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I used to ride with someone who was forever clipping trees. This morning I clipped a tree on a trail I ride every morning and was slid off.
I've cleared this trail to fit my fashionably wide bars so should be ok.
Also found that it takes a couple of goes to thread a cable tie through a blind hole, like when fitting a crud catcher.
This all seems to have coincided we me getting to the point of needing glasses to read my phone. Distance is fine.
Are me crashing and having to wear glasses related?
Have you tried drilling holes in your glasses to increase airflow?
Are they varifocal? Guessing they are if you need them to read yet wear them riding. It can take a little while to get used to them. Effectively they are slightly changing the scale on part of your field of view.
Not wearing glasses for riding ,just reading.
Also found that it takes a couple of goes to thread a cable tie through a blind hole, like when fitting a crud catcher.
This might be vision-related, a similar distance to reading and assume you didn't have your reading glasses on.
The spatial stuff might be. But if you've had a recent sight test and all they recommended was reading glasses then prob not. Do you have one eye worse than the other? I do, screws with your 3D vision.
Maybe if you changed your riding position to facing forward ?
Serious answer - is it a balance issue or a visual issue. I ask as I lost my sense of balance 4 years ago - and was told it would come back. It hasn't - its around 60 %. It means that when I MTB, I have to focus forward ( ideally about 6 metres ahead). If I turn to talk to anyone alongside me, I will crash or ride into something ...
I'm the same!
Most noticeably I was fitting a new floor and found it really hard to walk on the joists compared to "usual". I can read a number plate from a long long way off ... but it's like switching between focal lengths really messes with me.
Not like you shouldn't be looking ahead anyway but I've found really looking ahead and just trusting you judged the gap works better rather than trying to focus as it comes closer.
Thinking about it,it's always the left hand side that I clip.
My near eyesight has recently gone downhill, yes things like zip ties or electrical wiring (!) are when I notice it.
I've also been clipping trees with my bars, funny though as though I don't ride into trees when they are far away- coincidence?
Make sure they do the "field of vision" test next time you're at the opticians. If you have a blind spot (I do), you might not be aware of it because your brain fills in the blank.
Not wearing glasses for riding ,just reading.
Stop reading while you're riding your bike
Serious answer – is it a balance issue or a visual issue. I ask as I lost my sense of balance 4 years ago – and was told it would come back. It hasn’t – its around 60 %. It means that when I MTB, I have to focus forward ( ideally about 6 metres ahead). If I turn to talk to anyone alongside me, I will crash or ride into something …
Concussion?
I was watching Ben Cathro on youtube the other day where he lost his balance (or not) due to concussion.
Thinking about it,it’s always the left hand side that I clip.
The above aside... have you tried really focussing ahead? As I wrote in the other thread (bars) I swap a lot and I don't find it makes any difference to clipping stuff. (I just cut it finer) but forcing myself to look further ahead (like we should anyway does work)
I kinda feel like you'll get used to narrower bars but still be hitting stuff. (I do)
Does your left eye have astigmatism?
I have this in both eyes so my prescription varies across my lenses horizontally and vertically as the lens in my eye gets thinner. This could be what is being adjusted by your glasses and then when you ride your eyes are not correcting for this.
When I first put new prescriptions on (enough to warrant new lenses) there is definitely a depth perception change - I notice this most and the peripherals and in the eye with the worse astigmatism.
I shall book me a trip to a northern castle or failing that spec savers!
Does your left eye have astigmatism?
I have this in both eyes so my prescription varies across my lenses horizontally and vertically as the lens in my eye gets thinner. This could be what is being adjusted by your glasses and then when you ride your eyes are not correcting for this.
I have astigmatism but I can't afford prescription glasses at the moment so I'm using Amazon reading glasses...this seems like it correlates with my spatial awareness issues timing wise though.
Stevextc, £19 and you can get some proper glasses from Speccies. They aren’t hideous.
When young people need glasses it's generally because of the shape of the eye. This affects the focal distance for both nearfield and distance vision equally and glasses can easily correct for this.
When you get old and need reading glasses its different. The reason is that the lenses of the eye loses flexibility* with age so the eye can't adjust its focus for different distances. It loses the ability to adjust for nearfield vision first. The speed at which your eye refocuses can also be affected.
If the eyes own lens can't adjust properly then different distances need different correction. Hence varifocals and bifocal exist.
New glasses may not help with your tree problem.
* I am not an ophthalmologist.