Gamin Varia Review

[LJohnny]

Originally Posted by Wakatel_Luum

From some recent rides I've noticed...

I've been riding in a busy coastal city/suburban area and do not miss the Varia when riding there as it's a pain with lot's of traffic.

Also with the Varia I noticed if a car trails me at a certain angle/position waiting to pass, the Varia cannot pick up the car until it starts to move past me. Basically it disappears and the Varia goes green.

Otherwise I use it in less busy roads.

Yup, if the object is at the same speed as the bike riders it will disappear until the relative speed changes. That is nothing peculiar to the Varia, but how radars work.

Agree, the cycling radar is most useful in semi-rural areas where cars are more interspersed, otherwise is constant ping and can be counterproductive in fact.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by nmrt

Would I still need to purchase one if on my ride of 3 hours a total of about 10-15 cars pass me?

During my 30 mile (mostly) gravel ride on Saturday, one car nearly brushed me and another passed at high speed. I might have seen a total of 30 cars (other than the everpresent PMC support vehicles)

The first car convinced me that I need to get one!

[mdeth1313]

I'd love to buy one, but the battery life and lack of ability to replace are a major issue for me. I need that thing to work for over 10 hours.

[buddybikes]

Originally Posted by mdeth1313

I'd love to buy one, but the battery life and lack of ability to replace are a major issue for me. I need that thing to work for over 10 hours.

Get more life out of your radar with up to 16 hours of battery life in day flash mode.

You can adjust how you want the settings...

[Nomadmax]

I live in a semi rural area so the Varia helps me a lot. The areas it helps me the most are:

Just knowing a vehicle is there, my hearing isn't what it used to be. It's even worse when there's wind.

Seeing the approach speed of a vehicle allows me to do a head check and look at vehicles approaching fast. When drivers think you've seen them, IE their face, 9 times out of 10 they act differently by giving more room or waiting to pass when they shouldn't be passing at all.

When descending and line changes are needed, a quick look with the eyes at the screen confirms (at least most probably) nothing is behind me. It takes less time to do that vs a head check. Less time with the eyes off the road = not getting surprised by a road imperfection.

I absolutely railed against this thing when the first one showed up in my cycling circle. "Useless" was the kindest thing I said about it.

Man was I wrong.

EDIT 10 hours is easy in day light flash mode, even longer if you choose no flash via your Garmin head unit and use another blinky light.

[truth]

Originally Posted by mdeth1313

I'd love to buy one, but the battery life and lack of ability to replace are a major issue for me. I need that thing to work for over 10 hours.

Buy two!

[fried bake]

Originally Posted by LJohnny

Yup, if the object is at the same speed as the bike riders it will disappear until the relative speed changes. That is nothing peculiar to the Varia, but how radars work.

Agree, the cycling radar is most useful in semi-rural areas where cars are more interspersed, otherwise is constant ping and can be counterproductive in fact.

most of my riding is urban riding and I find it extremely useful and not at all counterproductive. My brain resets to looking at the screen or monitoring the noise when I need to make important decisions such as avoid a pothole or turn left or if I’m steaming downhill approaching a light, otherwise it fades into the background.

[benb]

The settings are complex/confusing and seem to have different steps to take depending on what you pair the lights to so I can see how it would be tricky for some.

I put the UT800 + varia on my commuter this morning and rode to work in heavy traffic. I did not find the alerts particularly distracting and it definitely still helped me get some more space.

The UT800 seemed to default to "shine continuously on high" but once I put the light network in "Auto" mode it started doing a daytime blink. My Varia seems to have always defaulted to a blink so I guess I need to figure out how to tell the daytime and nighttime blink modes apart.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by fried bake

most of my riding is urban riding and I find it extremely useful and not at all counterproductive. My brain resets to looking at the screen or monitoring the noise when I need to make important decisions such as avoid a pothole or turn left or if I’m steaming downhill approaching a light, otherwise it fades into the background.

agree.. I'm often on busier roads during parts of my ride and, while I assume there is a car back, the Varia confirms and lets me know how many cars are back and when they have passed.. I find that useful for sure.. of course, the downside to using it in higher traffic areas is the constant radar pickups can shorten battery life.. but I don't do 10 hr rides, so I should be good.

*I wish I had time to train and do 10 hr rides though!

[benb]

I am still getting used to it but knowing how far back the vehicles are or that it's clear is amazing when it comes to taking a left on a multi-lane road where you have to make multiple lane changes to get over to the left side.

[veloduffer]

For those who don't have enough seatpost, I purchased on Ebay a KOM saddle bag with a Garmin attachment. The Varia fits solidly and at the proper angle.

I was a doubter about the Varia but have always struggled with mirrors (they either vibrate too much or difficult to adjust like eyeglass types). Now that I have owned one for about 3 years, I feel a bit naked/blind without it. While I ride in more rural NJ, many roads don't have a shoulder so it helps to know how many cars are behind me.

[Baron Blubba]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you ride on roads of any kind, there is no good reason not to own this. And like someone said a few posts back, get the version with the light, even if you already have a good light.
Even at full price, it's the best bargain in cycling outside of a helmet.

[fourflys]

I'd be pretty tempted by this if I didn't use a bar bag.. but I do like the convenience of the bar bag..

Originally Posted by veloduffer

For those who don't have enough seatpost, I purchased on Ebay a KOM saddle bag with a Garmin attachment. The Varia fits solidly and at the proper angle.

I was a doubter about the Varia but have always struggled with mirrors (they either vibrate too much or difficult to adjust like eyeglass types). Now that I have owned one for about 3 years, I feel a bit naked/blind without it. While I ride in more rural NJ, many roads don't have a shoulder so it helps to know how many cars are behind me.

[veloduffer]

I also found Concentric Cycling (in Australia) makes custom seat posts for most of the major bicycle brands and models. I got one for my Domane (SLR 9 Gen 4 that has D-shaped seatpost) and Cannondale Supersix (current generation with wide aero seatpost). It took less than 2 weeks for delivery and fits perfectly - high quality design and mold plus it comes with the screws included. Only $25 USD plus shipping

[djg21]

Originally Posted by benb

The settings are complex/confusing and seem to have different steps to take depending on what you pair the lights to so I can see how it would be tricky for some.

I put the UT800 + varia on my commuter this morning and rode to work in heavy traffic. I did not find the alerts particularly distracting and it definitely still helped me get some more space.

The UT800 seemed to default to "shine continuously on high" but once I put the light network in "Auto" mode it started doing a daytime blink. My Varia seems to have always defaulted to a blink so I guess I need to figure out how to tell the daytime and nighttime blink modes apart.

I assume you use a Garmin Edge. Once you pair the Varias to your Edge, set the Light Network settings (in Sensors) to “auto” and to auto start with your Edge’s ride timer (mine timer starts at 6mph). Then you won’t have to do anything and the light intensity/flasher is adjusted by the Edge automatically. There are also some Connect IQ apps to control the lights. I have them installed, but haven’t found a need to use them as I leave the lights on auto all the time. I never have had to adjust my Varia lights and the battery lasts for long rides.