Immersing yourself in the rhythm of flowy forested singletrack on a mountain bike takes confidence, faith in your tires and a crisp view of the terrain ahead. Confidence comes with practice. Faith in your tires comes with experience. And a crisp view of the terrain comes with good mountain bike sunglasses.
When choosing MTB sunglasses, you need to consider the wide range of light conditions you encounter on a typical ride. Full bright sun, shady dark sections and mixed light are the norm.
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Great MTB Sunglasses
What makes a great pair of mountain bike sunglasses? Aside from wide coverage and high-contrast optics, you need the right lens tint for the terrain and the weather — not a big deal in the era of oversized shield sunglasses with interchangeable lenses.
But what if you could have one pair of sunglasses to handle all of the different light conditions found on a typical MTB ride without changing the lens? I’m talking about mountain bike sunglasses with photochromic lenses — lenses that auto-adjust their tint to match the lighting — aka the Smith Ruckus photochromic mountain bike sunglasses.
Go Photochromic
Now, I like my swappable-lens cycling sunglasses as much as the next gearhead. But when was the last time you packed a spare lens and changed it mid-ride? Swappable lenses are great when you just need to change to match one lighting condition. But mountain bike rides are in and out of the forest, bringing different light with each zone. Here in the Pacific Northwest, a typical MTB ride takes you through heavy forest canopy, rocky alpine zones and lightly timbered transition zones.
Photochromic sunglasses keep you tuned into the terrain ahead by giving you the benefit of an auto-adjusting lens tint. I’m not talking about the goofy prescription glasses your granddad wore that always seemed to be too dark. I’m talking about modern shield-style mountain bike sunglasses with wider coverage, quality optics and auto-adjusting tint. From full sun exposure on rocky ridgeline trails to dimly-lit forest trails littered with slick roots and loose rock, photochromic sunglasses let you move from one lighting condition to the next with the best possible view of the terrain.
Smith Ruckus — Photochromic Sunglasses
Smith Ruckus photochromic mountain bike sunglasses
The Smith Ruckus photochromic sunglasses provide the wall-to-wall coverage you expect from high-end shield sunglasses, with a photochromic lens that offers between 20 and 85 percent visible light transmission (VLT). For comparison, most fix-tint sunglasses offer a VLT of between 10 and 20 percent. The Smith photochromic lens spans the usable VLT range to give you the best take on the terrain ahead, no matter the light conditions. They also feature Smith’s easy-to-use Pivlock lens interchange system and a second Smith ChromaPop Contrast Rose lens for low-light conditions. Together, with a lightweight feel and no-slip temples, they are quiver-of-one sunglasses for mountain biking.
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