Varia RTL515 Rearview Radar with Taillight
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Varia RTL515 Rearview Radar with Taillight
As functional as the bar and helmet-mounted mirrors are, there is a cost in aerodynamic drag and, for some reason, an insurmountable drag to the image of the road-devoted cyclist. Garmin preserves our pride and taps into some nifty tech with the Varia RTL515 Rearview Radar with Taillight, that packs significant features into a small package. Fitting onto most road bike seat posts, it tucks out of the way and is a rear-facing, red light flasher with a built-in automobile radar feature.
The standard bulb modes are found here with 20 lumens on solid beam, 29 on night flash, and 65 on day flash, however, the Varia sends it over the top with a courteous peloton specific mode with 8 lumens of brightness. So keep your group ride safer without creating frenemies along the way.
The Varia's primary feature is the radar that picks up traffic headed your way from 140 meters behind, and relays that information to your Garmin Edge bike computer or Varia app on a smartphone. The "car" shows a relative distance to help you judge proximity and gives you time to make lane adjustments or turn corrections. And the bulb provides enough visibility for you to be seen from up to one mile away.
Battery life is impressive with 16 hours of on flash mode and six hours on solid, which will see you safely through most training rides.
Details
- Seatpost mounted taillight and radar provide peace of mind
- Oncoming car data is displayed to your Garmin Edge computer or phone
- Proximity display helps you make lane corrections in time
- Taillight is visible from up to a mile away
- Conserve battery with various bulb intensities to suit the conditions
- Peloton mode turns down lights to keep the pack happy
- Item #GRMF011
- Bulbs
- LED
- Power Source
- built-in lithium-ion battery, rechargeable by USB or wall-socket
- Modes
- solid, peloton, night flash, day flash
- Lumens
- [solid] 20, [peloton] 8, [night flash] 29, [day flash] 65
- Burn Time
- [solid] 6 hours, [peloton] 8 hours, [night flash] 6 hours, [day flash] 16 hours
- Mount
- seatpost
- Waterproof
- IPX7
- Includes
- Varia RTL515, mounting kit, cables, documentation
- Dimensions
- 3.9 x 0.8 x 1.6in
- Claimed Weight
- 2.5oz
- Manufacturer Warranty
- 1 year
Reviews
Q&A
Overall Rating
5 based on 8 ratings
Review Summary
Fits True To Size
Screen reader users: the following list provides a visual scale to illustrate the product fit. Please refer to the heading above for the fit type in text.What do you think about this product?
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Selecting an option will reload the available reviews on the pageJuly 21, 2024
Shouldn't have waited
Anytime I was in a group ride I benefited from the people around me with these. I am glad I finally picked up my own. First couple rides and I am annoyed I waited so long. Paired quickly to my Edge 820 and off and running.
June 28, 2024
Extremely helpful!
- Familiarity:
- I've used it several times
I have been riding on the roads for a long time, now having the Varia alert me to cars and bikes coming up behind me is awesome. Wish I purchased this earlier!
Originally reviewed on Competitivecyclist.com
June 19, 2024
Simply excellent!
- Familiarity:
- I've used it several times
I have used this for a couple and so rides already and I am very happy with it. Everything I have read about before buying this has been true and accurate. I was worried a bit that during group rides, the bike behind you would trigger an alert, but as engineered, it will not recognize cyclists behind you running at the same speed. What's more, even with several cyclists right behind you, when it detects a car entering the threshold, the alert goes off. Simply an amazing technology and product and it beats trying to look back if it is safe to change lanes due to no incoming traffic. I only wished that I got the version with the camera with it. Better than Trek CarBack in a sense that Trek's version claims it can detect vehicles at a greater distance. From a video review, Trek is no better than Garmin's. I guess, CarBack is simply just too new to work it kinks out. Maybe after a few years when CarBack has reached the maturity of the Varia. But then again, I don't see the marginal value of having to detect vehicles in a greater distance than 140m. Time to get a Garmin watch to take advantage of vibration alerts. I have just learned an app integration with Apple Watch called ARadar. Downloaded it and hope it works!
June 8, 2024
Great product
- Familiarity:
- I've used it several times
Works as advertised and worth the money. Will not ride on the streets without it.
April 11, 2024
Works perfectly
I had the first varia that came out. It was good, but this one is much improved. I used it recently on a couple week bikepacking trip in Spain. It detects vehicles further back than the earlier version. The beep and visual from my garmin computer gave me a heads up. The battery life is excellent, and most days lasts longer than a person can pedal. I really like the device for giving me another piece of data to help avoid cars.
March 28, 2024
- Familiarity:
- I've put it through the wringer
March 3, 2024
Game changer!
- Familiarity:
- I've put it through the wringer
Before the radar I only rode on paths. Riding alone, I would get too paranoid and stressed about cars behind me to enjoy the ride. This radar gives me the confidence to get out there. Totally worth 200$ and I never ride without this thing
Originally reviewed on Competitivecyclist.com
April 18, 2021
riding game changer - just get it!
- Familiarity:
- I've used it several times
Good bye neck cramps and swerves from constant over the shoulder looking! ok, maybe not 100% good bye but Hello to feeling a lot safer and less afraid of the unknown behind you on the road - this radar light is really sweet and super helpful for anyone who rides on the road. It is super sensitive and accurate BUT here are the 2 hiccups using this with my Wahoo Elemnt: 1. I'm not aware of an easy way to toggle the sound off/on easily while riding which only becomes a problem when... 2. if you ride a path along a highway or next to a busy road, prepare to get bombarded with alerts which makes my #1 hiccup a thing. But as I said to a friend today while riding, I'll take some extra beeps if it keeps me safe! I dig the sounds and lights and once you learn to stop looking down at the the computer every time it beeps and ou figure out what the sounds mean, it becomes part of the ride. Really happy I listened to my friend and got this.
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