Garmin Varia RTL515 Radar 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.

Best purchase for my bike

I am so glad I finally caved in and bought this radar taillight! I really didn't think it'd work well but after using this 3 times now on 90-minute rides I can safely say it was 100% accurate. So far, I didn't experience any false positives or false negatives even on hills and turns. The rides were during clear weather and, one day, it was very cloudy weather. I use my cellphone using the Varia app, which easily and quickly synced with the device. I was pleasantly surprised that I could change the light settings (slow blinking, solid, fast blinking). It comes with three types of mounting adapters to fit your seat post-- I want to add that the mount does move around just a bit on rougher roads due to the rubberband-type of wrap, but not a big deal unless you have a ... MoreI am so glad I finally caved in and bought this radar taillight! I really didn't think it'd work well but after using this 3 times now on 90-minute rides I can safely say it was 100% accurate. So far, I didn't experience any false positives or false negatives even on hills and turns. The rides were during clear weather and, one day, it was very cloudy weather. I use my cellphone using the Varia app, which easily and quickly synced with the device. I was pleasantly surprised that I could change the light settings (slow blinking, solid, fast blinking). It comes with three types of mounting adapters to fit your seat post-- I want to add that the mount does move around just a bit on rougher roads due to the rubberband-type of wrap, but not a big deal unless you have a skinny seat post. The rear light seems bright enough (65 lumens) and the "car approaching" notification sound is pleasant and not annoying. More like a chime. You can turn it off in settings if you don't want to hear anything.

Frugal roadie thinks it's worth every cent

I'll keep this brief since every other review pretty much says the same thing. Driving my local roads I kept seeing this bright rear light and asked each cyclist "what is that light". Then "is it worth it" was met with emphatic YES from each one.I've been seeing cars with my eyes and ears for decades, but sometimes a headwind and deep gravel has cars sneaking up on me, and in remote roads the gravel is so deep to the right that I'm forced to ride more left, and that's when a car will get ya.Frugal and a bargain hunter who waits for Black Friday and the like, I paid msrp and have zero remorse. I'll still do my best to "see and hear" cars, but the Varia 515 is definitely worth every second and cent when it comes to my riding enjoyment and safety.Didn't want to ... MoreI'll keep this brief since every other review pretty much says the same thing. Driving my local roads I kept seeing this bright rear light and asked each cyclist "what is that light". Then "is it worth it" was met with emphatic YES from each one.I've been seeing cars with my eyes and ears for decades, but sometimes a headwind and deep gravel has cars sneaking up on me, and in remote roads the gravel is so deep to the right that I'm forced to ride more left, and that's when a car will get ya.Frugal and a bargain hunter who waits for Black Friday and the like, I paid msrp and have zero remorse. I'll still do my best to "see and hear" cars, but the Varia 515 is definitely worth every second and cent when it comes to my riding enjoyment and safety.Didn't want to give up my saddle bag. Varia upside down, two zip ties through bag's clip patch.

Gives confidence riding on country roads

Gives reliable warning of vehicles approaching from behind, particularly useful when wind noise or other vehicle noise drowns out the noise of approaching vehicles. Awesome on country roads, giving the confidence to dodge bumps and potholes knowing there is nothing approaching behind. Effective range is not massive but still adequate warning for 100 km/h zones. Paired with Wahoo Roam works well, providing visual and aural warning - the latter always heard despite wind noise.. Paired to Fenix 6 also does the same but quieter so can be easily missed. Tail light daylight flash reacts to the vehicle detection to catch the attention of drivers. Tail light is quite narrow beam and bright, so optimised for highway use. Easily attached/detached as it uses the Garmin ... MoreGives reliable warning of vehicles approaching from behind, particularly useful when wind noise or other vehicle noise drowns out the noise of approaching vehicles. Awesome on country roads, giving the confidence to dodge bumps and potholes knowing there is nothing approaching behind. Effective range is not massive but still adequate warning for 100 km/h zones. Paired with Wahoo Roam works well, providing visual and aural warning - the latter always heard despite wind noise.. Paired to Fenix 6 also does the same but quieter so can be easily missed. Tail light daylight flash reacts to the vehicle detection to catch the attention of drivers. Tail light is quite narrow beam and bright, so optimised for highway use. Easily attached/detached as it uses the Garmin computer mount system - plenty of after-market solutions available and no need to muck about with rubber bands every time a charge is needed.

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.

It was worth the money to make up for my poor hearing

The Garmin Varia RTL515 Radar Tail Light is accurate and performs well. On the city bike trails with busy streets running parallel, it will drive you nuts picking up all the traffic (when I mute it).I am hard of hearing and biking into the wind, I can’t hear vehicles approaching me (especially on gravel roads). This really helps me out especially on gravel roads alerting me when a car is approaching and I’m not aware of it. Like a second set of eyes.The only down side to this is that I cannot hear the alert tone at all when connected to my wahoo ELEMNT bolt (other cyclist can hear it though). So I open the Varia radar app and can hear it pretty well on my phone but I carry the phone in my rear jersey packet so Bluetooth it to a single earbud and it’s perfect.I ... MoreThe Garmin Varia RTL515 Radar Tail Light is accurate and performs well. On the city bike trails with busy streets running parallel, it will drive you nuts picking up all the traffic (when I mute it).I am hard of hearing and biking into the wind, I can’t hear vehicles approaching me (especially on gravel roads). This really helps me out especially on gravel roads alerting me when a car is approaching and I’m not aware of it. Like a second set of eyes.The only down side to this is that I cannot hear the alert tone at all when connected to my wahoo ELEMNT bolt (other cyclist can hear it though). So I open the Varia radar app and can hear it pretty well on my phone but I carry the phone in my rear jersey packet so Bluetooth it to a single earbud and it’s perfect.I also wish that it had two settings, one for in town and one for out of town where it would pick up cars farther away. This unit gives you about 5-6 seconds from detecting a car to when it passes you on a highway.

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.

Watching your back

The varia is a fantastic safety device. With a little experience you can gauge the speed at that a vehicle is approaching. If it suddenly disappears then re-appears it’s because it’s matching your speed waiting to overtake. When a vehicle is detected you can look over your shoulder to show them you know they’re there. And it picks them up way sooner than you can hear them. It’s also great knowing there’s nothing behind you so you can weave round potholes without worrying you’ll swerve into a passing vehicle. The rear light is bright any reacts to approaching vehicles by flashing quicker.I honestly think it makes road ridding safer. Drivers give you more respect and there are no sudden surprises. I can’t recommend this enough. Not cheap. But it’s a definite game ... MoreThe varia is a fantastic safety device. With a little experience you can gauge the speed at that a vehicle is approaching. If it suddenly disappears then re-appears it’s because it’s matching your speed waiting to overtake. When a vehicle is detected you can look over your shoulder to show them you know they’re there. And it picks them up way sooner than you can hear them. It’s also great knowing there’s nothing behind you so you can weave round potholes without worrying you’ll swerve into a passing vehicle. The rear light is bright any reacts to approaching vehicles by flashing quicker.I honestly think it makes road ridding safer. Drivers give you more respect and there are no sudden surprises. I can’t recommend this enough. Not cheap. But it’s a definite game changer. Really, buy one. You won’t regret it.