Polaris OBark

I might be mistaken but I think it is the second one I underlined -- 6 hr.

That is an upper bound, typical traffic, etc. 4 hr is for constant recording, so that is hopefully the lower bound.

tomato coupe

Never mind

PeteHski

You could be right, but it wasn't clear which camera recording mode it was in i.e. continuous or radar activated. The "up to" part makes it sound like it's optimistic anyway.

Polaris OBark

I couldn't make sense of the set of listed lifetimes with any other set of assumptions.

I think writing the files to the SD card depletes the charge significantly, so frequent activation approaches continuous mode.

The idea of separate devices has appeal. If the camera runs out of charge, it would be nice to still have the protection of the radar and the tail light. It also has some advantages for space constraints imposed by short seatposts, etc.

Bah Humbug

I would have thought it was running the sensor itself. Writing to the SD card would imply they could greatly improve it by adding more internal memory and writing to the card in fewer larger batches.

Troul 

They just need to make the battery last for 10 Hours under the most severe conditions. That in itself will be a selling point for it, even if the camera fogs over & the unit snaps away from the clip & falls down a sewer where "It" is.

Mojo31

I rather like having split units. If my light runs out, I have the radar and vice versa. I would not want to rely on one device where camera load on the battery causes me to be without lights and radar.

Bah Humbug

Insufficient battery life for everyone here is not the same as insufficient battery life to be useful to many people. I will say that in support of it.

WhyFi

I really like the adaptive tail light. Or I like the idea of it, at least. I certainly seem to get fewer close passes with the Varia ****zing out at cars as they approach. Until it's possible to change the light patterns, based upon radar info, on compatible ANT+ lights, I wouldn't want to separate the two. Having the camera in one unit would keep things nice and tidy, but it's not as functionally important to me.

seypat

I'm more of a separate/modular kind of consumer. If something breaks, you only have to replace parts instead of the whole(in this case) $400 unit.

Troul 

Compact & multi function for 1 person is not of alike to another. I'm just going to put that out there.

PeteHski

Agreed, the radar and adaptive light work very well together. Definitely wouldn't want to lose that functionality or have two separate units on the bike.

Camera integration is not so important for me, but as an incident recorder I do quite like the idea of it only recording when the radar is activated (providing that gives the necessary battery life). For the odd time I might want to record more extensive action footage I'm happy to fit a separate GoPro for the occasion. But running a GoPro as an incident camera is not very convenient. That's why I like the idea of this new Garmin, at least in principle.

chaadster

This is an interesting concept to me, the notion that the adaptive light has value. I don’t really know how y’all are assessing that in a meaningful or accurate way, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me that the light pattern would either have any impact on someone not paying attention to the road, or that the flash pattern would change anyone’s behavior such that they’d pass less close because of it.

I mean, I’ve been riding with taillights since the mid-‘80s, back when the dope sh*t was a dual C-cell Cateye with a 3” light head, and I’ve used all sorts of taillights since then, many with multiple flash modes to choose from, which I’ve done, and I’ve never noticed any change in driver behavior based on my light mode. Sure, I like the *idea* that a change in flash mode would cause a driver to rethink their overtake strategy in favor of giving more room, but is there any substantial reason to believe that’s what happens? Does it make any sense for a light to move from steady to flashing in terms of driver awareness and reaction? I’m genuinely curious.

The one think I do like about the Varia’s adaptive light is that, when I’m not using my own Varia, I can get approaching car info from riders ahead of me. That’s kinda cool. It also means that following ridemates don’t need to get a facefull of annoying flash the whole time, which is the best thing about the adaptive light. I don’t see what the feature does for me as the Varia user, but I like not being behind the guy with the seizure-inducing, retina-searing, SuperCree 3000 XL Extreme in HyperFlash mode!

Other than that, though, light pattern selection, for me, is about being present without being annoying, brightness, and run-time. What that turns out to mean is that I usually run a pulse mode on dim, overcast days, rapid flash on sunny days, and steady (or low power pulse) at night (depending on city or open road). That said, I’ve never used the Varia at night, so maybe there’s a good use-case for the adaptive light in the nighttime city environment, where maybe blazing up pedestrians with a high power strobe is obnoxious. I dunno…maybe I don’t think about lights enough, or simply haven’t had the info to think about them in a deeper way.

tomato coupe

The purpose of an adaptive light isn’t to get drivers to change their overtaking strategy, it’s to make sure they see you.

seypat

I thought that was the purpose of all bike lights, adaptive or not. Headlights also, even if it's not their primary function.

tomato coupe

yes.

chaadster

Huh? Cyclist visibility is irrelevant to driver behavior?? Anyway… one implication of what you’ve said is that the flash is more visible— which I agree with— but the adaptive part of the Varia is that it changes from solid, slow, or occasional flash to quick flashing when a car approaches, so as I said, if visibility is the point, why not just use the high visibility flash all the time? And if a driver isn’t paying attention at all, the adapative strategy seems totally pointless. The value of the adaptive feature (i.e. moving from lower visibility status to high visibility flash) is specious, I think.

tomato coupe

Drivers are more likely to overlook a light that is steady or flashes in a steady pattern. Adaptive lighting increases the likelihood that a driver will notice you.

chaadster

I’ll ask it again: if visibility is the point, what is the value of the adapative feature and why not just have Varia flash all the time, irregularly or otherwise?

tomato coupe

Battery life.

chaadster

Flash modes provide longer run times than steady, and that’s true for Varia as well, so again, the value of the adaptive feature is questionable.

tomato coupe

Flashing faster at a higher intensity draws more current. If the Varia does that only when a car approaches, battery life is extended.

PeteHski

I think the point is that the flash pattern changes and intensifies when a vehicle approaches you and that change is likely to attract the driver's attention. A bit like if someone flashes their headlights at you. It instantly gets your attention. I use "Day Flash" mode on my Varia and so when a car is a long way off the driver will first see the standard flash pattern and then when their car gets into radar range, the driver should notice the flash pattern suddenly intensify. They might also get the impression they are being actively monitored in some way too, which can only be a positive thing.

chaadster

Regardless of hypotheticals, the Varia runs longer in flash mode than in steady, and longest in the maximum intensity Day Flash mode.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/698001

https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webh...5E15C4EA0.html

tomato coupe

What part is hypothetical? Adaptive lighting improves the chances of being seen by drivers, and it extends battery life.