tFUnK

Anyone with real world experience commuting with a rear radar setup? Garmin has a rear light+radar unit that pairs with compatible head units. There's also the Magene from AliExpress/Amazon. Seems like an interesting idea but how's the real-world utility?

Bent4life 

I use the Garmin Varia setup with my Garmin Edge 520. System works great but battery life is only about 4 hours. The good news is the radar still works when I attach it to a small battery pack. Picks up cars about 130 yards back. I ride brevets on a recumbent bike and would never ride without it.

dmwill

I also use a Garmin Varia with an Edge 830. By happy surprise we found it also works with a Garmin 735XT watch so when on a tandem both stoker (with the watch) and captain (with the Edge) can see the traffic notifications. The Varia picks up traffic further back than we can reliably see in the mirrors, and lets us know about multiple cars when we can only see the first car in the mirror. It's been a great help when trying to change lanes across 3 lanes of traffic to make a left turn. We had it on for 8 hours last weekend and it didn't run out of battery so maybe blink pattern makes a difference. I wonder if number of cars passing makes a difference in battery usage...we had 545 on that day.

fooferdoggie 

yes works great really useful when you need to get in the left turn lane. I listen to the all clear then check my mirror. great in the fog we had today.

Darth Lefty 

It's on my Christmas wish list but I haven't been in a buy-things mode lately.

tFUnK

Thanks for the insights. Seems like it's a practical and useful thing to have. My main hesitation is that I don't currently ride with a head unit, so the initial investment is a bit steep (not only financially, but also the researching/learning how to get the most of the system). I haven't used a head unit in over 10 years and for the last 6 or so I've just been using a Fitbit to log ride basics.

ooga-booga

the garmin varia radar unit works great...if you're riding in the city, it helps when you want but you hafta disregard when inapplicable, personally find it more helpful
out in the boonies/on long downhills in the mtns but that's me. in the city, i'm under the assumption that there are multiple vehicles in my immediate neighborhood at all times
and ride accordingly.

cuevélo

The Garmin RTL515 will send the information to your phone over Bluetooth. You could get a phone strap mount if you wanted to go for the least expensive option.

I ride on the road and commute with my RTL510 (older version without Bluetooth) and Edge 830, and will never go back to riding on the road without radar.

Darth Lefty 

One thing I have definitely noticed in these threads about the radar units is that people who actually have tried it either like it, or want it further improved. The camera version did get some "what's the point of this" reactions.

wayold

I personally think the simple cheap radar-only unit (RVR315) makes the most sense if you already have a taillight you like. Bonus is that they're not hard to find for around $100. Extra bonus is that several previous generation Garmin head units are available cheap right now as factory refurbs. Edge 1030 for $250, Edge 530 for $150 if you're a mountain biker who needs Trailforks maps or Edge Explore for $99 if you're just a cheapskate like me.

Polaris OBark

I'm on my second one now. I try never to leave home without it, even if I am riding off-road.

qnz

I will replace bikes, headunits, groupsets, wheels,... but will never replace the Garmin Varia unless they make a better one.

Chester

In case it's useful, looks like lowest price around on the radar-only RVR315 is actually at REI right now:

https://www.rei.com/product/182343/g...rearview-radar

Almost bought it but would rather pay more for the one with the integrated light.

tFUnK

Thanks to those who weighed in on this thread, I have been using the Magene radar taillight with a Magene head unit. I find it a nice feature to have. It definitely detects vehicles a bit sooner than my ears can. I've had a couple of false negatives where the vehicle behind me is moving too slowly to be detected, and found that it also fails to detect motorcycles. I'm not one to constantly look at my head unit while riding and I wish there was an audible alert instead of just a visual one (the head unit is supposed to beep when a vehicle is detected but despite playing around with the settings, mine does not beep at all). But overall I am pleased with the functionally of the radar system.