Interbike: Oakley teases new Jawbreaker sunglasses

LAS VEGAS (VN) — The big unveiling of Oakley’s new sunglasses, the Jawbreaker, came up just 200 meters short. Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) wore the prototype Oakley Jawbreaker on the first stage of the 2014 Tour de France. It was a stage that Cav had been eyeing, with a finish in his mother’s hometown. He was a favorite and a victory would catapult the new shields to the front pages of newspapers and websites around the world.

Cavendish crashed near the finish, however, sending him home from the race early.

Oakley teased the Jawbreaker again at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships on the face of race favorite Nino Schurter. Schurter came in second, while Julian Absalon scored the win and the all-valuable post-up shot.

We caught wind of the Jawbreaker’s name this week at Interbike and learned a bit more about the sunglasses, thanks to a source close to Oakley. The new sunglasses use some of the frame technology found in the Racing Jacket (formerly known as the Jawbone), but use a single lens, like the Poc Do Blade sunglasses worn by Garmin-Sharp. The single lens would result in an unobstructed range of sight, but with a frame design like the Racing Jacket, lenses could be easily swapped out without having to put stress on the lens or the frame itself.

The size and look of the Jawbreaker is very similar to Poc’s Do Blade. However, the shape of the frame encompassing the lens is a nod to the Oakley Eyeshade, Oakley’s first sports shield design.

Oakley’s sports marketing manger for cycling, Steve Blick, would not comment on the new sunglasses, saying, “we’re not ready to talk about [that] yet. We’re excited about working with Mark Cavendish on this new project. You might have seen them [at mountain bike world championships] in Norway. We’re still testing them.”

Schurter has also been testing a lighter-tinted lens with a rose hue.

“If you’ve been paying attention to the riders at the front of the World Cup races, you would see them wearing this trail lens,” Blick said. “It’s intended to help riders pick what lens they need for a mountain bike ride, since there are so many options. It’s a lighter lens, but they’re not looking at the sun, they’re looking at the trail, and it really helps them see the trail.”

We expect it will be after the first of the year before we know more about the new Jawbreaker, but we’ll be sure to keep our eyes peeled for them being worn at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. We’ll be on the lookout for the trail lens as well, especially around the UCI cyclocross circuit.