Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
I bought a Varia a couple weeks ago and love it. It provides yet another little bit of interest/entertainment to break up the miles by watching dots move on the screen. But really, I like that when riding gravel I can pick my line and more confidently know that I am not annoying a vehicle behind me if I am in the center of the road. Once a vehicle pops up on radar, I can move over and not slow them down.
Mixed surface rides are what almost all my solo riding is at this point. 5mi of paved roads to hit gravel, then however many miles I want to ride that day, plus 5mi of paved roads home. The gravel roads are quieter, slower, and hillier. Its a win all the way around.
Ditto all of that. That's why I love the Varia also - it allows me to use the whole lane and pick my line. Previously, I almost always rode in the outer 3 ft of the road, not knowing whether a car was behind... (Yes, I have and use a mirror, but it's distracting to check that every few seconds). Especially if there's a pothole coming up quickly... previously I felt I *always* had to go towards the edge of the road to avoid the pothole, in case a car might be coming up. Sometimes there isn't really time to look back at a mirror after you see the pothole.
The only false positives I've had with the Varia is when I pull off the road and the back end of the bike is pointed toward traffic, or after an intersection with cross traffic. The only false negatives have been when the car matches my speed for a while, but that's after the Varia has already alerted me.