I have one of these light/radar combo's and it is honestly awesome, especially when paired with a Garmin headunit.
Fairly good price for Australian stock.
Garmin Varia RTL515 Radar Rear Light - $234.92 + Delivery ($0 C&C) @ 99 Bikes (Club Member Required)
580
miller0 on 04/12/2024 - 14:13 99bikes.com.au (1143 clicks)
Last edited 04/12/2024 - 14:22 by 1 other user
Last edited 04/12/2024 - 14:22 by 1 other user
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Didn’t the video show you why it’s better than a cheap rear light?
lol i said a rear light - never said it was a cheap one. i wouldnt be asking if that was the case no?
You’re not making any sense
Tell us about the video why you think $230 is too much
Looks like it pairs with an app on your phone to provide a "radar" view of what's behind you. How would a rear light achieve this?
You could get a rear light for much cheaper and also a two-tonne mobile radar unit to put it on.
This is insanely different to a light.
I already use a side mirror, but my situational awareness is so good now I use the radar. I use it with a Wahoo bolt V2 head unit.
It picks up cars that I can't even see in the mirror yet - like a good 5 seconds before.
It ignores vehicles travelling away from you.
It uses 3 audio tones - "car coming", "all clear" and "SHIT THIS ONE's MOVING FAST" so you don't even have to look at the head unit.
If you do look at the head unit, a quick glance is all it takes. You can easily see how many cars there are, how close they are
Personally I've never had a false positive or a false negative.
I love this thing.
thanks for the writeup! so i take it its good for people riding on the road and this removes the need to gauging based off audio and headchecks
I wouldn't say it removes the need, you should still do stuff like shoulder checks, use your ears etc. It's more like an enhancement than a replacement - you know more about what's behind you than you otherwise would. Once you've had one, you really miss it when you don't have it. Whenever the question is asked about an MVP piece of gear for a road cyclist, this item is almost always at or near the top of the list.
Wouldn't a "false negative" be a positive?
Positive ;-p
I agree with you. As good as this radar rear light is with its function, it is still too expensive for what it does. Maybe if it is another $100 off then I can consider it good value.
Expensive, yes. But too expensive? Are there products with equivalent capabilities that's available for a lower price? I've not been able to find anything that has reviews showing similar capabilities (marketing material makes everything sound wonderful).
I thing the "too" part is more a reflection of it not having adequate value for you, and that's absolutely fair. I ended up buying one. I've looked at them off and on since they came out and they've always been a bit more than I was willing to spend, even if it had been the price it is here. What changed? I bought a recumbent bike. Yes, an old git's bike, but I am an old git so that's fine. I'm still not totally comfortable with being lower than a driver's eye-line so this flipped from the territory of "nice idea" to "good idea" and it's my Christmas present to myself.
If it distracts other drivers I guess it's doing its job
…are you seriously taking issue with a cyclist riding at night having a light on their bike? Really?
100% driver's fault. Nothing to do with flashing bike lights.
Have you driven on the roads in the last I don't know, century?
If you're going to get distracted by a flashing 65 lumen light to the point of losing complete control of your vehicle, please hand yourself in to your nearest licensing centre ASAP and have them confiscate and suspend your driver's license indefinitely for the good of society.
if you're causing an accident because of 65 lumens light on a bright day, you probably shouldn't be on the road, @PainToad
@PainToad: Lame strawman. No one said anything about actual road vehicles, we're talking about a bike light here, which are perfectly within the traffic code.
@PainToad: So now we know why we the "cape does not enable wearer to fly" warning exists on children's superhero costumes. Thanks.
@Miami Mall Alien: @PainToad, the legality around bike lights and car lights are pretty clear. stop embarrasing yourself mate.
@PainToad: @PainToad, sounds like you're the reason why they need to caution people to not spray into their eyes on deodorant packaging. stay safe, it is a hairy world out there for some i guess.
Do you get distracted by other vehicles indicating around you? 65 lumens is dimmer than the minimum indicator brightness as per the ADR https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2005L03907/latest/text
Do you crash every time you drive through roadworks? Same story.
Freak out at every railroad crossing?
Mow down kids making their way across the road at the crossing because of the school zone lights?
Yeah, thought not. Stop havering mate.
The fact that you keep commenting on this, is (sadly) the reflection of why cyclists in Australia need to even consider buying this..
@chriaj2689: Seem like the discussion didn't go the way old mate hoped for (cyclist bashing), now it is unpublished. Damn, I just got the popcorn ready.
It could save a child's life.
screams "think of the children"
You really going to strap a $230 device to a kids bike????
If I had a kid, probably yeah.
I have one of these, ask me anything. The only downside I find is the zombies follow me home and I have to make a mess before dinner.
The light has an inbuilt sensor that can tell you (the cyclist with a cycling computer) that a car/s are approaching you from behind.
The responsibility is on the road user coming from behind. Same rule applies to any vehicles involved e.g. you don't expect the car in front to get out of your way!
technically in the right
polite thing to doWhat other kind of "right" are you expecting other than "technically"? There is only one correct way, which allows for PREDICTABILITY. That is the one big lesson for all road users.
As a cyclist, I hate it when car drivers voluntarily give way to me when it's technically incorrect for them to do so because they have the right of way. Their kindness/politeness might lead to me being hit by another road user, because me and everyone else is trying to predict what the hell this driver is doing giving way to me when they don't technically need to.
You know it's legal to ride a bike, yeah?
Where did I say it isn't?
The majority of the cyclists I ride with do make an effort to get out of the way. Even without the radar, cyclists often hear/see a car coming and yell out "car back". The cyclists then move to the side.
I'm not saying all cyclists do this. I also won't say motorists give the 1-1.5m clearance that they are required to give when passing a cyclist.
Let's just try not to be too inflammatory and do the right thing ourselves.
its a radar light, what are you missing?
The light is not the primary feature. Its a radar.
Exactly.
And the light only adds $36 to the simple radar version.
https://www.99bikes.com.au/radar-garmin-rearview-varia-rvr31…
PainToad and Nvidia Fxxk You. Name a more challenged duo.
j and v
They’re worth the coin, even tho my road bike sits unused for the better part of a year.
I have one as well. It also works with Wahoo bike computers.
I have the Wahoo Roam and the approaching car icons are displayed on the left side of the screen in colour - green is clear, orange is vehicle approaching, and red is vehicle approaching at a much faster speed than you are riding.
I have the audio alerts turned off.
Expensive, so i have to detach every time i park in public cage, so no body can steal it.
Yes. Same thing you need to do with your bike computer. And if you don't have a bike computer you don't need one of these.
false, just use an old android phone and install the app on it.
App name plz
@hopper: its the official garmin varia app i just use. very basic, but it shows you what you need (traffic behind), does the job?
Ive just purchased the Magene. Will see how that ones goes
which magene?
L508. It's their copy of this. Cheaper, and pretty good by all accounts, but do check the reviews.
Magene L508 Radar Rear Light
I have the L508. It works as per the box. Have a look at GP Lama's review as well.
Its main "weakness" compared to the Garmin is the light isn't as bright. Oh and a crappy mount.
Will be trying mine out today. Cheers
Love having this radar on my bike.
I also bought a Garmin front light that connects to the bike computer. That one is a dud IMO. Connectivity doesn't do anything useful, battery life is poor.
Without taking the bait;
I ride bike paths as much as possible, this radar is still so useful. When approaching a crossing (on a bike path that's parallel to the road) this thing is still picking up cars that might be turning into the next street. Or the start and end of rides at car parks. And it also picks up approaching bikes, so even in dedicated bike paths. Still a useful item.
F**k yeah mate!
When do we seize the means of bicycle production my fellow emotional support vehicle enthusiast? We must overthrow this despotic bicycle-centric tyranny we live in and replace it with car dependency, urban sprawl, terrible public transp- oh wait… no that's just Australia.
Anyone attached one of these to a motorbike?
Sorry to have ruffled so many feathers. Getting way off topic and spiralling. I am unpublishing my comments.
Lol, this wasn't the first time this has happened for you, let's be honest.
EDIT: nope, not getting drawn in again.
Absolutely hilarious you're playing the victim card by having the worst takes and getting called out for them.
@Hinee: And deleting them. Removing comments only shows that they've still got the same opinion but don't have the ability to take on the criticism or change their take based on contrasting views or facts.
but don't have the ability to take on the criticism or change their take based on contrasting views or facts.
a.k.a. The JV effect.
Can it detect bikes and scooters? They fly pass the pedestrian on the footpath. Wish the 1m rules also be applied to bikes and scooters in the footpaths.
yea it does, they just appear like cars would
It will detect anything from behind travelling faster than it. Including people walking if you happened to be stopped.
Thank you
Is a bike computer required?
No, but you’ll get more functionality from a computer as it will show the approach distance, speed, number of cars, etc.
Great product, i wouldn't mind this on my actual car!
These are really good, I purchased the Bryton one first since it was cheaper and liked the idea of the brake light. However, the Bryton one had a lot of issues with false car detections. I switched to this Garmin one and the car detection reliability has been flawless, I still check over my shoulder when turning, but it is nice to know when cars are coming up behind me without looking over my shoulder constantly. I got mine cheaper from a previous Amazon UK deal, but Amazon took over a month to ship it, so I think paying a bit extra for Australian stock is a good deal.
It's worth noting that this thing is powered by Micro USB. I ended up purchasing the Bryton Gardia R300L instead of this one purely on merit of USB-C.
While it's been nice to have, it hasn't revolutionized my riding as much as I'd hope and is not as much of a game changer as I'd been lead to believe. I think I can still hear cars earlier than this detects them, but it's nice to be aware of how far they are in relation to me I guess. This doesn't replace spatial awareness, and likely won't add to the confidence of riding to the road. If you're riding on the road anyway, it doesn't hurt.
The fact that Garmin released this in May 2020 with a Micro USB port is shameful though, and we're overdue for a USB-C version that doesn't include the useless rear camera.
my garmin detects cars much further than I can hear them.
Ok, you must have got bat ears. Also how do you hear Tesla or other EVs? Again, must be bat ears.
Shipping is actually free as well until 8th December so don't even need to go into store to get it.
Does this work with Garmin watch?
Thank you! I guess I can have reason to get it though I don't a bike computer…
oh wow this is so good and will work with my epix 2
Wow that’s wild I had no idea it worked on the watch. I’ve got a bike computer but good to know!
I have one. Have used it for long distance touring as well as daily training (road bike) rides.
Not as game changing as I hoped, but I still like using it. Not useful in most urban environments as you're constantly being approached by cars anyway.
The main unexpected bonus use case is I can now ride with full noise cancelling earphones with music and have audio alerts when cars are approaching.
Fantastic to be on mountain descents and have the wind noise eliminated (wind noise being so loud that you can't hear cars approaching anyway) and know if a (fast) car is catching up to you.
.
I have one linked to my iPhone app, headphones in, it’s like a doorbell overlay when a car is approaching from the rear, I have a rear view mirror too..
It works well, it’s worth it for me, extra level of awareness
Price has now gone back to $289
Great piece of kit. Not all that useful for city commuting when there are a constant stream of cars, but very nice to have on quieter roads and get the notification when a car is 150m back, way before you hear the tyres or engine.
yeah this is what i was trying to gauge. I do a lot of city riding but through traffic so it'll be wasted on me
Great piece of equipment. Wouldn't road ride without one now.
I used to commute 225km per week so handlebar-mounted a Polaroid Cube+ aimed at my right rear. I recorded every leg intending to capture the make/model/rego of the vehicle that wiped me out from behind. Turns out I had more near misses with cars pulling out in front from side streets but rated these collisions as more survivable.
What makes it awesome? I saw the video but think $230 is still steep especially when you could get a rear light for much cheaper