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 4 ratings
Review Summary
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Selecting an option will reload the available reviews on the pageApril 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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