Garmin - Varia™ Rearview Radar Tail Light - Black
Model: 010-01509-00
SKU: 5374012
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The rearview radar works as promised - I noticed cars giving me a wider berth on the road and I felt more aware/alert as well. So, five stars for function, but I have 2 complaints about design and use: -there's a tremendous lack of guidance/instruction. It seems everybody wants to be Apple and ship their product with just a single page instruction paper that makes you feel as if the design is perfect and easily intuitive. Much more is needed here beyond the thin "here's your on/off switch" basic instructions. Set-up and integration with Garmin apps IS NOT intuitive (but you can figure it out - its not impossible) and initial useage was hit or miss until I figured everything out. My problems were magnified because I was trying to connect the Varia to my Garmin watch (Vivoactive HR). There's almost zero support for pairing a Garmin radar with a Garmin watch, even though this is promoted in the marketing material -after plunking down serious coin for the radar, I was shocked to find that the recommended way to mount this on my bike was using a rubber band! There's a mounting bracket included, but it's for really thin seat posts - mine was too big, so I used the rubber band mount. I'm very worried that my significant financial investment is going to snap-off mid-ride. (Though there's been no indication of this after 250 miles of pedaling.) Garmin, please invest a bit more in a seat mount for fatter seat posts! So, 5 stars for function, 2 stars for support. This product can save a life, though, so the set-up challenge is ultimately worth it.
Posted by PlayballTim
This product works exactly as advertised. If you check out the Garmin website they have an excellent video that demonstrates exactly how it works. I use it with my Garmin 1000 and they work together extremely well. While no substitute for clearing yourself visually it does provide a reliable method for knowing when a car or multiple cars are approaching from behind. It also provides a bright flashing rear light to alert drivers and snap them out of the zombie mode that could get you killed. My only complaint is the audible beep alert on the Garmin GPS is not loud enough, this requires the cyclist to regularly scan their GPS. Bottom line this device provides me a great alert to maintain my line when cars are approaching and an alert to remind drivers I'm there. I am a safer cyclist when riding with Varia.
Posted by MadtownRoadie
Great product for keeping you safe during a ride. No more looking back over your shoulder. The Varia syncs easily with your Garmin Edge device and does a great job of identifying traffic coming behind you, even if you are in the middle of a pack of cyclists. The beeps on the Garmin when a vehicle is approaching means you do not need to continue looking at the device either. The edges of the Garmin turn green when all vehicles have passed. On this last ride though, I did notice that although the Varia was still working (lights became brighter as vehicles were approaching), it lost the connection to the Garmin. I could have shut off the Garmin and restarted, but since I was in the middle of a ride, I think that would have interrupted the ride tracking on the Garmin. That's the only issue I have had with the device so far. That, and be careful when you are pulling the little rubber device by the USB input on the Vimeo. It is easy to pull too hard and rip the cover off the device.
Posted by Haggis1972