School me on rear lights

[jamesdak]

Add me to the game changer crowd. Been using one a couple of years now. My first one failed about a month past the end of warranty but Garmin replaced it with no questions. I really don't like riding without it at all. I also have helmet mounted rear camera's. So when the alert shows up on my Garmin computer I can just keep and eye on approaching traffic and be ready to bail if needed. A good part of my daily route is on a country highway with a 55 mph speed limit and no shoulder. A Varia is money very well spent.

[Jdm]

I won’t ride without a varia anymore either even though it’s $150 on sale. I used it for years of bike commuting as well as all of my road rides.

[mass_biker]

Buy once, buy well!
…Eexcept for the multiple mounts you end up sticking on your bikes because once you ride with one, you realize it is a game changer.
m_b

[Llewellyn]

OK, sorry....a potentially dumb question about the Varia. Can you just use it without having a Garmin unit or smartphone on the bike?

[elvisthehorse]

My first Garmin radar was a two piece package. A little head unit with a light to show cars and a rear radar unit.

I never ride without my Garmin radar and my DiNotte light, best combo for the road.

[Nomadmax]

Originally Posted by Ozz

Serious question: How does the radar alert you to a car? Do you also need a Garmin Computer? Phone with an App? Does it buzz or something?

I currently don't ride with anything on my handlebars (other than spurcycle bell and and a headlight)....I have an app on my phone that tracks routes, speed, HR, etc, but the phone goes in my pocket during a ride....

I am trying to understand how I would incorporate a Varia into my riding, and not make all the other stuff required distracting....

Maybe Oakley needs to come out with the augmented reality glasses that take a feed from the Varia and other bike computer stuff.

I have the absolute cheapest, low end Garmin cycle computer, the Edge 130 Plus. When a vehicle(s) are approaching from the rear, a little bar will appear on the left side of the screen. The bar will show where you are and the dots will show the cars and how quickly they're coming. None of this blocks out other data.

I'm not sure what other computers it works with.

[johnniecakes]

I ride with a rear blinky red light that is mounted to the seatpost. I have 2 Blitzu light I got off Amazon for about $12 each. One is always fully charged while the other is on the bike. I get about 10 hours of blinky time from a charge. Not interested in radar.

[saab2000]

Those tiny Bontrager lights are surprisingly good IMHO and not budget busters.

I’m also a fan of a front white light. This has prevented numerous stupid events where it was clear someone was going to pull out in front of me or turn in front of me and saw the light and didn’t.

[superbowlpats]

The Varia is the single best cycling purchase I have ever made. I will never ride without it.

[AngryScientist]

I used the Varia for a while, and still do occasionally.

To be clear, if you are not wanting or using the radar capabilities, there is no point in buying a Varia, it's a fine tail light, but no reason to spend the bucks for one if you dont use the radar component.

I don't find the radar to be a game changer or anything like that for my riding. I rarely use it really.

I think most of the new LED tail lights from the major companies are pretty good these days.

On the bike I ride the most I'm using an exposure blaze I got on sale somewhere. It's really good, but as mentioned, I think most of the current crop are very good too.

[Baron Blubba]

Originally Posted by reuben

Some of the roads at my new place not only have no shoulder, but are twisty and turny. So I'm thinking about a rear light. I've heard a lot of talk here about Varia, so I looked, and crikey! They're hundreds of dollars! All come with radar whether I want it or not, and if I'm about to die I'd like to avoid the three seconds of useless panic. I don't want to suddenly see a large icon of the grim reaper on my computer or anything of the like.

Am I missing something about the utility of the radar? Is there a simpler and reliable option for a blinking rear light?

After 6 months of working on the new place I may be about to finally have some time to ride.

The Varia is the best money you can spend on your bike, with the possible exception of a helmet. When I first bought one, I was also like 'Crikey, $200!' Now I'd pay $1000 for it, it gives me that much peace of mind.
They don't work anything like you described. Basically, the radar 'sees' cars from almost 500 feet away. It will go 'beep-beep' as soon as it does, and the edges of your bike computer screen will flash orange. You will then see a little dot, representing the car, appear on the lower right side of your bike computer screen. As the car approaches, the dot will move toward the top of the screen. The top of the screen represents where you are. Multiple cars will result in multiple dots, spaced proportionately to their distance from one another. As soon as the radar does not detect any cars within ~500 feet of you, it will make a singular beep to let you know all's clear, and the edges of the screen will flash green.

It's very non-intrusive and intuitive. In probably 100,000+ miles of riding with one, I've receive some false positives (usually at the same places in certain routes, not sure why), but only a single false negative. It's not a replacement for common sense --always look over your shoulder before turning left-- but I feel that it augments my safety on the road tremendously.

When I hear a 'beep beep', I wait a couple of seconds, then lift my left hand and wave to the driver behind me for a couple of seconds. It's A) a friendly thing to do, and B) it lets the driver know 'hey, I see you, I know you're there, I'm not going to do anything stupid, you can pass me when it's safe.'

It's a shame Garmin didn't do any wind tunnel testing so they could tell us how having a radar on our seatpost saves us 2 watts at 35kph -then it'd be perfect.

[Baron Blubba]

.

[biker72]

I've switched from the Bontrager Flare RT to the Lezyne Strip drive.

The Strip Drive Pro Alert 400+ Rear is our most advanced taillight with custom-programmed alert technology. It intelligently adjusts its outputs to signal deceleration and stopping, effectively communicating your actions to traffic and fellow cyclists. More info Here.

[Sarhog]

Originally Posted by Llewellyn

OK, sorry....a potentially dumb question about the Varia. Can you just use it without having a Garmin unit or smartphone on the bike?

It works quite well with a Wahoo. If you have NO computer at all, and no smart phone, it won’t do any good.

You can, however, use it effectively WITHOUT a computer if you have an iPhone. I’d imagine that any smartphone would work, but I only have iPhone experience. There is a free Varia app that acts as a rudimentary display (similar to what you’d see on your bike computer screen). It also beeps (and maybe vibrates) when a car is approaching. In a pinch, you can get some functionality even with the phone in your pocket if you can hear it or feel the vibration.
I pair my iPhone to my hearing aids, so when a car approaches, i hear it thru my hearing aids.

Add me to the list of “its a game changer” crowd.

[54ny77]

Older version Dinotte Quad user here. It's going on ~12+ years or so and has seen rain, sleet, snow and scorching heat, worked flawlessly, and the battery has now seen its useful life. Drains completely after a few days, using it or not. It's crazy bright still. Best investment in bike gear ever. Gonna get the new one (the clear version, which apparently is even brighter) as a replacement here shortly.

In meantime, I needed one quickly recently on a trip, and got a Cygolite Hypershot 350 delivered the next morning from Amazon. It's very bright, seems to work well. Came with a Cygolite SL-something headlight that mounts underneath the bar, very slick setup.

Don't use a computer so my version of radar is use as bright a light as possible day and night and rely on ears and brain for gauging what's behind.

Dinotte has some interesting FAQ's on "brightness" not being the end all be all, as there are other important factors to consider including the types of LEDs, battery efficiency, cooling and lens design. All I know is a pal said he could see me lit up like a christmas tree about a mile away while in the dark, since I use it on the quick flash setting.