Hey guys

After a four year dry spell I picked up a fresh pair of oakleys and am now the owner of a silver/grey carbon tincan. To say I am pleased would be an understatement. However, living in Scotland as I do, I have not really had much call to use them up until this week.

Anyhoo, the next part of the story involves my choptop 2.0 RX frames. I have had them for ten years and five months and they are still going strong, even if the coating is coming off the frame in places. Unfortunately I have experienced a shift in my prescription and I need a change of lens. Given the age of the frame I don't think it would be a good idea to sink the money on fresh lenses for an old frame. As such I am in the market for a new frame.

It has to be Oakley
It has to be light (probably titanium but willing to consider all options)
It has to be full frame (my cyl wont allow for semi rimmed/rimless, unless anyone can advise differently)

As far as I am concerned my chop tops lasted this long because of the spring hinge. I had considered picking up a pair of dead stock RX whiskers but have read about how the lack of spring hinge can cause some issues in terms of longevity. I am pretty utilitarian and will not treat the frames with kid gloves. They can expect some harsh environments and a lot of one handed removals.

I know there is a debate when it comes to SH as to whether the added complexity actually presents a weak point but I am happy with my own experience.

I have had a look at the current RX lineup and I am pretty unimpressed. The only thing that catches my attention is the titanium/carbon tincup rx. The flex in the arms seems promising for me.

My main questions (finally) are:

Whether the carbon fibre weave in the arms has proven to be durable so far with all the flexing? I am concerned about it becoming frayed in years to come.

How has the hollow point hinge played out so far? Does anyone know of any issues/weaknesses I should be aware of.

Lastly, are there any recommendation for other frames? I wont re-start the whole debate about Oakley design being better prior to 2006 but I really wish I could score a dead stock pair of Titanium RX A-Wire SH (dont think they were avialable in Ti though) but that shows roughly what I am aiming for.

Any advice will be very welcome.

Cheers guys!

My 2 cents, coming from someone without a prescription (though I have a pair fo Marshal at the ready!) ... take this with the appropriate sized grain of salt.

I am a huge fan of the hollowpoint hinge. I just love the movement and sturdiness of the hinge. I haven't heard of any failures or quality issues relating to to a hp hinge. I'd love to hear to scoop, but I just can't imagine why the hp hinge didn't end up taking over the wires line after the release of the tin cup/tin can.

I perosonally haven't heard of any issues with the carbon fiber earstems of the tin cup/tincan, but do seem to recall some issues on some of the other previous releases using cf earstems - most commonly an issue with failures at the pins where the cf is connected to the omatter frame body.

I think the Ti/Carbon tin cup rx you already mentioned would be a leading suggestion from me as well. Some other options that catch my eye, and likely just depend on your style preferences are the Hollowpoint or Metal Plate.

Great to see you on the forums ... and hope you have fun picking a new rx frame. After 10 years, I'd sure be excited at the opportunity!

I too am a big fan of the HP hinge. One of Oakley's best innovations in recent years. It has served me well so far. Though it is a new feature that hasn't been proven with the test of time, I can safely say it is better than Oakley's poor quality spring hinges.

The CF in the Tincup Carbon (Or are you Rxing a Tincan?) should be fine. I don't think you'll have much problems with it. If you can maintain an Oakley frame for 10 years of regular use, you obviously take good care of your stuff (I can only get at most 1.5 years out of my Oakley Rx frames before they fall apart) and you should have this current pair for a long time as well.

I'll also put in a thumbs-up for the Hollowpoint hinge from a design and "feel" standpoint, but I don't wear my Tincan/Tinfoil very often, so I am not sure how well they hold up with daily wear.

Have you considered one of the plastic frames, namely one of the Crosslink series? I had three pairs of wire frame glasses over the years (O1, Thread 2.0, Spoke 2.0) before trying Crosslink. I also need a full frame due to my awful eyesight. Love the Crosslink. It is light and very comfortable. The interchangeable stems are a nice feature if you want to change the look/feel. I actually bought the Crosslink Pitch replacement stems when they came out because I liked the simpler lines better than the original stems.

Thanks for the feedback. That sold it for me.

My optician is doing me a buy one get one half price deal on some tincup carbons. Being able to come here for the advice was a real life saver. Cheers.

It means I now have two old Oakley RX frames.

One is a square wire 2.0 spring hinge.

I am pretty sure Oakley won't offer me a plano tinted lens for this frame given its age.

Can anyone tell me whether, if I can get a pair of standard replacement sunglasses lenses on eBay for a standard pair of square wire 2.0 SH, they will fit in the RX version of the frame?

Also, I am assuming it will be next to impossible to find a pair of non prescription sunglass lenses for the chop top 2.0s?

Any ideas or advice will be welcome as always.

You'll be pleased with the Tincup Carbon. I've had mine for over 2 years now and they are my daily wear RX... I work from home and often spend 10-12hrs a day in them, and many days leave them on until I go on my bike ride in the evenings when I put in my contacts.

They get some serious abuse. The Hollowpoint hinge is what attracted me to them, and the comfort of the carbon stems sealed the deal. These are also the first Oakley RX frames I had Transitions lenses put in.