But I don’t quite get the purpose of this thing. What good is it knowing a car is approaching from behind? From my perception our relationship with cars approaching from behind is essentially one of pure trust. We just trust we’re not going to get creamed. Is it supposed to allow enough time for evasive maneuver? That just seems unlikely given that with tight passing distances (~3 ft) and huge differential in speed it’s impossible to distinguish a polite passing car from a run-over until it’s basically too late.
Or is it merely for situations where you’re “taking the road” on a low-traffic road, and it allows you notice of approaching cars so you can politely gutter yourself to let a car by - maybe an issue with very silent cars like hybrids.
Now in the future, I could see bike-to-car communication that would engage the brakes on a car getting too close. That’s a real benefit, and I’d stand in a long line to get that device (and car).
I don’t have the Varia, but I can see exactly where it’s useful.
It’s def not going to be useful in any sort of roads where there are lots of cars whizzing by all the time like city or urban streets. You don’t need a Varia to know they’re buzzing by you, all the time, and that you should never drift left.
However, on low-traffic country roads, especially ones without a real shoulder, I could see how the Varia would be super useful. I have some of these very low-traffic country/mountain roads in my area, and the first thing you want to do is to take the lane and enjoy it to its fullest. However, the caveat is that because it’s low traffic, avg car speed is 40-65mph, so they come fast. In addition, if you’re bombing on a descent, it’s not only annoying but even dangerous to have to look back and see if some speedster vehicle/motorcycle is about to run you over. You end up looking over your shoulder a lot, or hugging the right side of the road ‘just in case’.
Whereas with a Varia, I would just take the lane when it’s clear, enjoy it to the max, and then when I get the beep that a car is (way) back there, I’ll drift right and let him pass before going back. Of course, you absolutely dont NEED the varia, but I’ll def say that I’d really want one on my 3-4 hr rides where most of the roads are like this. I’d then spend the vast majority of the time taking the lane.
Don’t know if you’re allowed all that stuff (lights, etc) on your bike during a race…but if it picks up motorcycles, could be a way from drafters to get a head of possible penalties?
I don’t have the Varia, but I can see exactly where it’s useful.
It’s def not going to be useful in any sort of roads where there are lots of cars whizzing by all the time like city or urban streets. You don’t need a Varia to know they’re buzzing by you, all the time, and that you should never drift left.
However, on low-traffic country roads, especially ones without a real shoulder, I could see how the Varia would be super useful. I have some of these very low-traffic country/mountain roads in my area, and the first thing you want to do is to take the lane and enjoy it to its fullest. However, the caveat is that because it’s low traffic, avg car speed is 40-65mph, so they come fast. In addition, if you’re bombing on a descent, it’s not only annoying but even dangerous to have to look back and see if some speedster vehicle/motorcycle is about to run you over. You end up looking over your shoulder a lot, or hugging the right side of the road ‘just in case’.
Whereas with a Varia, I would just take the lane when it’s clear, enjoy it to the max, and then when I get the beep that a car is (way) back there, I’ll drift right and let him pass before going back. Of course, you absolutely dont NEED the varia, but I’ll def say that I’d really want one on my 3-4 hr rides where most of the roads are like this. I’d then spend the vast majority of the time taking the lane.
That seems like an awful lot of tech/expense to avoid having a rearview mirror.
FWIW, I’ve tried a rearview mirror, and wouldn’t trust it even remotely for distant oncoming cars. By the time the cars are close enough to trust the mirror, you’ve heard it long ago. The Varia should be much better and reliable at distant detection.
I recently bought a Varia. I was like you. I kind of wanted one but wasn’t sure I saw the point, especially for the cost. I’m a little surprised how much I like it. It detects cars long before you would be able to hear them, and you can see how quickly they’re approaching and you know when they’re about to pass. It’s especially nice on country roads where there isn’t much traffic. I’ve had plenty of times where I couldn’t hear cars coming, especially on windy days, and I was a little startled as they flew by a little too close and I had no clue they were there. But now I see them on my Garmin. It reminds me to move right, if I’m not as far right as I can be, and then the taillight flashes when the car gets closer which helps with visibility. It’s hard to say for sure, but it feels like cars have been giving me more room since I got it.
I don’t know if I’m safer with it, but it makes me feel safer which is worth something to me. My girlfriend is pretty new to cycling and is a little uncomfortable around traffic. I got her a Varia too and she loves it. She says it makes her feel safer knowing when the cars are coming and knowing the light is flashing giving her more visibility.
I don’t know about engaging brakes on a car, but I could see having the radar communicate with a GPS inside the car giving the driver a warning that there’s a cyclist up the road.
I have noticed that it seems more cyclists are riding with taillights all the time lately. I was out on a sunny day a couple of months ago and noticed a taillight from a cyclist about 1-2 miles before I caught him. All I saw way up the road was a bright red flashing light. It wasn’t a Varia, but it made me realize how much visibility a good taillight gives us even in the middle of the afternoon on a sunny day. Even if you don’t get a Varia, I think riding with a decent taillight all the time is a good idea.
I tend to do some training on desolate roads with the TT bike so I can go long distances without stoplights. These same roads many times have no shoulder. It allows me to stay in the TT position and move to right when I need too.
Also in pace lines others can link up to mine with their garmins and get advanced warning as well.
With a car going 100kph (63mph) you’d have about 5 seconds warning before impact.
Beep - What was that?
Oh, yeah, a car.
start moving to the side of the road?
get hit before getting to the safe side of the road
Even talking hybrids and electric cars (except on windy days) you can still hear them coming. I just get the feeling that on this one Garmin is solving a non-existent problem.
I have a Garmin Varia and have been using it for awhile.
I like it because it gets rid of all the clutter in the cockpit … I use it with a Garmin Edge 520 in my pocket … but sometimes I need to put the 520 under my jersey in front because it appears the signal get blocked by my body when in the back pocket.
It will be an improvement when a device like the Varia does not need an relay device like the Edge 520 and can work independently … collecting data from power meters, etc. directly … but that is what evolution/obsolesce looks like.
I do not use the radar/lights function. I would like it better for that function if it had a rear facing camera image for traffic … and maybe an alert vibration when a target appeared … rather than little blips
The Varia does not fit easily under most TT helmets with ear flaps … I have a Giro Aerohead on order which has a long lens cutout back by the ears … possibly that may work … by pushing the Helmet lens out a bit on the Varia side. (I use the Varia for the right side - my dominant eye).
In the pic below the Varia is tipped down … I wear mine so it is parallel to the glasses temple/earpiece and look up a bit to read it … but it still may not fit under the edge of the Aerohead Helmet … have to try it when the helmet is available.
Trust? I have *no *trust for drivers. That’s precisely why I love the Varia. It allows me to ride several feet left of where I could be, watch as cars approach to pass, and pop out to the right at exactly the time I would get hit or buzzed by the passing vehicle – at least, if that were the driver’s intent, which is too often is.
As others have said, it gives me eyes when I cannot hear and provides warning when I cannot see. And beyond that, it allows me to listen to my music (in one ear only) while still having greater road and vehicle awareness than if I had no beats at all. The Varia tells me when I’m safe to take the lane as a shoulder narrows or disappears. It provides greater disability given that it’s beams brighter and flashes faster as cars approach. When I am riding in front a friend, he too gains all of the foregoing benefits based on the strength and speed of the flashing light.
This piece of technology is worth its weight in gold. Besides the fact that it looks ridiculous, ruining the clean aesthetic of my bike, and makes me look like a giant fucking Fred, the thing could save my life. It’s an exceptional tool – if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.
Maybe use it to spot drafting cheats in races. Like a timing chip, everyone gets one.
The radar measures the distance, the computer decides how long the drafter is in the zone, and then starts shooting video to enable identification of the offender. Or with a proximity card type sensor, it could even automatically identify the offender (to back up the video evidence). When you enter T2, it uploads any offending information to the server via wifi in T2 corral and the offender gets shipped to Guantanamo for questioning. Their bike gets auctioned off to cover costs.
Garmin just has to give WTC and other race events a reasonable price for rental of 2000 units each race and we could go back to talking about seats too high, instead of worrying about drafting. Sweet!
and pop out to the right at exactly the time I would get hit or buzzed by the passing vehicle – at least, if that were the driver’s intent, which is too often is.
Not my style. I believe the single most important riding skill is predictability. We must make our riding predictable to other riders and other vehicles. Playing games with passing cars seems like an extraordinarily bad idea.
The only thing that’s predictable is that some drivers will try to buzz you or even put you in the ditch. You give these guys an inch, they’ll use that inch. My ‘game’ is only to provide that inch for myself, as I should when I’m on a 18 lb bicycle traveling 20mph and they are in a 4,000lb truck traveling 50mph. But you keep on with your style.
With a car going 100kph (63mph) you’d have about 5 seconds warning before impact.
Beep - What was that?
Oh, yeah, a car.
start moving to the side of the road?
get hit before getting to the safe side of the road
Even talking hybrids and electric cars (except on windy days) you can still hear them coming. I just get the feeling that on this one Garmin is solving a non-existent problem.
I def disagree here.
Once you get to 20+mph, which is pretty easy to do on a downhill, the wind noise renders your ability to hear rear cars very poor. I have this exact problem on a mild several mild long descent on my mountain rides - I’m constantly freaking out about whether I should take the lane so I can cruise through the windy roads at 30+mph, or if by doing so I’m going to get flattened by a car. And if I take the time to turn my head (which I do despite going 30+mph), I’m worrying about eating it from some road debris.
On a quite mild climb, where you’re all alone, and you can hear cars coming from quite a distance, yes, hearing the car probably is as good if not better than the Varia. But for any riding at 20+mph, which pretty much means any descent, that wind noise really causes problems and you have to turn your head.
Five seconds is a veritable eternity. If you can’t make moves with a three second warning, you shouldn’t even be out on the road.
I think it’s bad to do swervey things, in general. And swervey-riders make me nervous. I generally keep my distance from them. I take my line, and I’m predictable. Have never made contact with a car in around 30 years of riding.
