Magicshine Windbreaker Classic Sunglasses

Nicely shaped, comfortable, ultra-light and offering good levels of protection, the Magicshine Windbreaker Classic Sunglasses are excellent cycling-specific sunnies at a great price. The only minor irritation I had was the nose-piece being just about visible when wearing them.

These are excellent, but you might want to check out our guide to the best cycling sunglasses for more options.

The first thing you notice about these shades – after the low price – is just how light they are. They're 30g on the road.cc Scales of Truth (1g more than claimed), and very low bulk.

This Classic model, with wraparound style polycarbonate lens, has a mirrored Revo coating on the outside for reduced glare, enhanced contrast and clarity, and an OAR coating on the inside to reduce reflected glare.

There are also photochromic (£49.99) and polarized versions (£61.99) available.

They come in a choice of five combinations of frame colour and lens, and are nicely unisex, neither too large nor too small. The large wraparound lens means they should work with most face shapes.

Comfort-wise, they're excellent, with no pressure on the temples, with or without a helmet on. The adjustable nose-piece makes it easy to get a good fit, and the glasses stayed stable and secure when riding, with no sliding or bouncing.

Clarity of vision was very good indeed – far better than you might expect for the price. The lens stayed clear of misting, not just thanks to the vents at the bottom but also the quite open shape of the lens – they don't sit over-neatly in the eye sockets, which can make fogging-up more likely.

I found the tint of the lens restful on the eye and well suited to conditions ranging from changeable to out-and-out bright.

Peripheral vision was also excellent, with no impediment at all, and the depth of the lens meant I had no issues with seeing the road or brightness under the bottom edge, as I have with some sunglasses.

I did have one slight niggle with the adjustable nose-piece being just visible when wearing the glasses. It wasn't too intrusive, just a little, and might well have been made worse by the fact that I was testing the orange shades; some of the other four colour options might be less... obvious. It's far from a deal-breaker, though, and the glasses punch well above their weight for the price.

As cycling-specific sunglasses go, the price is outrageously low for what you're getting in terms of style and performance – and you get a semi-rigid zipped case with soft drawstring bag and cleaning cloth.

They're not the only glasses we've tested around this price that deliver real performance – the Madison Stealth sunnies at £39.99 (tested at £34.99, and currently available for £19.99) – but most cost more, mostly a lot more.

The Galibier Regale Ultra Optics at £46 are also close in terms of style, performance and value, while the Goodr Look Ma No Hands tested on off.road.cc adopt the popular more-is-more outsize lens styling and solid performance at £45.

But these all look great value compared with others: the Sungod Airas that Hollis tested, for example, are now £140, the Koo Supernovas that Nick tested last year are £170, and Poc's Propels, as tested recently by Ben, are £230.

Conclusion

Overall, I was genuinely impressed by the style, comfort and performance that these glasses offer for the price. As a lifelong Oakley devotee, I'm now finding it hard to justify the massive jump in price that requires when faced with superb value sunnies such as these. They might not last a couple of decades as my Oakleys have, but perhaps I just treat those better because of the price... These fit well, don't budge, and protect the eyes nicely. If the nose-piece wasn't visible from inside, they'd be pretty close to perfect.

Verdict

Stylish, effective, light and comfortable, they punch far above their weight for the price