Polaris OBark

Milzed

Psimet2001 

It's funny - we have had racers from California come over and be afraid of our coffee. "I heard none of you know about good coffee." I'm always like "B1t*@ - who do you think brought you all Intelligentsia? You realize the only thing special about California is the fact that it's too expensive, overcrowded, and going to fall off into the ocean when it finally gets hit by the big one, right?"

They usually change their tune after having the first cup.

We had a Rocket Boxer 2 group when we had the coffee shop but sold it when we downsized and now use a little Rancillio but I usually just do pour over V60.

Psimet2001 

I gloss over a lot but I believe i saw someone saying they don't use a radar because they are somehow afraid it will dull their senses. Honestly that's as daft as saying you don't use windshield wipers because it will dull your ability to see through the rain senses.

Radar is a tool. You still have ears and you still look but the number of times that radar has served as a last check or let me know about a fast moving car I wasn't already aware of is simply priceless. Can you ride without one? Sure. You can also ride a vintage bike. Doesn't mean it's enjoyable.

WhyFi

At this point, third-wave coffee is like craft brewing - you have to be in a po-dunk town to not have a decent roaster and/or coffee shop. And if you're a DIY kind of person, it doesn't matter where you are - you can get beans from across the country, so fresh that you're best off to wait another week, so that the beans can de-gas, before you pull a shot with 'em.

I'm two weeks in with the new machine. I'm lovin' it - pulls a nice shot and the steam power/quality is glorious. Turns out I'm better barista than I'd thought - it was just my equipment holding me back, much like my cycling...

seypat

That was me. I did provide the example of my daughter and the rear cameras in our automobiles.

Racing Dan

At some point in a distant future, when Garmin hardware catches up to 2022, they'll make a rear facing camera that connects to a HD head unit, to let us see what's behind us.

Mojo31

And then all the rest will still be trying to catch up.

Seattle Forrest

I know in the past the code didn't work on GPS hardware. The website didn't accept the coupon for Garmin Vector pedals, but customer service was able to take the 20% off anyway. That was years ago and things may have changed. I heard now when you come in they just put a vacuum in your pockets and take all your money for the experience of looking at things.

Polaris OBark

That's interesting.

I just tried with the 130+ and it didn't accept the coupon (as you suggest is the case with GPS units). I was just double-checking my suggestion to someone to use the REI discount, and it turned out I was again wrong.

But when I got the SPD Garmin power meter pedals for the kid, it did accept the (previous) 20% off coupon (which really helped). Maybe because the pedals have no GPS?

My Venu watch was already discounted, but the coupon (the same one that worked for the pedals) was rejected for the watch, so after that, when I went to buy the pedals, I wasn't expecting much, but got a pleasant surprise.

beng1

This thread makes me love the 100+ years of bicyclists who miraculously managed to ride their entire lives without having a video camera attached to them or their bikes. I ride with no helmet, phone, no lights, cut-off shorts and a T-shirt. These days if someone is not on an "e-bike", they are riding around with skin-tight clothing, flashing lights, a computer, smart-phone, aero-bars and helmet looking like a taxiing jetliner. I have been riding this way since the 1960s. If I get run over someday and killed that will be fine, because up until that point I actually lived, and lived free.

Seattle Forrest

100+ years ago cyclists weren't sharing the roads with drivers texting each other.

PeteHski

Caveman mentality. Do you live without fire, electricity and running water too?

PeteHski

Video to the head unit would actually be pretty pointless if you are familiar with how a Varia warning system works.

What I do care about is video evidence if bad things happen. This is clearly not an action cam. Think of it more like a dash-cam in a car.

Mojo31

All the "I wish" talk is rather funny. Garmin made a product that does certain things. Some people complain that it does not do things that they wish it did. Reality is that you either want what Garmin made or you don't. Nobody is forced to buy it.

That said, improving the designed function (such as file handling) is something that merits comment. For those that wish it did more things, there might just be a Shark Tank opportunity in the waiting.

WhyFi

Why is it funny to express purchasing objections, 'specially when they might be easily addressed and significantly broaden the appeal of the product? Feedback like that is generally how products are refined.

seypat

The thread title needs to be edited. People not in the know such as I, might think the product is not watertight.

Bald Paul

Yabba-dabba-doo!

PeteHski

Well in this particular case the poster completely missed the entire point of the product i.e. radar warning + accident dashcam
I suppose they could have attempted to double it up as a rear facing action cam (very limited appeal?), but that clearly wasn't the point of including the camera.

WhyFi

I don't think that he missed it - I think that he wanted more out of the product to justify the price to himself (or he was trolling and alluding to the low-tech solution of a mirror).

And yet multiple people have brought it up, including paragraphs of digital ink spilled by DCRainmaker. I have a Cycliq Fly12 - it is an ostensibly a forward facing accident dashcam - I have actually used it as such on three occasions. I have used it much more as an action cam. Much, much more.

PeteHski

Seems to me he wanted a completely different product.

WhyFi

Well, if we're going to take the statement at face value, he still wanted a rear facing camera with radar. That's not a different product - it's expanded functionality.

PeteHski

But he wanted them for a completely different purpose (action footage + viewing on the head unit) and made it clear that he wasn't interested in its primary functionality, describing it as "$400 for a bad action cam that only records problems". To me that totally misses the point of the entire product i.e. a safety device.

I'm not saying a full blown rear action cam might not appeal to some users (would be cool in a crit race), but I don't think it really needs it.

WhyFi

Not really. That's kind of how DCR summed up the camera section of the review.

It doesn't need it for you.

It wouldn't be terribly difficult to make the same hardware suitable for action cam use, without reducing the dashcam functionality. It's low-hanging fruit that would broaden the potential user base significantly - good for the bottom line. A good illustration would my case with the Fly12 - *I* bought it for use as action cam, but I sold my wife on it as dashcam.

PeteHski

I'm simply agreeing with Garmin on the intended "market" for this product. I haven't read DCR's review of it yet. I know he was a fan of the standard Varia and, from what you say, it sounds like he was expecting this to be a viable action-cam - which it clearly isn't.
How many they sell and how the next gen version looks will be an indication of where the market actually stands.

Darth Lefty 

I mentioned the idea of live video on the head unit because what the radar gives you is really, really primitive. Basically a range finder. Everyone seems to love the Varia, I want one. But that's a common review complaint - that it doesn't give you quite the information you need, or distracts you. And even though they added the camera they haven't improved that function. I know it's not an action cam, it points the wrong way. I just wish it were cooler, that's all. I am pretty sure BTLE won't do video anyhow, but whatever replaces it will.