Garmin Varia RTL510 Bike Radar Tail Light + UT 800 Smart Headlight w/ Mount EXPIRED

I've had an eye on this for a while, but couldn't justify the expense. But after using a slew of odd lights, front and rear, for my bike...with varying levels of quality and reliability, I decided to bite the bullet. It doesn't hurt that I picked up a Varia Vision recently, so one of these should integrate well.

The newer model has BT and a slightly longer battery life, but I mostly just use lights for the last hour or two of a long ride, so this should be plenty. Thanks, OP!

This is the regular price since the new model came out. Even before the new model came out, this was on sale for $130 several times in past few months (check camelcamel) - so I wouldn't consider this price a great deal, probably worth waiting for the next sale event.

The headlight is fine and works. The taillight/radar, on the other hand, is incredible. When I got the first version a couple of years ago, I thought it was going to be kinda gimmicky. I was wrong. I love it. I don't ride without it. It obviously isn't going to save you if someone is coming from behind, but it at least increases your situational awareness.

And for anyone curious about learning more about these:

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/...eview.html

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/...eview.html

Quote from nadav : This is the regular price since the new model came out. Even before the new model came out, this was on sale for $130 several times in past few months (check camelcamel) - so I wouldn't consider this price a great deal, probably worth waiting for the next sale event.

For the bundle? I can't find it any lower than this for both the headlight and the taillight.

Quote from jdpatt : For the bundle? I can't find it any lower than this for both the headlight and the taillight.

Oh dang, sorry I missed that it was the bundle. You're right it's a good deal!

Quote from jdpatt : I've had an eye on this for a while, but couldn't justify the expense. But after using a slew of odd lights, front and rear, for my bike...with varying levels of quality and reliability, I decided to bite the bullet. It doesn't hurt that I picked up a Varia Vision recently, so one of these should integrate well. The newer model has BT and a slightly longer battery life, but I mostly just use lights for the last hour or two of a long ride, so this should be plenty. Thanks, OP!

I want the radar for safety, and this is a great deal if I needed one more. While the radar is on there needs to be some backlight on. In pulsing mode it will goes for 10 hours reliably. Solid on cuts battery time in half. On of the new ones has no backlight.
As far as I can remember I have not had a threat that surprised me that radar missed. It works quite well. It has some false positives, for me in odd bike road/side road sections parallel to highway lanes divided by wire fences.

I just added these lights to my bike this season. I ride with a Garmin Edge 530, which certainly enhances these lights utility, since the Edge has the radar display and "light network" built-in (no extra head unit needed).

The features of these lights I appreciate: The convenience of both lights automatically coming on in blinking mode when first starting the ride, the radar that shows the vehicles as approaching dots on the Edge, and the feature that makes the blinking rear light brighter as the car approaches.

Like the previous poster, I also experience an occasional false positive (typically passing a large sign or car that is crossing the street perpendicularly behind me), but the radar has yet to miss an approaching vehicle.

Sure, this is not going to stop the driver looking at their phone updating their Twitter feed who plows into me, but I hope the bright light catches their eyes even while looking down!

The only feature that would improve this current setup is if the front and rear lights had a small HD camera that snapped a picture whenever it sensed an approaching car. My family would then have some evidence to pursue the hit and run driver.

Absolutely incredible combo, I paid $230 a couple months ago for the same items individually. The taillight especially is A+ material. I do a lot of cycling on country roads, so cars sneaking up at high speeds is very common. The taillight will start flashing for visibility as it detects a car, and it will warn my on my Edge 530. The radar also works with Wahoo Elemnt computers now too. Easily the best piece of safety gear I got.

The Lights are great with the Edge 530 because they are literally set and forget minus charging. The Edge 530 will automatically put them into sleep mode when you stop an activity and wake them when you start an activity. It will also change the mode of the lights depending on the light sensor on the Edge. Lastly, the Edge 530 allows you to turn off lights, which allows the radar to function as Radar only, which isn't possible with other brand devices or without a computer. It's possible these features work with older Edge devices too.

I would recommend getting a k-edge mount for the light as the Garmin one is bulky and ugly. It uses standard go-pro mounts.

I can only speak for the radar/tailight but it's absolutely phenomenal. By far my favorite piece of bike tech ever. It's incredibly accurate, and gives me the comfort to move around more laterally to avoid rough patches / potholes, runners/socially distance and setup for left turns. I still swing my head around when moving over significantly but haven't been surprised yet.

The only time I'll ever notice the varia missing a call is when i'm starting off from a stop light and going the same speed as cars that are behind me - once the cars behind me start going faster or move to pass, it will usually pick them up but that's the one time to be sure you're looking over your shoulder too. I think this happens because the varia seems to measure speed differential between my bike and the traffic behind me to identify cars. I believe this is what stops the varia from going off every second from riders/bikes riding with you when you're in a group ride.

Last month, i was setting up into a left turn, and someone came flying up behind me on a residential street at over 70mph and tried to pass around me on the left, cutting over the yellow onto the other side of the street while i was starting a left turn. The varia quickly caught this which set off a siren on my bike computer (wahoo) and i pulled back from my turn as he flew by - may have saved my life.

Will never ride on the road without it. Buy this - a no-brainer at 3x the price.

Anyone know if the radar detects oncoming cyclists?

Quote from OliveTexture851 : Anyone know if the radar detects oncoming cyclists?

It can if there is a large speed difference, so if the cyclist coming from behind is travelling significantly faster than you are. However it's definitely not as good at that as it is at recognizing cars.

Quote from OliveTexture851 : Anyone know if the radar detects oncoming cyclists?

Approaching cyclists moving towards you from your front? I want to be sure our terminology is on the same page. The answer is No.

The radar unit is only on the taillight and more or less facing behind you. It only detects moving objects overtaking you from the rear.