I'm an EC member, so I'm not sure if everyone will be able to read the full article at this link.

The tl;Dr is that the Garmin Varia RTL 515, the OG of radar tail lights, is the best. Wahoo's newer unit is good, but has a lousy mount. Trek's Carback works fine, but doesn't live up to the range claims. Other smaller brands (Magicshine, Bryton, etc) are also-rans.

Just thought I'd drop this here, since the topic comes up occasionally in this subforum.

I could read the first few paragraphs of the linked article until the paywall kicked in.

That being said, I've had a great experience with my RTL515. Works great. Every time.

Thanks, Bill. I was afraid there would be a paywall -- that's why I included the tl;dr.

I agree about the Varia. Works like a champ, and I can't imagine anything working better.

I've had the Magicshine SeeMe R300 for about 6 months now. Several reviewers have noted an objectionable rate of false positives with this unit (and one even saw the more concerning false negatives). I don't doubt their observations, but I have not seen this in my own use. I have a Garmin RVR315 on another bike and I've not noticed any difference in the radar response between that and the R300. I haven't done a rigorous test like the professional reviewers, so there may indeed be a difference, I'm just saying I haven't noticed one. Every time the R300 has indicated the presence of a car and I've looked, a car was there - and I can't recall a time I've seen a car and not had the R300 indicate one. YMMV.

My Garmin is fantastic the only reason I would switch is if they did a better e-bike version but so far Garmin has been excellent on a Vado SL 5.0 almost literally plug and play, It worked without fuss. Absolutely love it.

Shane is pretty impressed with the Wahoo, well, except for the mount issues. For me, the Varia not being USB-C is a deal breaker. I am now down to one non-USB-C device, the Garmin 1030 Edge, and that will be replaced in due course.

https://gplama.com/2025/04/25/wahoo-...n-varia-radar/

I have had two Garmins fail over the years, but that's about 30,000 miles. I got the car back to try it. Its battery life was less than Garmin's, but it got worse after a bit. Now, instead of needing to charge when my 030+ is at 60%, now it's 79%, and when I turn on the Garmin, the carback now always starts on steady, no matter what I have it set on in the Garmin. The range is pretty much the same, but it does not catch as many cars off to the side like the Garmin does. It also does not have as many false alerts as the Garmin does. The garage was bad about going off while I was in the basement of my shop or before I started riding. First, the carback did not do the disconnect thing while riding much at all, but it got worse as I used it more. pretty much just like the Garmin's have. The mount is more of a pain to deal with, too, but more secure.