PeteHski

Yep, I'm in the same boat with a Varia RTL515. Hard to justify the camera upgrade, but the day some ******* clips me and drives off I will seriously regret not recording them. The seatpost mount looks more substantial on this new model too. I find the mount on mine a bit flimsy, although it hasn't caused any issues.
I guess I'll have to read DCR's review.

WhyFi

If you have a round post, there is a solid mount for the 510/515; works and looks much better than the rubber band thingie.

PeteHski

Cheers, I might get one of those.

tempocyclist

Litespud

Yes - looks better than the rubber bands and not expensive.

Mojo31

Works on some D shape posts also.

Rocket-Sauce 

How does this compare to a Cycliq Fly 6? Is radar worth $170?

Mojo31

Radar is worth more than a camera. Radar helps you avoid trouble. Camera only documents the problem when it hits you.

Seattle Forrest

Not surprisingly, it's larger than the no camera version.

tempocyclist

I had a Fly6 and the video quality (while still 1080p) is arguably better, possibly due to the image stabilisation option. I've always been able to make out number plates.

It died recently from water ingress through the charging port (rubber cap may have come loose). I'll likely replace it with this new VARIA combo.

Whether the radar is worth it is personal. Recently I went on a ride with a mate who has a VARIA and his Garmin would "beep" the car warning well before I could hear anything behind.

Polaris OBark

I have these on two bikes. They are well worth it.

On my steel bike that has a carbon seatpost that tends to creep downward, it solved that problem without (useless) carbon-paste, over-torquing the bolt or putting sand in the grease.

Win/win.

Seattle Forrest

https://bikerumor.com/first-impressi...r-with-camera/

Previous, no camera version next to new update.

jaxgtr

Shane Miller basically say great idea, but not ready for prime time, really hammers them for only putting in a 16gb memory card

Bald Paul

I just ordered one. Should be here on 5/20, if you want to wait for an "unprofessional" review.

After I was struck from behind by a car, I got a 515 and really liked it. But, after several years of use, the battery would no longer hold a charge for more than 45 minutes or so. I contacted Garmin about getting the battery replaced, but all they could offer was a reconditioned unit at almost the same cost of a new one. At about the same time, my Rylo 360 degree cam, which I had mounted on the left end of the handlebars so it could record forward, rearward, and to the side, decided to die, and Rylo had stopped making them.

I opted for a GoPro (2, actually) and bought a new Varia 315 to go along with a Bontrager Flare tail light. With the three of those stuffed onto the seatpost, it was cluttered and looked terrible, although it worked well. The new unit will clean things up, battery life should be better than the GoPro, and I have 128GB memory cards laying around. (That is a non-issue with me. Most cameras you buy come with a minimum storage card. My DSLR came with one big enough to store about 10 photos - it was the first "upgrade" I made to that.)

I also think the lever type lock mount will become the new standard for future Garmin unit mounts. I have an out front mount for my 1030+ with the Garmin auxiliary power pack. You take out the 1/4 turn twist base and install lever locks for both units. I feel they are much more secure. I think Garmin will eventually come out with a software upgrade to add image stabilization. I only intend to use it when radar is activated. I'm not really interested in uploading high quality movies of my back tire to YouTube.

Mojo31

Isn't that just worthless whining? A 32gb card is only $7. The small card is not a legit b*tch.

seypat

Not really. A 64mb is around $10 and a 128mb is around $15. At the volume Garmin is buying them, they can put a biigger one in there for $400 so the buyer won't have to upgrade straight out of the box.

Mojo31

Chump change if you're buying a $400 gadget. Not a legit gripe.

When you gripe about stuff like that, one is just looking for a reason to gripe.

jaxgtr

That is what he was complaining about. He said that the 16gb, wont hold a 2 hr ride if I recall... so I can see that point. He wasnt saying not to buy it due to that, but he was just harping on Garmin that with the cost of this thing, for them to cheap out on the memory stick, seems odd. He had more complaints about bigger issues, that is just one he mentioned.

seypat

Not true. You must not work in retail. I know what you do, and it's not sales.(It's not selling a product, anyway) I sell items all day long from $5 to in the $1000s. Buyers will b1tch and moan like they're having a heart attack if they have to purchase a $1-3$ item to make that purchase operational. You're better off marking up the price and throwing the accessory item in for "free."

Think about all of those purchases you make that you like to share with other areas of the forums. You like a lot of sizzle with your steak and will wheel and deal until you get it.

Litespud

it’s a fair criticism if the thing isn’t fit for service (ie incapable of recording a 2-hour ride) out of the box. It’d be no different than if you found that the rubber bands had to be purchased separately. It’s not the cost, it’s the functionality.

Mojo31

I've been looking into a rear view camera, and was excited to see this one come out. My purpose would be solely incident recording, and I really don't have any interest in recording an entire 2, 3 or 4 hour ride. But, if I did, I could certainly spring for a bigger card, and that wouldn't stop me from buying the unit. Other performance issues will cause me to wait for a while to see if functionality improves.

Back in my sports photography days, I bought several $5k-6k camera bodies. If there was a card in the box, it was only a very small capacity card that might hold 100 images. Not good when shooting a football game and shooting a minimum of 800-1,000 shots per game, and burning to dual cards in case of a corruption in one. First thing you did was buy bigger cards. I never heard a single gripe about Canon or Nikon only including the most entry level memory cards. Essentially, the cameras were sold as professional sports cameras, but they were unable to record a game out of the box.

In my mind the function issues are legit critiques. The size of the memory card is not.

Seattle Forrest

​​​​​​Did you know bikes are sold without pedals?

bampilot06

Wut.

phrantic09

Based on the DCR review, I’d pass. Perhaps after some updates I’ll bite but I already have radar and this doesn’t look to be worth the cost of entry right now.

Seattle Forrest

Almost the same. For me: based on already having an older radar, I'll pass. 🙂