Spy showcased three new shades at Outdoor Demo, including one designed to make you happy. © Cyclocross Magazine
A set of lenses that can make you happy? Spy Optics has you covered with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) covered with their latest innovation, the Happy Lens. Sales Director Jim Miller explains, “If you’re familiar with people in the Northwest who suffer from SAD because they don’t get enough exposure to sunlight, what happens is their bodies aren’t triggered to produce serotonin because they don’t get enough long wave blue light rays. We have been able to make a lens that filters in more of the long wave blue light and less of the low wave blue light, triggering the production of serotonin in your brain, allowing you to feel better. So our pitch is see better, feel better. We’re very excited about it.” For cyclocrossers up in Portland and Seattle, this might come as exciting news.
The model with the Happy Lens in The Cutter, and Miller explains, “The Cutter is the ultimate crossover in fashion and performance. It’s got some cool style, with the fast-track lens changing system.” The plastic at the top flips up to allow the new lenses to be inserted, and it comes with a dark lens and a low light lens. The MSRP is $180. Keep in mind, it might save you on your Prozac bill.
A front look at The Cutter frames. © Cyclocross Magazine
Spy Optics continues its investment in ’cross this year, from sponsorships of Nicole Duke, Jonathan Page and Ben Berden, among others, to the Spy-Over that will on course at CrossVegas, where many of the Spy Optics employees will be racing Wheelers and Dealers while Nicole Duke takes on the Elite women’s race.
The Libra, designed for women looking for high performance and fashion. © Cyclocross Magazine
And on the women’s side of things, Spy Optics has also come out with The Libra, a women’s-specific model that’s a blend of function and fashion for women, not just a smaller sized men’s frame. “It has all the features of the performance line: scoop venting, rubber on the arm tips and nose piece, but it has a nice, feminine aesthetic. You don’t look like you just came off a Tour stage, even though you could wear this for the most hardcore cycling event.” It comes in four colors, including a polarized version. The MSRP is $100.
The white and polarized Libra, Jim Miller’s personal favorite. © Cyclocross Magazine
Lastly, there’s The Daft, the most standard-sport-sunglasses model. “Single piece, shield style at only 23.5 grams,” is how the company describes this model. What we really love about this is that it’s so light you forget it’s on, and because of the large coverage of the lens, it doesn’t allow any ambient light in,” Miller claims. The MSRP is $160.
The Daft, the most basic of the new Spy Optics models. © Cyclocross Magazine
All models are hitting bike shops now.
