Does anyone commute with rear radar?
 

Anyone with real world experience commuting with a rear radar setup? Garmin has a rear light+radar unit that pairs with compatible head units. There's also the Magene from AliExpress/Amazon. Seems like an interesting idea but how's the real-world utility?

Garmin Varia
 

I use the Garmin Varia setup with my Garmin Edge 520. System works great but battery life is only about 4 hours. The good news is the radar still works when I attach it to a small battery pack. Picks up cars about 130 yards back. I ride brevets on a recumbent bike and would never ride without it.

I also use a Garmin Varia with an Edge 830. By happy surprise we found it also works with a Garmin 735XT watch so when on a tandem both stoker (with the watch) and captain (with the Edge) can see the traffic notifications. The Varia picks up traffic further back than we can reliably see in the mirrors, and lets us know about multiple cars when we can only see the first car in the mirror. It's been a great help when trying to change lanes across 3 lanes of traffic to make a left turn. We had it on for 8 hours last weekend and it didn't run out of battery so maybe blink pattern makes a difference. I wonder if number of cars passing makes a difference in battery usage...we had 545 on that day.

yes works great really useful when you need to get in the left turn lane. I listen to the all clear then check my mirror. great in the fog we had today.

It's on my Christmas wish list but I haven't been in a buy-things mode lately.

Thanks for the insights. Seems like it's a practical and useful thing to have. My main hesitation is that I don't currently ride with a head unit, so the initial investment is a bit steep (not only financially, but also the researching/learning how to get the most of the system). I haven't used a head unit in over 10 years and for the last 6 or so I've just been using a Fitbit to log ride basics.

the garmin varia radar unit works great...if you're riding in the city, it helps when you want but you hafta disregard when inapplicable, personally find it more helpful
out in the boonies/on long downhills in the mtns but that's me. in the city, i'm under the assumption that there are multiple vehicles in my immediate neighborhood at all times
and ride accordingly.

The Garmin RTL515 will send the information to your phone over Bluetooth. You could get a phone strap mount if you wanted to go for the least expensive option.

I ride on the road and commute with my RTL510 (older version without Bluetooth) and Edge 830, and will never go back to riding on the road without radar.

One thing I have definitely noticed in these threads about the radar units is that people who actually have tried it either like it, or want it further improved. The camera version did get some "what's the point of this" reactions.

I personally think the simple cheap radar-only unit (RVR315) makes the most sense if you already have a taillight you like. Bonus is that they're not hard to find for around $100. Extra bonus is that several previous generation Garmin head units are available cheap right now as factory refurbs. Edge 1030 for $250, Edge 530 for $150 if you're a mountain biker who needs Trailforks maps or Edge Explore for $99 if you're just a cheapskate like me.

I'm on my second one now. I try never to leave home without it, even if I am riding off-road.

I will replace bikes, headunits, groupsets, wheels,... but will never replace the Garmin Varia unless they make a better one.

In case it's useful, looks like lowest price around on the radar-only RVR315 is actually at REI right now:

https://www.rei.com/product/182343/g...rearview-radar

Almost bought it but would rather pay more for the one with the integrated light.

Thanks to those who weighed in on this thread, I have been using the Magene radar taillight with a Magene head unit. I find it a nice feature to have. It definitely detects vehicles a bit sooner than my ears can. I've had a couple of false negatives where the vehicle behind me is moving too slowly to be detected, and found that it also fails to detect motorcycles. I'm not one to constantly look at my head unit while riding and I wish there was an audible alert instead of just a visual one (the head unit is supposed to beep when a vehicle is detected but despite playing around with the settings, mine does not beep at all). But overall I am pleased with the functionally of the radar system.

To try one is to buy one.
As Essential as mirrors
This is the 21st century, bro.

How would that work in heavy traffic? A lot of my commuting is on a bike lane next to rush hour traffic.

A year and some change later, I still ride with radar and I love it. Figured out the beep alerts, but my riding buddy doesn't like it so I leave it off most of the time. I only use it for recreational rides though, not for commuting or short errands. For short casual rides the head unit becomes just another extra thing to think about but I do take the radar light as that still detects cars and blinks rapidly whenever one approaches.

I don't see the point unless your deaf. I can even hear EVs tires coming up from behind me. Neither the radar, nor your ears are going to tell if the car is aiming for you to hit you, and even if it could, and a car is barreling down on you at 70 mph just where do you think you're going to go? If someone wants to hit you, they will one way or another, do you really think you're going to dodge it? Mirrors work a lot better for a lot less money, but the limitation is the same as the radar. I don't understand all this fear, I've been riding in traffic for over 40 years including big cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Detroit, even in rush hour traffic, never worried about being hit from behind or had to constantly look over my shoulder out of fear, if I'm going to be that paranoid to ride a bike I would quit riding! I'm sorry, but I don't have room in my life for fear.

The only time I need to look over my shoulder is to change lanes, and with practice you can look over your shoulder without veering one way or the other.

I even tried riding with a mirror for about a year, nah, never used it again after that.

Your best rear safety measure is to put a very bright 300 plus lumen strobing taillight back there. NiteRider has a 330 lumen tail light called the Omega 330, I have the older Omega 300 and that thing is intensely bright during the day. The 330 is on sale currently at NiteRider.

Speaking of NiteRider, they sell refurbished models of headlights, I bought a refurbished Lumina 1200, it's been a great light, refurbished is subject to availability, but right now they have the same 1200 model that I bought for just $50, normally they are $125, comes with a full warranty too. And those Lumina lights, when the battery no longer will take a charge, for around $30 you can send back and they will replace the battery, check out entire light, and reseal it, and send it back to you.

Newer used any electronic equipment on my bike. Just concentrated on road surface & profile, keep your eyes and ears wide open, look quick over your left shoulder if feeling something unusual.

On many of the routes I take, the urban environment means that the specific sound of a car behind me can be fairly muddled-in with the rest of the noise. Particuarly anywhere near the nearby highways (which snake through and around many of the communities). I'm nowhere near deaf, but the sound's not always easy to pick out.

About the only way to enhance rearward awareness is to either have mirrors or radar or be regularly looking. In such situations, this sort of radar seems to fill a void that might otherwise leave a person fairly surprised and without options. (Have used mirrors. In my experience they work well enough, but they do take attention away from what's up ahead and they do require frequent checking. Whereas a radar would do the looking for the rider.)

I suspect that many people in similar urban areas have to contend with higher noise levels that'll drown out much of an approaching vehicle's noise.

I'm sorry, but I have to politely disagree, I've been riding on city streets for over 45 years in places like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit and Chicago, just to name a few, and never wish I had a mirror or a radar. People have been riding for years without either, like I said before, if someone is going to hit you that radar isn't going to help the least bit, they are going to hit you. I just don't think it's necessary to have that stuff; but you do you, and I'll do me.

I'm in between @rekmeyata's point of view and those who use every feature of every gadget. So I'd like to know what a radar can offer me. I use a rear view mirror and other gadgetry, and I listen and look well. I've been riding on streets for 49 years. A radar will tell me that a vehicle is behind me, but how will it enhance what I already have? When there's nothing but traffic as far as the eye can see, I already know there are cars coming at me from every direction. What new information will it give me?

That's what I've been trying to tell you, it won't give you any more information, it isn't going to tell you that a car is on a collision course to hit you.

It definitely gives you additional information - it detects vehicles earlier than I can hear, and I only need to look down or get an audible alert from my head unit. But in general, in urban environments, I agree on that I've also ridden for decades without radar or mirrors and got along just fine. Also agree that the primary use would be to make a left turn and it's easier to look at the indicator on the head unit than it is to turn my head. The secondary use is to just not be surprised by anyone. But, to each their own.

I use Varia, and I agree that it is unhelpful for urban environments since there are always (more or less) cars approaching from the rear. In such an environment, I just ride as if there are always cars coming up behind me.

Varia's real usefulness is outside of urban areas, where an approaching car may take me by surprise. I ride mostly on rural paved and gravel roads with little traffic, and between my hearing loss and the constant wind, it's often hard to hear cars approaching from behind me. Varia is extremely useful for such riding, and I use it for every single such ride.