Bike RADAR - for other bikes

[stompandgo]

You ride mostly off-road, where a device like this would not add a lot of value. Those of us that ride on roads with motor vehicles around us, and on trails that have been invaded by Sur-Rons, get great value out of knowing what is approaching behind you and how quickly. I also don't ride without a mirror, but you can't ride staring at the mirror all day. I use both.

RearVue 820 thread

 

[Chargeride]

You ride mostly off-road, where a device like this would not add a lot of value. Those of us that ride on roads with motor vehicles around us, and on trails that have been invaded by Sur-Rons, get great value out of knowing what is approaching behind you and how quickly. I also don't ride without a mirror, but you can't ride staring at the mirror all day. I use both.

RearVue 820 thread

I read they beep as well, it seems to me the alerts need a better user interface, like maybe a vibrating seat or bars.
Left buttock..car
Right buttock..Surron on the sidewalk

 

[6zfshdb]

I read they beep as well, it seems to me the alerts need a better user interface, like maybe a vibrating seat or bars.
Left buttock..car
Right buttock..Surron on the sidewalk

I pair the Rear Vue 820 with my Garmin Fenix watch. It alerts on the watch face, beeps and vibrates. The watch face also displays what is coming, but it isn't as detailed as a GPS screen or head unit.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I bought the Garmin Rear Vue 820 and the jury is still out on it's performance. I'm experimenting with different mounting schemes and so far, it detects rear approaching cyclists about half the time.

The Garmin RearVue 820 not only detects bicycles, it displays bicycles, cars, and large motor vehicles differently on your head unit.

Thanks, guys, but now my head hurts. How are we to reconcile these very different experiences with the exact same Garmin radar? @6zfshdb , did yours accidentlly fall into a puddle at some point?

 

[6zfshdb]

Thanks, guys, but now my head hurts. How are we to reconcile these very different experiences with the exact same Garmin radar? @6zfshdb , did yours accidentlly fall into a puddle at some point?

I think a lot has to do with the trails I ride. I don't ride on roads, so I can't offer any real experience there.

 

[Aushiker]

The Garmin RearVue 820 not only detects bicycles, it displays bicycles, cars, and large motor vehicles differently on your head unit. It also shows two lanes of traffic to your left when riding on the road. What it does not do well is control alerting when riding in a group. Peloton mode only affects the light output, not the radar. It is useless on group rides, at least with the current level of firmware.

Would it be correct to say that the display features are native to a Garmin head unit?

 

[stompandgo]

Would it be correct to say that the display features are native to a Garmin head unit?

Yes and no. The advanced features that I talked about, like multiple lane detection, multiple threat identification, etc. require that the RearVue be paired to the head unit via Secure Bluetooth, which requires multiple firmware updates on both the RearVue and the head unit before it will work. As far as I know, this connection type is only available on Garmin Edge x40 and x50 head units. If you have an older model Garmin, the RearVue will pair via ANT+, and the display is the single line of dots that the older Varia models have always showed. I do not know if other brands of head units are capable of the advanced features.