Opinions on Garmin Varia

[ColinJ]

As mentioned above, I ran the Varia down to its last 15-30 minutes of charge last night. I just recharged it using my high-power charger, which took only 2 hours 20 minutes. That is pretty good. I will make a habit of recharging it first thing every Sunday morning.

My device has firmware v3.34. Apparently, the latest version is 3.36. From a brief search online, it looks like the update was mainly to get the device to comply with the law banning flashing bike lights in France and Germany. I saw users complaining that the update had made their device less reliable, so... have you updated your firmware, and if so, why, and how did you get on with the new version? (I am inclined to leave my Varia on v3.34 unless there is a good reason to update it.)

 

[Sea of vapours]

I saw users complaining that the update had made their device less reliable,

In what way have people said that their devices are less reliable?

I've updated mine and it seems fine. Certainly in terms of acting as a radar it's fine. If the light is doing something 'unreliable' then I'm not aware of it, nor would I see how I could be :-\ It did run down from fully charged to 20% in 3.5 hours recently, but it was dark,so I had it set to permanently on. Oh - and it was minus 1C at the start of that ride and minus 6C at the end, so that may just possibly have been a factor ;-) Either that or cycling through Hebden Bridge has a strange, battery draining effect.

 

[ColinJ]

In what way have people said that their devices are less reliable?

Radar issues, although it isn't clear whether something else was going on. Example.

It did run down from fully charged to 20% in 3.5 hours recently, but it was dark,so I had it set to permanently on. Oh - and it was minus 1C at the start of that ride and minus 6C at the end, so that may just possibly have been a factor ;-

That would not have helped!

What happened to "I don't do winter"!!

 

[ColinJ]

I didn't get any rubber gaskets with the Garmin mount so I couldn't use one to adjust the angle of the Varia. I just noticed that it was aimed slightly down so I inserted a DIY shim to tilt it back up to (much closer to) perpendicular to the road, which should optimise radar performance.

 

[Sea of vapours]

What happened to "I don't do winter"!!

Fair point, though in this case it was more 'wintry conditions' then 'winter'. It was cold and dry that day so a 161km trundle over Widdop and such was appealing.

On the Varia angle / position, the height above the ground is the most important thing. A few degrees off vertical is less significant, though obviously the closer to vertical it is the better. In practice, I see lots of people with them at odd angles who insist that they work perfectly, but low down, partly obscured by the wheel on a small bike, is not good (not an issue you'll have of course).

 

[roubaixtuesday]

cycling through Hebden Bridge has a strange, battery draining effect

I had a puncture last time I cycled through Hebden Bridge.

And they tell us this is just coincidence???

 

[ColinJ]

On the Varia angle / position, the height above the ground is the most important thing. A few degrees off vertical is less significant, though obviously the closer to vertical it is the better. In practice, I see lots of people with them at odd angles who insist that they work perfectly, but low down, partly obscured by the wheel on a small bike, is not good (not an issue you'll have of course).

I have got it as high as I can get it but still squeeze my finger in to press the button.

I reckon if the angle of a Varia is wrong it might appear to work properly but maybe vehicles would only be detected at (say) 120 metres behind rather than 140+?

 

[Alex321]

There are various saddle rail mounts available too, both inexpensive (less than the Garmin seatpost one) aluminium types and 3D printed ones, which tend to be a little more than the Garmin seatpost one. Those are useful and neat as they leave the seatpost free for a secondary / backup light. At night, I typically have a steady light on, with the Varia set to 'off until a vehicle approaches, at which point it flashes' mode. The space and separation is useful for that. Mainly, however, I think the saddle mounts look neat as most of it is hidden under the saddle :-)

That only works if you don't have a saddle bag. Which I would never ride without, as my multitool, spare tubes, spare glasses etc. all live in it, so no need to faff around finding them and putting in jersey pockets.

 

[PaulSB]

@ColinJ try not to overthink this. Provided the Varia is mounted reasonably high and unobstructed it will work. The detection range is greater than 140 so you've got some latitude on that aspect.

The software update isn't a big deal. It installs a "disable" button, that's all. You will find your Garmin/Wahoo displays an error "Radar disconnected/error" on ocassions. Just press the relevant button and it will reconnect

This is a very simple device. Charge it, personalise your setup, whack it on the bike and ride. Shouldn't take more than 5 -10 minutes, charging apart which is only an hour or so.

 

[Dan Lotus]

I can highly recommend this mount, I bought 4 and have them installed on 4 bikes, rock solid, at the time about £12 for all 4.

Temu thing

Arrived in exactly a week.

I also bought a little clip on case that has a lanyard thing I put through the saddle rail.

 

[ColinJ]

@ColinJ try not to overthink this. Provided the Varia is mounted reasonably high and unobstructed it will work. The detection range is greater than 140 so you've got some latitude on that aspect.

The software update isn't a big deal. It installs a "disable" button, that's all. You will find your Garmin/Wahoo displays an error "Radar disconnected/error" on ocassions. Just press the relevant button and it will reconnect

This is a very simple device. Charge it, personalise your setup, whack it on the bike and ride. Shouldn't take more than 5 -10 minutes, charging apart which is only an hour or so.

I think I have it all sorted out now, thanks.

I just had space below the Varia on my seatpost to mount the small rear light that I will have on steady on all of my rides until at least the spring.

 

[Sea of vapours]

I reckon if the angle of a Varia is wrong it might appear to work properly but maybe vehicles would only be detected at (say) 120 metres behind rather than 140+?

I doubt that. It's still detecting a 'ping' returning and calculating distance based on that ping. The angle makes no difference to the return time of the ping, so far as I can see.

That only works if you don't have a saddle bag. Which I would never ride without, as my multitool, spare tubes, spare glasses etc. all live in it, so no need to faff around finding them and putting in jersey pockets.

True. I now use a small top tube bag for exactly that reason, or one of those 'tool casks' which fit in a bottle cage if I only need one bottle.

 

[ColinJ]

I doubt that. It's still detecting a 'ping' returning and calculating distance based on that ping. The angle makes no difference to the return time of the ping, so far as I can see.

I'm sure that you are right about the distance calculation. I was thinking more in terms of how strong the returning ping is and therefore whether a vehicle is detected or not. Just like looking at that super bright Varia light on-axis vs the much dimmer view from the side.

I have ordered the 4 seatpost mounts. They are coming on a slow boat from China so I may not get them until January, but I won't be riding any other bike until at least March so that isn't a problem. About £25 all-in.

 

[ColinJ]

I forgot to mention that one of the places that the Varia will help most is when I am cycling round singletrack lanes in Devon. (I spend 8-10 weeks a year down there visiting my sister.)

Those lanes can be a bit of a pain! I absolutely hate cycling past a passing place on a steep, narrow lane and then discovering that a vehicle has sneaked up behind me.

The radar should alert me in time to pull over in such a passing place. I do have a mirror but the angle is wrong when I am out of the saddle, and I often forget to look at it anyway!

 

[Dogtrousers]

The absolute worst drivers to encounter on narrow hilly roads are the polite ones who wait for you at the top of a hill. You then feel duty bound to put in a bit of an effort to reduce their wait. They sit there smiling pleasantly as you push yourself to the brink of death. It would be much kinder if they just ploughed on and forced you into the hedge.