Review: Poc Propel sunglasses

Aero claims and impressive field of vision help to justify the spend

Words Charlotte Head Photography Joseph Branston

It’s rare for a sunglasses brand to be able to claim that it has brought something new to the table, but that is exactly what Poc says it has done with its Propel glasses.

They have been designed using computational fluid dynamics to enhance their aerodynamic performance.

That’s right: aero sunglasses.

What’s more, in the context of the latest trend for helmets overlapping ears being pioneered by Kask and Poc itself, it seems the Propels were just step one in the process of extending the slipstream potential from helmet to the rest of the head.

Aero edges Poc says the Propel’s gains come from a trailing edge at the sides of the lens, which is shaped to direct airflow away from the ears and towards the shoulders, not unlike its infamous Tempor time-trial helmet (the one that looks like a squashed tadpole).

According to Poc, the drag saving in watts is in the low single figures when riding at 40kmh.

Needless to say, these are gains at their most marginal, but any advantage is worth having when races are won by a tyre’s width.

The Propels are designed to sit close to the face using a large, curved lens and a plastic frame derived from ‘largely renewable sources’.

The lens, called Clarity, claims to amplify contrast for better visibility and has a large field of vision created by the wraparound shape and lack of frame along the top.

The glasses have been designed to work seamlessly with Poc’s road helmets and weigh just 31g.

The length of the arms is adjustable and the glasses come with three nose bridges.

Fast faces

I’m no pro cyclist, but I did my best to test the Propel’s marginal gains by wearing them in a number of race settings on both the road and the track.

Whether they gave me a ‘low single figure’ watt saving I really cannot say, but what I can attest to is their practicality.

Their combination of adjustable arm length and multiple nose pad options made it easy to ensure the glasses fit properly – and being able to adjust the frame goes a long way to ensuring any potential drag savings are indeed exploited no matter the rider’s face shape.

The glasses tie practicality with performance in another area too: the lens is noticeably oversized and wrapped.

This may indeed guide airflow, but what I can say with certainty is that it inherently creates a huge field of vision.

Combined with the Clarity’s, well… clarity, it was easy to forget I was even wearing glasses.

So while their secondary performance benefits might be hard to ascertain, the important point is that Poc has included them in the Propel’s design without impacting their more fundamental job as sunglasses.

As such, they stand out in a competitive market.