Ekoi Sunglasses

Ekoi Sunglasses with unusual features

The weather here in the UK has finally turned sunny! For a few days we’ll get to enjoy those sunny rides that other countries take for granted. However the weather is a fickle thing and while we’ll get to enjoy a day of glorious summer, the next we’ll awake to gloom! This makes owning either multiple pairs of glasses, or having ones with changeable lenses a necessity. Alternatively you could take a look at these two Ekoi sunglasses; the Racing Magnetic and the E-Lens.

Racing Magnetic

Ekoi’s Racing Magnetic glasses simplify the process of swapping out lenses to suit the conditions. Usually this involves a certain amount of twisting, pulling and squeezing to remove and insert another lens. The chances for breakage on some brands always seems quite high and makes this a job best done when not in a rush.

Ekoi have got around this by using magnets to hold the lens in place. Paired magnets hold the lens firmly in place on the frame; there’s no need to fiddle with the frames to get the lens in. You just hold the lens up to the frame and it’s pulled in to position; simple! This makes the process very quick and hassle-free.

As well as the changeable lenses, you get adjustable arms and nose-piece, allowing you to get the fit right. The frame is made from Grilamid TR90 and the lenses are polycarbonate and they weigh 34 grammes. In the set are five lenses, three are Cat3 lenses in red, blue and pink. The other two are an orange Cat2 and a transparent Cat0. You also get a lens cleaning cloth and spray in the LTD Edition box, which is numbered and has the start details of the 2024 Tour de France; Florence, 29 Juin 2024.

At the moment you can only buy the Racing Magnetic as a limited edition boxed set. Hopefully Ekoi will continue making these glasses; we’ll ask and see what the plan is for these Ekoi sunglasses in the future.

E-LENS

However if you can’t be bothered with changing your lenses, how about lenses that change for you? We’ve reviewed plenty of photochromic lenses and you can find plenty of options in the Ekoi sunglasses range. I find them really useful as year-round glasses, no need to think about the light conditions. You head out and they adapt as you go, the only issue is that the reaction time isn’t that fast. Ekoi have looked at that and come up with the E-LENS.

The E-LENS was developed by Ekoi with input from riders on Lotto Soudal, Cofidis and Euskaltel Euskadi. Liquid-crystals in the lens are altered when an electric charge is applied to them from the solar cells in the frame. The glasses detect the amount of light, the more there is the greater the charge and the darker the lens gets. This is a process that is constantly happening and the solar cell means no batteries are needed.

The E-LENS frame is made from the same Grilamid thermoplastic as the Racing Magnetic, with a polycarbonate lens. Weight is 37 grammes, which is light considering what it is doing. You can choose from four different lens colours and two frame colours. You can also get a version with graphics by French artist David Minard, elevating your sunnies to art! This kind of technology doesn’t come cheap, but keep an eye on the Ekoi sunglasses page, there’s often a sale.

We’ll see if we can get hold of a pair of either of these innovative glasses and test them out under our “variable” British skies!