Rapha Reis sunglasses review

The design of the Rapha Reis sunglasses is certainly distinctive and the optical clarity through the two lenses I had on test proved as good as many of the best cycling sunglasses.

The Reis glasses are suitable for “training and racing”, according to Rapha, and feature a half-frame design with swappable, sweep-style lenses.

They're impressive if they fit your face shape. That said, the shape of the lens and the overall design are likely to split opinion.

The Reis sunglasses cost £160 / $205 / €180 / AU$270.

Rapha Reis details and specifications

The Rapha Reis sunglasses feature a sweep-style lens with a half-frame design. The lens is detachable and can be replaced by one of three options.

At point of purchase, four base models are available, in the following configurations:

• Black Mirror lens with a translucent black frame
• Green lens with a white frame
• Rose lens with a black frame
• Yellow lens with a translucent Sage frame

The lenses are graded in terms of light transmission – Black Mirror affords the most protection for bright light, while Yellow offers the least, for low-light conditions. Green and Rose sit in the middle.

Although the four lens/frame combinations listed are set, Rapha offers additional lenses at a 50 per cent discount from their standalone price of £65 / $80 at the point of purchase. If you intend to buy extra lenses, you’ll therefore need to select your ideal frame colour first.

The lens also features an outward sweep at the extreme lower edges – the intention of this isn’t obvious, though.

Rapha says the lens has a 'military-grade' hydrophobic coating, which doubles as an anti-fog treatment.

Where Oakley glasses (and many other cycling sunglasses) often use a central pillar to connect the nosepiece to the frame top, Rapha’s nosepiece is free-fitting to the lens. It’s also swappable and one extra rubber piece is supplied in the box.

The frame is made of a Rilsan polymer, which in turn is fashioned from 62 per cent non petroleum-based materials. All-in, the Reis glasses weigh a feathery 27g.

Rapha's glasses are cheaper than the also-new-for-2024 Oakley Sphaera glasses, which will set you back £191 / $231 / €214 in their cheapest form. Replacement lenses are at least £78 / $92 / €86 apiece.

Rapha Reis performance

The optical clarity of the Rapha Reis lens is excellent and it stayed steadfastly fog-free in testing.

I had the Black Mirror and Green lenses supplied for testing, with both performing well, and both detaching and reattaching with ease once I’d nailed the technique.

It’s not complicated – the lens pulls away from the frame top with a firm tug (there are ridges on the lens that see it clip into place), but you need to give it a very confident pull that feels slightly stronger than natural to release it.

The centre portion of the mirror lens was subject to a tiny amount of tint fade (darker in the centre), but this isn’t uncommon and it’s easy to forget about when riding – especially because you tend to look past this area.

The lens and upper frame sat very close to my eyebrows, and were often in contact, when the glasses were sat on my nose in the optimal position. The bottom edge sat further away.

I got the sense this helped draw warm, moist air away from the eye area, while my sun-creamed cheeks didn’t come close to smearing the lens.

The drawback is the bottom of the lens felt very open-ended and let a lot of reflected light from the road bleed into my field of vision. I’d prefer more coverage on the brightest days.

I suspect the style – which puts me in mind of some running sunglasses from the 1990s – will also be polarising. Of course, this is very subjective, but the almost-retro look isn’t my (or many of my BikeRadar colleagues’) cup of tea.

Rapha offers its own fit guide, with models showing examples of how the sunnies might look on different face shapes. However, it’s worth trying them on in a Rapha store before buying (or buying online with the option to return them).

On my medium-narrow head, the Reis sunglasses held well despite their lack of weight, although the upsweeps to the frame occasionally bumped the rims of my test helmets (a Trek Velocis MIPS, Scott Cadence Plus and a Lazer Z1 Kineticore).

As modelled with a Met Estro MIPS helmet, it’s clear how close the upper quarters come to contact, without the helmet slipping or glasses shifting.

Rapha Reis bottom line

The Rapha Reis sunglasses are good-quality shades that tick many boxes. The discount on extra lenses at point of purchase is a welcome move.

The lens shape is quite open-bottomed, though, letting a lot of ambient and reflected light bleed into your field of vision, and the glasses can stand quite prominently on the face.

This might suit you, of course, but the styling is likely to divide the crowd.