Scicon’s latest Blue Zero cycling glasses aren’t actually for riding, but for all the time we don’t get to spend on the bike. Tested with their UAE Team Emirates pro riders at the Tour, including yellow jersey winner Tadej Pogačar, the Blue Zero glasses range is designed to protect your eyes from the harmful, fatigue-inducing blue light emitted from electronic screens, aiding recovery.
Scicon Blue Zero glasses reduce screen time fatigue
We know Scicon mostly for their bags for years, but since early last year they’ve been cranking out Italian-made eyewear, as well… like those huge Aeroshades that Pogačar wore racing the Tour.
Now, developed together with Shamir Optical, a big name in Rx lens manufacturing who have used the tech for a few years, Scicon have expanded their glasses off the bike to aid rider recovery. The Scicon Blue Zero Vertex were Pogačar’s post-ride (top) option, blocking out blue light before & after his daily Tour stages.
Minimizing the effects of too much screen time on recovery
Long days on the bike are tough on your eyes, from both the intense focus & attention to just being out in the wind & weather exposed for long periods of time, even protected behind ever-larger sunglasses. As most cyclist will admit to too much screen time both before & after the ride, the idea behind Blue Zero is to filter out some of the blue & blue-violet wavelengths of light that come out of our phones, tablet, laptops & modern TV screens.
Scicon & Shamir say this eases strain on our eyes for improved recovery and reduces the impact on your body’s melatonin production for improved sleep. Many of us have experienced general tiredness or irritation in our eyes, or even headaches after either long rides or too much time staring at a screen. So, it certainly seems reasonable to try something that promises to reduce that fatigue when you aren’t riding, but staring at screens post-ride.
The Blue Zero lens coating is said to filter out 98% of “high energy visible blue light in the range of 415nm to 435nm, blocking harmful blue light up to three times more than a standard clear lens“. Scicon & Shamir recommend them for anyone who spends a lot of time in front of screens, even for kids as well.
Scicon Blue Zero glasses – Pricing, options & availability
Scicon Sports adds the Blue Zero eyeglasses to their existing performance & lifestyle eyewear that is all available globally, direct from their online store. The new, almost clear lens glasses come in a range of four classically-styled off-the-bike models, in simple black or clear frames, all selling for the same $170 / 150€ price.
No prescription option is directly available through Scicon though, but you can get those lenses from Shamir’s own shop network. You can however order each of the new Rx-ready frames direct from Scicon for just $102 / 88€ (even in a third tortoise-shell color option), and take them to your local Shamir store to get Blue Zero lenses cut.
