Sunglasses and Helmets Revisited

Pretend that you put on your stylin' helmet before putting on your stylin' sunglasses, but then you face a dilemma: Do you put the sunglasses under the helmet straps or over?


If you answered over, congratulations! You are one stylish cyclist. In fact, rule 12 of the OREC states that sunglasses should be "worn over helmet straps at all times". You will be hard-pressed to find a professional cyclist wearing his/her sunglasses under the helmet straps.

Geraint Thomas, British national champion. Sunglasses over the straps, of course.

Even when wearing an aero helmet, Vino puts his sunglasses over the straps and pulls them out to show everyone.

If you answered under, either you haven't seen the light or you might be a triathlete (not that there's anything wrong with that). But it just doesn't feel right wearing your sunglasses under the helmet straps. Triathletes do it because they need to get their helmets on and off in a hurry, but as cyclists, we want to be different from these people who swim before and run after they ride.

These triathletes crashed because they had their sunglasses under the straps,  not because of their lack of bike-handling skills. Or is it...

Whenever you don't need your sunglasses, tuck them in the vents of your helmets. Many companies design their helmets so that you can stow away your sunglasses in a convenient fashion (no pun intended), while still showing off what sunglasses you have.

Scarponi showing how it's done. 

If your sunglasses don't fit into the vents of your helmet, you can also put them on the back of your head right under the helmet. 


By the way, if you are a smartphone user, the Cycle of Style is now available in mobile version. The URL is the same as the web version. Now you can read up your favorite blog on the go!

Put Your Stunna Shades On

In modern cycling, sunglasses provide more than just protection for the eyes. They also add style, but only if the eyewear is stylish. Look at the professional peloton, you will immediately notice that most riders wear sunglasses with bright-colored frames, or team-colored frames, or just plain white frames.

Michael Matthews, winning in style.

Frames with bright colors stand out, such as neon green, yellow or hot pink. Frames with matching team colors are cool too, but white frames are the safest bet and will go with any kit. Any of those three choices are stylish. Try to avoid black-framed sunglasses or other boring colors like gray, brown, silver, etc. Those are colors you wear for suits in the office, except for silver.

Sorry Mr. Armstrong, try again.

If you have to have black-framed sunglasses, at least use colored lenses and a few color accents on the frame to show some contrast. Also notice the brands both riders are wearing are not exactly cheap, but other sunglasses that fit the aforementioned criteria could still be stylish, just not on the same level of style. Designer sunglasses are banned; those are reserved for soccer moms out for a jog.

Now go put your stunna shades on and ride your bike. Don't ghostride your whip though.