Garmin Varia users - need feedback

Equipment
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63

You would need to record as well on the Fenix (discard rather than saving at the end to avoid duplicates).

I do like the watch vibration alerts on mountain descents when there is too much wind noise to be confident of hearing the head unit beeps.

The just released Varia 515 includes audio alerts through headphones and BT pairing with your phone. Although if the situation is sketchy enough that you are worried about wind noise and not looking down, you probably shouldn’t be wearing headphones.

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64

I think the watch will (eventually) time out if you don’t start recording.

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65

The watch does need to be actively recording an activity for the Varia to show up as an alert. I tried it last night and it worked as long as you are recording something. So I think I will setup a profile that doesn’t use much battery and doesn’t pair to anything other than the Varia so I can get alerts on the Fenix. Looks like I can make it work and appreciate the assistance!

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66

Does the watch have a “indoor” profile like the headunits do that keeps gps disabled? If so that would save even more battery.

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67

It sure does. I’m going to try that next time I head out for a ride. I will be super happy if this works and wouldn’t see a need (for me) to upgrade to the new version. :+1:

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68

I vaguely remember a recent update that turned the headlights off for the indoor profile (although I could be confusing it with Edge updates).

I’d suggest creating a custom profile by copying the existing Bike profile, then modifying the settings there to reduce battery consumption (eg. selecting Ultratrac).

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69

I really hope they add the low brightness mode to the RTL510 - it’s far too bright most of the time.

70

@cwiggum yes it does turn them off while riding indoor as I use my 530 indoor to record along with TR.

i have my light always on standby mode and when you start up an indoor activity the light will flash for one second them go off completely.

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71

Bet you can turn the light on manually if indoor is turning it off.

72

Never tried with indoor workout. Doubt it will turn on due to the activity setting.

74

Yes. Anyone within range can receive the information given their head unit is capable of displaying it.

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76

I believe @GPLama says it is ill-advised.

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77

Yes, you can share an Garmin RTL515 with a partner: Garmin Varia Radar: Share it with a Friend! - YouTube

Edit: yes, it’s possible.
Should you? Well that’s a whole nuther question…

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78

There’s too many scenarios where a radar on someone else’s bike will be blocked or the detection range is greatly reduced for this to be advisable.

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79

Not a good idea in my mind: not only will the distance measurement be out of whack, but you’d have to be riding in a peloton for this to make sense (and so that you are within range).

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80

Can you elaborate on this? In a scenario where only one rider in a group of 2 or 3 has the Varia, why wouldn’t you all link to that? Some information is better than none.

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81

Of course you’d have to stay in range - the head unit will tell you when you drop the link. IIRC the range was 20-30 feet when we played with this.

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82

Some information is better than none, but wrong information is dangerous.

If the rider with the radar is on the front and/or has the radar obscured enough by other riders then it won’t pick up anything at all, or it’ll pick up a vehicle at the very last second. The operation of the radar changes when it is obscured. Also factor in people who may not have a good understanding of exactly how the radar works (or doesn’t work well when obscured)… which is likely if they’ve never had one and pair to someone else’s.

“I went to roll over you because it was all clear”… and it wasn’t. Bam.

If the rider with the radar is always on the back, having multiple people pair could be useful… but that’ll never be the case.

The technology isn’t designed to be used in a bunch of riders. It will still work… but differently. Sometimes a LOT differently.

Anyhow, this isn’t something that I could in good consciousness recommend in any way. I’ve no doubt in this litigious world we live in this could end up with a rider attempting to sue someone with the radar they’d paired to that resulted in them getting flattened because of a false negative/etc.

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84

Sorry, I wasn’t very clear when I posted: I wasn’t referring to the range as a problem, I was thinking of bunch riding as an issue. Like @GPLama wrote, unless the person with the radar is always on rear guard duty, the radar beam may be obstructed by the other riders, and people who piggy back on the signal may be lulled into a false sense of security.

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