I bought the $100 Bryton Gardia (Varia competitor) - Ask me anything

[Likes2ridefar]

Took the plunge and will have a Bryton tomorrow to try out…

[RoosterCogset]

That's cool. At least we know that viral marketing is alive and kicking!

[Likes2ridefar]

More like an innate curiosity to test different things to come to my own conclusions.

[jkbrwn]

Good luck! I'm heading up to Santa Cruz to ride all week so the conditions will be very varied. Blind bends, Redwood's getting in the way of stuff, busier roads down in Santa Cruz.... More real world feedback to follow.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

The amount of people who want a Varia but only at $50 off boggles my mind.

As someone who picked up one from you at $50 dollars off perhaps I can shed some light on the calculus of such a decision. I was very much on the fence about getting one. I keep my bike spending within limits. What I spend on one thing is money not spent on another thing. I have other hobbies that cost money as well. The lower price was enough to trigger whatever emotional irrational tipping point was needed for me. I am not a collector or do I turn over bikes. No judgment, just not my thing. Been on bikes for a long time and love riding, I seek experiences not things.

When I make a purchase for myself, as a guy with a family, I have to live with it. This is true of all spending, so to your point: As a single purchase the 50 bucks does not matter much, but in a constellation of purchases the savings on each one, do add up. Not cheap but not reckless with money.

I am grateful for the deal you extended to us here and you are a standup person who was a pleasure to deal with.

Tried the radar today for the first time and it was great. I don’t expect it to save my life but it makes my riding experience much better when I am on quiet roads and can take space without constant shoulder checking.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

As a single purchase the 50 bucks does not matter, but in a constellation of purchases the savings on each one, do add up. Not cheap but not reckless with money.

A lot of people would be a lot happier if they understood this.
Is this worth the money you'll spend on it AND the money you won't have to spend on something else?
Things have two costs. The hard part is to balance income, expense, and want.

[mcteague]

The Varia is four years old so, with a bit of competition these days, I wonder if Garmin has an update in the works?

Tim

[caneye]

1. Does it allow 3rd party head-units (like my 530) to control the light settings?
scenario - dark winter mornings, switching from blinky to peloton mode for paceline training.

2. Will the pattern of flashing lights change with the distance of approaching vehicle?

I'm keeping an open mind.
I have a RCT715 that uses USB-C. It is a far superior product to the Fly6CE it replaced.
Have also had a couple of Bryton bike comps in the past (310 and 410). Solid reliable units.

TIA.

[avalonracing]

Originally Posted by superbowlpats

The Varia is the single best cycling purchase I have ever made.

Man, you guys must be lucky to have more quiet roads than I do. Where I ride in suburban Maryland that thing would basically have a solid tone from all the traffic I deal with.

[NHAero]

Originally Posted by caneye

Snip
I'm keeping an open mind.
I have a RCT715 that uses USB-C. It is a far superior product to the Fly6CE it replaced.
TIA.

My Fly6 died and was never very good. My Garmin Varia RTL500, the original little model, now loses its blinky after a couple of hours, while the radar still works. The battery is not replaceable without jailbreaking the unit. So, how is the video quality vs. the Fly 6, and how many hours of operation are you getting on a charge?

[NHAero]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

Because the value of having it sooner than later is, in this instance, easilyworth $50. If I had to pay $50 not to be without my Varia for a month (say mine was broken and I could rent one for $50) I would pay without hesitating.
And I am in the income range where $50 is, while thank goodness far from being make or break, still very meaningful.

But…if you’re thinking about one…wait…til the end of the month.

Is there a sale coming?
Do you use the one with video, and if so, how good is the video - can you read a license plate?

[jkbrwn]

Ok. Used it again today for 120k on some incredibly empty and one very busy road. Big trees basically everywhere obscuring bends even more and stuff.

I was passed by hundreds of cars. Worked flawlessly except for two small hiccups:

There was a car tailing another so so closely that it didn’t pick up the second car - it may as well have been on a trailer behind the first car, it was that close.

Another one did something similar to what I mentioned in the first post. Alerted of car presence, went round bend, car disappears from radar and did not reappear despite it still being there and ultimately passing me.

This is fine by me given it’s half the price of the Varia. As I said up thread, this is an aid, not a replacement for my eyes and ears.

[caneye]

Originally Posted by NHAero

My Fly6 died and was never very good. My Garmin Varia RTL500, the original little model, now loses its blinky after a couple of hours, while the radar still works. The battery is not replaceable without jailbreaking the unit. So, how is the video quality vs. the Fly 6, and how many hours of operation are you getting on a charge?

TBH, the RCT715 video quality is very ordinary. not the same level as Fly6CE.

run time is pretty good. I do not have camera recording in a loop.

radar + camera recording (only when triggered by radar) + flashing lights, I can get 5-6 hours.

Radar + camera only - I can get up to 7 hours.

On long audax rides (radar + camera) I will top up the RCT715 from a powerbank, during lunch stops, and will just about make it to 10 hours. I usually use an external flashing rear light instead of draining the RCT715.