Rearview radar provides awareness of vehicles approaching from behind up to 153 yards (140 meters) away
Pairs with your Edge bike computer and compatible smartphone as well as select Garmin wearables or the radar display unit
When used with your compatible smartphone, the Varia app provides graphics — plus tone and vibration alerts — to indicate approaching cars
When used with a compatible smartphone, Varia radar integrates with third-party apps such as Ride with GPS to overlay your maps with rearview radar alerts
Compact vertical design mounts easily to most road-use bicycles
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Great product but the one with the light regularly goes on sale for $150, I think that is the one to get.
I was thinking about that and maybe people have their own lights they want to use so they don't want this one but it doesn't make sense to me. This is literally the most useful thing I've bough for my bike in the last 5 years and I buy a lot of bike stuff.
Agreed. Not really sure why they even make the light-less one anymore.
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I would say it's more of a distraction. I returned this unit even when riding in rural areas it senses everything that's moving and beeping way too many times. When on tha group ride it will beep every time your buddy cyclists will pass you from behind , very annoying. I use mirror only.
The radar isn't beeping, your head unit is. Just disable tones in your head unit.
I would say it's more of a distraction. I returned this unit even when riding in rural areas it senses everything that's moving and beeping way too many times. When on tha group ride it will beep every time your buddy cyclists will pass you from behind , very annoying. I use mirror only.
It's obvious from this comment the user has little to no experience with Garmin radar. The unit absolutely does not pick up other riders. It'll only pick up cars and motorcycles. You wouldn't want to use it in the middle of a city due to all the traffic, but rural roads are a perfect use case.
What do you guys recommend for a saddle mount while also using a saddle bag? I've seen saddle rail mounts, but I need something with some distance to get it away from the bag.
Great product but the one with the light regularly goes on sale for $150, I think that is the one to get.
Does the one with camera + light also go on sale? I like the idea of recording whats going on behind me.. even if just for group rides. But $400 is just too much. I did already purchase the one with the light for $150 last week.. and plan on installing it this weekend.
Does the one with camera + light also go on sale? I like the idea of recording whats going on behind me.. even if just for group rides. But $400 is just too much. I did already purchase the one with the light for $150 last week.. and plan on installing it this weekend.
I have not seen it. I was on the look out for it on eBay but I realized it is much larger than the 515, and the battery life is a lot worse. I did not think it was worth it.
I agree, as bike safety accessories go it's one of the best and totally worth the money for anyone who ever rides on roads.
I do wish Garmin would stop making stuff with Micro-USB and get on the USB-C train already though- my Varia is one of the few devices I own that still use Micro-USB. Battery life also isn't great, but I think that's just because there's only so much battery life you can squeeze out of a multifunction device like this.
Agreed, that's why I went with the Bryton Gardia 300L. It can be found on sale for $70-90. It's USB-C and it has a brighter light. Hasn't missed a single car for me during my rides.
Agreed, that's why I went with the Bryton Gardia 300L. It can be found on sale for $70-90. It's USB-C and it has a brighter light. Hasn't missed a single car for me during my rides.
Nice. I saw that and was wondering how well it works.
Does the one with camera + light also go on sale? I like the idea of recording whats going on behind me.. even if just for group rides. But $400 is just too much. I did already purchase the one with the light for $150 last week.. and plan on installing it this weekend.
If you google for GPLama's review of it, it'll give you some insight. It seems like a half-baked product: no image stabilization, poor video quality otherwise, poor battery life.
What do you guys recommend for a saddle mount while also using a saddle bag? I've seen saddle rail mounts, but I need something with some distance to get it away from the bag.
I strap the included 1/4 turn mount to my bag. I have a Topeak under seat with a flap to mount a light on and it works perfectly. Just use the included small set of rubber straps to affix the mount. I have the light version (RT515) and also grabbed a cheap cover with a leash to strap the whole unit to my seat post in case of catastrophic failure.
I strap the included 1/4 turn mount to my bag. I have a Topeak under seat with a flap to mount a light on and it works perfectly. Just use the included small set of rubber straps to affix the mount. I have the light version (RT515) and also grabbed a cheap cover with a leash to strap the whole unit to my seat post in case of catastrophic failure.
The cover with the leash is a brilliant idea. Thanks!
Agreed, that's why I went with the Bryton Gardia 300L. It can be found on sale for $70-90. It's USB-C and it has a brighter light. Hasn't missed a single car for me during my rides.
[QUOTE=nerds;170129676]I bought the varia radar unit with the light when it was on sale for 150 and the light is not very bright! I do like that it blinks little quicker as the car approaches, but it's definitely too dim for me! So I use it with my cygolite 350 taillight with this. This Varia light definitely does not work for daytime visibility very well. At night it's just - ok. You're not going to catch attention of drivers when they're looking down at their three screens in their Tesla or Uber drivers with two phones running Lyft and uber. However I will say I took a chance on the Varia I wasn't sure it would be good, but I absolutely love it knowing when cars are approaching even seeing the number of cars approaching and being aware watching my mirror so I can be ready to leave the roadway is very helpful and one of the best cycling safety purchases I've ever bought outside of a helmet! I wish I had the chance to buy this one and save 50 bucks! I found this is super helpful and highly recommended!! I recommend to buy this and take that extra $50 and buy an actual tail light with 200 plus lumens from a single led and you'll have a great tail light duo!
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It's obvious from this comment the user has little to no experience with Garmin radar. The unit absolutely does not pick up other riders. It'll only pick up cars and motorcycles. You wouldn't want to use it in the middle of a city due to all the traffic, but rural roads are a perfect use case.
My motorcycle already has a break light lol my pay for another.
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I do wish Garmin would stop making stuff with Micro-USB and get on the USB-C train already though- my Varia is one of the few devices I own that still use Micro-USB. Battery life also isn't great, but I think that's just because there's only so much battery life you can squeeze out of a multifunction device like this.
Agreed, that's why I went with the Bryton Gardia 300L. It can be found on sale for $70-90. It's USB-C and it has a brighter light. Hasn't missed a single car for me during my rides.
DC Rainmaker said the Bryton sometimes missed cars; wonder if they have improved it? https://www.dcrainmaker
That's what I do.. I run two rear lights.