Oakley M2 Frame review: an evolution of a great product (2024)

What's to like about these new M2s? Quite a few things, actually and in this Oakley M2 Frame review, well find out what.

I've been using Oakley M Frames since about 1995.

Back in year 11 of High School, I saved my #rse off by working at the golf club pro shop and local news agency and bought some ace crystal blue M-Frames. God I loved those sunnies. They lasted me until a truck knocked me off my bike and smashed them. That was in 2007.

In that time they saw me through running, golf and cycling.

They were very good.

I still have a couple of pairs of M Frames but don't wear them much, as Racing Jackets and Radarlock XLs are more appropriate in my area. I still love M Frames more though.

I do have a soft spot for M Frames and so anything M Frame-like from Oakley warrants my attention.

Why?

Well they're not as popular and I like anything seen as “passé”. And they're light and fit well. And they're inexpensive. And they're just damned good sunglasses for cycling, running, golf and any other sport. Actually, they're not good for super muddy DH mountain biking but that's a story for another time.

So.

Aesthetics

Well, they look good.

Very good.

I mean look at these M2s. Basically M Frames, but newer.

sh*te, is that grey hair?

Fit

The Oakley M2s fit my head perfectly (I am a M size helmet). They’re light, will fit a range of head sizes (the arms are slightly flexy) and they just get out of the way (a function of really great design).

Oakley does state these suit medium to large noggins.

They slide on and off the head very easily.

That's important for situations like the debacle-y descent off the Galibier in the 2011 Etape where hundreds of cyclists came upon a dark, dank, rough, poorly-lit tunnel. Upon entering the tunnel, many subsequently having a brain fade, hitting the anchors hard and causing accidents. I still remember entering the tunnel with some Oakley Radar Paths on, going “oh sh*t” and pulling them off one handed, as the other hand brakes and tried to absorb the rapid reduction in speed as I attempted to get them in my helmet. I failed, so had to put an arm in my mouth for a few minutes until I exited.

To be fair, the road was rough and it was almost pitch black and we were all riding by feel and under those conditions I couldn't have done much with any glasses.

In this situation being able to get the sunnies off quickly and get them in your helmet is an undervalued benefit. It sounds so singular or atypical an occurrence, but it still bears thinking about it.

Quality

I know I bang on about it, but the quality of every pair of Oakleys I’ve owned is top notch.

And as I said in my Oakley Radarlock XL review, if M Frames and their hybrid offspring (and Oakley in general) are good enough for VC recipients and Aussie Special Forces (SAS, Commando Regiments), then they're bloody good enough for this skinny little cyclist.

Would the Aussie SASR use inferior quality equipment?

No, dear reader, they would not.

Nose Bomb

The old M Frames had a very flexy nose bomb rubber inserts which, in my experience, degraded with age and could jut come off their holder. (This is hard to visualise, unless you've owned M Frames). The rubber nose bombs have a tendency to become looser over time (through the pulling-off action when you take the glasses off, and other travails of sunglasses-wearing action) and can fall off. I reckon I have lost about half a dozen nose bombs from my M Frames—they are expensive to replace.

This makes the plastic and rubber-inlay nose bomb construction used on models like the Racing Jacket preferable. However, some people just like the rubber nose-bomb inserts present on the Radars, Radarlocks, M Frames and others.

But the nose bombs on these M2s are markedly improved which should contribute to their longevity and lower Total Cost of Ownership (I've bought 3 replacement nose bombs for one pair of M Frames).

Time will tell of course, but on first inspection and use, they appear a lot better.

Vision

An important consideration for cycling sunglasses is unobstructed vision.

I really like the M2s because they provide great unobstructed vision, especially when quickly shoulder checking.

They’re particularly good in spring time, when one needs unimpeded vision whilst riding through the local magpie alley, to keep a lookout for these pesky blighters, who can mount extremely effective aerial attacks.

With theOakley Racing Jacketsfor instance, because of the thick lens frame, I find the bottom (bottom right for right eye, and bottom left for left eye) peripheral view is obstructed when quickly flicking a look over your shoulder. Obviously this is potentially problematic in races, and for keeping an eye out for nasty magpies, but for casual rides isn’t such an issue.

The M2 Frames have no such problem and offer clear unobstructed peripheral views.

Straight-on optics are beautiful with clear and crisp vision and of course reduced light transmission.

The Polarized Red Iridium lenses are a joy to wear (and are my favourite lenses by far).

I live on the far north coast of NSW near Byron Bay with lots of sun glare, so these particular lenses are great, even in winter.

Dappled light (i.e. as I move through shadow/light in forests) is an issue but that would be the same for any set of sunglasses.

Do Oakley M2s fit in a helmet

An all important thing I like to check is “do these fit in the helmet vents?”. We all know how EuroPro it is to put our sunnies on our helmets (upside down – just like the pros) as we charge uphill or cruise for a coffee. These fit in the vents on a Specialized SWorks 2D in much the same manner as standard Radarlocks.

When you pull them out of the vents, or put them in, the arms have a bit of give, so there’s little chance of them snapping.

You can slip them in with one hand.

Lens and frame options

As always, there are a bevy of lens and frame options. How neat is the carbon!

For me, vented lenses are essential in summer as it’s pretty humid where I live, and there is a lot of climbing through becalmed rain forests. So, the lack of vented lenses is a bit of a bummer.

For folks wearing these to work in the city, you might get some fogging when stopped at traffic lights (though not many sunglasses will prevent this).

Riding Test

I live in the sub tropics so during summer, it's wet and humid. I had the opportunity to test these the other day on a reasonably warm day, but with a lack of humidty.

During my journey to work there's climbing, very fast descents (the fact that Kate reads these precludes me from stating a top speed on the grounds of marital harmony) and a short journey on a ferry which is a good opportunity to let heat off my head accumulate in the glasses and see how they fog up.

On the descents, there was some wind ingress as the lenses don't extend down the face as much as, say, Radarlock XLs. This means on cold mornings, or a fast descent of a big Col, you could get watery eyes.

I didn't experience any fogging, though I was getting quite warm after about 60km.

I also took them for a run, and it was appreciably warmer and more humid (we'd just had about 30mm of sub tropical rain): again, no fogging.

Lense Removal

Lense removal is very easy and much improved over earlier versions of some Radars and especially over the original M Frames.

For M2 lens remove, simply grasp the lens above the nose bomb and pull down and out. Easy as.

Oakley M2 Frame Review Summary

The Oakley M2 Frame is a super comfy, light weight Oakley, well worth adding to your arsenal.

Whether it's cycling, golf, running or, yes, holding your new Golden Retriever, these just work.

You can buy them from your LBS, local surf/snow/whatever retailer or online below.

• Chain Reaction Cycles
• Wiggle
• Evans Cycles
• ProBikeKit
• [easyazon_link keywords=”Oakley M2 Frame” locale=”US” tag=”velonomad2-20″]Amazon[/easyazon_link]

• Amazon
• Wiggle
• ProBikeKit
• Merlin
• Chain Reaction Cycles
• Evans Cycles
• Competitive Cyclist