Every time you kick that starter, and squeeze that throttle, the most important item of clothing to have on are your sunglasses. Trying to ride a motorbike without glasses is almost impossible ... not to mention dangerous if you get dust, debris or bugs in your eyes. Ordinary sunglasses just don't provide the wind protection that purpose-built motorcycle sunglasses do. Today we are looking at some of the upcoming styles, features and technical specs from the new season range of motorbike goggles. 

Lens Shapes

There are still plenty of the classic teardrop shape design of lenses available on the market, with a rounded edge that trends towards the outside of the face. However, a newer and slimmer style of motorbike sunglasses lenses are now just as common, with a teardrop shape that has a top to bottom symmetrical teardrop, with the tapered edge sitting closest to the nose. 

Comfort features

Motorbike sunglasses have come along in leaps and bounds since the clunky and difficult to wear 60s models. We are now seeing features within motorbike glasses like:

• Forking that allows the glasses to actually be worn over a helmet, without compromising contact with a rider's face and creating wind leaks
• Anti-slip elastic strips are now mandatory for comfortable, market leading motorbike goggles. 
• Wadding and lining is often made from genuine leather - one of the most durable and comfortable materials for goggles. 

Safety features

In these years of ever-increasing traffic and dangers to riders, the safety features of motorbike goggles are usually foremost in their mind. Safety features in the new models of motorbike goggles include:

• Distortion-proof plastic plates installed under the central bridge, to help protect the rider's nose
• Double crush-proof plastic frames are becoming more common
• Lens clarity is a definite safety issue - lens that create distortions can be killers on the road. Improvements in plastic and optical technology are now filtering into the market, and we're seeing lenses that are stronger, lighter, clearer and more distortion-free than ever before. 

Lens technology

We mentioned the strength and clarity of new model motorbike goggle lenses, but there is a range of added features that lenses can have. The lens technology for bike goggles mirrors those of reading glasses, so you can get lenses with:

• Antifog coatings
• Polarized lenses
• Prescription inner frames can be applied to motorbike goggles
• Chromatographic lenses can be made to darken automatically in bright light situations

Wadding designs

People are also getting a lot more creative with the wadding designs available for motorbike goggles nowadays! We're seeing designs with national flags (mostly available the US, and major European countries), different fabrics (from denim, to jungle or desert camouflage, to white and blue). 

There are also ultra-luxury motorbike goggles available throughout many of the ranges - white, red and black python leather is the stand-out product that everybody is talking about. We've also seen a few studded black leather goggle designs getting about. 

Sports glasses for motorbike riding

Some people can’t stand the look of traditional motorbike goggles (despite all the inpidual designs that re now available). You can also get sports sunglasses that are suitable for motorbike riding, with a high level of wind blockage, and interchangeable lenses for different light conditions.