me - that's how bad my vision is without my glasses). I suppose it's hypocritical of me to keep cycling half blind when I'd be horrified if a driver did it ...

    Sadly even glasses don't keep the bugs out of your eyes, I find. Or your nose, or mouth ...

    Posted 10 years ago #

  14. Snowy
    Member

    Are the Aldi glasses quite close fitting? A reasonable airflow will nearly always prevent fogging. I have reasonably open clear-lens glasses for night riding.

    I can't use a buff over the face though - I fog up instantly if I try that. Ski goggles are also a problem, but less so in recent years as the designs have tackled this much more effectively through ventilation.

    The anti-fog spray used by motorcyclists is probably your best bet, notwithstanding home-made solutions which may also work for you.

    A tip - apply the anti-fog to the outside of your glasses as well, as it helps move drizzly rain off the lenses.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  15. kaputnik
    Moderator

    I too suffer from eyesight of the sort "enjoyed" by Sally. I wear prescription sports glasses when cycling, which have a small insert like a pins-nez behind the curved lens. It's good in most weathers except when it's damp / haary / the drizzle is extremely fine, in which case they fog up on all 4 lens surfaces and I have to ride "blind", which I don't enjoy as there's a big enough difference in the prescription of each eye that it hurts to look.

    I shall try the above washing-up-liquid gunk tip to see if that helps.

    I also cannot use a buff over my nose either as it causes any glasses I wear (on or off the bike) to fog up from warm, damp air being directed up the inside of the lenses.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  16. wingpig
    Member

    I find my normal non-sport sunglasses better than either my cheap bicycle-sunglasses or my cheap emergency snowboarding sunglasses at not directing air into a thin lachrymosic jet aimed right at my caruncle. None of them are much good at deflecting wee thunderbug things and bees/wasps/flying ants are usually big/slow enough to trigger blinking or ducking.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  17. Beano
    Member

    thanks all. should have said that I don't need glasses normally; just wear them when cycling for the bug/stone strikes.

    tried the fairy liquid method this morning and it worked 'ok'; i'd say I had 70-80% visibility which is way better than it has been.

    the aldi glasses are tight fitting but the DHB ones are vented but didn't notice the difference between the vented and non-vented.

    going to give the anti-fog spray a go next.

    Posted 10 years ago #

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