Pedaled x Alba Optics Mantra Sunglasses Light Grey

The Pedaled x Alba Optics Mantra sunglasses are light, snug fitting, and have a mirrored light grey lens that works well in a variety of conditions. The non-folding arms are tightly sprung and angularly sculpted, which holds them tight to your head but does make them fiddly to put on and store in helmet vents.

> Buy now: Pedaled x Alba Optics Mantra sunglasses for £178 from Pedaled

They're essentially a repackaged version of the Alba Optics Mantras, with the collaboration meaning that clothing company Pedaled has sprinkled its particular stylistic dust over them.

2024 PEdALED x Alba Optics Mantra Sunglasses Light Grey - arm detail.jpg (credit: road.cc)

The glasses come in a square semi-rigid canvas zipped box with an internal mesh pocket and an external D-ring and loop of string on the back to hang it off things should you ever feel the need. You also get a large microfibre bag to keep the glasses in, an extra microfibre cleaning cloth, and a reflective leash that clips into holes on the end of the arms. You also get a bandana and a pair of stickers; both the bandana and one of the stickers are patterned with a QR Code that leads to a dead link on the Alba Optics website.

2024 PEdALED x Alba Optics Mantra Sunglasses Light Grey - case open.jpg (credit: road.cc)

The Pedaled x Alba Optics collab frame comes in a fashionable gravel-friendly muted earth tone Sandy Grey, but could also be Pensioner's Trousers. It does fit in with Pedaled's colour palette if you wear some of its clothes and want to be all matchy matchy, but if you like the look of the glasses but want a more colourful option then Alba Optics has its own Mantra glasses in a rainbow of colours. Spare lenses are also available from Alba should you fancy accessorising to the weather.

The one-piece non-folding frames have a very pronounced shoulder to the arms that brings them in tight to the head, something accentuated even further by the sharp curve inwards adopted by the rear of the arms. This does make the ends of the arms clamp snug to the head – I could feel them push on the sides of my narrow slab skull, so if you have a more standard rounded bonce I'd suggest trying these on to check that the tension of those arms isn't too much. This does mean that even in bumpy tarmac or off-road situations they didn't budge an inch, something that's also helped by their light weight. There is a thin strip of rubber on the inside of the arms which, given the clamp of the glasses against the head, does feel a little redundant but is more comfortable against the skin than a hard plastic.

2024 PEdALED x Alba Optics Mantra Sunglasses Light Grey - inside.jpg (credit: road.cc)

The angled, curved and sprung arms of the Mantras does make them fiddlier than some to put on. Using both hands, you have to pull them out a bit to slip them on, then use one hand to pop one side on and spring the other out while pushing it back. Negotiating them around helmet straps makes this more convoluted. This takes some concentration if you're doing it on the move.

For the same reason, they're more awkward to fit into helmet vents than other straighter armed glasses should you need to take them off while pedalling. They fared better with some helmet's vent patterns than others, but once they're in they're locked in. If you're not a fan of vent storage or find the whole fiddle too much then Pedaled does supply a black (with reflective highlights) leash that clips securely into little holes at the ends of the arms.

2024 PEdALED x Alba Optics Mantra Sunglasses Light Grey - arm.jpg (credit: road.cc)

The nose-piece put the lens too close to my face, making my eyelashes rub, which is a surprisingly common occurrence for me with my cow-lashes and many glasses, but a simple swap to one of the supplied spare fatter nose-pieces sorted everything out. Those nose-pieces are a firm plastic and not the squishy rubber often found inside a lens, which feels odd initially, but not uncomfortable. In use they're unnoticeable, and on the plus side they won't develop that unpleasant sticky patina that some nose-pieces can after a while.

2024 PEdALED x Alba Optics Mantra Sunglasses Light Grey - nose piece.jpg (credit: road.cc)

Riders of a certain vintage will recognise the Mantra glasses as having a very familiar Oakley M-Frame shape to them. The one-piece frame is also reminiscent, and in that respect I'm quite happy as that's a style that suits my face really well – in a way that the new wave of truck-windshield-sized glasses definitely don't.

Lens

The lens on the Pedaled sunglasses is Alba Optics' VZUM ALU, and it's been customised as part of the collaboration, with elongated sides and laser-etched details in the form of slim matt accents to some of the edges of the lens, to mimic the textures of nature and the minimalist style of Pedaled clothing, it says here.

2024 PEdALED x Alba Optics Mantra Sunglasses Light Grey - frame detail.jpg (credit: road.cc)

The VZUM is Alba Optics' high definition lens made from an ultra-light polycarbonate with anti-scratch and oleophobic surface, making sure that the lens shrugs off scratches, fingerprints, dust and water.

The mirrored grey lens isn't the darkest out there, so performs well across a spectrum of days that aren't lovely bright sunshine all ride (so that's most of them), but they do struggle when there's a lot of cloud cover (high okta levels, dontcha know). They're okay, too, if you're swooping from sunshine into shade and back out again, with the lens giving enough contrast to see into the shadows of a wooded or sunken lane.

2024 PEdALED x Alba Optics Mantra Sunglasses Light Grey - front.jpg (credit: road.cc)

Lens choice is a personal thing, and I see riders with full iridium lenses on days I'm struggling with almost clear lenses, but being picky, and for all the Pedaled ultra-endurance marketing blurb, and the price, I'd be slotting a photochromic lens in there to cope with the various weather conditions and dawn-to-dusk-to-beyond light conditions that a rider/racer is going to encounter. This seems like a missed opportunity. Luckily Alba lenses are available separately on its website; they don't have the added lens volume and textured sections of the Pedaled collaboration lenses, but they'll do.

2024 PEdALED x Alba Optics Mantra Sunglasses Light Grey - side.jpg (credit: road.cc)

The glasses never fogged up in use, and Alba says the curve of the lens is designed to minimise misting. It did happen – infrequently – when static, but the pair of large vents at the top of the lens and large indent to the sides ensured that it dissipated immediately when moving.

2024 PEdALED x Alba Optics Mantra Sunglasses Light Grey - lens detail.jpg (credit: road.cc)

The edges of this Pedaled x Alba Optics lens are noticeably wider than the standard Mantra lens, which allows them to wrap around the face more, minimising peripheral interference, but there is a little bit of a quirk in the scallop to the sides of the lens, in that it can allow a shaft of distracting light in when the sun is low and off to the side.

Weight

The best thing about the Pedaled x Alba Optics Mantra sunglasses is their weight. At only 26g on the road.cc Scales of Truth (claimed weight 24g), it's hard to feel that they're on, even across all-day rides, and combined with the frame's curvy shape snugging them close to your head, there's no bounce or rattle over gravelly terrain.

2024 PEdALED x Alba Optics Mantra Sunglasses Light Grey - arm inside 3.jpg (credit: road.cc)

Despite their svelte weight they don't feel flimsy or poorly made, which helps defend their price a bit. The wrap and shape of the lens ensures there's no intrusion into your vision, and the clarity of that lens contributes to that nothingness when on.

There are niggles, though: the sprung and angular arms make them tricky to slip on when on the move and, despite lots of practice, annoyingly awkward to stow in helmet vents, though they definitely play better with some makes than others (and if you're happy to use the supplied leash then this won't be a bother to you).

Value

At £178 they're towards the top tier of glasses, where competition is fierce. 

They are slightly cheaper than the OG Oakley's newish Sphaera shades, which don't actually look too dissimilar in lens shape but, despite having a good lens, were felt to be a bit basic for the price (£191), and again a photochromic lens would have been a bonus.

Styled in a similar old school way with a smaller lens than is the fashion and with a curvy frame, the Rudy Project Tralyx + glasses scored incredibly well. They also cost slightly more, £189.99, but you do get a reactive photochromic lens.

More on trend, looks-wise, the Koo Eyewear Alibi sunglasses are £200, but come with a fast-acting photochromic lens clicked into an angular frame that was comfortable though best suited to smaller heads.

If you can only afford a third of the price of the Mantras then the Magicshine Rouleur Colour Photochromic Sunglasses are worth a gander, if the style appeals. They were found to be comfortable, with great coverage and an effective photochromic lens, and even have a muted matt frame.

Check out more options in our guide to the best cycling sunglasses.

Conclusion

For the price and intended use, a choice of lenses or something photochromic would turn these from a good set of sunnies into a great one.

> Buy now: Pedaled x Alba Optics Mantra sunglasses for £178 from Pedaled

Verdict

Uberlight glasses with versatile light grey lens, but the non-folding frame with tight bendy arms hampers fitting