Can One order Garmin Varias on 2022 Turbo Vado 4.0?

that bad part can see is if you have a garmin that its connected to and use the garmin on different bikes its going to be a pain. you would have to disable the radar or the garmin will sometimes loose the connection if it gets disconnected often.
This unit will be designated to a single bike.
 
Just released from Garmin... But no Specialized compatible cable as yet..

The Shimano cable will work, bit you will need the Y Cable splitter to get a 12V supply from the bike from what I have worked out. The Specs on the eRTL615 show input up to 12V, which this will give. The Shimano cable ends in bare wire, which would need to be attached to + and - .
 
Soooo would you want this if you knew where you were going ?
I'm not a fan of any extra electronic device on either of my e-bikes, and I ride two of them. Perhaps, I am an old school guy but the rear-view mirror works for me, and it is reasonable to stop and assess the road situation sometimes. I also ride rough terrain often and think the Varia would be the first thing to fall off my e-bike :)
 
I'm not a fan of any extra electronic device on either of my e-bikes, and I ride two of them. Perhaps, I am an old school guy but the rear-view mirror works for me, and it is reasonable to stop and assess the road situation sometimes. I also ride rough terrain often and think the Varia would be the first thing to fall off my e-bike :)
i'm a minimalist device wise too, but a light is a must. i definitely think bikes with an integrated light should integrate a varia (as specialized and others have in a few places) but if your bike doesn't already have a light, the varia isn't an extra device, it's a slightly bigger light. even if you don't connect it to your head unit or phone, you get the benefit of it flashing at cars as they approach, then going back to solid after. you've seen how clean my cockpit is :cool: no extra devices. one total.

i move both the varia and phone from creo to aethos and back and forth and it's never been any problem whatsoever.
 
i'm a minimalist device wise too, but a light is a must. i definitely think bikes with an integrated light should integrate a varia (as specialized and others have in a few places) but if your bike doesn't already have a light, the varia isn't an extra device, it's a slightly bigger light. even if you don't connect it to your head unit or phone, you get the benefit of it flashing at cars as they approach, then going back to solid after. you've seen how clean my cockpit is :cool: no extra devices. one total.

i move both the varia and phone from creo to aethos and back and forth and it's never been any problem whatsoever.
I'm in the comfortable position to own a Vado 6.0 equipped with Supernova lighting (includes the STOP indicator) and a Vado SL that also has adequate lighting. It might be different for a road bike solely ridden on roads with traffic :)
 
I use a Lupine Nano F headlight on my Creo using the Specialized Y-cable adapter part from the Vado SL. The Lupine e-bike compatability chart claims the SL 1.1 system can support up to 12V 8 W although the high beam on the Nano F is 14 watts which I only use at night on fast descents.
Specialized doesn't give the power allowables but based on the Vado SL 5.0:
Headlight Lezyne Ebike Power STVZO E115, 310Lumens, 12V input 6w
Taillight Lezyne Ebike Rear Fender STVZO, 11Lumens, 12V input 1.25w

The Garmin Varia™ eRTL615 lists it's specification at 6-12 V DC, 1.6W max. Seems like it would work. I use the older Garmin RTL 510 radar and it does okay for a longer outing sort of. I think the battery radars are optimized for a 2-3 hour rides. I prefer the lights and Varia to just be on with the bike and not have to think about charging additional devices.
 
… I think the battery radars are optimized for a 2-3 hour rides. I prefer the lights and Varia to just be on with the bike and not have to think about charging additional devices.

my varia goes with me on 5-6 hour rides, no problem. i don’t think it’s optimized for a 2-3 hour ride. it definitely wont last on full brightness for a 10 hour ride, for sure.
 
The Shimano cable will work, bit you will need the Y Cable splitter to get a 12V supply from the bike from what I have worked out. The Specs on the eRTL615 show input up to 12V, which this will give. The Shimano cable ends in bare wire, which would need to be attached to + and - .
There is an extra power port on my vado 4.0 2022 motor which I had assumed might be for the radar that Specialized provide (as standard on the vado 5, but apparently an option on the other vados of that year).

Anyone know if that is the case, and if you can get the correct specialized connector for it? (to maybe link to the shimano bare cable as DazMan suggests)
 
There is an extra power port on my vado 4.0 2022 motor which I had assumed might be for the radar that Specialized provide (as standard on the vado 5, but apparently an option on the other vados of that year).

Anyone know if that is the case, and if you can get the correct specialized connector for it? (to maybe link to the shimano bare cable as DazMan suggests)
The eRTL615 is not in UK stores as yet, but the Shimano cable was listed as extra on the Garmin website. Looking at the cable, I wonder if this is just a HIGO connection? If so, means you can pick up a bare wire connection for a few £ $ etc, rather than the huge price Garmin want
 
There is an extra power port on my vado 4.0 2022 motor which I had assumed might be for the radar that Specialized provide (as standard on the vado 5, but apparently an option on the other vados of that year).

Anyone know if that is the case, and if you can get the correct specialized connector for it? (to maybe link to the shimano bare cable as DazMan suggests)

No, they use a Y cable, not sure what it looks like though

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I'm not sure if it helps anyone, but I have information concerning the radar bracket. I bought two Turbo Vado 4.0 recently and one did not come with the rear reflector that attached to the underside of the rack. I called my LBS to discuss and stated that I want that bracket to ultimately install the Varia, not a reflector. They sent me the part. It is "CRR MY22 VADO GARMIN RADAR BRACKET WITH HARDWARE". The part number is S211700002 and the UPC is 888818814329. It appears to be identical to the bracket holding the reflector on my other bike.

I just checked the Specialized replacement parts site and it is listed there.
 
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There is an extra power port on my vado 4.0 2022 motor which I had assumed might be for the radar that Specialized provide (as standard on the vado 5, but apparently an option on the other vados of that year).

Anyone know if that is the case, and if you can get the correct specialized connector for it? (to maybe link to the shimano bare cable as DazMan suggests)
Which port ?
IMG_3923.jpeg
On the como 4.0 that has the same motor/lights setup, all ports are used
 
The eRVR315 also exists and looks awfully similar to what is on the como 5.0. they are used on Cannondale bikes (they also sell them as spares)

i find it unlikely they made unique parts for every OEM, the eRVR315 has a blue connector with 4 pins in the formation of a landscape rectangle with a pin on every corner (TCD is 5 pin green)

I have some rough ideas of how it all goes together, the y splitter is attached to the battery locking mechanism and runs upto the TCD, would be nice to have some more detailed schematic/drawings, mostly just been inferring off the few bits ive found.

i cannot find any photos of the actual y splitter pins, or any info of where each wire is routed as its actually a 3 way splitter and im not sure what the microsd card looking thing is, or where it goes. (Edit: i suspect is just a low-resolution image but its possible thats the connector for the HMI port on the motor.)

at a minimum, it does look like youd need to get access to the motor compartment, so not the easiest thing to add on. but it should be doable.
 
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The eRVR315 also exists and looks awfully similar to what is on the como 5.0. they are used on Cannondale bikes (they also sell them as spares)

i find it unlikely they made unique parts for every OEM, the eRVR315 has a blue connector with 4 pins in the formation of a landscape rectangle with a pin on every corner (TCD is 5 pin green)

I have some rough ideas of how it all goes together, the y splitter is attached to the battery locking mechanism and runs upto the TCD, would be nice to have some more detailed schematic/drawings, mostly just been inferring off the few bits ive found.

i cannot find any photos of the actual y splitter pins, or any info of where each wire is routed as its actually a 3 way splitter and im not sure what the microsd card looking thing is, or where it goes. (Edit: i suspect is just a low-resolution image but its possible thats the connector for the HMI port on the motor.)

at a minimum, it does look like youd need to get access to the motor compartment, so not the easiest thing to add on. but it should be doable.
Have a look at Garmin's website for the eRTL615. They do the Shimano cable that is just 2 wires, positive and negative. End of the day, this is just a link to the battery. The other stuff is sent via Ant+
 
Have a look at Garmin's website for the eRTL615. They do the Shimano cable that is just 2 wires, positive and negative. End of the day, this is just a link to the battery. The other stuff is sent via Ant+
ah, i would mention the eRVR315 lacks the ANT+ and BT symbols on the back, do you know if they still use ANT+ on this radar?

does the como 5.0 have a wireless radar? i assumed it likely didnt if they are going to the effort of connecting onto the TCD cable, as power is already supplied to the back via the rear brake light.

i was originally suspected something like Canbus being used given the 4 pins on the Radar plug and it just being split off the TCD cable. but its entirely possible they are just NC pins
 
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ah, i would mention the eRVR315 lacks the ANT+ and BT symbols on the back, do you know if they still use ANT+ on this radar?

does the como 5.0 have a wireless radar? i assumed it likely didnt if they are going to the effort of connecting onto the TCD cable, as power is already supplied to the back via the rear brake light.

i was originally suspected something like Canbus being used given the 4 pins on the Radar plug and it just being split off the TCD cable. but its entirely possible they are just NC pins

seems very unlikely that garmin would have engineered a completely different communication protocol for the wired varias, since most all bike head units / controllers have ANT+ and/or BTLE! but let us know what you discover those pins do. the integration i looked at was just DC power.
 
I can't imagine they would not be Ant+ / Bluetooth as other wise how would it sent to head unit they is not plugged into a bike. I did a quick search om eRVR315 and found the display unit advice as follows -
- Provides visual and audible alerts to warn of vehicles approaching from behind
- Garmin® Varia eRVR315
- Not required if using a Garmin headunit, Wahoo headunit, or other Varia compatible smart device.

Therefore, the unit has to be Ant+ / BT
 
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