100% Speedcraft glasses review
The 100% Speedcraft glasses have been made famous by Peter Sagan so we put them to the test to see if they're as good as the man makes them look
They're real head turners, but the 100% Speedcraft are the closest I've coming to finding sunnies that could dethrone Oakley in terms of vision and fit.
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Stick to the face well
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Great all round vision that extends upwards, too
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Lens gets grubby easily and retains oily marks
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Swapping the lens involves pulling the glasses apart
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Following a meteoric rise in popularity – partly due to bold looks, partly due to a canny partnership with Peter Sagan – I was keen to put the 100% Speedcraft glasses to the test. Wide frames and big lenses put them in direct competition with the Oakley Jawbreaker.
However, whereas the Jawbreaker is a full frame design, the 100% Speedcraft glasses are in fact closer to being half frames and the bottom half of the frame protrudes out slightly from the nose piece to help hold the lens in place. As a result, they're lighter than their large looks would suggest and they don't feel heavy or obtrusive when they're on your face.
Granted, that doesn't stop them looking bulky and the bright yellow colour way of my test sample doesn't create a subtle look – but if you're after big, brash and different then these are the glasses for you.
Changing the lens comes closer to deconstructing the glasses; the lens, the frame, the arms as well as the nose bridge all come apart separately. It's not exactly intuitive and neither is it as slick as changing lenses on the Jawbreakers, especially when trying to reconstruct them.
But with that gripe aside, the lens and the body of the glasses give great unobstructed views, and anyone who put these on in the CW office was impressed with the field of vision – even the bight yellow frames are easy to forget about.
Even better, there's excellent line of sight extends upwards if you're sprinting on the drops, and the top of the frame doesn't edge into view – something I'm sure Peter Sagan values. I also love the fact that when I look down they don't move away from my skinny face as I've had a lot of trouble with glasses - including the Jawbreakers - doing this in the past. To be honest, I'd still argue that, aesthetically at least, these are frames better suited to wider heads.
My sample glasses came with 100%'s own purple multilayer mirror, it's a standard lens that just dims the sunlight. For a few bob more you can buy the set with the brand's Hiper lens technology (the equivalent of Oakley's Prizm tech) which ups the contrast and makes the details standout.
It's also supposed to be coated in 100%'s Hydroilo treatment, but I still found that water has stuck to the lens and has dried on. They've also been a magnet for oily finger marks, and reconstructing the glasses only made smearing the lenses even easier.
They're definitely head turners, but if you want that Peter Sagan look these are the specs to wear. Of course, it probably helps if you're as fast as him...
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