ooh new garmin radar with a camera now.

[WattsUpDude]

Rear radar isn’t for preventing motorists from hitting you (except that the lights will go into rapid flashing mode as a car approaches to further draw attention). What it does is make you a much safer rider by letting you know when it’s okay to merge or make that turn without having to constantly look behind you for approaching traffic to clear. It gives the rider much more awareness of what’s going on behind them. And I absolutely trust Varia more than a mirror when that would require me to take my focus of off what’s in front of me. The programming errs on the side of caution. It will alert you to objects that are coming towards you that are moving at speeds greater than you even if it’s just a jogger or a dog.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I've just heard a very positive report on Garmin Varia from a friend who is a road/gravel cyclist and spends a lot of his riding time on the pavement outside cities. Bear in mind the rear-view mirrors for road bikes are not really practical, and he spends most of his ride time only seeing the road surface and the front wheel. He was enthusiastic about the Varia for his applications (he said the Varia ignores other members of the peloton). He, however, said Garmin Varia made a little sense for him inside the city (too many moving objects).

Now please tell me for how many hours the battery lasts in Garmin Varia. Necessary to mention I am often for 10 hours with the e-bike on my trip. Wahoo ELEMNT Roam is good for 17 hours. Garmin Varia?

 

[fooferdoggie]

I've just heard a very positive report on Garmin Varia from a friend who is a road/gravel cyclist and spends a lot of his riding time on the pavement outside cities. Bear in mind the rear-view mirrors for road bikes are not really practical, and he spends most of his ride time only seeing the road surface and the front wheel. He was enthusiastic about the Varia for his applications (he said the Varia ignores other members of the peloton). He, however, said Garmin Varia made a little sense for him inside the city (too many moving objects).

Now please tell me for how many hours the battery lasts in Garmin Varia. Necessary to mention I am often for 10 hours with the e-bike on my trip. Wahoo ELEMNT Roam is good for 17 hours. Garmin Varia?

you ride 10 hours where you need a radar? come on now. 16 hour in day flash mode so you cant outride it.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

16 hour in day flash mode so you cant outride it.

Thank you! The official spec was only 5 hours so I was surprised.
P.S. Let me tell you something: my brother is setting off for an Imperial Century ride tomorrow. Over 8 hours of pedalling on roads net. Beat it.

 

[6zfshdb]

want one but man expensive.

Garmin Varia™ RCT715 | Rearview Bike Radar with Camera

Varia RCT715 is a rearview bike radar with a tail light and camera that continuously records your ride and saves footage if an incident is detected.

www.garmin.com

I can understand the usefulness of the Varia radar but I don't see the camera being practical. Although the Varia is compatible with my Garmin Edge 1030, I use it to display a map or stats. By the time I fumble around with the GPS buttons to switch to a camera image, I could easily check my rear view mirror when I get a radar alert.

How do you use the camera? Is there a feature which automatically switches the display on the Edge, or other compatible device, to camera mode when an alert occurs?

I suppose another compatible viewing device could be used but that adds $$ and takes up more bar space.

 

[WattsUpDude]

I think the Varia is great for city riding. It does not keep making audible alerts for every passing car. What it does is give you one audible alert if it sees one car or a group of cars. If it’s one car, it will alert you that is approaching and then give an all clear tone when it’s done passing you. The same applies for a group of cars, one alert to let you know they’re approaching and one all clear tone when the entire group is done passing. On the app display, it will show you how many cars it identifies behind you and will even display which cars are traveling faster than the others. It’s really intuitive and not at all complex. It gives you just enough information to make moves safely in traffic.

And yes, the light does last quite a while if using flashing mode; solid mode takes more power since it’s always on. My commutes are just over an hour round trip and I charge it just once a week even though it still has many hours left.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I know Garmin Varia would work with a Wahoo ELEMNT Roam (the vertical row of LEDs is for the visual indication of the traffic behind you). As I have got rid of the smartphone from the bars, could someone tell me how the older Varia would work with just the bike GPS computer, no smartphone app?

 

[DaveMatthews]

I can understand the usefulness of the Varia radar but I don't see the camera being practical. Although the Varia is compatible with my Garmin Edge 1030, I use it to display a map or stats. By the time I fumble around with the GPS buttons to switch to a camera image, I could easily check my rear view mirror when I get a radar alert.

How do you use the camera? Is there a feature which automatically switches the display on the Edge, or other compatible device, to camera mode when an alert occurs?

I suppose another compatible viewing device could be used but that adds $$ and takes up more bar space.

I don't believe the camera is visible live/on demand on an Edge device or phone. The phone app will display the camera image during setup though.

 

[fooferdoggie]

looks like a ways till its a great product

 

[rayray]

Well, that was certainly a detailed review.

I’ll pass, due in part to the fact I have a Wahoo computer, so no camera interface. But, also because fiddling with the camera functions during a ride doesn’t seem easy or safe, and the incident-save triggers too easily (per the reviewer). It seems they could have at least programmed it to recognize that the bike is still moving, thus deleting the “incident”.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Nice review. I never leave the house without the Varia attached to the rear of the bike. I actually convinced my wife to get one for her bike but instead she uses the Varia/ridewithgps phone apps to monitor traffic as she doesn’t have a Garmin/Wahoo head unit.

Personally, I don’t see having one of these new units would offer me any benefit based on the video review. I have an older Garmin 520 + and I’m more than happy with the setup from a practical standpoint when teamed up with the RVR 315. If I really wanted to record footage, like @WattsUpDude, I could always mount a GoPro to a saddle mount and control it with its own remote to save on battery life. Stabilization would also be superior to the Garmin Varia camera.

 

[mschwett]

Thank you! The official spec was only 5 hours so I was surprised.
P.S. Let me tell you something: my brother is setting off for an Imperial Century ride tomorrow. Over 8 hours of pedalling on roads net. Beat it.

the battery life ranges from 5-16 hours depending on what mode you have selected for the light. the radar side of it uses very little power, it's all about the light. i use the day flash mode and have never had it run out of battery if charged before the ride, including my longest ride. i use it with an iphone and the rideWithGPS or Cadence cycling app.

varia lasted through this: