Garmin Varia RTL515, Cycling Rearview Radar with Tail Light, Visual and Audible Alerts for Vehicles Up to 153 Yards Away - 010-02376-00

It's the single best bike accessory you can buy. Works like a charm on roads. Picks up cars everytime. I usually ride about two hours at a time and recharge every third ride. I feel safer riding on roads with this unit. STRONGLY RECOMMEND!! I suggest purchasing a Garmin compatible mount for mounting under your seat. The under seat mount allows you to keep a spare flashing light on the seat post.

If you ride your bicycle on the open road, this is a really useful bit of gear. At least it has been for me. In my experience, it does a good job of identifying vehicles approaching from behind about a city block away. The vehicle, or vehicles, are represented by a dot or dots on the side of the cycling computer screen. They move up as the vehicle approaches. With this, one can get an idea about the speed the vehicle is moving... fast or slow. I have found it to be accurate and reliable. It will also pick up other cyclists, but this is not as consistent as with larger vehicles. The radar works off of movement. If a vehicle remains at a consistent speed and distance behind you it may disappear off the radar until it changes its speed. One needs to be aware of this. Battery life is okay. Major issue is being able to monitor battery life. Not really a good way to do so with the device itself. I recommend getting the Varia app. It has an icon indicating battery life. It can also be used in lieu of a cycling computer if one doesn't have one. It does not appear to power off once disconnected from the computer, so be sure and power it down after the ride or it may be drained by the time you plan to use it again. This is my second Varia. I purchased the first one in June, 2020. It started having problems and the on/off button became worn this year so I replaced it in June 2025. Not sure if 5 years is a reasonable lifespan. Would have like to have gotten a few more. I did buy a silicone cover to help protect the button. I also like it well enough to replace it.

For me this is a must for road cycling. It works well with my Garmin Edge 830 showing the approaching vehicles on the screen. I like the configuration options (i.e. audio beeps or silent for large group rides, flashing modes, etc.), and it has been very accurate for detecting approaching vehicles.

This is the very most worthwhile investment I've made for my cycling. Used for months and never false (as far as for cases I'm aware). Battery life is great and several modes let you save battery according to scenario. It is compatible with Garmin's own computers, many third-party computers, Garmin's app, and many riding companion apps. It makes monitoring the traffic behind you way easier. It by itself is also a bright and smart rear light. A good thing go get for your safety, which is your life.

After about 6 rides of more than 20+ miles each, I feel comfortable writing a review about the Garmin Varia RTL515. First, let me say that this Radar with Taillight works exactly as advertised and I can easily recommend it to any bike rider. That said, here are what I hope may be some helpful notes: - I use the radar with my iPhone 14 Pro and the associated Varia app - It took me less than 10 minutes to unpackage, mount, install the app and pair to my phone (note that for my rides my iPhone is attached to a mount on the handlebars) - Some have reported issues with the mounting hardware that comes with the device. I encountered no issues at all (installing or while riding) - Be sure to use the audible sounds and not just the visual (in other words, keep the volume on and up) - The radar detected approaching vehicles 100% of the time and about 85% sooner than my hearing did - I found the biggest benefit comes when I have to merge from the shoulder of the road out into traffic to make left hand turns or move out from a right only lane. As I have aged (now 65 years old) I don’t have the flexibility to turn around and look like I once had and this device helps in indicating if there is oncoming traffic and if there is, I can adjust my speed to slow down (or speed up) until it is clear. But make no mistake, DO NOT RELY SOLELY ON THE RADAR. Always use your eyes and ears! - I can say, from my limited experience, that the battery life seems solid and unless you’re doing 6+ hour rides (just my estimate), you will be fine and won’t run out of juice - Speaking of battery life, using the Varia app while using the Strava app to log my ride, I used up approximately 15% of my iPhone’s battery on a 2 hour ride My only gripe is that there is no integration with my Apple Watch. It would be very beneficial to have haptic alerts. I did find a third party app that supposedly does this but have not purchased it ($5.99). This device may not be for everyone but if you are looking for some added, reliable safety when you ride, it is worth it and, in my opinion, at a reasonable price.

I’m always hesitant to spend money bicycle tech, but I decided give this a try when I needed a new taillight. I liked the idea of also having a warning of vehicles approaching from behind. There are several competitors that make similar devices, I decided to go with Garmin as I’ve had good luck with the brand in the past. My expectations were low, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well this works. I currently have it synced to the Varia app on my phone as I don’t own a Garmin head unit. It works flawlessly. There’s an audible alert when a vehicle is detected and a car icon shows up on my screen long before I could hear a car approaching. As electric cars become more common, hearing cars approaching from behind will become more difficult. This device solves that problem. The display changes if a vehicle is approaching at a high rate of speed. It clearly displays multiple vehicles approaching. I usually ride solo on rural roads, and this little gadget makes my rides much safer. My only complaint is with the mounting hardware. It comes with multiple adapters to fit a ride range of seatpost shapes and sizes, but it attaches with a thick rubber band. It seems like an afterthought. I have multiple bikes so I’m concerned that the rubber band may stretch out over time switching between bikes. I’d much prefer a more permanent mount but this design does work. There are 3rd party 3D printed mounts available that I might buy so I can easily switch between bikes without having to fuss with the rubber band. The mounting mechanism is the only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars. Functionally, this is an excellent product that I highly recommend.

Has worked flawlessly. Integrates with Ride GPS. Has never missed an upcoming vehicle and picks up an upcoming car well before I can hear it. Audible alerts are annoying but can be shut off.

Let me start off by saying, I've been biking since my 20's, now in my 50's. I'm what I consider a long distance, casual, organize touring biker. In other words I'm not a racer. I'm not sure how this device has escaped me for as long as it has. I used this radar for the first time on a 20 mile loop only due to the time of day. I must say I was very excited with the way the radar performed. For the first 5 to10 mins I still looked over my shoulder. Once I had a handle on where the car or cars were in relationship to what I saw on my phone. I felt pretty confident with using the radar. Sometimes when you have to rely on your hearing or looking over your shoulder some quieter vehicles manage to sneak up on you especially if the wind is blowing in the opposite direction that you are riding. You then have to make a split second decision on whether to avoid bad road pavement and possibly creating a close call situation or play it safe with the car and pray you and your bike survives hitting a pot hole, gravel, etc. I feel with the radar it allows you to focus more on the road ahead of you, instead of constantly looking over your shoulder. Which actually allows you to make a more informed decision on navigating the pavement, because you see ahead of time where the cars are in relationship to you. I'm very satisfied with that feature. I use the radar with the Varia app on my retired LG G7 phone. They both work well together. I'm very happy with the app. It's a very basic, lean, and clean app. It's not loaded with a bunch of unnecessary options. It does just what it is suppose to. I may be a little picky, but I just wish that I had the ability to turn off the light and continue to keep it linked to the app. I probably would not use it that way, but it would be nice as option if you need to stretch the battery life a little longer. Definitely not a game changer. Also the bracket is okay, not a big fan of the silicone like stretchy bands for attaching expensive devices on the back of my bike that could possibly brake loose and I may not know in time if the device fell off my bike. I also wish that garmin would make a bracket that allows the radar to be extended pass your saddle bag. I since have ordered a K- Edge Go Big Pro Saddle Rail Go Pro Camera Mount. I was also going to order a 3d garmin to Go Pro adapter to attach to the mount, but i decided to buy a For Garmin Varia Radar RTL510 tail light mount holder saddle bracket off Ebay. This bracket is much shorter, but I only bought it to remove the garmin attachment and attach that to K-Edge. The housing around the garmin attachment is made of medal, which I feel would be better than a plastic 3d adapter. Hopefully with the extra length that the K-Edge has it will be just long enough to clear my saddle bag. I will update when I acquire all of the above mentioned mounts. Oh by the way there are similar mounts on here on Amazon like the RTL510 that also include the garmin attachment, but it seems like they all ship from China. Which would be okay if your willing to wait 5 to 7 weeks.