This is a great device for making me aware of vehicles behind me. I used the Varia app on my smartphone and strapped the phone to the bar. I was constantly amazed by how far away the radar sensed vehicles behind me. Both the graphic and audible alert on the phone are great! However, I do not like the large phone on the bars so have purchased a Garmin Edge 830 to use instead and hope the alerts on the Edge will help as much as the phone app did ! I was more relaxed riding having this one more tool in the box (besides listening, looking behind me and using a mirror). The radar picked up vehicles often before I could see any detail in my mirror or hear it so it helped me stay alert and avoided those last minute surprises that can happen when a fast vehicle suddenly shoots around you.
I have been using this on my road bike and absolutely love the radar feature. It notifies you right on the Garmin computer screen letting you know cars approaching from the rear and also gives an audible alert. Really helps to keep you informed of traffic behind you.
What a great piece of gear. The radar brings your situational awareness to the next level.
Four years ago I got the RTL510 version of this (no bluetooth) and paired it with a Wahoo Bolt. That combo has been the single best bit of kit that I have added in ten years. If you ride in urban areas I would probably skip it as the radar will go off constantly, but in suburban and rural areas it is absolutely worth every penny. My first unit worked perfectly, the only reason I upgraded tp the RTL 515 is that after about fifteen thousand miles the battery life degraded from just over four hours to just over three (with the light on solid... if you use the flasher it has much longer life). Just finishing a month in France riding almost every day and the newer RTL 515 has been every bit as solid, with battery life exceeding 4.5 hours on solid. The few times I have gone out without it I feel naked. This from a guy that never used a tail light because it seemed like just one more think to complicate my life.
Another on-line review said there are two kinds of people: those who don't have a Varia and don't see the need for one and those who have one and wouldn't ride without it. I moved from the first group to the second.
Easy interface with Wahoo computer. I turned off the audible alerts: TMI and annoying. But glancing down from time to time I see what's coming well before I hear it. I've tried to catch it making errors but so far have not been able to. Even tells you how many cars are coming. The LED alerts are usually washed out in daylight so are not that helpful.
I have my Varia RTL515 mounted on the back of my seat bag so the radar unit is positioned high for maximum distance and no interference from the rear tire. Although I like using it on small group rides it seems to be most beneficial on solo rides, keeping me aware of all rear approaching vehicles in plenty of time. The unit works as advertised and is living up to my expectations although I would have liked longer battery life. Isn't that always the case.
This device makes a wonderful addition to my cycling experience. I get notified as traffic approaches and how many vehicles there are within 253 feet behind me. I can see the speed of their approach and I am notified when all is clear. Also, the light flashes more intensely and quickly while traffic is approaching and so it provides better information to the drivers behind me about my presence. The only downside experience I had was a with the Garmin 830 controlling the light, type of flash and turning it off. Now, I could intervene on the head unit and reselect the flash type I wanted, but turning the Varia off that became a problem, surprisingly. It turns off the light when the Varia is switched off but leaves the Varia's Bluetooth on which runs down the battery. I did find the command in the settings to turn this feature off which works better for me.
All the reviews raving about how good this product is are true. I feel naked riding along a public road without this gadget. Now with that said, in true Garmin fashion it is grossly overpriced for what it is, but I think as a safety device it still delivers enough value to be a good buy. Just don't pay full price for one.
Battery life has been fine for me as long as I remember to charge it every couple of rides. (I ride almost every day)
The mount is crap. Buy a proper seat mount and you will be much happier and your device will be much more secure. I strongly recommend the BUP Labs mounts. They are excellent.
I use this light while riding solo and group riding in my area. I feel safer with the notifications although it picks up other cyclists riding behind as well. I don't like that it takes up a lot of real estate on my seatpost so that I can't use a saddlebag. I like everything else about it.
It might be an illusion of safety, or just something to make you more aware of what is happening behind you. I for one have been hit by a car, and this little device has made me feel more confident with being out on the road alone. I would recommend this to anyone who ride a lot outdoors. I would say that riding in an area with higher density of population (ie City with a lot of cars) its starts to lose it value, I found that its better out on an open road in a suburban or rural area.
I just came back from a 3.5 hour ride. The radar worked great and helps on the left turns.
I have a back neck therefore my neck twisting is limited. This is an added safety feature for me along with a good rear view mirror.
The drawback is that I only had a 3% charge left in my edge 520 when I got home.
A longer ride and it may stop functioning due to the edge battery being drained.
My back up is the "Ride with GPS" app on my phone
Adequate as a tail light goes, but there are brighter out there for that. However the radar integration with the Edge is really first rate. My one gripe, and it is only one, is that i wish there were a quick easy way to temporarily mute alerts for a short period time. Think "Mute for 5min" or "mute for 1/2mile" kind of thing. Riding along frontages that parallel a highway is maddening with the alerts, but on the country roads this is really a terrific gadget. I don't think it will still a car from hitting me, but it will sure help me avoid pulling out in front of one accidentally.
I ride about 150 miles per week on mixed city and country roads. The varia really helps prevent surprises when you can't hear cars behind you. A friend of mine is looking to replace his old RTL 500 with the new 515, just because the light is so much better.
The only negatives have to do with battery life. By default it is set up in daylight-always-on mode which only gets you 5-6 hours of runtime. The configuration setting are more complex than they should be, but you can eventually get it to a flashing mode where it is only active when the ride timer is running. That should get 10-12 hours.
This is a really nice, potentially life saving piece of equipment. I have really gained a much higher level of traffic awareness. I know when cars are behind me much sooner than ever before. Relying on sound to identify traffic is sketchy at best. This thing rocks and like other reviews I read I'm not really sure how I did without it for so long. Buy it. You won't be sorry.
Using it with a Garmin 530 and paired to my iPhone running the Varia app. I ride with one bluetooth earbud to hear directions and alerts, the variations app relays all the visualization with tones so I don't need to look at the screen.
Used it in a group ride scenario on quiet and busy roads and it works really well, only alerts to other cyclists when the speed differential is large.
It definitely builds my awareness of the surrounding road users.
I docked it one star for the seat post attachment, the rubber band has worked for me in the past for things like cadence and shell sensors, but using it for something that is removed all the time to charge is not very viable in the long term. Fortunately there are plenty of places offering 3d prints of replacement mounts now and will give on a try.
The first thing I noticed was the underlying nagging anxiety you have about approaching cars on challenging roads goes away pretty quickly. You may find yourself using the better pavement parts of the road instead of the gravel strewn shoulder. You still should always check behind you.
Next I noticed that some of the roads I used to ride white knuckled really only had very few cars per mile and it's changed my ideas of what roads I'm more willing to ride.
Double edged sword of constantly reminding you there are cars behind you on busy roads.
The mount is kinda slick but I don't like that it's held on by a glorified rubber band, you can double them up or buy the fixed mount, but the fixed mount rubbed my legs.
The Varia RTL515 is a nice rear light, extremely bright with different blinking modes. Works well with my Garmin EDGE device. Easy to set up with the EDGE device. I would have given 5 stars but the alert sound is at a frequency and volume I cannot hear with no way to increase volume. It doesn't give any feedback on whether it is on or off either when to turn it on or off. You have to guess whether you held the button down 1 and 1/2 seconds to turn it on, or 2 and 1/2 seconds to turn it off.
This is an amazing device that no one should ride without. I was using an older model of the Varia but with either a Garmin or Wahoo cycling computer I could only see the display of the radar but not hear the audible beep. I read a review that stated the newest Varia works with Ride with GPS and you can get a louder audible beep. It works fantastic. I am using a cheap Blue Tooth earbud with the hook so it doesn't fall out. Probably will move into a MIPS blue tooth helmet over the winter. I get a warning beep when cars are approaching which alerts me to look at the screen. I also get an all clear beep after traffic passes. If you have really good hearing and no wind noise this might not be necessary but was the deal breaker for me. I wish I could say the same for a Wahoo Elemnt which is under reporting my average speed and giving no ride data with the Wahoo livetrack. I hoped to get away from Garmin bugs but no such luck. Just traded two issues for two others. This combination above works with both Garmin and Wahoo. For safety's sake get one of these.
I was unaware of the product until very recently. On group rides on narrow roads a rider in front of me would call "CAR BACK" without mirrors and without looking back. I thought he had super-human hearing, as I didn't hear the car until much later. He told me about the Varia. It has never had a false-negative (ie NOTdetecting an approaching car) It will show another bike rider if he/she is closing on you ( I think this is a feature!) If other riders behind are at about the same speed, it won't alert. The only false-positives for approaching cars have been when on a frontage road to a highway, when approaching cars on the highway appear to be coming up behind you. This is the FIRST cycling upgrade my wife insisted I buy, as it adds to safety. I'm 61, so neither my hearing nor my flexibility to look back are improving. THIS IS A MUST HAVE for anyone that rides on narrow roads. GET IT, you can't afford not to.
I have had both the radar only and the radar plus light. The 515 turns my light and radar on which allows me to skip two activations in the back. A small plus. What makes it more convenient than the 315 is the 515 battery life is significantly longer. Less removals for charging. I know, I'm lazy. Other than that, they are both fine and I use now use the 515 all the time.
