It's Fat Bike February, and with the future of fat bikes so bright, you had best be wearing some shades.
When talking about fat bike apparel, there is often a lot of focus on warm layers, and waterproof clothing, however, sunglasses are a pivotal piece of equipment. Whether you're riding through the snow or along a beach, chances are you're going to have a lot of surface area around you reflecting the sunlight back up into your face, intensifying it the sun's effect. This can impair your vision, and believe it or not, squinting does soak up a good amount of energy over the long run, which you would much rather put into pedaling.
As far as eyewear is concerned, there are an overwhelming amount of active sunglasses manufacturers out there. Perhaps a sleeper company moving into the bicycle scene is Guideline Eyewear. They have a strong background in producing sunglasses for water sports, which is perfect as long as we're talking about reflective services.
For much of this winter, I've been riding in their Cabo glasses, with dark polarized lenses. First impression is that these things are crazy light compared to other active glasses I've worn in the past. Couple that up with their semi-rimless frames, before I'm even warmed up, I've forgotten that I have them on. I have also had no problems with them fogging up, which can be a common issue with fat biking, since it is often done at slower speeds with lots of huffing and puffing... at least I hope that's not just me.
One very cool features of these shades, and the company as a whole, is that walk the walk on the eco-friendly front. The Cabo sunglasses frame incorporates bio based materials (castor bean oil), and they strive to cut down on the emissions during production. Even the packaging they use for their sunglasses is made from 100% recycled materials.
At $49.95, these are a steal, and unlike many performance sunglasses, they look good off the bike as well.
Photo compliments of Guideline Eyewear
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TOURING GEAR & TIPS is written by Joshua Tack of Adventure Cycling's member services department. It appears weekly, highlighting technical aspects of bicycle touring and advice to help better prepare you for the journey ahead. Look for Josh's Fine Tuned column in Adventure Cyclist magazine as well.Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2013/02/guideline-cabo-sunglasses.html
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