Bollé Shifter glasses

With fashion dictating that cycling shades are returning to the ski goggle type size of the 90s, the Bollé Shifter glasses are bang on trend, but they aren't form over function thanks to excellent visibility and sharp optics.

• Pros: Light, no frame parts hamper vision
• Cons: Design isn't for the shy or retiring...

The main thing I like about the Shifters is that even though they are a fully framed pair of glasses, not one part of it gets in the way of your eyesight.

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The lens wraps further round the side of your eye than most glasses with a frame, which means that when glancing over your shoulder or looking left or right you have full visibility. You can see the frame but it's positioned just far enough out of your line of sight.

It's the same in the middle too. The Shifters are quite tall, so you have quite an expanse of lens above the nose-piece so when looking straight ahead, again, there is nothing to distract or get in the way.

At 32g, they're 'barely there'; you hardly know you're wearing them, and thanks to the rubber grips on the inside of the arms and the nose-piece they stay put without feeling tight or compressive, even when wearing them for hours.

Being quite wide at the front, the arms offer plenty of room for passing over helmet straps before they arc back in to sit above your ears.

The lens has an anti-fog treatment and they also have vents at the top centre plus below each eye, which also helps to keep things clear.

Seven different coloured frames are available, with different lens colour options depending on the type of weather you want them for riding in. On test is Shiny Clear Blue with a Phantom Vermillon Gun lens, which I find ideal for riding in anything but the brightest of sunshine. The orange tint brightens up the dullest of days and the optics are very crisp.

At £149 the Bollés aren't the cheapest on the market, especially when you look at what something like the Ekoi Perso Evo 9 glasses offer for just over £85.

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Mind you, the 100% Speedcrsft SL glasses don't seem to offer a whole lot more for their £179.99, so it does show how fickle the marketplace can be.

On the whole I really like the shape and fit of the Shifters, and if you have the cash then you won't be disappointed.

Verdict

Great visibility and fit but you can get the same properties for less money