Garmin 010-02376-00 Varia RTL515, Cycling Rearview Radar with Tail Light, Visual and Audible Alerts for Vehicles Up to 153 Yards Away

I had read the reviews which were all very good and I thought that if they were at least 50% accurate the Varia would be worth while. Well, I have to say that all of the good reviews were 100% accurate. The Varia is absolutely a must have if you are a cyclist. I went out on my first ride using the varia and I would never ride again without it. It was easy to sync with my Garmin, it is easy to put together and connect to the saddle post. You turn it on and it automatically connects to my Garmin. The red reflector light is so bright you can see it for over 200 meters away and more. As you ride you will get two red bars up and down both right and left sides of the Garmin face. This tells you there is a vehicle approaching. There are little dots inside these red bars that show you how close the vehicle is and how fast it is approaching, right up to where it passes you and then the dot disappears. When there is no vehicle, the bars goes green and then the bars actually disappears from the screen indicating that all is clear. It is very accurate. It just gives me that confidence to ride safer, stay tight to the right when I see the red bars appear and hear the little dots, (it also gives a beep). I am confident to move out into the lane when I see that no vehicles are anywhere near. This is an amazing safety tool for all riders, especially if you do a lot of riding solo which I do. You wont be disappointed.

Color me stunned, but this second gen Varia radar and tail light works really really well. Paired without issue with my Garmin 530, and works on road and bumpy gravel riding. Also works well with my Garmin Express app on the computer- it auto-detected and registered itself to my Garmin account. Wont ride without it now.

For what its designed for, it does work. My biggest problem with it is that the sound alerts are played through the phone and the app keeps the phone awake. I would like to have an option for the sound to come through Bluetooth.

Would you ride without a helmet? If you said yes, this is not for you. Changes the way you ride and gives peace of mind, first item I would get beside a helmet!

The light stopped charging after a couple of uses. returned

This thing is the jam! I was a little skeptical that I actually needed this, and that it would work both well and without being a nuisance. I paired it with an Edge 530 computer in a few seconds, turned on the light and took off on a metric century group ride through the North Atlanta backroads.

I am a bit of a nervous biker as people drive crazy and this has helped me tremendously. It is not always easy to hear cars coming and this does a great job at alerting you and showing you how far away the vehicle OR vehicles are. I recommend this to everyone I know. They have a newer version with a camera but have read some bad reviews about the functionality of the camera so I am glad I got this cheaper one!

Seriously don’t know what I did before this. I love knowing sooner that a car is coming up on me. The light is nice and bring and flashes when a car approaches. Great peace of mind.

Have been very surprised at how super useful the radar function is. It works very well and gives you a much better overview of whats going on around you as you dont have to turn your head back nearly as often. Also, even in the very heavy traffic I often ride in, my Garmin shows enough info about the relative distance and speed of approaching cars and motor bikes that I feel a lot better able to gauge the traffic situation around me. Originally I thought I would have it off inside the city - but I always have it on. Also like how you can set it up for daytime/nighttime strength etc. Never ride without. Some people are worried about the rubber bands that keep the unit into place. Made me worry too. however, I ride some VERY rough roads and also flipped my bike once after being swiped by a car :-( -still the Garmin unit is sitting there safe and secure while my water bottles exploded around me. Fortunately theyre a lot cheaper to replace. Highly recommended.

Don’t know why I waited so long to buy this. It is simply awesome! I also use a camera on the back of my e-bike so that with this is the ultimate safe riding combo! Very easy to install and all you need to do is download their app and boom it just works. Alerts to every car behind you and their distance. Highly recommend for every cyclist out there!