I like to think that I am fairly aware of my surroundings when I’m riding, but if I told you I always hear cars come up on me I’d be a liar.
I realize that a tail light helps make the driver aware of you, but what I’m wondering is: “How has having advanced notice of a car coming up on you changed how you ride?”
Thanks in advance!
It is also often the case that the sound of the first car, even if I hear it, masks the sound of additional cars. I have some mild hearing loss so something that helps compensate is useful.
2 other cases come immediately to mind
I used it in a recent race where the bike course was both crowded with other bikes and open to traffic. Having a rearward eye allowed me to both know when it was safe to pass while at the same time allowing me to have my eyes pay attention just to what’s in front of me.
Knowing a car or cars are behind me serves a reminder to either get to the far right of the shoulder or get up on the sidewalk if available
My Varia won’t protect me from getting rear-ended, BUT :
-
when I ride my road bike in a “virtual TT position” without aero clip-ons, I can safely go to a more stable position when the Varia tells me a car is coming, so it won’t blow me out
-
when the Varia makes it’s “beep”, meaning there’s a car approaching, I do sometimes look to the back to see if the car is driving straight (or if the driver looks distracted), and try to make eye-contact. It did happen that I was so scared that I left the road… I probable wouldn’t have got hit, but we’ll never know.
-
when riding with friends two abroad, and I can accelerate to the front when a car is coming and not piss off a potentially hot-blooded road user (I won’t open the debate of “it’s legal where I live to ride two bikers abroad”, but I prefer not to)
Not perfect, but way better than my hearing at 20mph with a headwind !
Thanks! I appreciate the insight. A couple of the roads I ride on have fairly narrow shoulders and was thinking having the radar would be a nice safety feature.
Thanks! These are all very good points. It was quite windy today and I had several cars at my back wheel before I knew they where there. Obviously got me thinking.
dj_pal is exactly right… those are main reasons why l love mine.
It’s also helpful to know when there are more than 1 car behind. Sometimes I have to turn across traffic and instead of multiple looks over my shoulder, I can wait until the green screen shows and the car “dots” are gone. The ability to know there are more than 1 car lined up is quite helpful to me. I am completely pleased and feel a lot safer with my variation.
Be careful, sometimes if the cars are really close to each other Varia will only beep once for the first car. Always wait for a few seconds after you get passed to make sure there isn’t a second car coming. Otherwise I found it to work quite reliably.
I already wear a neon green shirt and have a tail light, but I bought the Varia at the beginning of the season and feel a lot safer using it. i used to turn around frequently on bad patches of road to see if a car is coming, now I know it. I usually sit up when a car passes so they see that motion, sometimes I turn around to make eye contact. It’s a game changer for me.
I really don’t understand why more people don’t have one.
Hello Bville and All,
While it may make you look like a Fred …
A rear view mirror also provides cost effective information (in high definition with color) about what is behind you without turning your head … and the batteries never go dead … frequently used successfully by motorists and … “Parakeets will often peck at them, thinking they are looking at another parakeet. Apollo 11 left a mirror on the moon. It is used to reflect laser light from Earth, and with precise knowledge of the speed of light, we can measure the distance from the Earth to the moon by measuring the round-trip time of the light…”
$11.97
I’m generally very alert and check the position of approaching cars that I hear coming. I’ve been thinking about a varia because when I’m alone and buried in intervals my situational awareness is lost.
That is a really great point. I like the idea that if I’m down on the aerobars i could use it as an indicator to momentarily sit up to make myself more visible to the cars coming from behind.
I ride on mostly country roads with minimal traffic (but no lines for the shoulder or center line). When cruising in a tucked position, it’s often difficult for me to hear a car coming, and not the easiest to look all the way behind me without sitting up. Sometimes I need to move over to avoid a pothole or other obstacle. I still shoulder-check before moving, but having the Varia beep at me lets me know that I cannot swerve to avoid an obstacle without becoming one myself (well, it’s not the Varia that beeps, it’s my Edge head unit). It is also very helpful to be able to glance at the screen and quickly see if it’s just one car approaching or multiple. Depending on the terrain (hills, corners, etc.), I’ll sit upright when it beeps at me, until the vehicle(s) have passed.
If I was riding on busier roads, I don’t think I’d find as much use for the unit.
Hello Bville and All,
While it may make you look like a Fred …
A rear view mirror also provides cost effective information (in high definition with color) about what is behind you without turning your head … and the batteries never go dead … frequently used successfully by motorists
$11.97
I have one. Good luck getting it adjusted so you can see behind you while in an aero position. If you do manage that, you can’t see a thing behind you if happen to be up on the bullhorns. I can’t even manage to get it adjusted so I can see behind me from both the hoods and the drops on my road bike.
How is it in a group ride? I do rides on the weekends sometimes where I ride 10 miles to meet up with the group solo. Then ride about 30 with the group, the 10 miles solo again. Besides the obvious benefit when I’m alone, in those middle 30 miles, there are times I’m at the back that I’d like to know if there’s a car coming up to make some passes. Does it differentiate between another cyclist and a car well?
How is it in a group ride? I do rides on the weekends sometimes where I ride 10 miles to meet up with the group solo. Then ride about 30 with the group, the 10 miles solo again. Besides the obvious benefit when I’m alone, in those middle 30 miles, there are times I’m at the back that I’d like to know if there’s a car coming up to make some passes. Does it differentiate between another cyclist and a car well?
yes…
Hello Bville and All,
I have one. Good luck getting it adjusted so you can see behind you while in an aero position. If you do manage that, you can’t see a thing behind you if happen to be up on the bullhorns. I can’t even manage to get it adjusted so I can see behind me from both the hoods and the drops on my road bike.
I agree as I tried that mirror and it doesn’t work. What I found is the Rhode Gear brake handle mirror DOES work in any position and is as good as a motorcycle mirror. I highly recommend this ~$20 safety device for anyone riding on the road.
Hello gary p and All,
Good point … maybe we need a new mirror design or a camera that shows the rearward image on a Garmin Varia Vision instead of just dots.
Perhaps Kevin Moats could be an expert consultant on the project since he seemed to be the focus (pun) of the no mirror rule.
I use and like the Garmin Varia Vision and would like to have the rear view for addition situational awareness.
What do you think?
Yes; I’ve never had another cyclist trigger it; calling out “car back” from the front of the group is a bit odd though 
.
The Varia allows me to ride much farther out in the lane than I normally would, avoiding the glass and sticks and other debris littered on the shoulder. When I hear the beep I drift back into the shoulder. Get a lot fewer flats this way.
I’ve had the Varia give a few false positives (tells me a car is approaching when there isn’t one), but NEVER in 12 months of using it have I had a single false negative. If a car is behind me, it shows up on the screen, so I feel fairly safe riding two feet out from the shoulder. You just have to make sure you look down at the screen frequently because the beep isn’t always that easy to hear.
I love my Varia and feel naked and vulnerable when riding without it.