Tifosi’s new Moab XC brings a rimless design to its popular shield lineup, delivering just 29 grams of unobstructed vision. Built for cyclists who want maximum field of view without premium pricing, the Moab XC combines lightweight materials, adaptable lenses, and all-day comfort into one of the best-value performance sunglasses available today.
The Nitty Gritty
- The Chassis: A Grilamid TR-90 frame—the gold standard for lightweight durability—paired with fully adjustable ear and nose pieces to allow for a truly custom fit.
- Sticky Bits: They’ve utilized hydrophilic rubber on the contact points. This material actually gains grip as you sweat, ensuring the glasses don’t migrate toward your chin during high-effort efforts.
- Polycarbonate Optics: Shatterproof and scratch-resistant lenses cut in a rimless shape to maximize your field of view. There is no frame to obstruct your line of sight when you’re looking through the apex of a corner.
Satin Vapor with Light Night Fototec lens (left) and Satin Vapor with Clarion Deep Purple lens (right)
Per Tifosi:
The Moab XC builds on the current Moab and Moab Lite, offering a lighter, more compact fit and a quick-swap lens system, designed for variable riding conditions.
Key details:
- Weight: 29g; Fit: M–L
- Interchangeable lens system (bright, low, and no light coverage)
- Fototec lens option adapts to changing light
- Clarion lenses repel sweat and moisture
- Grilamid TR-90 frame for lightweight durability
- Hydrophilic rubber nose + ear pieces for no-slip fit
- Adjustable nose and ear pieces for a customized fit
- Polycarbonate lenses (shatterproof + scratch-resistant)
Here’s quick guide to Tifosi’s three popular Moab models:
The original Moab is a full-frame shield design
The Moab Lite ditches the full-frame for a half-frame
The Moab XC follows the natural evolution and goes frameless
Chuck sez: Style is in the eye of the beholder, but of the three Moab designs, the new frameless XC is my favorite. The frameless design is clean and looks fast. The original Moab with a frame wasn’t a deal breaker for me, but my eyes (especially my peripheral vision) much prefer the lens without a frame. All three Moabs oversized, shield designs, but the Moab XC lens real estate has different proportions:
- Moab – 138 mm wide x 56 mm tall
- Moab Lite – 133 mm wide x 55 mm tall
- Moab XC – 130.8 mm wide (149.6mm overall) x 56.9 mm tall
Interestingly, the frameless Moab XC weighs more than the half-frame Moab Lite (but both are less than the full-frame Moab) — according to Tifosi:
- Moab – 31 grams
- Moab Lite – 27 grams
- Moab XC – 29 grams
Both pairs of Moab XCs weighed in at one gram over spec
PEZ readers will know that I’m a fan of Tifosi sunglasses. I’m a Tifosi tifosi. They’re not worn in the pro peloton, but could be and wouldn’t be out of place. The optics are crystal clear (the most important thing). And the quality is top notch. All at a price tag that’s easier on your wallet than comparable sunglasses from many other manufacturers. Everything in the Tifosi lineup costs less tha $100 — including their models with multiple lenses. That’s more than just a bargain, it’s real value.
Unobstructed vision
The Satin Vaypor/Clarion Deep Purple is a perfect (for me) lens for all-day riding in bright sunlight (typical for the SC Lowcountry). More than enough dark tint to ease eye strain, but not too dark (for my eyes) riding in occasional shade. But it comes with two extra lenses for less than full sunlight conditions. AC (all conditions) Red works better in cloudy/overcast conditions (or if riding mostly in shade), but offers enough tint (for me) for intermittent sun. The clear lens is for dedicated night riding or daytime very low light conditions, e.g., fog, heavy rain (neither of which I intentionally ride in as an official AARP rider).
The Satin Vaypor Clarion Deep Purple comes with AC red lens (back) and clear lens (front)
Changing lenses is pretty easy-peasy: hold the lens between your thumb and forefinger in one hand and pull (pivot) the temple up and out with the other hand. Reverse the process to install a new lens.
Everything stows away in a protective hardshell case
I have an average-ish size head and think I’m OK size-wise with the Moab XC, but as our dearly departed friend and PEZ colleague Ed Hood would warn: “if you have a small head and wear huge shades you could stray into ‘Dame Edna’ or ‘Fearless Fly’ territory – neither is icy”
It’s always a good idea to try on sunglasses with your helmet to make sure they fit well together
One lens to rule them all
Tifosi also offer a single lens solution for those who prefer a photochromic option for complete versatility without carrying a spare lens. The Moab XC Satin Vapor/Night Light Fototec lens responds to changing light conditions. In low light, it has 75.9% light transmission. In bright light, it has 27.7% light transmissions. As the name implies, the Night Light Fototec leans more towards riding in darker conditions. If I was still up in Babylon on the Potomac and doing my Wednesday Night Hill Rides that included Operation Dinner Out afterwards, the Night Light Fototec would be exactly what I would want. Enough tint for riding in late afternoon daylight conditions, but “clear” enough for riding home at night with urban ambient light. (NOTE: For true night riding, I would recommend a clear lens.)
The Night Light Fototec (or the Clarion Blue Fototec that’s a slightly darker tint and darkens to a blue mirror) is also a good choice for days with both clouds and sun or when you’re riding in and out of the shade.
No extra lenses with the Light Night Fototec — just a hardshell case and soft microfiber case (that doubles as a lens cleaning cloth)
Indoors, you might think the lens is clear (but it’s actually very lightly tinted)
Outdoors in bright sunlight and the lens darkens up (but not as dark a tint as a dedicated full sun lens)
To give you an idea of how the Night Light Fototec Lens transitions from light tint to dark tint
The bottom line
IMHO, Tifosi has a winner with the new Moab XC. It’s definitely got the current trend oversize shield pro look. And they’re pro in terms of their functionality and quality. The lens real estate provides more than enough UV and wind protection. I don’t have a way to measure optical clarity, but my aging (although Lasik corrected) eyes can’t discern any real difference between Tifosi lenses and the lenses in other high quality (and more expensive) sunglasses (that are part of my rotation). Plus the Moab XC comes in enough color/lens choices:
- Blackout – Smoke/AC Red/Clear
- Crystal Smoke – Clarion Blue/AC Red/Clear
- Forest Vapor – Clarion Yellow/AC Red/Clear
- Satin Vapor – Clarion Deep Purple/Ac Red Clear
- Kinetic Blue – Clarion Blue Fototec
- Satin Vapor – Light Night Fototec
- And if none of the above suit your fashion taste, you can pick and choose colors to build a custom Moab XC
The 1,000-yard stare
The only “problem” I have with the Moab XC is having to decide between wearing them or the Tifosi Rail Race when I go out for a ride. (There’s also the original Rail plus the Vogel XC and Vogel SL for me to choose from.) They’re all great sunglasses for riding and I love them all. Almost too many choices! I know … first world problem.
Pricing & Availability
You have two paths for glass: the classic 3-lens Interchange kit (Bright, AC Red, and Clear) or the “set it and forget it” Fototec photochromic lens. At $79.95 for the kits and $89.95 for the Fototec, Tifosi once again proves you don’t need to drop a car payment to get high-performance eye protection.
- PEZ-Fans can Buy Tifosi Moab XC sunglasses here – and PEZ receives a small affiliate commission to help run the site.
- Canadian PEZ-Fans – Please Use this link to shop for Tifosi
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