Review - Rudy Project Sunglasses

I was lucky enough to receive a 3 year sponsorship from Rudy Project in my first year of racing.  Rudy Project provides athlete sponsorships not only to professional athletes but also to weekend warriors like myself.  They have also sponsored hundred of sporting events throughout the United States and Canada.  Rudy Project is very proud of the quality of their world class eye wear and has a warranty program to back it up with a 3 year limited warranty on the frames and a replacement lens guarantee.  That's right, if you manage to scratch a Rudy Project lens, for a small shipping and handling fee, Rudy Project will replace it - no questions asked.  Also of note, even though it doesn't apply to me, (at least not at this time of my life) almost all of their products are RX-able for those who require prescription eye wear.

Product Options

Rudy Project has over 20 Sport models to choose from, all with several options in frame color and multiple interchangeable lenses.  I chose the Rydon model with carbon colored frame and Impactx Photochromic red lenses.  I chose the lenses first as I wanted the photochromic ability and I liked the red colored lenses.  I chose the Rydon frames for a couple of reasons.  First was that I liked the style, but Rudy Project has many stylish frames that were appealing.  My final decision came down to availability of additional lenses available for each type of frame.  While most other frames that I liked had anywhere from 5 to 13 different types of spare lenses, the Rydon has 18 different spare lens options.  Do I need 18 spare lenses?  Probably not, but I like to have options and the Rydon gives me the most.  

Comfort

I am very happy with the customizable fit that the Rydon frames provide me.  The nose pieces and the arms are moldable letting you adjust these pieces to conform to your features of your face.  Because of this the glasses stay in the right place all the time; I haven't experienced any tight spots which can pinching or pressure, nor are they loose enough to be sliding off your face or shifting around which would require constant adjustment.  These glasses are also light weight so you don't notice them on your face. 

Performance

The lenses provide clear and crisp vision.  The interchangeable lenses are very easy to swap in and out, yet secure enough that I have never experienced a lens falling out, even under impact.  It is worth noting that the photochromic ability only works with direct UV contact, so if you are using them to drive with, they will not get darker in bright conditions.  However, there are replacement lenses that are specified for driving available.  When the photochromic lenses are exposed to direct UV, they adapt to the lighting conditions quickly.  The tint always seemed to be just right and I rarely notice the transition.  From the department of pleasant surprises, these lenses change different colors as the temperature changes!  When it is warm out, the lenses change to a deep red, almost black colored, which was expected with the light red color of the lenses when not in direct UV light.  What was surprising was that in cooler temperatures (around 0*C or colder) the lenses didn't change to a dark red but rather blue!  This was nice to have when riding in the snow as the blue is a much better color for winter riding.  This means I only require 1 set of lenses for riding all seasons!

Durability

As promised, these lenses seem unscratchable.  I am not gentle on my eye wear and there isn't a blemish to be found on these lenses after two seasons of racing.  But being scratch-proof was only part of the durability features of this lens as they are also advertised as unbreakable.  On the Rudy Project website they posted a youtube link showing someone hitting an impactx lens with a hammer.  After about 5 strikes there were no signs of impact on the lens whatsoever.  I was wondering if I would really require such a feature in my lenses as I couldn't imagine a situation where lenses would be under such a condition.  It didn't take long until I found out just how well these lenses handle a blow.  In my third race during my first season I crashed, going over my bars and into a jagged tree stump.  As I travelled through the air, face first into the stump, all I could think of as I could see this sharp edge getting closer to my eye was how much losing my eye was going to hurt.  As I impacted the stump, the protruding piece hit me square in the lens and snapped my head back.  My forehead scraped down the tree stump causing some bleeding but all I could think of was that my eye was not injured!  Amazingly, not only did the lens not break after such an impact, but as advertised, there wasn't even a scratch on the lens. 

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a new pair of sunglasses, you should definitely consider looking at Rudy Project as one of your options.  They have a specific lens for almost any application from driving to sailing to ballistics to cycling to golf.  If you are looking for casual sunglasses, they have those too with over 20 models to choose from.  If you aren't keen on making purchases on the internet or would prefer to try on some different models on before dishing out your hard earned money, visit your local authorized Rudy dealer.

Trail Review - Breathless

For my first review, I am going to share my thoughts on what has quickly become my favorite trail in Edmonton. For the last month, most of my riding has been at Terwillegar and the new trail called Breathless.

Breathless is an out-and-back trail which is much more technical than most other trails in the city. Some of the technical highlights include a few steep switchbacks, a couple short drops, lots of roots and endless power climbs. The most memorable piece of the trail would be the bench that was cut into the steep river bank. The bench is only a couple feet wide and probably over 50 feet above the valley floor at it's highest elevation. There is a severe penalty for failure so needless to say, if you have a fear of heights or have doubts about your skills, this is not a trail for you.

Breathless is a new trail and it shows in certain areas. The soil conditions change frequently throughout the trail, ranging from grassy to sandy to loamy to hard pack. The sandy and loamy sections are still quite loose and it will take some moisture and a lot of traffic to really pack these areas in. Another condition to be aware of is that there are plenty of sharp, rooty stumps from the bushes that were cleared in a few concentrated areas. You will get a lot of tire 'pop' off of these stumps as your wheels deflect off of them. I am running light XC race tires and have not had a puncture from these so you don't need to be too concerned about flatting.  Also of note, work on the trail is not complete as the trail flows nicely then comes to an abrupt end, but don't let that stop you from checking it out.  The work that has been done is amazing and everyone that I have ridden with on the trail has been impressed by how well the existing terrain has been utilized.  Kudos to those who have spent countless hours building so the rest of us can reap the benefits.

Some of the steeper sections of Breathless are only rideable one direction. For me, there are four sections that I can not pedal up and I consider hike-a-bike sections. On the way out, there are three sections that you are required to push and they are lumped quite close together: the climb just before the bench, going up the switchback just after the bench, and the last climb before the meadow. On the way back, the only section I would consider a requirement to push would be going up the switchbacks before the climb back to the meadow.  With how steep many of the sections of this trail are, I would not recommend trying to ride it if conditions are not dry or tacky.  You definitely require maximum traction and if conditions are muddy or snowy I don't think this trail can be safely navigated.

If you are a fan of gravity, the hike-a-bike sections I mentioned are most appealing when pointing your front wheel down. All 4 of those sections all have at least one tight turn in them so be sure to keep your speed in check. If you are the kind of rider who enjoys cranking up the speed and maintaining a fast pace, you may not enjoy this trail. There are very few places where you can pick up much speed, and nowhere that you can maintain momentum. The trail is full of twists and turns with short power climbs lurking around every corner. This trail really works on your low speed bike handling skills as well as your anaerobic climbing. If you aren't used to doing lots of power climbs in your ride, by the time you make your way out-and-back you will know why it was named Breathless.