Review – ROKA’s Matador Air Mixes Funky Looks with Solid Performance

We have a string of sunglasses reviews coming soon from brands like Smith, Oakley, and Tifosi, but wanted to kick things off with the ROKA Matador Air to go along with the Lockhart prescription review we did a little while back.

The ROKA Matador has been a pretty polarizing sunglass based on its looks. As brands push the boundaries for what’s next, sometimes they break the traditional mold to find it. With the Matador, it is the dropped V-Core temples. Instead of connecting at the top of the lens like most sunglasses out there, the Matador series begins to drop down and connects at about the central point of the lens. From there, the frame arcs along the shape of the shield lens across the top. The original Matador completely surrounds the frame, while the Air leaves the bottom half exposed, which helps save weight and provides additional visibility below.

From here on out, we’ll focus on the Air, since that is what we had a chance to test. Here’s the link to our original article from the Matador Air launch, which will give you many of the details.

We custom-built ours to match the #TeamKICKASS kit, going with the matte black frame and temples, fluora pink Geko temple grips and nose piece, and gold mirror lens. ROKA was also nice enough to send along the photochromatic lens to show how easy it is to swap lenses, which came in handy on some of the overcast gravel rides I used them for. On, they feel light and flexible, but stable enough for road and gravel riding for riders with medium to larger heads.

With Oakley being my reference standard, I would equate these somewhere between the Sutro Lite and the EV Zero. At 25g, they very much fall in line with the lightweight EV Zeros, but have a little more stability/rigidity. The Sutro Lite would be a little more rigid. I’ve always liked the EV Zero for weight and visibility, but they never felt like they were as stable as the framed sunglass I usually wear (RadarLock, Sutros, Sutro Lites, and Jawbreakers).

When it comes to visibility, there are no issues here. The dropped temple is only visible when you are really trying to look for it on the sides. As the frame curves up, there is a small gap in the upper corners that does let a little bit of light in. Compared to the Sutro Lite, which features more of a squared-off shape, this area is covered with traditional frames. Along the bottom, I’d say the coverage is closer to a Radar EV depth, which keeps it off your cheeks with minimal light coming in from below. Three small vents around the edge of the lens let a small amount of air circulate and help prevent fogging.

As for the lenses, clarity is right up there with the best-performing glasses on the market. It uses a 7-base cylindrical lens, which eliminates distortion across the lens. The gold lens was great for bright, sunny days with 16% transmission. Road markings, cracks, and surface imperfections were all clearly visible through the contrast of the base of the lens. The Photochromatic Carbon lens goes from 12-88% transmission when exposed to sunlight (UV activated). The transition was pretty quick, and dark enough for sunny days, especially when going in and out of tree-lined trails. Personally, I love the look of the gold lens and have been wearing them on many other frames, but the photochromatic was my go-to for everything, but the brightest days on the road.

Swapping the lens was also very easy. To remove, pull down on the center of the lens to remove it from the channel in the frame, and then unhook each end from the sides. To reinstall, put the hooks of the lens into the sides of the frame, line up the lens with the channel on the frame, and push it in to lock it in place. The nose piece clicks into place, so squeeze on the sides to unlock it, and pull down from the lens to remove it. To install, line it back up to the central notch, and push it into the sides to lock it in place.

Out in the wild, the Matador Air performs well. The frame held in place on the road and rough gravel without feeling like you had a vise on your head. The Geko temple grips and nosepiece were comfortable on long and short rides, no matter how hot or wet it was. The secure lock hinge was a great feature for docking the sunglasses in my helmet on climbs and putting them back on after. Even other glasses that have pretty tight hinges don’t always stay open when trying to navigate them around helmet straps. I wore them with multiple helmets (POC  Ventral Spin, Specialized S-Works Evade II, Abus Game Changer to name a few) and the Matador Air worked well with all (wearing and docked).

I rarely have issues with sunglasses and helmet straps, what the V-Core temples were designed for, but they worked well with helmets that have internal and external straps. Some helmets, like the POC Octal, mount their straps further away from the head and work better with traditional glasses inside of the straps. Others, mount the straps inside of the helmet and work well with glasses on the outside. In either case, the Matador Air works well with both styles of straps and helps keep you from breaking one of cycling’s unwritten rules, glasses over straps.

My only complaints come from personal preferences. I prefer a little tighter fit than what the Matador Air offers, but it was never a problem with them moving around on rough terrain, thanks to the Geko temples and nosepiece.  For those with smaller heads, they might be a little loose. As for the dropped temples, I also prefer a little bit more coverage in blocking the light out, but again, personal preference. If you’re using a helmet with external straps, the Matador Air is a good option.

The Matador Air is available in three stock colors, and a custom version. The matte black frame with black carbon lens is the cheapest option at $230. From there, the white with High Contrast Fusion Mirror lens or matte black with gold mirror lens bumps up to $240. Custom options start at $240 for the clear or carbon black lenses. The HC Fusion, Gold, and Light or Dark Glacier lenses add $10, and the Photochromatic lens adds $50 to the base price. For custom, you have your choice of matte black or gloss white frames, and temples in matte or gloss black, gloss white, fluoro yellow, electric orange, or race red. To add a splash of color, you can add the Geko temples in black, urban grey, white, maillot jaune (yellow), electric orange, race red, fluora pink, or team blue, with nose pieces in black, white, green, cyan, team blue, racing red, fluora pink, maillot jaune, and electric orange.

ROKA definitely brought something different to the market with the Matador line. The V-Core temple design works well with most, if not all, helmet strap designs. If you are looking for something unique, lightweight, and with great optics, the Matador Air fits the bill. While it probably will not be the first pair I reach for due to my personal preferences, it’s a solid pair of sunglasses I’d have no problem recommending to others.

www.roka.com