\n
![\"Smith](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Smith-Syncline-glasses-scaled.jpg\")
Smith’s ChromaPop lens helps enhance colours on the trail and works in a multitude of light conditions. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\nSQUIRREL_13997861<\/p>\n
Unlike long-standing\u00a0rival Oakley,\u00a0Smith\u00a0Optics\u00a0has generally\u00a0steered\u00a0clear of\u00a0wild, overly futuristic-looking\u00a0designs\u00a0for its\u00a0cycling\u00a0glasses.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, a focus on high\u00a0optical quality\u00a0has stood the brand in good stead, and that\u00a0continues to be the case with the new Synclines.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
They offer great coverage, are comfortable to wear and perform well with no fogging. However, the \u00a3189 price tag is hard to swallow.<\/p>\n
Making\u00a0it pop\u00a0
\nSmith’s ChromaPop lens helps enhance colours on the trail and works in a multitude of light conditions. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\n
These things\u00a0may not be wackily shaped, but they\u00a0are big.\u00a0At 148mm wide and 65mm deep, the lens dwarfs\u00a0that of\u00a0Smith\u2019s previous-largest Wildcat model (140x62mm).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The shape is reminiscent of MTB goggles<\/a>, with a shallow curve across the brow and to either side of the nose, and flat edges elsewhere. It also wraps around the sides of your face slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smith describes the lens as\u00a0providing\u00a0\u201cextra-large coverage\u201d\u00a0and the fit as\u00a0\u201clarge\u201d\u00a0(as opposed to \u201cmedium\u201d for the Wildcats).\u00a0I\u00a0wear\u00a0a medium or M\/L helmet and found the\u00a0glasses\u00a0fitted fine.\u00a0<\/p>\n There are five\u00a0designs, each with a different\u00a0ChromaPop\u00a0lens. This is Smith\u2019s proprietary lens technology, which is designed to enhance contrast, like Oakley\u2019s Prizm tech, yet\u00a0keep colours\u00a0natural.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can choose between a Black, Slate or Rose Gold Mirror lens for bright conditions, a Photochromic Clear to Gray one for changeable days (unusually, with no upcharge) and the Low Light Rose Blue Mirror option I picked for typical British conditions.<\/p>\n Each has its own corresponding frame colour\u00a0\u2013 this one is called\u00a0Matte Meteorite Crystal \u2013\u00a0and comes with a spare clear lens, which is a\u00a0useful touch for UK riders.\u00a0<\/p>\n I found the Low Light lens\u00a0worked well even on sunny days \u2013 I never struggled to see out in the open, yet the contrast when I headed into the woods was excellent, making it easy to pick out trail details.<\/p>\n Keeping the air flowing\u00a0 The large, curved shape of the lens\u00a0provided excellent\u00a0coverage, vision is distortion-free\u00a0and I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0have any issues with misting \u2013 even after the kind of climb that leaves you slumped over the bar, panting.\u00a0<\/p>\n This may be because, unusually, the lens\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0sit in\u00a0a groove within the frame. Instead,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0held in front of it, by four tabs, allowing\u00a0hot\u00a0air\u00a0to flow\u00a0out at\u00a0the sides.\u00a0<\/p>\n Because of this,\u00a0if you look deliberately towards the\u00a0top, bottom or far sides\u00a0of the lens, you can see unfiltered daylight, but this never caused problems with peripheral glare while riding.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s\u00a0no fancy lens-swapping mechanism here, as on\u00a0Smith\u2019s MAG models<\/a>.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0just a case of clipping\u00a0them\u00a0in and out, which saves weight and works well enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, the glasses\u00a0fitted\u00a0well with\u00a0my\u00a0Smith Payroll helmet, with the\u00a0125mm-long\u00a0arms\u00a0not fouling the shell. I tried them with lids from\u00a0100%<\/a>, ABUS,\u00a0Fox<\/a>,\u00a0Scott<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Troy Lee Designs<\/a>\u00a0too, and had zero issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n Neat touches include an integrated\u00a0(but removable)\u00a0bumper on the brow\u00a0so it\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0knock against your helmet, a nose pad that can be adjusted between two positions and grippy\u00a0\u2018Megol\u2019\u00a0sections on the arms, which helped keep the glasses securely in place on my head, even\u00a0through\u00a0some pretty vicious rock sections.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a nod to sustainability, the\u00a0frame is\u00a0made from polymer-injected\u00a0bio-based (53%)\u00a0material.\u00a0<\/p>\n How I tested the Smith Optics Syncline glasses<\/p>\n I wore the Smith Syncline glasses for multiple rides during the UK spring and summer, pairing them with\u00a0various\u00a0helmets to test compatibility. <\/p>\n The terrain varied from wide-open hillsides to dark, dank woodland,\u00a0exposing the glasses to a variety of light conditions, while long, sweaty climbs put their airflow to the test. Off-road rides encompassing roots, rocks and jumps\u00a0were a good test of their stability and security.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smith Optics Syncline glasses bottom line\u00a0 I have no complaints about these glasses, other than the price.\u00a0While\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0no more expensive than equivalents from\u00a0other top\u00a0brands such as\u00a0Oakley<\/a>,\u00a0Sungod<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0100%<\/a>,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0harder to\u00a0justify\u00a0spending\u00a0nearly \u00a3200\u00a0now that there are so many good, more affordable\u00a0eyewear\u00a0options.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n That said, at least you get a\u00a0second\u00a0lens and semi-rigid case, neither of which is included with\u00a0similarly priced\u00a0Oakleys.\u00a0<\/p>\n SQUIRREL_13997861<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SQUIRREL_13997861 Unlike long-standing\u00a0rival Oakley,\u00a0Smith\u00a0Optics\u00a0has generally\u00a0steered\u00a0clear of\u00a0wild, overly futuristic-looking\u00a0designs\u00a0for its\u00a0cycling\u00a0glasses.\u00a0\u00a0 However, a focus on high\u00a0optical quality\u00a0has stood the brand…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":713242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[59,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-713241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-gb","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/713242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"Smith](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Smith-Syncline-glasses-side-view-scaled.jpg\")
The lens is held away from the frame slightly, allowing air to flow around the edges and help prevent fogging. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\n
\n![\"Rider](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Smith-Syncline-glasses-ride-shot-scaled.jpg\")
Smith\u2019s ChromaPop lens tech helps terrain details stand out, even in tricky dappled sunlight. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\n