[Trek CarBack Radar Rear Bike Light : Know what's coming] [image] Trek Enters the Radar Game With CarBack Bike Radar Treks new CarBack radar boasts a slew of features, some best in class, including spotting rear-approaching vehicles up to 240km away Est. reading tim…

[image] Pbase: there was 1 person out of the whole thread who regretted their purchase. I wonder why they would possibly regret it? I am one of those who hasn’t bought one because I just don’t see big use, but I think regret would be a stretch.

[IMG_4564] [IMG_4565] [image] Garmin Varia Bike Radar System In-Depth Review This past summer Garmin announced their foray into the cycling lights and cycling radar world. Yes, radar. They released their Varia cycling lights product line, which includes the Varia bike radar system …

The use case is fairly obvious and has been gone over numerous times here. I have yet to meet anyone who has not loved the unit and would recommend any sceptics borrow one at the very least.

I mean, I had the discussion in the thread and plenty agreed I don’t have a huge use case for it, but that is neither here nor there. I am in fact asking how could one regret it, as I don’t see any downside to owning one.

Reasons to not own a radar that come to mind: $200 USD (or similar) in the bank. Annoyance from excessive alerts in high traffic areas or situations that are generally known to have constant traffic. General demand / inconvenience of pairing, using & charging another device.

[image] mcneese.chad: If so, there are numerous reasons including: My favorite feature is knowing when a car is NOT behind me. That opens up the entire lane (or two) and that has totally changed how I ride on my local crappy roads. I ride wherever the smoothest pavement is then move over wh…

yes, its a big deal here, due to the loud wind, crappy roads, and higher speeds when doing intervals with a tailwind. Wrote about it here with some pics: [image] Garmin Varia users - need feedback Equipment Situational awareness. Its ok if you don’t see any benefit. This…

Sort of? The Varia with camera has USB C port. got a couple of 18650 batteries and a case: [IMG_4571] Toss the battery in my seat bag and plenty of power.

[image] FlatFylde: What’s wrong with using my ears? Can your ears hear a car approaching from +150m away, when you also have wind noise going on?

Trek CarBack Radar Rear Bike Light

Equipment

WindWarrior April 24, 2024, 5:12pm 108

The only “downside” was my 2016 purchase of the original rtl500 - it required a separate rear light, so I bought a Flare RT. Still have the Flare RT.

In 2022 I gave the RTL500 to someone on this forum’s pay it forward thread:

Topic		Replies	Views
Questions on the new Garmin Varia Radar 515/516 Equipment	180	35812	March 30, 2023
Garmin Varia users - need feedback Equipment	167	12486	October 9, 2023
Use of Safety Cameras on Bikes Equipment	80	4583	April 18, 2024
Lezyne’s Radar React review? Equipment	30	2863	October 20, 2025
New radar: Garmin Varia™ RearVue 820 Equipment	76	4217	February 18, 2026

Trek CarBack Radar Rear Bike Light

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