Garmin Varia RTL515 Rearview Cycling Radar, Built in Tail Light, Compatible with Edge Bike Computer, Multiple Display options, Visual and Audible alerts, Daylight visibility up to 1 mile

I was going to drop a star for the mount. The light is held on by one, very thin, o-ring. I'm quite confident in the quality of the o-ring and I don't think it's going to snap or anything, but the unit is not held very securely and tends to swivel one way or the other when going over bumps. I am going to buy one of the many third party mounting options available which clamp onto the seat post or saddle rails. That aside the unit itself is amazing. I have only just received it and have only ridden with it once. This was an 80 mile ride taking in all manner of different roads. The first thing that hit me was just how reliable it is. It ALWAYS picked up an approaching vehicle. I went ahead of my wife at several points (she was on her bike), slowed down to the point where she was going just faster than me and it picked her up no problem. I'm amazed that this kind of technology is available at this price point, I really am. And it's a light as well!! When it detects something it gives a warning beep and shows the approaching vehicles as white dots which track up the right hand side of the screen of a compatible Garmin cycle computer (Edge 530 in my case). The border of the display becomes Amber (or red for vehicles approaching more rapidly) then briefly goes green when all vehicles have passed before returning to normal. There is a small radar symbol in the top right of the screen. Should connection be lost there is a very loud warning tone and the radar symbol begins to flash. I was riding for nearly 5 hours and the battery was fine. It took a while to charge when I first got the unit and very little time to charge after my ride, leading me to believe that it had plenty life left in it after the 5 hours of continuous operation. I'd recommend checking out one of the many YouTube videos which show the unit in operation if you haven't already. The only downside is riding in groups. Obviously people riding directly behind you will render the radar completely useless. So unless you're OK riding at the back all the time, the Varia is best used when you're out on your own. Also, if you have a very small framed bicycle you might have difficulties because the unit requires a 15cm vertical clearance between it and the top of your rear wheel. This almost certainly could be remedied by mounting it on an aftermarket saddle rail mount. EDIT: I've been using the unit for a few weeks now and continue to be impressed. I've upgraded to an Edge 1030 Plus and the bigger screen enhances the experience with the Varia. I've noticed the 1030 Plus has a Widget on the status screen where you can easily change the mode of the light (solid, flash etc.), which is great. I've got the light set to activate when I start an activity on my Edge computer, which is quite good. I've also purchased a clamp-on seat post mount, which has eased my fears about the light dropping off. It was a genuine Garmin mount as well (see photo). Can't help thinking that should have been included with the Varia instead of being another 15 quid but it only works for round seatposts, unlike the one which comes with the Varia. I have had the unit drop a signal for a vehicle behind on multiple occasions now, though. When cars are following at a constant distance, waiting for a clear road to overtake for example, sometimes the signal for that vehicle will disappear and suddenly reappear at the point the vehicle begins to overtake.

To be honest, this device actually works better than i'd expected. It gives a clear audible and visible indication of approaching vehicles (cars/bikes and lorries). The sides of the screen on the Garmin head unit light up amber or red depending upon the approaching speed. Once a vehicle (or multiples, it shows a dot on the right hand side for each vehicle) have passed, the screen sides go green for a few seconds to show it's clear. This unit has allowed me to know that vehicles are approaching before i even hear them. Of course you can't tell how close someone is passing but it's a massive help overall. It's actually useful to just know when there is nothing behind to, without having to keep looking back. It hooks up to the head unit with very little effort and just works. Brilliant piece of tech !!!!

This is an excellent product to increase your safety whilst out on the road. The device gives plenty of warning of approaching traffic and the display on my garmin computer shows the distance the vehicle is behind which is a great feature. Battery life is good and lasts a couple of rides for me which is about 7 hours approx.

The unit itself is a good size, and locks securely into the Garmin mounting mechanism. The way the mount fixes to the bike is just not fit for purpose, I tried it on my first ride, and whilst initially is was giving very accurate results, it started to miss cars coming up behind me. When I stopped, the mount had moved around the seat post to the extent that it was now pointing more towards the kerb than the road. It is held in place with a rubber band, the small one was too tight, and the large one was slightly too big - what a farce for something costing so much. I have had to purchase an additional fixing (£11) to fix it to the saddle so that it cannot move, and on my second ride with this new fixing it was 100% accurate. This reminds me of the rubber band mounts you used to get with lower range Garmin Edge computers, with my latest device (Edge 1030 Plus) coming with a proper mount. Come on Garmin, the mount supplied with this is just not fit for purpose, and whilst a generic seat mount to fix this was only £11, this device should be capable of being securely fixed out of the box. The device itself is absolutely fab and gets 5 stars from me, when mounted correctly, but the Garmin mount gets 0 stars from me, totally useless. I seldom write reviews, but the poor mount supplied by Garmin with this has forced me to do so.

Il Garmin Varia RTL515 è un accessorio indispensabile per chi pedala spesso su strada. Il radar posteriore rileva i veicoli in avvicinamento con grande precisione, aumentando la sicurezza in ogni uscita. La luce LED è potente e ben visibile anche in pieno giorno, con diverse modalità adattabili alle condizioni. Compatto, affidabile e semplice da usare: un vero alleato per pedalare con tranquillità. Consiglio!

Perfecto el producto,. Envío rápido. El radar y la luz totalmente recomendable para salidas en bici de carretera. Con el Garmin 1040 funciona prefecto.

Le Garmin RTL515 combine lumière arrière puissante et radar pour prévenir des véhicules en approche. C'est fantastique ! Je ne me vois plus aujourd'hui rouler sans le radar fixé à ma tige de selle ! Quelle sécurité d'être prévenu des voitures, motos, camions en approche. Combiné à un compteur (même le basic Garmin Edge 530), l'affichage est clair sur l'écran du compteur et cela fonctionne même avec certaines montres Garmin (je peux aussi avoir l'alerte sur ma Forerunner 945 qui a pourtant 4 ans). La précision est excellente, il y a très très peu de faux positifs (c'est généralement un cycliste qui me double un peu "trop vite" qui est détecté). Fonctionnement : lumière fixe quand pas de danger, elle se met à clignoter vigoureusement à l'approche d'un ou plusieurs véhicules. Très efficace, même en journée avec le soleil ! Absolument rien à redire, l'investissement est important mais le prix Amazon est meilleur que tous les autres sites internet, même à l'étranger. L'autonomie est très bonne. Donné pour 16h de lumière non stop. L'application mobile dédiée donne le niveau de batterie, ainsi que le compteur Edge ("batterie radar faible") donc aucun souci à se faire pour faire des charges presque complètes et prendre soin de la batterie interne. A compléter avec une protection en silicone type Tusita (10€ sur Amazon) pour protéger le radar.

Spokój ducha, jakie daje to urządzenie jest wręcz nieocenione - niezależnie, czy jedziemy drogą, gdzie wyprzedzają nas auta, czy ścieżkami/w parkach, gdzie mogą nas wyprzedzać rowerzyści 🚴‍♂️. Zasięg wykrywania jest na tyle duży, że jesteśmy powiadamiani jeszcze zanim zdążymy usłyszeć nadjeżdżający samochód - nie mówiąc o tym, że czasem przecież w ogóle ich nie słychać (przez wiatr lub np. w przypadku elektryków). To zapewnienie, jakie daje urządzenie z jednej strony pozwala nam jechać bardziej środkiem pasa, unikając studzienek czy większych ubytków w jezdni, a z drugiej pozwala z odpowiednim wyprzedzeniem zrobić miejsce pojazdom. Do działania lampki również nie mam zastrzeżeń - włącza się po rozpoczęciu treningu, gaśnie po jego zakończeniu, mamy kilka trybów do wyboru. Jedyny minus to ładowanie przez stare micro-USB. Jedyna sytuacja, gdy radar może nie informować o pojeździe z tyłu (a raczej błędnie poinformować, że go już nie ma) jest sytuacja, gdy ten zrówna się z nami i będzie podążać z tą samą prędkością np. czekając na możliwość wyprzedzenia - wynika to wprost z zasady działania urządzenia, ale warto mieć to na uwadze :)

Good battery life and so worth the money. I feel so much safer being able to react to traffic, works well on quieter narrow country roads as I can ride in the middle of the road until Rader detects a car then I can move over