By me. Today, I took the JAWBONE out for its first long bike ride. Now, I am an avid cyclist who typically rides daily with mega-miles logged each week. For as long as I can remember, I have worn either some variation of the M-frame and for the last few years, the Radar when I'm on the bike. I honestly do not think a better pair of glasses has ever been made for cycling than the Radar.

Now, I read that the JAWBONE was the bees-knees and the greatest pair of cycling glasses ever created, and I poured a glass of the Kool-Aid, ordering the Polished black/+ red polarized. I can't remember being this amped for a release since, well...ever.

To be honest, I was pretty disappointed. Now, don't get me wrong - they are super comfortable and the large orbitals make sense. However, I simply can't get past that thick, obtrusive frame. With the JB, I have to move my head around a lot more to be able to see things that came naturally with the Radar. I can't glance down at my Garmin because the bottom of the frame is in the way. I can't look down at my shoes, my crank, etc for the same reason. I feel like a bobblehead on the bike just trying to see things naturally.

One thing that was super scary was looking back to the rear by placing my chin on my shoulder to look for traffic behind me. Nope - again, that thick black frame skewed it badly to the point I literally had to crank my head backwards...not really safe in Tokyo traffic. To make matters worse, I could see "reflections" in the sides of the polished black frame from things passing by me as I went about my ride. That in itself was very irritating.

All in all, I can honestly say that all that frame was irritating to the point that I was uncomfortable on the bike. And the last thing you want to do riding in the Tokyo area is be distracted by something. I just didn't have the peripheral vision that I have with the Radars - and that can be downright dangerous here.

So I'm pretty disappointed to say the least. I'm not sure how all of these reviews have called these the best cycling glasses ever made - with all the frame in the way, how could they be?

Any other cyclist care to chime in with a review or thoughts?

Oh come on, why do you need to turn your head ? Just don't care about what's behind you, go ahead and look straight righ in front of you !
Well, I'm just kidding and thank your for that detailed review.

It's critical that you "call it as you see it" and not just "go with popular opinion". Your points with the frame were well-thought and seem to make perfect sense (I'm no cyclist), so thank you for your honest review and feedback. Hopefully Oakley can arm themselves with this information and use it to improve future products.

Personally, I would probably never use the glasses for their "intended" purpose, and would therefore love to see a smaller version of Jawbone. But that's just because I've got a smaller head.

I don't have anything to chime in with in terms of JB usage, but that was a good review, WEC. Any constructive review after practical use, whether positive or negative, is a good thing. Sorry that the JBs weren't to your liking, though.

Thanks for the great review. Good to see an analysis of the glasses insitu, what they were originally produced for. I am waiting for mine. When i get them I will hopefully put them through the cycling test.

So let me get this straight...if our buddy lance was wearing these then he would not have won any Tours?

Get yourself a nice Anti-Freeze and call it done. Those are the "Bees Knees" and you won't be disappointed. TOo bad on the JB though. I think they are touting it so high because it has the best optics and the Switchlock system for swapping lenses.

As a reviewer of the JB, I admit I have only used it a couple of times while riding a bike, and not for a long amount of time. The fit is very comfortable.

Josh, as far as the optics go. I was at a Rolling O Lab event last week and placed the JBs I won at the Co-Pilot event on the ANSI Bar test. It performed very poorly compared to the other Oakleys, and actually was on par with the competitive brands tested. I was shocked.

That is crazy!! They touted them as having the best optics to date! Surprising that they would fare so low against other Oakleys. Adam, the guy who painted the Frogskins I got said the Frogs have the best optics with the 4 Base Curve or whatever, but I wouldn't really know.

I was at a Rolling O Lab event last week and placed the JBs I won at the Co-Pilot event on the ANSI Bar test. It performed very poorly compared to the other Oakleys, and actually was on par with the competitive brands tested. I was shocked.

Now this is shocking and upsetting.

Wow, if that's the case, it's something that could turn really embarrassing for Oakley.

sorry 'bout that. Sounds like the solution is a "jawless" Jawbone

Yeah, I think that the "jawless" version would make a hell of a lot more sense. I wasn't really prepared for just how much that bottom portion of the frame was going to bother me....and the sides, etc. After I wrote this review, I went back out with the JBs on, and the Radars perched up in my helmet. I periodically switched back and forth, and it was night and day. One more thing that I didn't realize when I wrote the initial review - the JB's do not sit in your helmet anywhere near as well as the Radars do. With the new, shorter arms, there just isn't enough material to insert into the airports of the helmet. I was worried the whole time that they were up there that they were going to slide out and hit the ground. Not a problem at all with the Radars.

It almost hurts to be this disappointed with an Oakley product (especially one that was supposedly designed for what I'm using it for). :)

Well, my first comment was a little bit light. Here is what I think about it.
Of course a suspended lens can only be far better than a full frame in term of field of view, that's a Lapalissade (Good luck on finding the meaning of this word).
I think that you have to be used with it to apprciate it. Even if the frame is huge, you'll always be able to see it, and when you have a full frame after a half one, your feel uncomfortable.
I've been using my Romeo 2 everyday for a few weeks now, and yesterday, I put on my Monster Dogs. Despite the big orbitals of its, they can't concur with an half frame like R2. But after two days wearing the Dogs, I'm re-used with the frame and automatically turn my head a little bit more to balance the blinded part of the peripheral vision.

On the other hand, I'm very surprised about the bad optical properties of the JB. I hope that this is/will be corrected.

There's merit to that - it would be something that you'd have to get used to (having the frame in your vision versus not having it there). However, for someone who lays down many miles on the road, including racing, I shouldn't have to re-learn how to "see on the bike" or make concessions for my vision simply because they're the latest and greatest. My cycling glasses are supposed to do their job without me having to give them a second thought. And the Jawbones simply do not do this.

Yep, of course, that's the "tool" who needs to adapt and not the contrary.^_^

Racing Jacket -> Jawbone
Half Jacket -> Flak Jacket
M Frame -> Radar

(Jawless Jawebone -> Flak Jacket (XLJ)) - i think not perfect -> more mindless

I think the Racing Jacket was ever less perfect, all in function, than the M-Frame. But their right to exist wasn't their function, that could the M-Frame much better! - the right to exist was their exclusiveness and their style.

So there is a development toward more function and style for BOTH sections (RJ->JB and Mframe->Radar). Both got more features and are better than their precursor.

Never mind which glasses you chose - there would be definitely a compromse between style and/or function..
Two section have got more then their right to live!

Duffy to say: "...Radar is much better than the Jawbone..." it's the point of view of every O-lovers themselves.
I think there are two patronages.

thanks for listening.
regards from germany

ronmen

Its good to read a review from a sport specific frame like the Jawbone, after all the hype, marketting and else its great to have a different kind of reviews that focus on the heavy use that it was intented for.

If you had done a review in the database at first and would like to replace it now with another one, send me a PM, and I will make the switch.

As for the optics test, its not really suprising; sure Oakley is ahead on a lot of (debatable ) tests with the handpicked pairs of the competition but I would find it suprising if the competition offerings (in the Sport market that is, not cheap brands) would be well below Oakley or the industry standards.

As for the optics test, its not really suprising; sure Oakley is ahead on a lot of (debatable ) tests with the handpicked pairs of the competition but I would find it suprising if the competition offerings (in the Sport market that is, not cheap brands) would be well below Oakley or the industry standards.

I've always wondered how the industry viewed Oakley's tests. I haven't seen much official discussion regarding it from the industry, so I wonder if they've totally dismiss it. Certainly they'll find it less scientific than Oakley would, but I figure they would've addressed or responded to it some how.

I actually Own the +red and LIVESTRONG Edition of the Jawbone. I bike ride everywhere and log in countless miles every week. I own the Radar, M-Frame and by far this is the best pair of glasses to ride with yet. I don't quite understand the bad review about bad angles of vision. I have not had any problems looking back,front, side to side with these on, and my computer sits directly center on my stem. Now the only complaint I do have about them is the Non-Vented lens. It did at time have a tendency to Fog up on Early Morning or Humid rides, but the Vented Lens did fix that issue, not completely but at least 99%. Now for the Optics part of the issue, I have heard that the Polarized lens isn't quite as excellent as the standard lens. I spoke with the Oakley Rep out here in Utah and he said Oakley had to Sacrifice some Clarity in order to be the best in Polarized lenses. I also took both pairs to a test at the Murray Expo center when the Super Bike Championships was out here, Smith was doing a clarity test just like Oakley did, and even the Polarized lens performed better than the Smith lens, but the Standard Lens was absolutely dead on. Of course Smith only admitted that Oakley has better technology and Resources to have this great quality but the Price shows Oakley is just "Plain Stingy" with their products. Now I do love my radar, don't get me wrong, but the JB is by far better when it comes to bringing that extra pair of lenses in your back pocket on the Unpredictable day when they are calling for a chance of Rain or Visa Versa....Can you carry a Radar or M-Fram Lens comfortably in your back pocket and change it in less than 5 seconds?? I really don't think so.

Excellent review Jason. I'm an M-Frame user predominantly. While I'm not a biker, I am an outdoorsman and your point about the ease of carrying/changing lenses for the JB is something to think about.

Picked up my first Jawbone this weekend (Retina). I absolutely love it but I do agree with the whole peripheral thing. While I'll wear it a lot - I was wearing the Antifreeze Radar when I bought the JB and did notice a distinct difference in the peripheral vision.

Bottom line - you can't beat the Radar for that IMO. That said - I do love the JB just for the coolness factor. Sad it maybe doesn't function as well as it should for the purpose intended but still a very cool frame.

radar vs. jawbone....

in the case of MY head, the radar, and m-frame, pinch the back of me head where the ear stem ends resulting in a headache after an hour of use... i can wear the jawbone all day long.

I took my Retina Burn JB's out for a spin yesterday and i have no complaints. Sure there is the obvious added visual field interference relative to the Radar however, for me it did not affect the experence of my ride in anyway.

I was actually quiet pleased with the JB's insitu. Light, good coverage..and the look..well it carries the Oakley logo justly. I would only imagine using the vented lenses though to avoid fogging up and added wind resistance/pressure.

The impact in my experience with Radar relative to the JB's was too subtle to make an issue.