Varia rear light worth it?

[Solocle]

Jesus I brought the square one - used for £40.

What extra features does this £350 have ?

Real estate, primarily. I don't have space for a dynamo light, cycliq fly 6 (old one I got for £25 off ebay), and a varia too. Even now it's tight, I'm looking at a saddlebag mounting for the dynamo.

Having it all in one package is a gamechanger for me, as it means I can use the varia, and then still have a spare camera light on really long rides. Image quality is substantially better too.

Since I've gone from no varia, it made sense for me.

 

[alex_cycles]

Jesus I brought the square one - used for £40.

What extra features does this £350 have ?

It's a rear-facing camera, radar and light all in one. DC Rainmaker wasn't very impressed with the value proposition either.
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/05/garmin-rct715-varia-rearview-bikelight-radar-camera-review.html

 

[kingrollo]

It's a rear-facing camera, radar and light all in one. DC Rainmaker wasn't very impressed with the value proposition either.
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/05/garmin-rct715-varia-rearview-bikelight-radar-camera-review.html

I like the idea - can't believe it's taken Garmin so long to be honest. I'd want it pretty much plug and play though.

 

[Mike_P]

They probably had it designed yonks ago but writing the overly complex and confusing standard Garmin software for it took ages. The crazy Bluetooth to the app to get a battery reading has stopped working on mine, not sure if it's the phone or the Varia but been though all steps again to get them to talk together without luck.

 

[alex_cycles]

I like the idea - can't believe it's taken Garmin so long to be honest. I'd want it pretty much plug and play though.

I'd want a top-notch camera for the kind of money though since it's £180 more than the Varia without camera. It doesn't have image stabilisation

 

[mikeIow]

I'd want a top-notch camera for the kind of money though since it's £180 more than the Varia without camera. It doesn't have image stabilisation

Curious…..that is a bit of a downer. I have been massively impressed with my 515, but you would expect a reasonable camera for double the price!

 

[mikeIow]

Amazon has garmin radar tail light on sale again, £119 when you click

Garmin Varia RTL515 Rearview Cycling Radar and Tail Light, UK​

Amazon product ASIN B08FTH4435View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08FTH4435?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=digidip03-21

That is a great price!

I've thought about it a couple of times, but just can't convince myself it would be useful.

Unless all your cycling is in cities or busy towns, I would say this is the most amazing cycle safety device 💪

Pair with a Garmin or Wahoo (I have a Roam) & you get incredible heads up without moving your head on what is happening behind. Can’t recommend it highly enough, & the reviews I read all came to the same conclusion: lots of “I was sceptical but won’t be cycling without one”. Which I firmly agree with 😎👍

The camera model, on the other hand, gets roundly panned for being rubbish…..

 

[cougie uk]

+1 for the radar. I paid almost that much just for the radar unit the other month. Incredibly useful on the road.

 

[Slick]

That is a great price!


Unless all your cycling is in cities or busy towns, I would say this is the most amazing cycle safety device 💪

Pair with a Garmin or Wahoo (I have a Roam) & you get incredible heads up without moving your head on what is happening behind. Can’t recommend it highly enough, & the reviews I read all came to the same conclusion: lots of “I was sceptical but won’t be cycling without one”. Which I firmly agree with 😎👍

The camera model, on the other hand, gets roundly panned for being rubbish…..

I commute in very mixed circumstances, which is why I thought about it as I don't mind cycling the first few miles in the morning but the last few miles at night are murder because of the traffic.

I think I will give it a go then, if you recommend it.

 

[Slick]

Looks like I'll have it tomorrow.

 

[mikeIow]

I commute in very mixed circumstances, which is why I thought about it as I don't mind cycling the first few miles in the morning but the last few miles at night are murder because of the traffic.

I think I will give it a go then, if you recommend it.

It will go a bit mad with traffic, but really, really useful in all other circumstances.
I paid £40 more & still feel it was value for me.
Used for 19d LEJoG and also a 7 day ride this year (see sig x the broken limb wasn’t mine 😉), as well as countless 1 day rides, mostly countryside.

I found it always gave great warnings.
If a car was ‘red’ (coming fast), I might ‘wobble’ a bit: the red light changes from a regular flash to a more insistent flash, & drivers always slowed.

If approaching a hazard (brow of hill, or somewhere I felt they should not overtake me), I might chose to move more into the road.
At some stage I might check behind me, but honestly, after some usage I came to trust it a LOT to help me, & when you do NOT look over your shoulder, cars tend to behave more (maybe they think you are deaf or old….half true for me!).

Just IMHO, of course: heavy traffic lessens the value as it will always trigger. I never cycle without mine on now! 2 years in….

 

[Mike_P]

Do not have a problem in traffic with mine, it initially bleeps, the display bar goes orange or red and stays so with the graphics of vehicles moving along it. You only get further bleeping if their is gap in the traffic. When it goes green it gives a good clue that it's likely to be easy to attempt that right turn coming up.

 

[november4]

I use it just with the free ridewithgps app, which is good but when on cycle lanes running parallel to dual carriage way I toggle off the connection to the unit to inhibit the audio alarm, as the radar beam has wide spread

On actual roads that have cars I have it on, it makes country roads so much safer, like having a rear view mirror. Still need to glance behind (side mirror) before turning right, but having warning of car barrelling up country road is so much safer

 

[mjr]

On actual roads that have cars I have it on, it makes country roads so much safer, like having a rear view mirror. Still need to glance behind (side mirror) before turning right, but having warning of car barrelling up country road is so much safer

It might feel safer but I don't know of evidence it is safer. Looking behind occasionally is still a good idea for many reasons. If you need or want a mirror, get one, maybe as well.

 

[Mike_P]

It might feel safer but I don't know of evidence it is safer. Looking behind occasionally is still a good idea for many reasons. If you need or want a mirror, get one, maybe as well.

Its safer in the context of getting a warning from some distance of an rear approaching vehicle and you can consequently judge your route ahead; which side of a pothole or rough surface to go. Also in busy traffic you know it's pointless looking back for the sake of it and instead you can keep an eye on whatever next the road surface is going to throw at you.