Mountain bikers have it tough. If you ride anywhere with tree cover, you know. We’re always moving in and out of sunlight, needing lighter (or even clear) lenses in the shade, and something darker in the sunny gaps or rides to the trail.
There are plenty of photochromic lenses on the market, but Tifosi’s variety of frame styles and a new Clarion Pink Fototec lens bring that to the mountain bike segment in a good way. Worth noting that these work great on pavement and gravel, too, as you’ll see…
Tech Details
Available on the Moab (full frame) and Moab XC (frameless), Tifosi’s lens starts with a shatterproof polycarbonate lens with full UV protection. While most Tifosi sport sunglasses come with multiple lenses, the Clarion Pink Fototec options come with just these single lenses for $89.95. And, mostly, they’re all you’ll need for typical riding from dawn to dusk.
In low-light, they let 61% of the light through. In full sun, they darken to just 16% light transmission. And they do it pretty quickly, about 45 seconds by my one-Mississippi-two-Mississippi timer.
Each pair comes with a zippered case and cleaning cloth pouch. For now, if you want the glasses with this lens, you only have the frame colors shown here, however… the Clarion Pink Fototec lens is available separately for $59.95, so you could buy either frame with the included 3-pack of other lenses for just $79.95, then add this lens to your cart, and probably still come out for less than most other brands.
The frameless Moab XC weighs just 29g and will fit Rx inserts. The full frame Moab is only 31g and is not Rx compatible. A third model, the Moab Lite (not shown/tested), is new and also has a Pink Fototec option with a clear “crystal” frame, weight is 27g.
Ride Review
First off, the lens color and photochromic feature is excellent. I like that they’re slightly mirrored, and actually really love the blue-to-pink fade of the Moab’s frame. It may not match all my kits, but it’s great.
My preference was the full-frame Moab, both for looks and performance. The main reason was glare reduction thanks to the frame surrounding the lens.
Your experience may vary, but the way the Moab XC glasses fit my face, enough light could get in behind the lens to create glare, which is especially distracting when spots of light are constantly flashing through the trees. Here’s what that looks like:
To be fair, this glare issue is not exclusive to Tifosi. I’ve had it on Smith and others, too, it really just depends on how a lens fits your face, and whether you have anything else shielding it from the sun. This is why it’s best to try the Tifosis on at your local bike shop, REI, etc.
For me, glare was minimal on the framed Moabs, but if you typically wear a helmet with a visor, or cycling cap, you may not notice it on either.
The light pink hue comes from the mirrored finish. It won’t turn the world rosy (sadly), but it does provide great clarity on the trail.
As for the color of the lens, it’s basically gray, but I think it’s excellent. Above is an example from the trail, under ample tree cover. The black line graphic shows where the lens outline is (Moab XC), and the lens is fairly light because it’s in the shade.
Below, on the road (or bike path) in full sun, it’s darker, but still with great visibility:
The field of view on the Moab XC may be slightly larger, but I never noticed any peripheral vision limitations from the standard Moab’s frame.
The Moab also seemed to block the wind from my eyes just a bit better, too.
Both de-fog quickly. Surprisingly, they even wiped clean of sweat using my jersey, too. Until my jersey was also soaked in sweat, that is.
The straight arms are adjustable horizontally, not so much vertically, and work with most helmets. The exceptions are some deeper trail helmets with thicker retention systems that cradle lower around the base of your skull. Particularly, these didn’t fit great with Kali and Scott trail helmets, but everything else I tried them on with (Specialized, Giro, Lazer, Smith, Trek/Bontrager, Kask, POC) fit great.
Overall, these are great shades with a great lens at a great price. And if you want pure clear or darker lenses, any of them can be purchased separately (most for just $20 each, photochromic options are $59.95), and they’re super easy to swap.