See all of our Project 24.2 posts here!
Update 12/24/11: As a gift to our commenters, we’ve added on-head photos. Click through to see the V2s change Marc from goofy cyclist to near-supermodel.
In my Project 24.2 kickoff post a couple of weeks back, I said that if Smith’s second generation Pivlock V2s were even a little bit better than the super-light, super-comfortable Pivlock V90s, then they’d be my new favorites. When the first shipment landed at Smith HQ last week, they turned a set right around for us to use training for and during February’s 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. After 6 hours’ riding (with hundreds more to come) there’s a lot here to like. Hit the jump for the scoop…
As with the V90s, the Pivlock V2s are medium-fit glasses that rely on their “Carbonic TLT” lenses for much of their shape. Essentially frameless, there’s very little to get in the rider’s field of vision, even when peering up from the drops. All four colors (blue, orange, black, and white) come with Platinum Mirror, high-contrast Ignitor, and clear lenses. The clever bit is the way in which the temples attach: a Pivlock cam allows the arms to come free with a 90-degree twist. The nose is removed by pinching its ends together and pulling downward.
The technical change with the V2s is the 3-position adjustable nose pads. Shown above with the left pad in its narrowest position and the right pad in its widest, this should allow riders with differently-shaped noses (and preferences to adjust the fit to their face (there’s also a V2 Max for riders with larger heads). While I wouldn’t have minded my V90s sitting closer to my face, taking the nosepiece to its widest left the lenses touching my cheeks. In the medium position, it seems that the V2s sit marginally closer to the face than my V90s- but that could be the lens shape as much as anything else.
While the V90s look like they’re from the future, the V2s look like they’re from a cooler future. On their first outing, they were singled out twice for compliments- not bad for a Friday morning. The angular lenses have just as much coverage as their predecessors and feel just about the same. Once accustomed to the V90s’ or V2s’ light weight and unobstructed view, other glasses actually start to feel heavy. The minimal weight means that they stay put without pinching- both off road and on long road rides.
Though the long temples can interfere somewhat with older Giro retention systems, I was able to get our samples to play nice with both Giro Saros and Mavic Plasma helmets. My only issue so far has been a slightly loose (at the temple) Ignitor lens. These glasses are from the very first production run and Smith are aware of the issue- neither the Platinum Mirror or clear lenses are loose. Check before you buy and let Smith know if yours are wiggly. At $159 with three lenses and a lifetime warranty, the V2s are every bit as nice as the V90s, should fit hard-to-fit noses better, and are better looking. What’s not to like?
I’ll be piling on the miles and reporting back if anything changes…
marc
