Garmin Varia RTL515 Radar Rear Light

The neck and shoulder pain/tightness that I used to experience has gone. This is one of the best products I've purchased. It works really well and ideally should be coupled with a mirror. I'm using the Garmin 520 Edge Plus GPS so it only displays a dot and not whether it's a car or truck that's approaching but that's a minor gripe. Can't say it has provided any false negatives but I get the occasional false positive, a check in the mirror soon sorts that out, but sometimes it will disconnect a few times during a commute, although it automatically reconnects, and you have to reset the mode (if you prefer the flashing tail light). Battery life is around 9 hours or so. Overall, this is an excellent piece of equipment and makes you feel much safer on the road as you are ... MoreThe neck and shoulder pain/tightness that I used to experience has gone. This is one of the best products I've purchased. It works really well and ideally should be coupled with a mirror. I'm using the Garmin 520 Edge Plus GPS so it only displays a dot and not whether it's a car or truck that's approaching but that's a minor gripe. Can't say it has provided any false negatives but I get the occasional false positive, a check in the mirror soon sorts that out, but sometimes it will disconnect a few times during a commute, although it automatically reconnects, and you have to reset the mode (if you prefer the flashing tail light). Battery life is around 9 hours or so. Overall, this is an excellent piece of equipment and makes you feel much safer on the road as you are far more aware of traffic behind you with the added bonus that you greatly reduce the amount of shoulder checks that you need to do. Have been using for one year now.

Amazing product, awful mount, still 4.5 stars

First things first - the Varia is an incredible safety product. I most frequently ride alone on rural roads so this has been a game changer in terms of alerting me to rear approaching vehicles. Easy to pair and operate with my Wahoo Roam due to ANT+. Detection is top notch. My spouse is incredibly happy that I purchased this unit.Next, the standard post mount and the rubber bands are HORRIBLE. Garmin should be ashamed of bundling this mount. As many people have seat bags, trunk bags, dropper posts, or even all of those things, the mount is useless and the flimsy rubber bands are an insult and a lost/broken device waiting to happen. Fortunately there is an entire subculture on Amazon, Etsy, eBay etc. dedicated to fixing that issue. However getting proper mounts ... MoreFirst things first - the Varia is an incredible safety product. I most frequently ride alone on rural roads so this has been a game changer in terms of alerting me to rear approaching vehicles. Easy to pair and operate with my Wahoo Roam due to ANT+. Detection is top notch. My spouse is incredibly happy that I purchased this unit.Next, the standard post mount and the rubber bands are HORRIBLE. Garmin should be ashamed of bundling this mount. As many people have seat bags, trunk bags, dropper posts, or even all of those things, the mount is useless and the flimsy rubber bands are an insult and a lost/broken device waiting to happen. Fortunately there is an entire subculture on Amazon, Etsy, eBay etc. dedicated to fixing that issue. However getting proper mounts took me a couple of weeks and extra money I didn't give to Garmin, who could have addressed this up front. I would give it 9 out of 5 stars for the unit, ZERO for the mount, for an average of 4.5. A USB-C charging port would have been appreciated as well.

Early warning system

Arrived promptly, easy to set up, came with various inserts for different seat posts. Connected easily to my Garmin Edge 520 Plus bike computer. Audio alert on the computer is about right although the graphics are a little small. Initially downloaded the Vario app but it didn’t really add anything as I am not using the phone as a bike computer so deleted the app as the device works fine without it. It shows how many cars are behind you and their relative distances so you can anticipate when they will pass you. Occasionally an alert states that at the radar is disconnected but as the system keeps on working I just ignore or cancel the alert. If you are cycling in a peloton riders behind you can partially obstruct the radar so it doesn’t alarm as early and it will ... MoreArrived promptly, easy to set up, came with various inserts for different seat posts. Connected easily to my Garmin Edge 520 Plus bike computer. Audio alert on the computer is about right although the graphics are a little small. Initially downloaded the Vario app but it didn’t really add anything as I am not using the phone as a bike computer so deleted the app as the device works fine without it. It shows how many cars are behind you and their relative distances so you can anticipate when they will pass you. Occasionally an alert states that at the radar is disconnected but as the system keeps on working I just ignore or cancel the alert. If you are cycling in a peloton riders behind you can partially obstruct the radar so it doesn’t alarm as early and it will alert on a cyclist fast approaching from behind.

Garmin Varia RTL515 Radar with Tail-light

The neck and shoulder pain/tightness that I used to experience has gone. This is one of the best products I've purchased. It works really well and ideally should be coupled with a mirror. I'm using the Garmin 520 Edge Plus GPS so it only displays a dot and not whether it's a car or truck that's approaching but that's a minor gripe. Can't say it has provided any false negatives but I get the occasional false positive, a check in the mirror soon sorts that out, but sometimes it will disconnect a few times during a commute, although it automatically reconnects, and you have to reset the mode (if you prefer the flashing tail light). Battery life is around 9 hours or so. Overall, this is an excellent piece of equipment and makes you feel much safer on the road as you are ... MoreThe neck and shoulder pain/tightness that I used to experience has gone. This is one of the best products I've purchased. It works really well and ideally should be coupled with a mirror. I'm using the Garmin 520 Edge Plus GPS so it only displays a dot and not whether it's a car or truck that's approaching but that's a minor gripe. Can't say it has provided any false negatives but I get the occasional false positive, a check in the mirror soon sorts that out, but sometimes it will disconnect a few times during a commute, although it automatically reconnects, and you have to reset the mode (if you prefer the flashing tail light). Battery life is around 9 hours or so. Overall, this is an excellent piece of equipment and makes you feel much safer on the road as you are far more aware of traffic behind you with the added bonus that you greatly reduce the amount of shoulder checks that you need to do. Have been using for one year now.

Great device to make cycling safer on roads.

I feel much safer on roads with the Varia. It not only tells me when something is coming (sound and picture) it lets me know how many and how fast. Also, it gets brighter when it senses something coming up. It seemed like cars slowed down more and gave me more space than usual. The battery life is good. I did a 40 mile ride on roads and still had 50% left. Only a couple of down sides. It is annoying if you are on a busy road as it is constantly going off, but I try to avoid these roads. If you are not the last cyclist in a group, it will go off if a cyclist behind you is going faster than you. It does not designate between a cyclist and a car. Also, if a car starts going the same speed as you it will turn green even though the car is still back there. Also, you ... MoreI feel much safer on roads with the Varia. It not only tells me when something is coming (sound and picture) it lets me know how many and how fast. Also, it gets brighter when it senses something coming up. It seemed like cars slowed down more and gave me more space than usual. The battery life is good. I did a 40 mile ride on roads and still had 50% left. Only a couple of down sides. It is annoying if you are on a busy road as it is constantly going off, but I try to avoid these roads. If you are not the last cyclist in a group, it will go off if a cyclist behind you is going faster than you. It does not designate between a cyclist and a car. Also, if a car starts going the same speed as you it will turn green even though the car is still back there. Also, you cannot share with 2 Bluetooth devices (smartphones). You can share between a Bluetooth and ANT+ device or multiple ANT+ devices. The major down side is that the only mounts it comes with are for round objects, such as your seat post. I was on a trip with a rack and panniers, so this wouldn't work. I fixed it easily by cutting a rectangle from some stiff plastic, remove the round mount, attach it to the plastic and attach that to the rack. I also mounted it upside down to give me more tire clearance and it didn't affect it.

Great for keeping safe on the road

The radar function alerts you on your Garmin computer when there's traffic behind you. It beeps and displays a series of moving marks indicating relative position and speed. Not a 100% substitute for watching behind but it's a great early warning to be aware that cars are approaching. It seems to be able to track as many as five cars back there. The pickup range is fairly wide - if riding on a path next to the road it'll still pick up cars. In addition, the flashing red taillight changes its patterns when cars approach for maximum notice. It's designed to mount to the seatpost but I mounted mine to my Topeak seat bag. I'm getting about five or six hours on a charge and when the battery goes low it alerts you on your computer. Definitely recommend this for anyone who ... MoreThe radar function alerts you on your Garmin computer when there's traffic behind you. It beeps and displays a series of moving marks indicating relative position and speed. Not a 100% substitute for watching behind but it's a great early warning to be aware that cars are approaching. It seems to be able to track as many as five cars back there. The pickup range is fairly wide - if riding on a path next to the road it'll still pick up cars. In addition, the flashing red taillight changes its patterns when cars approach for maximum notice. It's designed to mount to the seatpost but I mounted mine to my Topeak seat bag. I'm getting about five or six hours on a charge and when the battery goes low it alerts you on your computer. Definitely recommend this for anyone who rides on the road.

Great idea but......

Bought this over a month ago. It's easy to set up and when it works it give u really useful info about vehicles approaching from behind.However, I am constantly getting error message 9 which is to do with a radar overload. This stays on screen even though it still recognises vehicles approaching, which takes up c20% of the screen and doesn't disappear.The radar also moves about a lot. I have a round seat tube and although u get a range of fixings tor various seat posts the round seat post holder and band just doesn't hold it in place. It's not a huge thing but it's annoying.Overall it's looks good but found the radar issue occurs on nearly half the rides I go on and compared to other garmin products it just doesn't fit too well on the seat post and along with ... MoreBought this over a month ago. It's easy to set up and when it works it give u really useful info about vehicles approaching from behind.However, I am constantly getting error message 9 which is to do with a radar overload. This stays on screen even though it still recognises vehicles approaching, which takes up c20% of the screen and doesn't disappear.The radar also moves about a lot. I have a round seat tube and although u get a range of fixings tor various seat posts the round seat post holder and band just doesn't hold it in place. It's not a huge thing but it's annoying.Overall it's looks good but found the radar issue occurs on nearly half the rides I go on and compared to other garmin products it just doesn't fit too well on the seat post and along with the bugs means it's a little disappointing.

OK BUT NOT A MIRROR REPLACEMENT

The radar unit is a useful safety adjunct but it must be used with caution and definitely don't throw your mirror away! The rear facing radar will, at times, fail to signal on coming vehicles. I have had 2 "false negatives" on my first 2 rides. The first was a school bus that failed to register, it may have been going too slow. Next, I got a car quickly approaching and after it passed the it signaled clear but there were 2 other cars following the lead car that were not recognized.Both incidents are understandable and I can understand why slow moving vehicles and tailgaters will fail to register. While I still like using the radar I recommend understanding its limitations be purchasing and using. And definitely still check your mirror before moving into a risky ... MoreThe radar unit is a useful safety adjunct but it must be used with caution and definitely don't throw your mirror away! The rear facing radar will, at times, fail to signal on coming vehicles. I have had 2 "false negatives" on my first 2 rides. The first was a school bus that failed to register, it may have been going too slow. Next, I got a car quickly approaching and after it passed the it signaled clear but there were 2 other cars following the lead car that were not recognized.Both incidents are understandable and I can understand why slow moving vehicles and tailgaters will fail to register. While I still like using the radar I recommend understanding its limitations be purchasing and using. And definitely still check your mirror before moving into a risky situation.

This is not a gimmick, this thing is the real deal!

I've had my Garmin Varia tail light for 3 years now, so I feel pretty confident in saying this is not a gimmick and I absolutely love this thing. So much so that I just bought another for my wife's bike.Light Quality: It is extremely bright and catches attention from drivers. It has a couple of solid light modes, as well as a flash pattern, which is what I will use anytime I am not riding in a group. When running it on flash, the light lasts about 15 hours of runtime.Radar Quality:Before I dive into the radar part of the review, I need to caveat this by saying that I live in a pretty rural area; often I will go 5-10 minutes of riding without seeing a single car. I personally believe this is the absolute best use case for this device. As a rider on very rural ... MoreI've had my Garmin Varia tail light for 3 years now, so I feel pretty confident in saying this is not a gimmick and I absolutely love this thing. So much so that I just bought another for my wife's bike.Light Quality: It is extremely bright and catches attention from drivers. It has a couple of solid light modes, as well as a flash pattern, which is what I will use anytime I am not riding in a group. When running it on flash, the light lasts about 15 hours of runtime.Radar Quality:Before I dive into the radar part of the review, I need to caveat this by saying that I live in a pretty rural area; often I will go 5-10 minutes of riding without seeing a single car. I personally believe this is the absolute best use case for this device. As a rider on very rural roads I can get pretty complacent with so few cars around; I will ride more toward the center of the road since I am not expecting cars that frequently. This device keeps me honest and has never failed to alert me of a car with 150ish yards (given clear line of sight) behind me; well before I would hear it myself given road bike speeds. Even when I am up front on a group ride, if this device catches a line of sight through the group behind me I will be notified. It's kind of funny to be the guy in the front of the group telling the riders behind about a car off the back (lol).If I lived in the city or a place where cars were constantly passing me the alerts would be pretty annoying and unnecessary as one would just always be expecting cars anyways.I would give this device a 10/10 for functionality, it is amazing. I would say this is a must have for those in less populated areas, but maybe not as great for those who only ride around the city or other heavily trafficked areas. Also would love to see Garmin update this to have a USB-C port.Also, while this thing is incredibly accurate, please don't ever solely rely on it, always check over your shoulder :)

Why did I wait this long to get a radar?

Great light unit that notifies when vehicles approach from behind. Not to completely disregard shoulder checking but this unit is a godsend when riding solo as I become more aware of vehicles behind, especially the ones approaching faster than normal. In my use thus far, it has not missed a beat other than when instances where a car might behind you for some time where unit detects no car only to be surprised that they're still there when they overtake you. Otherwise, it works really well. It's got a bright light too compared to my Knog blinder so this adds a little more confidence riding close to dawn/dusk. I wish I had jumped the bandwagon years ago and purchased this unit as it's such an impressive unit for road cycling.