Description
Garmin’s Varia radar systems provide audible and visible warnings to alert the rider to any fast approaching vehicles. The updated RVR315 and RTL515 models work with a Varia app that allows any smartphone to be utilized as the head unit, functioning as the Varia display – of course, the new systems are also compatible with existing Garmin devices with Varia capabilities. When used with a compatible smartphone, the Varia RVR315 and RTL515 are also able to integrate with popular third-party apps like Ride with GPS, letting cyclists overlay their maps with rear-view radar alerts.
Backed by Olympic cyclist Callum Skinner, the glasses allow a rider to see what’s going on behind them without looking over their shoulder. The founder’s comment: “Rear vision is important to anyone on the road. So important that it’s illegal for most road users not to have any” before asking: “If rear vision is so important, why do cyclists have no good options?”
From the manufacturer
Visual and Audible Alerts for Vehicles Up to 153 Yards Away, 010-02376-00, One Size
Garmin RTL515
Ride with peace of mind.
MAXIMUM AWARENESS
Varia RTL515 rearview radar provides visual and audible alerts for vehicles approaching from behind up to 153 yards (140 meters) away.
MULTIPLE PAIRING OPTIONS
This radar works seamlessly with your Edge bike computer or compatible smartphone.
WORKS WITH THE VARIA APP
This smartphone app helps you increase your awareness by providing graphics, plus tone and vibration alerts.
THIRD-PARTY APP COMPATIBLE
When used with a compatible smartphone, Varia radar integrates with your favorite apps, such as Ride with GPS.
SUPERIOR VISIBILITY
Alert motorists to your presence as soon as possible with daylight visibility up to 1 mile.
COMPACT DESIGN
Easily mount this sleek, compact device on the seat post of almost any road-use bicycle. The vertical design allows for better leg clearance and a perfectly comfortable ride.
Take your cycling experience to the next level
ECF –
The Garmin Varia RTL515 is a must-have if you road cycle. The device is like having a copilot yelling “CAR BACK” when traffic approaches from the rear. The device synchs perfectly to my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt GPS. Indications of traffic are reliable…if it indicates traffic, something is back there. I’ve not yet had a false positive, although it occasionally indicates other cyclists behind me…some common sense and awareness is required.The light is very bright and modes are easily adjustable. Battery life is very good (my unit has never run out of battery while riding) and I charge it after about 10-12 hours of use to be conservative. The Garmin Varia (iOS) app can indicate battery life of the Varia, where the Wahoo Bolt does not.If you ride bikes, I highly recommend the Varia.
Jon P. –
I have a very nice helmet mounted mirror so I didn’t think I really needed this. Then my brother bought one and was raving about how well it worked. While I wasn’t convinced it would really help that much, I like to stack the odds in my favor as much as possible so based on my brother’s recommendation, I bought one.I am using it with a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt bike computer and it works perfectly. It was extremely easy to set up both physically mounting it and wirelessly connecting it to my bike computer. On my first ride, I was riding on city streets in a residential area at a time of day when the traffic was pretty light. I had just glanced in my mirror and saw there was nobody behind me for several blocks when I heard the beep and saw the car icon on my screen to let me know there was a car close behind me. My first thought was “this thing isn’t working” but when I glanced in my mirror again, I saw a car had pulled away from the curb close behind me. Over the next 20 minutes, I had several more experiences where the radar unit was picking up vehicles quicker than I could spot them in my mirror.I like that it not only beeps to let you know a vehicle is approaching you but it also beeps to let you know if the car “disappears” (parks on the street or turns) so you don’t keep waiting to be passed by a car that is no longer approaching you. On my second ride, I did about 30 miles of riding on county roads and that i where this unit REALLY shines. It not only shows you that there is a vehicle behind you but also how many vehicles are behind you. I was impressed that even though I could only see 1 large truck behind me in my mirror, the radar unit was showing there were actually 3 vehicles behind me and when the truck passed me I saw the radar unit was right.I don’t plan to ride on the road again without one of these. Now I would just like to get another seat post mount so I can easily move this device between bikes. It is not that big of a deal to move the mount between bikes but I would really like to put a mount on both of my road bikes.
Z. Tomcich –
Having just finished a weekend of riding with my bicycle radar, i radar to be way more useful on a bicycle than on an airplane! This things detects cars i can’t see in my review mirror. By the time i can see the car in my mirror, it’s already halfway up on the display. It’s a game changer for sure. This product has spent plenty of time in the R&D oven. Unlike most other bicycle tech, the Garmin Varia RVR315 worked beautifully and dependably, and it quickly paired to my 4 year old Wahoo Elemnt bike computer with no BS tech hemorrhaging; no software updates, no configuration logins, no required registration, no rebooting or pairing BS, it just worked like tech should.
S. P. –
With the Varia RVR315 now keeping tabs on what’s going on 2 lanes left and/or right behind me, today’s ride with the Varia RVR315 made the ride safer. While it won’t prevent a from behind crash, it’ll help noticing approaching cars before you eventually hear them, and gives you time to move further right (or left, depends).I use the Garmin Edge 520 Plus to pair the Varia unit. The roads this morning were not that packed, and so I could only see that the Varia RVR315 tracks at least 4 groups behind you. The Edge shows groups with a dot in the display, and their relative distance to you. A group is a single car, or two cars driving next to each other. The Varia can’t distinguish, but it’s sufficient to tell that there’s approaching traffic behind you.I’m glad I made this purchase. Stay safe !
Wayne T –
We ride a tandem bicycle and knowing if we have traffic approaching from the rear is important to us. We have mirrors but sometimes we miss a vehicle approaching from the rear. The audible alert from our bike computers was not very loud and we could not hear it. However when the RTL515 is paired to my wife’s phone using the Garmin Varia app we get a nice loud audible alert. We highly recommend this item when used with the app.