The Varia RTL515 has immediately become indispensable for me. I ride mostly country roads and have never been able to get used to a helmet mirror, so the Varia is great. It picks up vehicles at the same time as my riding partners with mirrors. The battery life is fantastic - no problem for 100+ mile rides. Garmin undersells what I think is a great feature - the reactive-blink tail light. I think drivers intuit that increasing blinking to mean you know they're there, and they are less apt to brush you with their side view mirror. The only feature/flaw that I see as a negative is that any vehicle that appears on the radar then matches your speed disappears! Once you realize that, you can adjust your perceptions accordingly, but this characteristic of the radar could be in all caps in the manual. Overall, not inexpensive but worth every penny.
This product to me is a game changer. I bought this because with the pandemic I was mainly riding alone and felt more vulnerable to cars than in a group of 20 riders. This tells you without looking that a car is coming from about 1 1/2 football fields away (I think actually 143 meters). You can see it approaching you and how fast. I know if I happen to be riding side by side to mover over or if by myself to move as far right as I can. Even if there are things in the road like a hole or debris I know if I can just go right around it or if I need to slow down because there is a car. The brightness of the flashing rear light increases as does the frequency when it detects a car. There is also an audible tone if you want and colors of the approaching car to indicate how fast it is approaching. I see people riding with mirrors but this if far superior. I think at $199 it is the deal of the century. Seems more than worth it to avoid getting hit by a car. Battery life is great. Syncs perfectly every time to my Garmin. Easily can be transferred from bike to bike. Takes about 30 seconds.
It only takes one ride to realize how valuable this is. It works extremely well. It does not get fooled and give false alarms very often. However, if you are riding on a trail that parallels a street, it will rightfully pick up that traffic. If you make a 90 degree turn, the cars passing on the street you just turned off of, will briefly trigger the radar. When you do get an alarm (a very distinct beep) there is plenty of time to react and being able to track its progress is fantastic. If there are multiple cars approaching you will see multiple dots on the screen. It does very well on twisty roads as well. It detects cars approaching around corners sometimes before you can see them. My only word of caution is to always charge it up before every ride. Not that it doesn't have a good battery but It takes a lot of power to do all this and a real bummer if it runs out during a ride.
I'm 84 and ride with the Big Dogs on my E-Bike. This light/radar unit keeps me aware of traffic behind me, including the faster riders, and keeps me up on the world. I'm getting better at pairing the Garmin Varia to my cellphone via the Garmin Varia app, and pairing my cellphone to my hearing aids. Now, no more surprises from rear!
It is something that seems overpriced until you need it, then you are glad you have it. I
My cycling enthusiast college to me on a ride and afterward said I should have this item to keep me safe on the road. I love it. It's easy to pair with all the other gadgets he recommended, and it reassuring to know if something is coming up from behind. The light is super bright, and l like the flashing options.
A riding buddy has the Varia and told me how much safer he felt being able to see traffic coming up on him. I wholeheartedly agree. It tracks all the vehicles coming up behind you from asfar back as 150 yards. Amazing.
Im 75 with bad hearing and cant wear my hearing aids because of the wind noise. I ride in Spearfish Canyon and there is a lot of traffic at times and loging trucks. It works great and if the are several vehicles behind me it will show each one on the led lights.
My son bought it for me on Fathers Day several year ago and I been using it ever since
I highly recommend it.
Easy to pair with a Wahoo
Its easy to use the functions, Connects with my Stages M50, bright. They should have added a tether ring for a backup in case it falls off
this model works quite well with my 1030 edge computer, a previous version did not work. Does not have a real long battery life but the computer lets you when its low. However I have only used it in cold weather. It is very handy when riding around in the suburbs.
A bit pricey but excellent light
Works like a charm!
Communicates with my Garmin well.
Does communicate twice - once for the radar and once for the light.
Virtually no documentation with unit.
Had to reference online documentation to figure out how to make light come on when you start a ride.
Decent battery life.
Picks up cars (and other cyclists) at a distance.
A must have if you ride on roads with cars
Purchased for both bikes! Works as advertised. Keeps me alert on ALL cars coming up from behind. I find it very beneficial when riding on narrow roads or when I ride close to the road's edge. Only false positive is running parallel to the freeway.
We have a bike path beside the main road and it really helps to know when cars are coming. The mount is not very good, I lost the rubber piece for it.
I ride on the road and this radar makes me feel safe. Its an absolute must have for someone who wants to avoid rash drivers coming up from behind. Compatible with my phone and garmin computer
I ride mostly rural roads and use a small mirror but have cars still surprise me occasionally. Having this effective warning really gives me more confidence to enjoy my rides and feel a little safer. I recommend it highly.
Very dependable alerts and long battery life between charges. Easy setup
Alerts �texters� way out, the radar option is ok and gives approx 5� warning so it keeps surprises to a minimum
This radar with the tail light is a must have for anyone who rides on any roads. The tail light is great for getting the attention of the cars coming your way and the radar helps the rider know when a car is coming. I had the radar only version previously with a separate tail light but the integration of them in one unit is much better. All I can say is, this thing works and works very well!!!
