Goodr Wrap G cycling sunglasses review: There's nothing quite like them for the price

If you are looking for cycling sunglasses you might have noticed a trend, they can be expensive. We do our best to include a wide range of options and price points when we put together a buyers guide like our list of the best cycling glasses. There's no magic though, good cycling sunglasses are expensive. What if they weren't though?

There's always been an undercurrent of discussion about the potential price inflation of sunglasses. Sunglasses, of all kinds, fall under the fashion pricing model where the value has little to do with the cost. It's why we've written a separate guide to the best cheap cycling sunglasses, which cover many of the main requirements, but without the bells and whistles. It's also why in 2015 Goodr founders Stephen Lease and Ben Abell decided they could offer something better to runners. The pair put together a company that priced sunglasses closer to the cost and they emphasised a fun brand story. 

By all metrics, the formula has been a winner but it's taken until this year for there to be a cycling-specific offering. We've had a pair of the Goodr Wrap G sunglasses, in the "I do my own stunts" colour option for four months and now it's time to talk about them. If you are looking for a pair of riding sunglasses for a lot less money, keep reading to see whether we think this recent offering from Goodr goes against everything we said when we compared cheap vs expensive cycling sunglasses. 

Design and aesthetics 

Goodr is all about aesthetics and everything the brand does builds a story of fun and fashion. There are six colour options for the Wrap G but the names aren't descriptive. As a point of comparison, the brand 100%, which we've seen our fair share of, tends to be a little more out there than others in their naming conventions. From them, you'll find things like the Hypercraft frames sporting the Matte Copper Chromium name but even that pales in comparison to Goodr. The Wrap G has choices for colours with names such as "Look Ma, No Hands" or the option we have is the "I do my own stunts." Go ahead and guess what colours those names actually refer to, we can wait. 

In the case of "I do my own stunts", what you get is a black frame with pink highlights. Where it's black it's a soft touch plastic that for now, feels incredibly high-end. Then, for the pink, look for the high grip details. The pink on the inside of the arms starts about halfway back and features a texture and a change in surface feel. The pink section at the nose is the same material but in that case, is removable. There are two sizes available so pick what fits your face. 

The rest of the frame is a hybrid play on modern high-fashion cycling frames mixed with an '80s vibe. Actually, for almost everyone other than the few brands, like Bolle who was there in the 80s making almost the same frames, this is what everyone is doing right now. For their part, Goodr uses a height that's almost exactly the same as the Roka Cp-1x we covered recently but they curve much more dramatically. At the temple, there's an angled dive down to meet the lower portion of the frame as it angles up. The curve continues through the arms although there's a temporary plateau in the midsection of the arms.

Inside the frame is a lens that's as high-tech as any of the best out there. Obviously, it's mirrored - what kind of "extremely extreme sunglasses for extremely extreme people" could possibly get away without a mirrored finish? 

Actually, if you want a non-mirrored finish the "Extreme Dumpster Diving" or "Foot Wedgers Anonymous" both offer that option while retaining the polarised coating. For those feeling a bit more extreme though, the "I do my own stunts" gets a highly mirrored lens with a rainbow of gold/pink/green reflections. The outer colours are on top of a green tint in the base.

As long as you are looking at the other seven options with a mirrored lens, the lens stack shares a similar construction. There are a total of nine layers. There's always a polarised filter and a UV400 layer. There's also the base colour layer and multiple anti-scratch layers. The non-mirrored options carry all these layers as well but they lack the final two with the mirrored finish and a final anti-scratch and anti-salt water protective layer.

Image 1 of 2

Performance

You came here to find out if they work and they do. They retail for £45/$45 and while I will cover some details I don't love, they are very good. My job is to dive deep into the details and figure out every little nuance. When you do that, few things are perfect. On the other hand, if you step back and take a more overall view, these are great cycling sunglasses for most people. Let's talk details though. 

These are big coverage glasses. I mentioned in the design section that they are almost the same vertical size as the Roka CP-1x and those are another pair of big coverage glasses. I don't have a big face and tend to wear size small in helmets, but the curve of the lower section of the Goodr Wrap G works well to keep my cheek from touching the frames. All that coverage means there's not much to dive into as far as wind or eye protection goes; it’s good.

Image 1 of 2

The lenses themselves are not quite as nice as the best out there. Notably, the tint that I tried is a green base. It’s well suited to the brightest days when the sun is at its peak, but there’s a slight cloudiness to it. It’s subtle but seems a bit less crisp in comparison to the expensive stuff. That big wrap adds a bit of distortion at the edges on top of that. I did test the polarisation with screens from Garmin, Wahoo, and Hammerhead to see if it would be an issue but nothing to report on that front. The coverage is great but the clarity is just a small step down.

The other part of the fit is how well they stay on the face. I find this the weakest part of the whole experience. The nose pieces, and the grip material on the arms, don't really do anything. It's not that the "special grip coating" is lacking at all, it's just not what keeps the frames on your face. The grip on your head comes instead from a very narrow space between the ends of the arms. They grip your head tenaciously and even when "lava-induced sweat pops while volcano surfing" they will not budge. It's a mechanical grip though and it gets tiresome after a while. I'd love to see a little more balance between the mechanical grip and the chemical grip from the nose piece and inside of the arms.

Stepping back out to the broader picture again, I kind of love the style of these. Fashion is all about details and Goodr has pushed just hard enough on the 80s retro vibe that you can actually pull these off in a lot of situations. Usually, when I talk about the ability to wear cycling glasses off the bike it’s in the context of how they look close enough to non-cycling glasses. With the Wrap G, it’s the opposite. They are so out there that they cross into a streetwear vibe and it works. You’ll have to decide if your style is bold enough off the bike but it’s an option.

Image 1 of 2

Verdict

As promised, I detailed some small nuances that aren't perfect. The fit is a little tight for me and the lenses are maybe just a little less clear than the best out there. The price for these is unheard of though. There's nothing else out there that mixes the level of performance you get with such a budget price. It's okay to decide you want more expensive glasses because you don't like the style of the Wrap G. That's the nature of fashion. Just know that if you decide this style works, you'll have plenty of performance for your money. 

Tech Specs: Goodr Wrap G Sunglasses  

• Price: £45 / $45
• Colour options: I do my own stunts (US Only), Save a bull, ride a rodeo clown, Look ma, no hands, Scream if you hate gravity, Nuclear Gnar, Extreme dumpster diving, Foot Wedgers Anonymous (US only)
• Weight: 30g