We’ve all had to get used to cycling products being ever more expensive over the past few years, but Rudy Project’s new 3D-printed titanium Performance 40 glasses take some beating; they’re priced at €950. That’s £829. Whoa! So what’s the deal here?
To mark Rudy Project’s 40th anniversary, and 40 years since Italian rider Moreno Argentin won the UCI Road World Championship in its Super Performance shield-style eyewear, the Italian brand is introducing the Performance 40. Only 100 are being made, all individually numbered. The frame is 3D-printed titanium.
“Thanks to this unique structure, the eyewear is hollow inside, making it ultra-light at just 36g,” says Rudy Project.
Okay, but that’s not an unusual weight for cycling glasses; just check through our reviews for examples. Ones with titanium frames? Not so much.
The Rudy Project Performance 40 glasses come with a curved lens and an adjustable nosepiece. A Rudy Project logo is laser-engraved on the lens, as is the signature of company founder Rudy Barbazza and a serial number from 1 to 100.
The Rudy Project Super Performance’s success was born over a pool table and a handshake. Back in 1986, Rudy Project had just launched its very first shield-style sunglasses. At the time, they were simply another ambitious bit of kit.
The story goes that the night before the 1986 UCI Road World Championships in Colorado Springs, USA, Moreno Argentin met Rudy Barbazza at a pool table. Somewhere between chalking cues and calling shots, Barbazza slid a pair of Super Performance glasses across the table and said something along the lines of: “Wear these glasses tomorrow. Win the World Championship, and I’ll sponsor you.”
No contracts. No lawyers. Just a handshake.
The next day, Argentin did exactly what was required of him. Wearing those Rudy Project shades, he out-gunned Charly Mottet in a sprint that lasted over a kilometre. Argentin became world champion and a Rudy Project brand ambassador, and the Super Performance was instantly upgraded from “new product” to “cult classic”.
Simone Barbazza, Marketing and Sustainability Director (and son of the man with the pool cue), sums it up neatly: “The past inspires, the future innovates: these sunglasses celebrate an iconic model that defined an era, carrying forward its soul and design while using cutting-edge materials and technologies.”
Which is marketing speak for: “Dad made a deal, it worked spectacularly, and we’re still dining out on it 40 years later.”
The glasses are available for €950 at www.rudyproject.com.
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2 thoughts on “Yours for €950: check out Rudy Project’s new 3D-printed titanium glasses”
Do I have to be the one to
Do I have to be the one to say… whaaaat? That price… rather have Oakley Meta Vanguard, at least they do something to justify the tag.
If there is one item of
If there is one item of cycling kit where I have gone the other way and started buying cheaper its cycling glasses. I have had so many costly brands. Oakley, Rudy Project Tralyx which twice snapped in the grame when changing lenses, 100% and I am now on a set of Van Rysel fro, Decathlon. I have accepted that no matter how well I try to look after them, they will break, scratch, lose a nose piece etc. Budget brands still look good nowadays