JohnJ80

that’s been my experience too. I’ve had every version since it was a Kickstarter project. It’s another great safety tool.

CargoDane

I wasn't arguing anything. I was questioning if it was a smart choice. I don't happen to think so, but feel free to use it. It's legal, have at it.

WhyFi

That's only because you don't know what you're talking about.

JohnJ80

just like in a car, you need to continually scan your surroundings and mirror. The Varia Radar gives you 500’ of warning so that you can observe the car approaching and assure that your “taking the lane” has been observed. This is critical information if you plan to ride in traffic.

the Varia Radar allows you to interrupt your scan to deal with an approaching threat.

I ride in a rural area on roads with no shoulder and speed limits of 55mph. An approaching car 500’ away covers that distance in 5-6s. The warning to interrupt my scan and deal with that immediately is critical. I’m an aggressive “take the lane” guy and I ride in traffic as an equal with other vehicular traffic. This is one device if I forget it, I turn back and go get it.

WhyFi

You can read what's been said before in threads like this - https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...ar-v3-out.html

Robert A

I'll check into it. I often ride on PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) with 45-50 mph traffic spanning two to three lanes. Traffic is always present and I'm wondering whether the device can discern what I truly need to know.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

I don’t live in LA. How would I know?

CargoDane

Wow, I don't think I've ever met someone as hyper-aggressive as you.

CargoDane

You'd only need to have ridden it in a place where there are lots of cars on the road to answer the question.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

Have you ever used a Varia? From your comments I doubt it...It is just an another tool. I am smart enough to look over my shoulder before I alter my line.

CargoDane

THere are lots of things I haven't tried, but still don't consider it a good idea: Parkour on the outside of high rise buildings, riding my bike at night without lights, and so on.

But it must be said that I'm quite surprised at how much being a Vario user seems to be tied to the very identity of both of you since you both react so aggressively to even normal questions. Which kind of proves my point.
With that I'm out of this thread.

Lemond1985

I think the question is whether or not you have any advance warning of close passes? Or just that X number of cars are coming, how fast, and how far behind?

Pizzaiolo Americano 

Thank you...

WhyFi

Because I've pointed out that you're casting aspersions from a position of ignorance?

I've ridden 10k+ miles with a Varia and have been passed by tens (hundreds?) of thousands of cars in that period of time. While I've had false negatives, I've never had it fail to signal a car - ever - so someone arguing that it'll potentially make one *more* unsafe, because it'll imbue a false sense of security, is a bit obnoxious.

Robert A

My question as well. There seem to be a lot of fans for the product so it seems worth checking into.

CargoDane

Final post since you quoted me:

The reason I think it builds over-confidence/reliance is that not everyone rides solely on straight roads, and sometimes there's a cyclist behind you that will block the radar from noticing something further away.

Little did I know that saying something even slightly critical of a frigging bike radar would illicit such a cult-like response.
But yeah, I'm unsubscribing again.

WhyFi

Again, you only think that because you haven't used one and don't know what you're talking about. It's actually quite beneficial on curves and does just fine and dandy in group rides.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

Dude...the cyclist behind you does not block the radar. I ride with my wife pretty much every time I go out. She is always in second position and the radar has never failed to pick up traffic behind us. If you had any experience with the product, you would know that. Giving an opinion on the functionality of a product you have no experience with is ridiculous...

CargoDane

Sure, and it can also see around corners.

This thread was about how to tell if a road is safe, not whether or not vario radars was perfect, a do-everything panacea for looking over your shoulders.

JohnJ80

yes. You nailed it.

Carbonfiberboy 

Thing is, standard lane width is 11'-12' and a standard large car is 6.5' wide.. If I were riding 6" inside the fog line, which is normal for me, a car could pass me in my lane and still leave me 2.5'. Trucks are mostly 8' wide, which only leaves me 1'. However IME trucks are more cautious about passing than are cars. I don't recall ever seeing a truck force an oncoming car off the road. If there's a lot of oncoming, I'll pull over to let the truck or bus by.

I have been passed, rarely, by cars which did not put a wheel in the opposing lane. A bit unsettling, but not dangerous. The First Commandment is hold your line. That said, there have been a few riders hit and in some cases killed by the trailer mirror on a pickup truck. However in the cases I've looked at, taking the lane was not an option.

An exception to my 2-lane bridge rule is the long bridge over the Columbia River in the town of Longview. It is well-known hereabouts as the Longview Bridge. It's 2 lane and has trucks, logging trucks. One cannot take the lane. I'd double dog dare you to do it. The lanes are fairly wide, enough that I was able to fix a flat on our tandem in the middle of the bridge, very carefully. On a fine Saturday in early July (STP), about 1,000 - 2,000 riders cross that bridge, all between the trucks and the bridge structure. On Sunday, when the main bunch of 9,000 riders come through, they shepherd then through in big bunches, taking the lane. I guess they figure we one-day riders are good enough to manage to not get killed on our own. So far, so good.

The issue with the law about cycling lane position is that the exception definitely applies to most 2-lane bridges or a traffic circle or roundabout and those sorts of places and does not apply to normal roadways. In those exception cases one must certainly take the lane, and early, However when I was in Paris, admittedly many years ago, bicycles were not allowed to take the lane in traffic circles or anywhere else. Drivers would simply force you over so you rode between the cars. Most bikes were flat bar with narrow bars. When they did the same thing to my BMW motorcycle, I parked it and took the Metro. I'd have like 6" on either side. Terrifying.

Too bad this thread was taken over by the Varia People.

WhyFi

Really, though - some dude that's never sniffed a Varia just couldn't shut up about what a Varia could or couldn't do and why using one is worse than not.

But yeah, let's get the thread back to a "taking the lane" pissing match - that'll go over well.

Branko D

Basically, the more you get used to it, the more confidence you gain, and the more roads will become "safe" consequently. Roads which I considered worrisome when I started riding on the road are now a pleasure to ride on and nothing has been done to the roads. Hold your line and be predictable in traffic and you'll be fine, confidence simply comes with time and exposure.

Never bothered with a mirror myself (if I need to change lanes, etc, prefer to turn and look, instead). Anyway, it's more critical to scan ahead for danger; intersections, cars (or sometimes pedastrians) joining or backing into the road and so on are a much more typical way of crashing than being hit from behind, and aside from the odd prick in a BMW who thinks it's funny to buzz cyclists at 120 km/hr, the cause of just about all the dangerous traffic situations I've been in.

Digger Goreman

Motorists are 98+% of traffic, and it only takes one distracted/irate gasaholic to ruin your day... potentially forever. To your reasonability, and economy, be as aware and safe as you can. Then accept whatever happens... you've done your best.

Expecting the 98% to clean up their acts, first, is reasonable... but they are not....

jpescatore

TortoiseAvenger - you may want to look at the "Level of Traffic Stress" scoring methodology that came out in California a few years ago and that is in use by my county's transportation planners. Look here to see an example of the levels and rationale they used in our local master plan. Definitely not a panacea, but gives you some ways to think how your personal definition of "safe" matches or doesn't match that of transportation planners.

They also built a web site for our county roads colored coded by stress - look here.

All that said, it is still a YMMV (Your Mental Model May Vary...) scenario. I routinely ride stress-free on many of the roads coded as high stress but not the coding key says "Inappropriate for children and most adults" - my wife and her cycling group would never ride on most of those roads.

Almost all bike paths are shown as either medium or low stress, but between poor maintenance and high level of walkers/dog walkers, etc, I'd rather ride on the shoulder of the high speed road next to it - my wife and her friends take the path.

Finally, there are roads that at age 63 I don't bike on any more that I routinely biked problem-free in my 20s and 30s - my personal definition of safe/low stress changed, not the roads. There are also roads that did change, added enough shoulder that I can now ride them and wouldn't back then.