Sunglasses

Rapha sunglasses

Aviator-style shades for your mid-ride coffee stop

As with most things they do, Rapha’s sunglasses come with a bit of a twist. And that twist is that they’re not full-on race day apparel, rather being more lifestyle focused.

That’s not to say Rapha haven’t included a few little touches that make them ride-worthy though, you just probably won’t pick these if you’re thinking of storming down the rainy side of the Gavia at 80kph. If, however, you do wear them on a ride, you’ll look pretty damn Cipollini.

The Rapha glasses have more than a hint of aviators to them, and come in three frame colours: grey, black and tortoiseshell, which is called ‘brown’, but is definitely more reptilian than that.

If, however, you do wear them on a ride, you’ll look pretty damn Cipollini

Those frames are made from Italian acetate with a metal core, and the use of acetate apparently plays a big part in the depth of colour and attractive finish.

Similarly all three frame colours come with different lenses – made by Carl Zeiss Vision – all of which offer total protection from UV rays despite being different colours, and have a oleophobic and hydrophobic coating on both the back and front (an oleophobic coating repels oil in the same way a hydrophobic one repels water).

That’s good, because you wouldn’t want your £195 shades getting sweaty and dirty anyway. Speaking of which, £195 suddenly seems a very popular price point for sunglasses, albeit that we’ve made that inference from our hardly representative sample of three sets in the 100. But still.

Price: £195
Website: Rapha

If you do fancy taking these out on the bike, though, Rapha say they’ve been designed to work with any kind of helmet so you can even pair them with your £150 racing lid should you so desire.

But ultimately these are the sunglasses you should be wearing when you’re sitting in that Bergamo or Côte d’Azur coffee shop mid-ride and trying to look as tranquilo as possible.

And if you’re not committed enough to carry a spare set of coffee shop shades in your back pocket for that one perfect opportunity, then you don’t deserve them.