Safety on the road has always been a concern. As a result I often am twisting my neck to see if there are cars behind. This is especially true when I ride 2 abreast with a friend (I choose to change to single file if I know a car is behind). Yes I have tried every mirror option available (helmet, bike handlebars, etc...) none of them consistently gave me the confidence that I knew what was behind me.
But the Vario does what it says. An audible as well as visual warning, well before I can hear a car coming. It was 100% accurate-I was quite impressed. What happens when 1 car passes you? Well, the noise of the 1st car makes it impossible to be certain if there is another car or now, so you have to turn your neck, which invariably means you sway a bit (even if just a little) in your lane. The Vario addresses this too. The red warning lights stay on if there is a 2nd or 3rd car until all cars have passed-genius.
I am a Wahoo user and it paired just fine with my Elemnt Bolt, full functionality.
Why almost perfect? One of my concerns is the poor driver who may drift out of their lane and hit me (much more of a problem with Cell Phones). My preference would be to have a camera that would show me that a car was getting dangerously close so I could head to the ditch and have some control of the outcome. Radar can't do that. So it is not all I could want but it is a massive improvement.
Had I realized how well it works I would have bought it sooner. Game changer!
Up to 5 cars displayed each look like a lady bug crawling up the side of display . Typically picks a car up at 6 seconds back and triggers a beep on rural roads . Battery life is 2 ea 50 mile rides but should be longer . Weight and aero drag are minimal .
I use this on nearly every ride, unless I'm purely on singletrack, and it's been so useful for detecting traffic that I can't imagine living without it. When my first one died after years of use, I bought another one the same day. It's especially helpful on gravel roads when it's hard to hear rear approaching drivers, and it's also invaluable when riding and chatting side by side, since it saves us from having to constantly look over our shoulders. Sometimes I think that drivers should buy these for all cyclists because we probably get over so much quicker, when appropriate.
Was on the fence about shelling out for this - I considered myself a very aware cyclist. The RTL515 proved me wrong, big time. My senses cannot beat a radar system this accurate. Under most circumstances, we cannot hear a car coming up behind us if near one or more cars already. Both engine, bike, and road noise make it nearly impossible. With more electric cars on the road now - it's even more difficult to detect. This radar will pick up an approaching car/motorcycle/cyclist/etc just under 500 feet away. 2-3 seconds before you hear it, no matter how good your hearing is - the radar will alert you beforehand. Alerts can be setup on the head unit via tone and / or on-screen. Additionally, you can be alerted via the Varia phone app through vibration or tone in the jersey pocket. Which makes this a standalone product that doesn�t require any bike computer. I use it with the 840 - it forms an ANT+ network with the UT800 front light - allowing for full control from the computer. Although this is not new tech by any means - Garmin�s put a lot of work into it. There frankly is no price on the peace of mind these products provide.
I got this when I saw a sale pop up. I needed a new blinky for my bikes and was toying with a cheapo radar model, but this was reasonable with the sale.
So as a light, it's great. Very bright, has different modes like they all do, etc. All of the boxes are ticked there.
The radar component is a gamechanger. You don't realize how much goes on behind you, and this thing lets you know how many cars are coming, which is a great feature. Knowing one is pretty good, but however it figures out that there are 3 or 4 coming, awesome data to have.
One thing you probably never thought of is using it in a time trial race. If you want to hug the yellow line and corner faster, you can drift over and take better lines because you know the road is clear (take a quick peak just to be sure).
The one hiccup I've found is if a car is going the same speed as you. The car seemingly turns off, but it didn't, it's just not registering with the radar. You'll either get no dot back, or it'll keep coming and going and drive you nuts. So, like previous paragraph, you still have to check, you can't just rely on the beeps and dots.
Battery life seems fine, never had an issue, I do wish it had a USB-C rather than the silly Micro-USB plug. I've also had it hit with spray from my back tire in many rain storms and it is still going strong.
Easy to pair with your head unit too. No issues.
If you have more than one bike, find some mounts so you can share it around, I tried going without it, and it just feels wrong.
The rear facing radar warns you about approaching vehicle's at a great distance. It shows dots representing approaching vehicles and has a yellow bar meaning the vehicle's are approaching at a more normal rate of speed and a red bar warnings vehicles are approaching at a rapid rate of speed. This product by no means replaces taking a look behind you before making any evasive maneuvers, but it is an added piece of mind that I greatly appreciate!
The Varia is a wonderful and, I believe, necessary addition toward safer riding. Not only are you able to have several option for the rear light, but you get a very clear image on your GPS computer of the traffic mounting behind you.
Before the Varia, I was always guessing and mostly trying to listen to what traffic was approaching. Now I have such a better sense of what my environment is like in a split second on the bike. It allows me an initial snapshot and really eases my concerns especially on single lane roads, turn left endeavors and overall solo riding. I especially love it on group rides. I now have a better idea of what is behind me while passing others and when to hug the road. Equally, no more last second "car backs" but rather a much better heads up warning.
Wish I had purchased this earlier.
This radar simply works. using it for months now and only 1 time it missed a car that followed another one. It gave me the confidence to know vehicle is coming up behind me and not get scared by someone suddenly fly by next to me. the light is also nice and bright.
I didn't think I wanted or needed this, but my friend convinced me to try it. It's a game changer. The unit picks up cars well before I hear them especially on descents when wind noise blocks car sound. The display is excellent telling me the number of cars approaching and their closing speed. I love that closing speed information as I will move over as far as I can and as quickly as I can if I know a car is going really fast. A truly fantastic product.
For the past few years, I had considered purchasing the Garmin Varia� RTL515, but each time decided against it. My rationale was that I currently cycled with lights (day/night), and that the radar light combo on the Varia� RTL515 would simply be overkill. I was wrong. The first thing I noticed was that cars appeared to give me a wider birth when passing on open roads. At first, I thought it might be the placebo effect of my new tech purchase, but after several weeks of continued safe passes, I wonder if it might be something else -- the flashing pattern of the light, the possibility that driver's see the Varia� and assume it's a camera, etc? For the type of cycling that I do, the Varia� RTL515 is the ideal tool to help me keep safe. 75% of my riding is on open roads, many of which are rural. I cannot think of the time when the radar didn't detect a vehicle before I heard the vehicle. The Varia� RTL515 It tells me what's behind (displayed on my Edge 840) and adds the provided safety of a rear light. I highly recommend.
I had always seen these on other bikes and never really understood how one could justify buying such an expensive "light". After just a few rides I won't ride without this. The peace of mind I have now knowing what is coming up behind me absolutely makes this little gadget worth the price. The ability to turn the light on/off from your head unit is also an understated feature but a nice thing to have to preserve battery when you're not riding on a road.
I ride a lot of great backroads in forested countryside. At 18-20 mph It�s hard to hear or see cars coming from behind so it�s hard for them see me too. Rtl515 bright light and early warning radar let me be seen and ride to the side with plenty of time. Still always check over my shoulder but this added check gives me more Confidence that I don�t miss anything. Great to only charge 1 instead of 2 accessories also and takes way less space than sprig and radar I used to use. . I get about 4-5 hours on a charge. Just enough for most rides.
Purchased for a planned cross country trip. I am hearing impaired and I wanted something that would help identified vehicles approaching from the rear on open roads with no shoulders in windy or noisy environments. I now have ~ 1000 miles of use on it riding solo and in a group over the past month. Works great and does exactly what I had hoped. It gives you ~ 5-7 seconds of notification when vehicles are approaching @ 50-60 mph. This is more than enough time to make any necessary adjustments to your riding. My only gripe is the Garmin Edge 1030 audible alarm isn't loud enough for me to hear (common complaint). However, using the Varia App I am able to hear the phone audio alarm (volume controllable) and feel it vibrate in my Jersey pocket. I would recommend this product for anyone who wants to be aware of vehicles approaching from behind. On a side note. It would be kind of cool if the App or your control unit kept track of the total number of vehicles that passed you. Seems like it would be easy to write the code for an easy software upgrade.
I had seen others use it and grew accustomed to hearing the audible alert in a group ride. I found myself missing it when I rode solo so I purchased one. It�s a little big, not aero and the mounting system is goofy. Despite that, I give it five stars for the safety it provides. I don�t ride without it.
There are some roads that I ride that require me to constantly turn and look for cars approaching from behind. With this new radar those days are over. I now know when a car is approaching so I can get over on the shoulder. Love it.
I resisted purchasing this rear radar light because I thought it wasn�t �really� needed. On my first ride with it I realized it provides early warning of approaching vehicles that I was not aware of even though I used a glasses mirror and checked it frequently. I should have purchased this years ago.
My PDW asteroid taillight finally gave up the ghost so I decided to upgrade to the Garmin radar & taillight and I couldn�t be happier.
Love the integration with my wahoo bolt roam, super easy to set up, has a great range for detecting cars, and the lights are bright and visible day or night.
As I�m sure others have noted, it only detects traffic closing with a speed differential so if a car is matching your speed, it can disappear from the display. This isn�t really a problem, as you shouldn�t be relying solely on the radar to tell you what�s around.
Where it really shines is on solo rides on backroads where it will detect a car coming well before you�d be able to hear it.
Overall it�s well worth the money and I wish I had picked one up sooner.
Ok......been using this product for quite some time so I feel my review is accurate. The visibility of the light itself is awesome and cagers should easily see you. The light patterns you are sure to find one that suits your need. The ability to sync to your Garmin or even other cycling computer and control is a plus. Battery life depending on light mode is good. If you are doing a several hour ride just make sure you select longest light mode and have light freshly charged. The radar works great in my findings and on long unobstructed straights you get several hundred feet of advanced warning. You can also get the widget for,your Garmin computer to allow you to see the total vehicle count that passes you and the distance back as they close in on you. The sturdiness of the product and water resistance is very good. As my title states......an invaluable piece of cycling hardware!
This is my second Varia. My first one's battery wore out after so much usage over the past 6 years. I used this in Vietnam to warn me of the cars and motorcycles that swirled around me. It was a big help. I now use it here in the USA. Too many of my friends have been injured in accidents caused by cars, so I am so happy to have this as a part of my daily cycling.
The Garmin Varia RTL515 has improved my overall feeling of safety on the road ever since I turned it on. It has a very bright light that is easily seen by motorists. The radar is great at picking up traffic coming up from behind and it will notify you on your had unit and start blinking to make motorists aware of your position. I would 100% buy this product again based on how helpful it is in ensuring safety.
