I sat on my ZeroRH+ Angelfish (RH579) cycling glasses after I left them on my car seat during lunch today.
One lens popped out (that's not supposed to happen) and there was a stress fracture in the lens near where they attach to the frame. I bit my tongue, didn't say a word but I was rather upset with myself at first.
Frustratingly, I couldn't get the lens back in immediately when I was in the car. Nor could I jam them in, the plastic wouldn't bend. Plus there is a spring-loaded metal pin that must be pushed back. Since they were so bloody expensive and had sentimental value, I was very persistent with fixing them. I spent an hour fiddling and struggling with them back at the office. Finally with the aid of a paper clip and a pair of small needle-nose pliers I managed to get them reattached properly. And I was stupid happy.
They are rather special. As you can see, the lenses only attach at one point and are super flexible and soft for safety reasons. They won't cut into your face as easily, and that minimizes gouging if you crash on the bike. I guess that flexibility also enabled them to survive me sitting on them without breaking.
As for the sentimentality that drove my perseverance, I bought them at a well-known sports store in Shibuya, Tokyo the day before a rainy Tokyo marathon. ZeroRH+ or ゼロ・アールエイチプラス is a high-quality Italian brand for technical sports gear for cycling and skiing. I remember dawdling over the cost for a while, rueing the fact I tend to lose things like this and that I'd left my inexpensive mail-order-brand Performance sunglasses at home. In the end, I managed to convince myself I needed them at dawn the next day and laid down the plastic.
This model (06) has 16～46% photochromic lenses. (Some models are 25～85%.) Excellent for both near dawn when one is assembling for the race and still later on when things brighten up considerably. I found the vision is very, very good indeed. Cost was around ¥24,000 (now $300), much higher than I'm used to paying for nearly disposable items. It's made in Italy and I guess that's the price one has to pay.
But I've managed to hang on to them for a few years. I ended up liking the lens quality so much I use them every day for driving. And they haven't scratched up like other cycling glasses I've owned. The soft lens case they come with helps for that.
Frustratingly, I couldn't get the lens back in immediately when I was in the car. Nor could I jam them in, the plastic wouldn't bend. Plus there is a spring-loaded metal pin that must be pushed back. Since they were so bloody expensive and had sentimental value, I was very persistent with fixing them. I spent an hour fiddling and struggling with them back at the office. Finally with the aid of a paper clip and a pair of small needle-nose pliers I managed to get them reattached properly. And I was stupid happy.
They are rather special. As you can see, the lenses only attach at one point and are super flexible and soft for safety reasons. They won't cut into your face as easily, and that minimizes gouging if you crash on the bike. I guess that flexibility also enabled them to survive me sitting on them without breaking.
As for the sentimentality that drove my perseverance, I bought them at a well-known sports store in Shibuya, Tokyo the day before a rainy Tokyo marathon. ZeroRH+ or ゼロ・アールエイチプラス is a high-quality Italian brand for technical sports gear for cycling and skiing. I remember dawdling over the cost for a while, rueing the fact I tend to lose things like this and that I'd left my inexpensive mail-order-brand Performance sunglasses at home. In the end, I managed to convince myself I needed them at dawn the next day and laid down the plastic.
This model (06) has 16～46% photochromic lenses. (Some models are 25～85%.) Excellent for both near dawn when one is assembling for the race and still later on when things brighten up considerably. I found the vision is very, very good indeed. Cost was around ¥24,000 (now $300), much higher than I'm used to paying for nearly disposable items. It's made in Italy and I guess that's the price one has to pay.
But I've managed to hang on to them for a few years. I ended up liking the lens quality so much I use them every day for driving. And they haven't scratched up like other cycling glasses I've owned. The soft lens case they come with helps for that.
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