SunGod Airas ZF sunglasses

The SunGod Airas ZF (zero frame) glasses are a great choice if you want maximum viewing real estate while you ride; the 8KO lenses offer plenty of clarity, too. They're also stylish, comfortable, and light. Four sizes of nose pads give good adjustability, although I found the glasses to sit quite far from my face, even on the lowest setting. They're a bit pricey too, considering you don't get a clear lens included, but the ability to customise the glasses makes up for it.

If you like your cycling glasses big and bold, and want almost unrestricted vision while you ride, you are going to really dig these new glasses from SunGod. The lens is big – though not huge compared to some – giving you loads of coverage, and because of their frameless design there are no annoying bits of plastic getting in the way of your peripheral vision. It really is like riding without glasses.

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As with all SunGod glasses, you get that glorious 8KO lens. SunGod uses the term 8K – presumably like 8K resolution in TV screens – to imply that the glasses have the best level of clarity. I can't compare it to an old 4K set for comparison, but suffice to say they have excellent clarity. I'd happily say this is as clear and undistorted as any of the high-end Carl Zeiss lenses on several other pairs of glasses I have.

SunGod says the lenses are impact and scratch resistant, and have a hydroleophobic coating. I've certainly had no issues, so far. The coating sheds water quickly, and although the downside of an 'all-lens' setup does mean it attracts fingerprint smudges, they're easy enough to remove with the included microfibre pouch.

The lens in our test sample is the 8KO Gold variety, which is well suited to cloudy and sunny days, with good protection against strong sunlight – it's a wee bit dark for particularly shaded areas, mind.

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There are seven off-the-shelf lens and frame combinations to choose from, though for the same price you can go the custom route which increases your choice to 10 different lenses (including two photochromic options). There are also multiple colour combinations for the frames, earsocks and logos. This is a nice touch that SunGod offers on all its glasses.

Though you only get one lens in the box, you can buy more at a later date – it's £45 for the clear option, £70 for colour, and £110 for the photochromic. It all adds up if you want more options, but at least they're there. Changing the lenses is relatively easy – the pop-lock screwless design means you just press the side tabs next to the hinges and turn the arms towards the inner lens to remove them.

Attached to the lovely curved lens, which wraps around the face, are a pair of lightweight arms with grippy silicone socks that hug the face. I didn't encounter any issues with the glasses trying to slide off my face, even when they're sweaty. The silicone nosepad helps in this regard. The Airas fit nicely next to my helmet without interfering.

There are four sizes of nosepad in the box, allowing you to tailor the fit to your particular beak, and they're quick and easy to change. The golden rule is to go bigger if it's small, or smaller if it's big. I did find that even using the smallest one (my nose isn't *that* big), though comfortable, the glasses did sit further away from my face than I'm used to. Subsequently, on fast descents the wind did tend to whip underneath and above the lenses, into my eyes.

SunGod offers the glasses with a lower section – the BF (bottom frame) – for an extra £25, or there's a combined ZF & BF option for £175, which includes both the BF piece and the nosepad from the ZF, so you can easily switch between the two, depending on your mood.

Personally, I'd go for the BF option as I prefer the look, and I'd happily sacrifice some periperhal vision for slightly better wind protection. It also means you can pop it on a table without fear of chipping the edges of the lens.

Value and conclusion

We've reviewed a heap of glasses on road.cc, and the Airas sit somewhere in the mid-to-upper tier.

Rapha's Pro Team Frameless Glasses are a bit cheaper at £110, and arguably just as aesthetically pleasing, but by comparison there are only a few frame/lens combinations to choose from, and there's no customisation option.

Another option that's a little more expensive than the Airas are the Oakley EVZero Blades, coming in at £143. Overall, they fared well when Liam tested them, though he did find they slipped down the nose, because of a lack of pressure from the frameless design.

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Overall, the Airas are excellent glasses that, unlike many others, allow you to really tailor how you want them to look and perform. They're not bad value for money considering their performance, and it's worth mentioning that you get a lifetime guarantee, which certainly sweetens the deal.

Verdict

Really good frameless glasses you can tailor to your needs