Prescription MTB Goggles & Cycling Glasses: How Inserts Work
You’re at the top of a rocky descent at Bike Park Wales. The trail ahead is a blur of roots, rocks and braking bumps, and you’re squinting through goggles stretched over your everyday specs, or hoping your contacts don’t dry out halfway down.
If you need vision correction, sorting your riding eyewear can feel like a faff. The good news is there are a few solid ways to do it, and once it’s set up, you can stop thinking about it and get on with riding.
This guide covers:
- Your options: inserts, contacts and over-the-glasses goggles
- How prescription inserts work in goggles and glasses
- Custom inserts vs blank inserts
- Which route suits your riding
What are your options if you need glasses to ride?
There are three main ways riders who need vision correction handle it on the bike.
Contact lenses
Contacts work well for lots of riders. You can wear any goggles or glasses you like and there’s nothing extra in the frame.
The downsides are practical ones. Dust and grit can find their way behind a lens, wind can dry your eyes out, and not everyone gets on with wearing them. If contacts already suit you day to day, they may suit you on the bike too. If they don’t, there are other options.
Over-the-glasses (OTG) goggles
Over-the-glasses goggles are designed with extra room to fit over your normal spectacles. They can work, but it depends heavily on the size and shape of your everyday frames.
Common complaints are pressure on the nose and temples, specs moving about on rough ground, and two sets of lenses to keep clean and clear. Your everyday glasses also aren’t really designed for crashes on the trail.
Prescription inserts
A prescription insert is a small frame holding lenses made to your prescription. It fits inside your goggles or glasses, behind the outer lens. You keep the riding lens on the outside, with all the tint, coverage and anti-fog features that come with it, and your corrected vision sits just behind.
For a lot of riders it’s the tidiest option: one piece of riding kit, set up for your eyes.
How do prescription inserts work in MTB goggles?
The insert sits behind the outer goggle lens, inside the frame. Your eyes look through your prescription lenses first, then through the goggle lens.
That means you can still swap the outer lens to suit the light. On APEXX LGND goggles, the outer magnetic lens still comes out as normal, so you can run Clear under the trees and Smoke on a bright day without touching your prescription.
LGND Goggle Prescription Inserts are made to your prescription and fitted to suit your LGND frame. They’re suitable for mountain biking, motocross, skiing and snowboarding.
How do prescription cycling glasses work?
It’s the same idea, in a smaller format. The insert clips inside the glasses frame, behind the outer lens, so you get your prescription with the coverage and lens choice of a pair of riding glasses.
That’s handy if you ride a mix of trail, gravel and road. LGND Glasses Prescription Inserts are made to your prescription and fitted to suit your LGND glasses. You can still change the outer lens as the conditions change.
Should you get prescription goggles or glasses?
The same rules apply as for any rider. Goggles suit full-face helmets, bike park and downhill days, mud, dust and speed. Glasses suit half-shell helmets, longer climbs and trail riding where airflow matters.
If you ride both kinds of day, you might want an insert for each. Each insert is made for its own frame, so the goggle insert and the glasses insert aren’t interchangeable.
How do you order custom prescription inserts?
Ordering custom APEXX inserts is straightforward:
- Choose your insert for LGND goggles or LGND glasses, and pick your lens option.
- Submit your prescription. After purchase, you’ll get an email asking for your up-to-date prescription details.
- We get it made. Your insert is custom-made by our specialist optical partner and fitted to suit your LGND frame.
- It’s shipped to you. Turnaround is 1–2 weeks, as each insert is made to order.
What prescription do you need?
You’ll need a valid prescription from an eye examination carried out within the last two years. If yours is older, it’s worth booking an eye test before you order.
Which lens option should you choose?
There are four lens options, depending on your prescription and how you ride:
- Essential 1.5: a 1.50 index lens for standard prescriptions, and the best-value route to clear vision.
- Tough 1.5: the same optical clarity as Essential, with a hard-coated, anti-scratch finish for regular riding.
- Thin + Tough 1.6: a thinner, lighter 1.60 index lens with a hard coating, for stronger prescriptions outside the standard range.
- Bespoke: for complex or specialist prescriptions. We’ll confirm details and pricing with you before production.
The Essential and Tough options cover prescriptions from -6.00 to +6.00, with cylinder up to 4.00. If you’re not sure which option suits your prescription, drop us a line before ordering.
One thing to know: because custom inserts are made to your exact prescription, they can’t be returned once they’ve been made.
What’s the difference between custom and blank inserts?
A custom insert arrives ready to ride, with lenses made to your prescription and fitted for you. You order it, send us your prescription, and we handle the rest.
A blank insert is the insert frame on its own, with no prescription lenses. You take it to your own optician and have them make lenses to your prescription.
Blank inserts can suit you if:
- You have a regular optician you trust
- Your prescription is unusual and you’d like your optician to handle it
- You’d like to arrange the lenses yourself
There’s a blank insert for each frame: the LGND Goggles Prescription Blank Insert and the LGND Glasses Prescription Blank Insert. Just check with your optician that they’re happy to fit lenses to a sports insert before you order.
Which prescription route is right for you?
- Already happy in contacts? Stick with them, and choose goggles or glasses as normal.
- Want it sorted for you? Go for a custom insert for your goggles, glasses or both.
- Prefer your own optician? A blank insert gives you that option.
- Need a frame first? Start with the LGND Goggles Bundle or LGND Glasses Bundle, then add the insert to match.
For more on lens choice and goggle fit, have a look at our guide to choosing MTB goggles.
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FAQs
Can you get prescription MTB goggles?
Yes. Rather than a prescription goggle lens, most riders use a prescription insert: a small frame holding your prescription lenses that sits behind the outer goggle lens. APEXX makes custom and blank inserts for LGND goggles and glasses.
How long do custom prescription inserts take?
Custom inserts are made to order by our specialist optical partner, with a 1–2 week turnaround once your prescription details are received.
What prescription do I need to order inserts?
A valid prescription from an eye examination carried out within the last two years. After ordering, we’ll email you to ask for your prescription details.
Can I use my own optician for prescription inserts?
Yes. A blank insert has no lenses fitted, so you can take it to your optician and have lenses made to your prescription.
