If you followed the Tour Down Under, you may have spotted some new sunglasses from POC being sported by the EF Education-Tibco-SVB women’s team and the EF Education-EasyPost men’s team.
POC has now officially launched the new model, which it calls Propel. The large lens is designed to improve aerodynamics and there’s a wide range of colours for the swappable Clarity lens that sits in a frame made mainly from renewable sources.
The Propel glasses will retail at EUR249 / $250, with UK pricing to be confirmed.
Aero and lightweight
POC says that it has done a lot of aero testing on the Propel, including computational fluid dynamic modelling and wind-tunnel testing, and has also incorporated feedback from its pro riders.
As part of the brand’s aero initiative, POC says that the result is its most aero sunglasses ever. The lens and temples are designed to reduce drag, directing air away from the rider’s ears and more smoothly over the shoulders. POC hasn’t given us any numbers on watts saved, though.
The Propel glasses sit close to the face, with a wrap-around, high-definition design that POC calls its Clarity lens.
There’s a wide field of view from the large lens, which is now pretty much a standard feature of the best cycling sunglasses. The design fits closely with POC’s aero road helmets like the Ventral Lite and the lens can be swapped out easily.
The frame is lightweight, with adjustable temple grips. It’s made of Bio Grilamid, which POC says is made largely from renewable sources. POC says that the Propel glasses weigh 31 grams.
Price and availability
There are plenty of options for frames and lenses, with six frame/lens colour choices available at launch:
Hydrogen White with Violet/Silver Mirror
Uranium Black with Violet/Silver Mirror
Grey Translucent with Violet/Silver Mirror
Fluorescent Orange Translucent with Violet/Gold Mirror
Purple Quartz Translucent with Violet/Silver Mirror
Fluorescent Pink/Uranium Black Translucent with Violet/Gold Mirror
There are a total of eight lens colour choices, including a clear lens which comes as standard with every pair:
Brown/Light Silver Mirror
Brown/Silver Mirror
Brown
Violet
Violet/Gold Mirror
Violet/Light Silver Mirror
Violet/Silver Mirror
Clear 90.0
The Propel glasses also come with three different nose bridges, so that you can choose the one that gives the most comfortable, secure fit.
The price of the new POC Propel glasses is EUR249 or $250 and they’re available immediately. More details on the POC Propel product page on POC’s website.
Want a more aero head? Read our buyer’s guide to the best aero helmets
