Bolle introduced the smaller version of their 6th Sense cycling sunglasses at Interbike in prototype form last fall, and now they’re final and available. The blue model is the 6th Sense S, and the red is the full size original. The lenses are slightly shorter and they’re a bit narrower overall to fit smaller faces.
But, they fit normal sized faces like mine just fine, too, and I brought this pair home for testing and so far have really enjoyed them. The lens color and clarity is perfect for road riding (I haven’t taken them on the trail yet), wind blocking is perfect and they’re lightweight and stay put.
Check out the side by side comparison below, along with new lifestyle shades from Bolle and Smith…plus a little helmet news…
Full size on the left, smaller on the right. It’s not a huge difference.
Fortunately the side shields are removable and, as sponsored rider Eric Porter says, you should remove them immediately and never put them back on. Retail for the 6th Sense S is $190-200 depending on lens color and mirroring.
The Diamondback (top) is a new lifestyle model with a single lens running all the way across. I also nabbed a pair of these and the color and coverage is very good. I do with they made them in a polarized lens, though. Retail is $90-$110.
Below it is the updated 527, a modern version of their original that gets polarized options, hydro- and oleophobic lenses and mirrored or smoke lenses. Retail is $70-$120. You can head to Bolle.com, but their website hasn’t been updated in forever, so better off just searching by model name and find a reseller you like.
SMITH OPTICS
Smith continues to expand their helmet lineup. Soon, the Forefront, Overtake, Axel and Maze all get MIPS for a $40 upcharge in select color ways.
The Axel and Maze are their street/DJ/BMX helmets.
For men’s casual sunglasses, the Lowdown XL and Outlier XL (below) are slightly bigger than their non-XL originals.
To celebrate their 50th anniversary, they’ve reissued a few women’s models. From top to bottom are the Questa (circa 1990), Tioga (’93) and Rebel (’98). They also put out this fun little video that shows some of their milestones:
