Garmin Varia Rearview Radar Review

Garmin Varia Rearview Radar Review
After months of skepticism about buying a Garmin Varia Rearview Radar bike light, I finally bought a unit this week. I knew that I could hear cars coming from behind and I knew that only 3.9% of cycling accidents involve cyclists being hit from behind, despite what the Garmin produced promotional video says. I found that in two specific cases it is a valuable component. One, if you are on a quiet road and lost in thought, the beep warning on the Garmin Edge will grab your attention.  Second, on long fast descents, it will keep an eye on cars coming up from behind. This will allow you to ride toward the middle of the lane rather than on the edge of the road at high speed.
The Garmin Varia radar bike light unit is $200 (178 €) alone. The unit will display approaching cars and Strava Segment information on the Garmin Edge 1000 and 520. The bundle package includes a display unit that attaches to the handlebars. The bundle costs $300 (265 €). The display unit is silent while the Edge has beep alerts, which I prefer.
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The picture shows the rear bike light unit with the radar built in. The radar picks up car coming up from behind. It does not alert you to cars going in the other direction. The radar pickup is wide. It covers two lanes of traffic behind me. And when I am on the bike path next to a street crossing a bridge, it will pick up the traffic in the lane on the other side of the barrier.
On both the Edge and the dedicated Garmin display, cars approaching from behind are shown as blips moving up a line toward the top. When cars are approaching normally, the Edge line display is yellow. When cars are approaching very fast, the line will appear red. When the car passes you, the line will show green. When there are no cars in range, or when the approaching car matches your speed, the line on the Edge disappears and the car blip does not show.
My reluctance to buying this device was because in most cases I can hear cars approaching from behind. On certain routes that have little traffic, I can cars approaching from far away. But in actual practice, the benefits became clear. This past Saturday I was on an 11-mile climb on the Maricopa Highway (California Highway 33), north of Ojai. It is a climb that averages 4 to 6% and there is little car traffic, so it is easy to get lost in thought. The beep from my Garmin snapped my attention back to the road when my Edge 520 alerted me to an approaching car. Also, I noticed that in breezy conditions it was a harder to hear approaching cars at a distance. The Garmin Varia indicated approaching cars before I could heard them.
On a long, fast descent, it is impossible to hear a car coming up from behind at a distance. In my descent down the Maricopa Highway, I realized the big value of the Varia to me. I was averaging about 30 miles per hour on the descent and I was in the lane away from the road edge. I would glance back to see if anyone were behind me and move to the side of the road if there were. The Varia radar eliminated that for me. Instead of me taking my eyes of of the road, the radar kept a steady eye behind me.
As the cars approached, the display of LED lights gets wider as the car approaches. This signals to the driver that I know that they are there. I believe this since on three occasions the driver did not pass me, even though I had moved very close to the edge of the road.
To connect the Varia to your Edge, you have to first connect your Varia to your computer and start Garmin Express. Register your Varia via Garmin Express. Then connect your Edge to your computer and to Garmin Express. Garmin Express will offer to load an update to your Edge. This update will allow your Edge screen to display car information. I installed the Varia in my seat post using the rubber strap and the mount that comes with it. The Varia also has a solid mount that will attach it to a smaller diameter seat post.
Before you ride, pair the Varia to the Edge bike computer by adding a Radar Sensor via the Edge Setup menu. Once done a radar icon will appear on your screen indicating that the pairing is done. When the Varia is on and connected the radar icon will appear black. When the Varia is off, or not on the bike, the icon will appear red and black. Garmin says the Varia will last 4 hours on a single charge. I have yet to ride this long with the Varia. If this is true, then the Varia may not have enough of a charge to last through a century ride. You might have to pick and choose when you use the device on long rides. The Varia is recharged via a USB port in the back. It takes a little longer to recharge that the Edge, so if you are on a multi-day ride, then you should plan your recharge schedule accordingly.
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I like the device. It does increase my sense of awareness in situations. And cars do see the changing light display at the rear of the bike. It is a clever device and I think that other manufacturers will probably follow Garmin’s lead, since increasing safety will grow the number of cyclists and thus expand the cycling market. I am disappointed by the price of the device. I would prefer $100 (88  €) for the rear light radar unit. At $200 (178 €) for the unit and $300 (265 €) for the bundle, it makes this device a niche product.


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