Rapha moved into eyewear last summer with the launch of the Classic glasses – now things have got decidedly racier with the introduction of the Pro Team Flyweight glasses.
Rapha pitch the Classic glasses as being suitable for use on and off the bike, but their styling is undoubtedly weighted towards the latter. The new Pro Team Flyweight glasses, on the other hand, combine a sleek, lightweight frame made from a ‘high-strength’ polymer with an interchangeable, one-piece Carl Zeiss lens.
They’re £55 cheaper than the Classic glasses, too, coming in at £140. Rapha say the styling is inspired by aviator goggles and claim the glasses have an aerodynamic construction. The glasses come with a ‘bronze mirror’ lens as standard, said to be suitable for regular use in all-round sunny and bright conditions.
Four additional lenses are available to buy separately, each costing £80: ‘contrast enhance brown’ (for overcast days when there still may be plenty of bright light), ‘white silver mirror’ (for bright sunny days), ‘contrast enhanced yellow’ (for low light and bad weather, with increased contrast to pick out details) and ‘clear’ (for low light and bad weather). All lenses are said to offer 100 per cent protection from UV rays.
Claimed weight for the Pro Team Flyweight glasses is 25g, so they’re as light as the name would suggest and details includes a metal Rapha logo on the left frame arm and a choice of two replaceable rubber nosepads to fine-tune the fit. The lens has a dirt resistant, water resistant and anti-fog treatment.
The glasses, which are made in Italy, are available in three arm colours – black, white and pink, with an additional grey option exclusively for Rapha Cycling Club members – and come with a hard case with space for two extra lenses. They’re available now through the Rapha website.
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