May 14, 2015 (Milton, ON) – Oakley Canada arrived in Milton recently to initiate a fantastic marketing media concept as they combined forces with the Mattamy National Cycling Center to debut their newest eyeglass creation. Pedal and other media from around Canada were invited to “Learn to Ride” the velodrome with National team member Joe Veloce and cycling icon Steve Bauer, the Milton Cycling Academy Head Coach, and his track coaching staff.

Outfitted with Oakley’s Jawbreaker sunglasses and a smart Oakley/Nalini kit the press were fitted to Argon 18 bikes and taken out to learn the intricacies of riding the track. With varying skill-sets the instruction began slowly, but progressed as the group learned how to handle the bankings and soon everyone was thoroughly enjoying the experience.

Oakley Canada’s team was on hand to lead the presentation and discuss the newest innovations in their eyewear lineup. The Jawbreaker has been a three-year collaboration with cycling icon, Mark Cavendish, a former road world champion with countless wins on his resume, to design the new line. According to Oakely it took more than 100 design iterations, 27 eyewear components, and close to 10,000 hours of lab and field testing for the final product to emerge.

The “Jawbreaker” name comes from the unique gimbal hinge mechanism with a slick pivot system that allows the bottom frame or lower “jaw” to separate from the upper frame while switching lenses.

The new features on these glasses are insightful and creative. A fascinating improvement lies in what Oakley calls the “extended field of view”, engineered to improve the upward field of view by 44% over standard sunglasses so that the frame is not in your line of vision. Oakley used an eye-tracking system with Cavendish to study potential improvements to the field of vision by determining where the rider’s gaze travels throughout a lengthy road event – check out Oakley’s vid on this here.

Oakley’s Switchlock technology for fast lense changes is something to excite as is the ability to lengthen the arms around the temples to adjust the fit for different size heads.

Ventilation and fogging issues have also been addressed, with no less than eight “surge ports” – even in the Jawbreaker hinge area, to enhance the flow of air to better manage the micro-climate between the lens and the rider’s face.

Renowned for their lens technology, Oakely’s Prizm Road emphasizes colors where the eye is most sensitive so undulations in the road are seen more clearly.

Test riding the Jawbreakers was a treat with visual acuity at a maximum, no fogging in an indoor facility and the ability to view the full spectrum without any frame in the way. While the Jawbreaker is larger than most sunglasses taking on a shield-like quality dubbed “armor for speed”, they are extremely lightweight with adjustable ear pieces adding to comfort levels.

Once again Oakley has created a new standard in their eyewear in both fashion and function that has already seen Cav, the Manx Missile, deliver two stage wins at the Amgen Tour of California adding to his long list of palmares – check out Pedal’s video coverage of the day below including an interview with Oakley’s Ryan Joergensen, Eyewear & Goggle Product Manager + we caught up with track star Joe Veloce for his take on the new Jawbreakers and his aspirations for the upcoming TO2015 Pan Am Games. For more info visit here and these hashtags #are #jawbreaker #liveyours.