Seattle Forrest

https://cyclingtips.com/2022/07/bryt...nd-tail-light/

Bryton had a large stand at Eurobike showing off all things from its extensive list of head units to a new indoor trainer (more on that later). But perhaps the most interesting thing on the stand was the new Gardia R300 rearview radar and tail light device.

WhyFi

DCR is saying that it'll be less than Garmin's 510/515 and that the battery life blows away the 510/515 and should outlast virtually any head unit on the market. Interesting.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/07/...dar-units.html

Bah Humbug

Interesting yes, but it's easy to blow away the competition when you're not on the market yet. Does it have the same range and sensitivity? Other quality?

chaadster

I’ve criticized the Varia 500-series styling and mount placement before, so I’m happy to see Bryton had the same thoughts and centered their mount and gave the unit a more modern look.

That said, it’s perhaps kind of surprising they stumbled upon virtually identical dimensions, unless there’s some kind of sharing of the basic hardware. The round lens, single LED, and top mounted light suggest this, too.

Anyway, I hope Bryton’s unit at least shuts up the beeping when the bike is stopped. That’d be a big quality of life improvement for me, as I find the Varia’s incessant beeping really annoying.

Seattle Forrest

It's wide enough that you can use it as a snow plow, too.

Koyote

I bought a Garmin 515 recently and found the rubber band mount less-than-satisfying. It's secure, but it's too easy to move the unit off-center just by handling the bike. So, for another bike, I bought the hard mount -- and it must've been designed by a C- student. Just awful. It's wide enough that my left thigh occasionally brushes against it while pedaling, and it puts the unit about 30 degrees off of perpendicularity relative to the pavement on a bike with a pretty standard seat tube angle. If they took returns, I would send it back.

WhyFi

I can understand the thigh rub - I don't use saddle bags with a velcro strap around the post, for this reason - but how are you managing that 30° angle? Did you mount it upside down?

Koyote

It’s mounted correctly. 30° might be an exaggeration, but it is noticeably not perpendicular to the road surface.

Honestly, I can’t understand how they built such a poor mount. Cygolite tail lights come with an infinitely better mount – does not rub your thighs, and the angle is adjustable.

WhyFi

What kind of STA does your bike have? If mine isn't perfectly perpendicular, I'd need a plumb bob to tell. I also have it mounted lower, maybe 13-15cm below the top of the saddle, and thigh rub isn't a problem.

Sy Reene

I skipped the garmin offering and got one of these. adjustable angle, as well as a bit more clearance from seatpost clamp area.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08N154BBY

tomato coupe

I have hard mounts on 4 bike, and they're all within a few degrees of perpendicular. Is there something unusual about your bike?

Koyote

Okay, you both got me wondering...So I went out to measure the angle with my phone. (Yep, there's an app for that), and got a reading of -28 degrees. Looks like I had pushed it down so low (to get it out of the way of my massive guads ) that the back of the quarter-turn portion of the mount was butted up against my seat post collar, and hence it was angled upwards excessively. I moved it up a centimeter or so, and now it's at -7 degrees -- which is close enough. But hopefully I won't be getting the thigh rub again.

How do you like it? Is it sturdy? Looks like a better design than the Garmin offering, but I am leery of trusting my expensive tail light to a no-name mount.

PS: thanks, all!

Troul 

I have that mount & attached my action cam to it. Holding up well after a few thousand miles. was 15.00 when I bought it.

njkayaker

The offset mount of the Varia means less clearance is needed on one side (you can mount it "upside down").

With a centered mount, are stuck if it doesn't fit (unless you mount it sideways).

chaadster

Yes, good point. I, however, am not “seatpost extension challenged” and dislike the dangling pawpaw look of Varia RTL515, so the Bryton unit appears to be an improvement to my eye.

It could have been really cool had Bryton come up with their own, novel architecture for the radar unit, rather than merely slightly modifying the Varia template, but I’m sure there were practical limitations to doing so.

Another potential downside is that the Bryton mount appears to be unique, reducing mount options currently available on the aftermarket compared to the ubiquitous Garmin-style mount options.

njkayaker

You can't please everybody. The Varias, as they are, seem pretty popular.

I'm not sure what "novel architecture" would be better. You need area for the light and area for the radar transmitter/receiver. Seems like function might require some sort of rectangle.

I think this has to do with licensing (in non-Asian countries).

Then, again, Bryton does some things in a non-standard way for no apparent reason:

Bryton 420 route files format

Troul 

after some use, I've not had any real "techie" issues. That doesnt mean I dont have complaints.

The audible alert could be better, & by better I mean having selectable sound levels & types as well as just having a vibrate feature (ie: SMS Text *vvrrrb vrrrbb*)
be a bit more capable in detecting straight rearward traffic from a farther distance, maybe 250 more feet or so would satisfy things.

have not ran it out of juice entirely yet, but so far I have had it "active" for at least seven hours with battery life to spare. It might be on par with the computer's battery life duration. That would be nice if it was at least that capable in staying reliable.

Have not verified if it has a passive charging system like the computer, camera, headlight, backup taillight, & phone. If it is, woot! if not, meh, the battery life does make up for it if that turns out to be the case.


One last peeve.... The mount interface. Why can't they just have it also include four threaded bosses to use an aftermarket mounting setup? That goes for pretty much all bicycle accessories...

SoSmellyAir

The OEM Garmin seat post mount, even with the tighter rubber band, is not secure enough for gravel riding. And I bet many other gravel riders ride in more challenging terrain that I do! I also experienced thigh rub with the hard hinged clamp mount. With a hinge on one side and a bolt on the other side, this type of mount is just too wide, so I realized why Garmin persists with the rubber band type mount. The saddle rail mounts have so-so reviews. So I have finally settled on this mount:

Amazon.com: TUSITA Bike Seat Post Mount Compatible with Garmin Varia RTL510 RTL515 RVR315, Rearview Radar - Round,D Shaped,Aero Seat Post Compatibility : Electronics

This one has a dual loop band which holds the mount very securely against the seat post. It also appears to be designed such that, even if the band breaks at a single point, it would still keep the mount on the seat post. I like it so much that I bought two and would buy another once I finish building my third bike; I don't think it is a good idea to keep taking the band off and on.

SoSmellyAir

This review says that the Varia has less false positives and is better at multiple vehicle detection.

Varia RTL515 vs. Magene L508 vs. Gardia R300 (COMPARED) (cyclistshub.com)

Koyote

Actually, since the plastic hard mount is sooo awful, I have left the standard rubber band mount on my gravel bike -- and it has been fine. But I still wish there was a better OEM mount.

PeteHski

I was thinking of buying the hard mount, so it’s good to know this. I use the standard Garmin mount on my road bike, but it easily gets knocked off centre and I don’t like to rely on a single rubber band holding up. So I might have a look at aftermarket alternatives.

SoSmellyAir

The one I linked above in post #18 is very good.

Polaris OBark

I use Garmin's seat post mount:




There are copies that cost about half of what I paid for this.

Polaris OBark

Is the one above what you are referring to? If so, what is wrong with it? I have 2, and never noticed anything.

Koyote

I think it depends a bit on bike (and rider) geometry. On one of my bikes, my thigh sometimes brushes against that bit on the left side (non-drive side) -- and that sort of thing irritates me. I moved that mount to my commuter bike, where it's fine.

I will say one thing for that hard mount: it keeps the light in place properly. With the rubber band mount, as someone noted upthread, it's easy to bump it to an off-axis position and not realize it.