New Garmin eRTL615 ebike radar

[Dazmanturbo]

Hello all. I see the Garmin today released the eRTL615 ebike radar, that works directly off the ebike main battery. I currently use the RTL515 and I love this bit of kit, up until the battery goes flat. The kits I have seen so far are for Bosch, Shimano and USB-a. Wonder if we can use the Shimano on to install on Creo?

 

[fooferdoggie]

thats cool. but if you have multiple bikes and say a garmin gps it can be a pain. you would have to go in and turn off the connection to the radar on one bike and onto the other one.
it looks like you could just splice it into the tail light wire. well actually replace the taillight with the radar. ouch an extra 100.00

 

[gpburdell]

thats cool. but if you have multiple bikes and say a garmin gps it can be a pain. you would have to go in and turn off the connection to the radar on one bike and onto the other one.

Why would you need to do that?

Does Garmin not support multiple ANT+ radar devices like they support multiples of myriad other devices like e-bikes and power meters?

 

[fooferdoggie]

Why would you need to do that?

Does Garmin not support multiple ANT+ radar devices like they support multiples of myriad other devices like e-bikes and power meters?

yes but garmin does not like it if you have something connected especially a light then leave it behind. its ok once in awhile but over and over and it can become disconnected. ANT lights have been a issue everything else is fine. so I found I always had to transfer lights and radar between bikes to keep then connected well. it may not be as bad now but I have not needed to do it anymore.

 

[gpburdell]

Seems like the radar won’t be powered on the bike you’re not riding, so it wouldn’t be connected as you left out on the other bike?

Anyway, I wouldn't be concerned given how my Edge 830 handles the myriad ANT+ stuff on my three bikes.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Seems like the radar won’t be powered on the bike you’re not riding, so it wouldn’t be connected as you left out on the other bike?

Anyway, I wouldn't be concerned given how my Edge 830 handles the myriad ANT+ stuff on my three bikes.

its not the normal ant stuff thats Fine jumping from bike to bike unless you get two cadence sensors picked up at once or such. ant lights is a different story because its two way communication. have had a bunch of them and they are all finicky on setting up and if they are not alway connected staying connected and setup. maybe its not as bad as it was but not sure. I know it's always best to power off the Garmin before changing bikes as it does not always pick up devices when you change.

 

[mschwett]

Hello all. I see the Garmin today released the eRTL615 ebike radar, that works directly off the ebike main battery. I currently use the RTL515 and I love this bit of kit, up until the battery goes flat. The kits I have seen so far are for Bosch, Shimano and USB-a. Wonder if we can use the Shimano on to install on Creo?

oh wow, that’s a very slick looking varia! would love to do some work integrating one of these into my creo.

i‘m sure the adapter cable they’re referring to is for bikes with the shimano eBike motor/battery, so some custom cable work is probably required to wire to specialized‘s system.

 

[Dazmanturbo]

The main cable concern I have is that Garmin have installation video for the Bosch / Shimano and they both plug into light port, which the SL 1.1 does not have. I presume it will just need plus and minus (at the correct voltage) as the power button will hand on / off. My main concern with this is that the Y harness available for the lights is 12V, where as USB is normally 5V??

 

[Dazmanturbo]

I have just checked the specs on Garmin website and it state will accept up to 12V input, so the Y harness for light will work..........however Garmin's pricing makes no sense. The RTL515 is $200 and I can find this for £130 in the UK. The new eRTL615 is $300, but you get less. There is no battery in the unit, uses the same light patterns and radar as 515 and only comes with a Go Pro style mount. So for $100, you get less !! Yes, I can see the shape is different, so requires new body and the like, but does this equate to $100? Great idea, but would only consider if on good sale. I got my RTL515 for £100 so will not pay much over that.

 

[gpburdell]

I have just checked the specs on Garmin website and it state will accept up to 12V input, so the Y harness for light will work..........however Garmin's pricing makes no sense. The RTL515 is $200 and I can find this for £130 in the UK. The new eRTL615 is $300, but you get less. There is no battery in the unit, uses the same light patterns and radar as 515 and only comes with a Go Pro style mount. So for $100, you get less !! Yes, I can see the shape is different, so requires new body and the like, but does this equate to $100? Great idea, but would only consider if on good sale. I got my RTL515 for £100 so will not pay much over that.

Remember that pricing for non-commodity products is far more related to the benefit to the buyer than the cost to make the product. Plus you're comparing the street price of a three year old product that Garmin's marked down by 25% to a newly announced product's MSRP....

This product seems aimed at the buyer who wants to install the radar to their ebike and never worry about keeping it charged; similar to the various ebike front and rear lights. Now *you* may not see that benefit as being worth the cost, but the market is broad and I anticipate there's a lot of ebike buyers who would choose to have the shop add this to their new ebike.

Other than choosing a Vado 5.0 over 4.0, I'm unaware of any other product providing that particular benefit. If you know of one please post a link to it.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Hello all. I see the Garmin today released the eRTL615 ebike radar, that works directly off the ebike main battery. I currently use the RTL515 and I love this bit of kit, up until the battery goes flat. The kits I have seen so far are for Bosch, Shimano and USB-a. Wonder if we can use the Shimano on to install on Creo?

I would also appreciate having this connected to my own e-road ride. An older RVR 315 has served me well but it would be nice to see more collaborative integration on bikes such as Garmin has done on my wife’s analog C-Dale Synapse.

 

[merulu]

I'm trying to figure out if this would work on a Como 4.0 and am pretty unfamiliar with ebike connections/wiring. Based on the conversation here so far, it seems like the unit should work powered by whatever the light port is on the motor. Not sure if anyone knows the answers to these questions, but:

• Is there a free light port on the Specialized 2.0 motor? If not, seems like some kind of Y-splitter might be in order.
• Is the connector coming out of the Garmin device some kind of standard connector? (Maybe I can find a cable that will work)
• Could something like this work? https://www.magicshine.us/product/magicshine-brose-light-connection-cable/

 

[Dazmanturbo]

 

[merulu]

I'm not sure what the image represents. The split ends don't look like they're the right shape to connect to the Garmin? But hard to tell.

 

[gpburdell]

The key would be it getting 12V out of the bike via the Y. Then modify one of the other Garmin cables to plug into the leads.

Or some enterprising soul will identify the connector Garmin uses and make an adapter cable to sell.