UPDATE: Prescription glasses for cycling - Rudy Project, RXSport, and why I hate Oakley

Original post: July 19th, 2013

This is a journalistically satisfying update. Back in July I posted about the very complex world of prescription glasses for cycling, and why Oakley is a dysfunctional giant within a monopolistic mega-group, Milan-based Luxottica. The happy ending of my purchase, via excellent 'minnow' provider www.rxsport.co.uk, of an expensive (£340.04) pair of Rudy Project Magsters turned out to be quite complex: here's what happened.

The projected delivery time was 2-3 weeks, with the glasses coming from the Shamir laboratory in Portugal. The date of the order, placed in person when I visited RXSport, was July 12th, 2013.

I returned from a trip a month later, with nothing awaiting me except a message from RX Sport to call. The glasses had been delayed.

Two weeks later, another call confirmed that they had arrived but were of poor quality, the naked lower edge of the lenses poorly finished.

Another week passed and I spoke to James Coakley, the founder of RX Sport.co.uk, who by now wss handling the matter.

Unbeknownst to me, but I guess typical for a web-savvy company, they'd all been reading my original blog post having performed a routine search for their own brand name. James agreed with my verdict on the industry but insisted that he doesn't make the profit margins I'd estimated. We had a perfectly amicable phone call. He also said that the defective quality of my glasses was "very unusual." They get a small handful of such instances each year, he claims, and my order, apparently, was pushing the available technology to the edge of the known universe, despite a weak, single prescription.

To re-cap: I'd ordered a pair of Rudy Project Magsters, directly glazed single prescription, with brown photochromic lenses, frozen ash frames, and the best available coating, called Shamir Glacier Plus. Until recently you could not obtain all this in a cycling-specific application.

James also rebated me about 12%, bringing the order down to £300, as recompense for the delay - which I thought was a decent (and fair) gesture.

He explained that Shamir has a small UK laboratory and they were starting from scratch to re-manufacture the lenses.

The glasses arrived yesterday, September 5th, eight weeks to the day since the order was orignally placed.

I like the glasses and they came (just) in time for the Cyclo-Cross season, when photo-chromic lenses make a ton of sense. During the very sunny recent weather, I've had a different pair of prescription shades to wear. So I am very happy with the outcome and pleased to have been partially rebated. RXSport handled the whole thing very well and I'd still recommend them - the problem was a third party problem.

I still think the whole industry is comically complex, with a vast array of retailers and a very small number of actual providers, and too many patented applications, all a bit oversold like software. Here's a list of the bits enclosed with my order:

1. Rudy Project sticker
2. IMPACT X Photochromic lens advert
3. Warranty booklet
4. Magster diagram
5. IMPACT X technical brochure
6. Shamir-branded micro cloth
7. Shamir-branded lens care guide
8. Promotional business card from www.transitions.com
9. Shamir 'credit card' 'Certificado de Qualidade'. Let me book my flight to Portugal!
10. Duplicate 'credit card' from Shamir UK Ltd

The micro cloth, at least, is USEFUL!