Garmin Varia RTL515 on City Roads
#51
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Appreciate it, a friend just pinged me and said he has an extra and will bring it to me today. Love the bike by the way, what color is that?
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#53
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#54
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Note that the other 3D printed mount mentioned up-thread (that was less complicated) was $40.
Note that Garmin sells the latest out-front mount for $39 and they make many of them.
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?
With the mount near the top (near an edge), you can put the mount close to something else (like the bottom of a seat.
The Varia can be mounted upside down.
The mount would be close to an edge if it mounted horizontally. But there might be issues with it being wide (some of the prior versions were horizontal).
With the mount near the top (near an edge), you can put the mount close to something else (like the bottom of a seat.
The Varia can be mounted upside down.
The mount would be close to an edge if it mounted horizontally. But there might be issues with it being wide (some of the prior versions were horizontal).
#59
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Hey thanks again, that mount worked perfectly.
#60
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Promised pics and one bonus pic to show the color better.
The mount fits really close to the seat post. There is barely a gap where the flat part is. It has never moved. I attached the mount high enough where it clears the light, but where the Varia does not rub the painted seat mast.
The mount fits really close to the seat post. There is barely a gap where the flat part is. It has never moved. I attached the mount high enough where it clears the light, but where the Varia does not rub the painted seat mast.
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#62
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Promised pics and one bonus pic to show the color better.
The mount fits really close to the seat post. There is barely a gap where the flat part is. It has never moved. I attached the mount high enough where it clears the light, but where the Varia does not rub the painted seat mast.
The mount fits really close to the seat post. There is barely a gap where the flat part is. It has never moved. I attached the mount high enough where it clears the light, but where the Varia does not rub the painted seat mast.
#63
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Promised pics and one bonus pic to show the color better.
The mount fits really close to the seat post. There is barely a gap where the flat part is. It has never moved. I attached the mount high enough where it clears the light, but where the Varia does not rub the painted seat mast.
The mount fits really close to the seat post. There is barely a gap where the flat part is. It has never moved. I attached the mount high enough where it clears the light, but where the Varia does not rub the painted seat mast.
#64
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#65
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Here is an image of the stock Varia mount as it sits on the Trek seat mast cap thing. It's not making the bike prettier but it can be lived with.
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#67
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E-bike recharge :
Bike is 2020 SL5 with some adds -
Fizik Carbon 3D print saddle
Carbon bars
Roubaix tape
BBinfiniti bottom bracket
BBinfiniti larger pulls wheels
Garmin 1030+
Bontrager lights
Varia
DuraAce rotors (cause black looked cooler)
Bontrager Aeolous Pro 37 wheelset
Bontrager R3 tires in 28
Stages left crank power meter
Last edited by Mojo31; 04-29-22 at 12:28 PM.
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#68
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So I went for a long ride today in both heavy and very light traffic. The varia worked fantastic and really glad I bought it. Appreciate everyone's input.
#69
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I had an old Garmin mount laying around, so I cut the disk off and epoxied it to a piece of aluminum. I put another piece of aluminum inside the seat bag and bolted it together.
I don't want anything touching the seat post.
I don't want anything touching the seat post.
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I have a saddlebag that covers much of the seatpost length (the rest is a small blinky). Can the varia be mounted to the loop on the saddle bag that's made for such things, or does added motion create problems?
#71
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Motion shouldn’t affect it.
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I hope this is clear but just in case. The radar itself has a quarter turn mount, like most Garmin Edges. The female side of the mount that accepts the radar is made to attach to a seat post. You can attach that mount to a loop on a saddle bag, it won't be super clean or tight.
#73
should be more popular
I've done a few rides with the radar-only Varia now and it certainly works well.
One of the main benefits is the ability to use much more of the road with confidence when nobody is around, without sticking to the side just in case.
The only time I can hear a car before it gets picked up on the radar is in the hills where the road twists so tightly that a car is pretty much on your tail as soon as it is in line of sight.
I've also tried it with the RWGPS phone app and counter to all previous reports/complaints and their own current user guide pages where grey means no cars and green counterintuitively means cars, the display is now green when no cars are around and then goes orange (cars) and red (fast closing speeds).
One of the main benefits is the ability to use much more of the road with confidence when nobody is around, without sticking to the side just in case.
The only time I can hear a car before it gets picked up on the radar is in the hills where the road twists so tightly that a car is pretty much on your tail as soon as it is in line of sight.
I've also tried it with the RWGPS phone app and counter to all previous reports/complaints and their own current user guide pages where grey means no cars and green counterintuitively means cars, the display is now green when no cars are around and then goes orange (cars) and red (fast closing speeds).
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In lighter traffic, whether on a quiet stretch in the city or on country roads, I'm now more likely to put myself further out in to the roadway, typically in the passenger side tire track. I think that this has a number of benefits: it's smoother, there's far less debris, and I'm more visible. When I get a chirp for approaching vehicles, I'll move over as far as necessary or practical - I'd like to think that this, along with the Varia light giving the driver angry eyes, let's drivers know that I'm both aware and considerate of their approach. Whether that's the reason or not, it does seem as if I get fewer close passes now compared to when I kept a static position with no light or a dumb light.
I ride out in the middle of my lane always, and consider the whole lane mine to get around potholes, and then move over to let the driver pass more easily when they're there.
That wasn't really something I had in mind when I bought it, but it seems like everyone does it once they get used to the thing. 🙂
#75
should be more popular
I always ride in car tyre tracks because one of the things that stuck from motorcycling was that car tyres clean that part of the road, flinging all the crap to other parts, and specifically the centre of the lane is where all the nasty oil drops are from those who haven't transitioned to EVs yet.
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