By Brandon Bilyeu
Hot!
- Flexible temples easily fit different head shapes
- Secure hold from wrap around temple tips
- Frame venting keeps fog away
- Good optical clarity
- Adjustable nose pad
- 100% UVA/B/C coverage
Not!
- Single fixed lens can’t be changed
Price: 149 Euro (~$160)
Pricing is in Euros on the Adidas Eyewear website, but searching online you can find prices in USD from US vendors.
Frame Color/Lens Color: Matte Black/Brown or Smoke or Pink or Violet, White/Pink or Green, Blue/Violet
How obtained: review sample
Available: retail, online
Website: Adidas Cycling SP0057
RBR Sponsor: no
Tested: 20+ hours
SP0057 Sunglasses – Classic Styling, No Monster Lens
Adidas has a large range of cycling sunglasses on their Adidas Eyewear website including many modern styles with huge lenses and crazy frames. But there are less flashy models available, like the SP0057. These glasses feature a full frame wrapped around a reasonably sized 47mm (1.85 inches) tall lens. The frames are 150mm (5.9 inches) wide with 140mm (5.5 inches) long temples and a weight of 23g.
Where many modern cycling sunglasses have straight temples, the SP0057 curve both inward and downward at the tips. Combined with the very flexible TR90 frame material the temples wrap around your head and ears for an excellent and very secure fit. A flexible wire in the nose pad allows for fine adjustment of the fit.
Great On and Off the Bike
The conservative styling of the SP0057 makes them great for use outside of cycling for activities such as running, hiking, and even beer drinking in street clothes. They also work great on the bike. I have several helmets that don’t play nice with long straight temples, but work great with the SP0057 curved temples. The wrap around fit is enhanced with tacky rubber on the temples and nose pad resulting in a very stable fit even on bumpy gravel roads.
The optical clarity is great with no noticeable distortions, even at the edges. The lens can fog up when you stop, but it quickly clears thanks to the vents at the top of the frame. The lens size and curve allow a wide field of view and the width is such that the solid frame at the edges does not make a blind spot. The lens is tall enough that even in very aggressive bike positions the top of the frame does not block your vision. Sweat rolls off the lens well, leaving minimal residue and cleans up easily with a cloth. Durability has been great, including the lens which is still blemish free after many cleanings.
Bottom Line
A quality pair of sunglasses. They reduce the light intensity reaching your eyes, the fit is comfortable and secure, and they are great for those who want good coverage but don’t want monstrously oversized lenses.
Brandon Bilyeu is an avid recreational roadie who lives in Regensburg, Germany. He’s a year-round bike commuter and is a mechanical design engineer by trade. Click to read Brandon’s full bio.
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