The thought of an unknown vehicle speeding up behind and the consequences of an impact is a deeply unpleasant one for all cyclists, and a worry that’s often forced to the back of our minds when riding.
Cycling radar units have been on the market for several years now, the idea being that the radar, often integrated with a rear light, alerts cyclists to approaching vehicles using one of the best bike computers, which ultimately helps us stay that bit safer on the road.
Garmin is calling this its ‘most powerful and precise’ cycling rearview radar unit. So what’s going on under the hood?
The Varia RearVue 820 appears to be more powerful than previous models, with better radar sensitivity and improved battery life.
Garmin claims upto 2 kilometres of visibility from the tail light itself, which has several modes and gives riders the ability to create their own light flash patterns.
The radar, which is said to be Garmin’s widest radar, in terms of vehicle detection, can detect a vehicle’s size from up to 175 metres away, and monitor vehicle lane movement whilst creating a ‘threat level’ that is based on its speed and ‘path of travel’.
Yes, cyclists are well versed in looking over their shoulders, and some riders fit a small rearview mirror in place of a handlebar plug to monitor the situation behind, but when it comes to safety, it probably never hurts to possess as much information as possible, though the unit does represent another gadget to charge, monitor, pair with your computer, etc., which is perhaps the lesser of two evils.
The unit also has a new brake light feature, admittedly something that hasn’t quite taken off so far for cyclists en masse. The brand claims a unique brake light, built into the radar light itself, will alert motorists to changes in the rider’s speed.
Battery has also been boosted to 24 hours in day flash mode and 30 hours in radar only mode. A boost on the RCT715 Radar model.
The Varia RearVue 820 has a current SRP of £259.99 / €299.99. It doesn’t seem US pricing is available just now. We aim to test a unit out for ourselves in the coming months.