excellent radar, camera and rear light all in one.
ignore the reviews. they all complain about the app. you only need the app to configure it, which works fine.
hopefully I have enough words
Garmin Varia RCT715 $549 Delivered (Save $150 off RRP) @ Garmin
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Yowza.
Guess it is an impressive amount of tech.
Garmin must be making absolute bags with their prices.
Oh its for the bikes, thought it was some sort of dashcam
fly6 are notoriously bad.
Is there anything similar that's camera only, like a Cycliq?
you may be able to run it in camera only mode. but why?
I commute and whilst I can see how a radar would be handy, I don't want to fork out hundreds of dollars and all i really want is a camera.
I just use a GoPro (front mounted though).
Here's one of my recent recordings (NSFW foul language by me): https://youtu.be/4jSjN3tGpxU
PM me if you want to know my setup.
I have this - pretty happy with it.
There's no real intelligence to it tho - it'll activate if anything approaches you faster than you're moving.
I.e. - walking up behind a stationary bike will set off the radar.
Not a negative, just something it does.
The app does suck, but it works fine for telling you when something is approaching.
Have never used a Garmin Varia, but picked up a competitor product (~$130AUD from ebay) a few months ago and rate it. It's the Magene L508 and there are a few reviews around the place (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdCNEXyeXPM&ab_channel=Shane…).
Interesting but doesn't have a camera, so similar to the cheaper Garmin model, not the one in this deal.
Good point, totally ovelooked that this one has a camera. That explains the increase in price from the previous Varia.
But remember that the camera is not that good so cannot capture numberplate clearly.
damn how far we've come with tech
Well, radar was invented in 1930s, modern cameras/TV in the 1920s/1930s and LED lighting in the 1960s.
Sure, it's novel and ingenious to combine all three innovations into one handheld gizmo that a layman can easily use but the fundamental scientific principles have been well-understood for a century now and are all positively ancient from the standpoint of modern-day scientific thinking.
You forget about battery tech, recording tech, microchips, phone app wireless connection, integration with a bike computer (which itself is a lot of tech built-in)…
Also, the precision of this thing is incredible - it amazes me how it can recognise there are 2 cars behind me and not think it is just one.
Yeah but besides smartphones and WiFi, all of those separate inventions are quite ancient by today's standards, especially batteries.
This device really isn't splitting the atom nor does it represent some generational leap in technological progress but I do get how it can perceived as mind-blowing Sci-Fi wizardy if you just look at it out of context and disregard the timeline of human scientific progress over the past century.
Cars have had this exact same functionality in the form of laser-guided/radar-guided cruise control (or "adaptive cruise control") since the 1990s. You could have theoretically mounted the same sensors, integrated circuits and some kind of user interface onto a bicycle back then, it just would have taken up too much space and been prohibitively expensive but it's literally the exact same concept and technology that was available in the 1990s, now just miniaturised and tailored to fit onto a bicycle.
SJCAM action camera C300
Camera only (doesn't have radar and light like the Garmin)?
I have a varia RTL 510, which I am happy with. Would anyone explain the camera usage to me ?
If a car (or anything for that matter) approaches you, when the device is connected to your phone, it'll alert you that a car is approaching. It also gives a different alert if it is approaching really quickly.
When these alerts come on, the camera records the footage and can display the longtitude/latitude coordinates, as well as approaching vehicle speed.
You can also set it to record constantly when turned on.
Ok. I get the sound alert part because it’s the same with varia rtl510. But the video part, do you just use it as an evidence when you go to the court or insurance claim? Because if a car is approaching me very quickly, my reaction should not be “look at the screen, look at how fast the car is coming at you”
Yes, for insurance or police report. It's not a livestream to your bike computer.
It is purely for awareness and for how close they are. I ride with my kids on the road so it is added peace of mind
And for the constant record, yeah ok. Like a GoPro. But I guess that not a use case for me. I can see YouTube influencer using this to record their crit race though.
This must mean new one is coming, will wait for that. Other than the radar tech the reviews on this one is the camera is pretty average. And at $600+ retail you want something that's slightly better than average.
the footage is as good as/better than the fly6. except it is actually water proof, unlike the fly 6
Those damn things are such a disappointment.
Every generation I'm hoping they fix the myriad of QC issues, but instead they up the lumens and resolution and call it a day.
They need to juice up the battery life with the revised model hopefully this year for me to buy.
If you're topping up every ride or 2 then it doesn't matter.There is a lot of tech going on drawing that power, radar, light and camera. I'm impressed you can get two rides out of it.
I assume you can plug it into a powerbank if you don’t have the time to properly charge it. Is that correct?
I’m still rocking the original. Waiting for it to die so I can upgrade.
Just here to say that if you're a cyclist, please invest in front and rear cameras. We lost our dad to a cycling accident last year. Please take every safety precaution and think of who you have waiting for you at home.
Sorry to hear Laken.
Sorry to hear mate.
As a dad I’m now riding an awful lot less after a couple of close calls.
Sorry for your loss.
I've seen such an uptick in driver aggression against cyclists since COVID that I rarely ride road anymore.
Garmin makes some fantastic kit, thankfully its mostly standalone after the initial set up with the app, they cant make an app to save themselves.
I'm a bit of a fan of Garmin Connect (for the fitness watches) - IMHO it's a very well executed bit of app.
I cannot stand it, the only time I use it is when my instinct loses sync and no longer notifies me of texts. Aside from that I avoid using it personally.
Can I use this on my electric scooter somehow?
Clench a seat post between your butt cheeks and you're good to go
That's Kinky
You could connect it to your backpack or I guess your belt or something?
GoPro chest mount but wear it back to front.
Worth getting for my stationary bike?
Yes to detect the partner/kid before they pester you while you are working out.
Garmin Edge 540 solar also on discount… tempted to get the combo?
Are you getting this to not having to use your phone and drain its battery? I assume there would be apps which provide similar functionalities
Price match at 99bikes for another 5% off
Cannot be applied to Garmin products
I have one of these, works well, upgraded from a Cycliq Fly6 (notoriously flakey). This seems to work very well; I was worried it would be a gimmick, but it does a great job about warning you of cars from behind. The main gripe I have is with the seatpost mount, rubber band around the seatpost is never ideal. I have a great 3D printed one that screws into the bottom of a Specialized Power saddle but I've recently swapped that saddle out. The option for other saddles seems to be a cheapo aliexpress/ebay device that attaches to a seatrail, tried on Saturday morning, fell off the first time I got up out of the saddle on a climb. Looking for a better option now.
Almost tempting to upgrade from the standard radar.