There was another in the Bikerumour article too - paired it to my Garmin 1080 Solar
240km scan and an new Garmin head unit?!?!?
Please god, donāt get a brighter rear light! Sitting behind someone with a rear light that burns your retinas is the worst.
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Maybe something has changed for the better in the 3 or so years since I had a Varia, but I always found the various Flare rear lights to have notably better visibility in daylight. If that same light is used in this unit, itād make it a compelling product for meā¦ and perhaps give me a reason to give rear-facing radar another chance.
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As a long time Flare user, the latest Varia RTL510/515 are rather good. Perhaps still a bit under the Flare level, but far better than the original Varia model.
As mentioned, I do like the variable light function of my RTL and am curious if the CarBack has something similar. I find the āsmartā pattern handy for other riders as an indicator they can even leverage to a degree in pack riding, but the variability seems a worthwhile feature aimed at catching driverās attention. That said, the semi-irregular pattern in the Flare and presumably CarBack are very good for attention even without any āsmartsā.
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Battery life (and degradation reduction) is the real improvement we need on radars. Iāve had 3 Varias and all of them start out capable of handling a 6hr ride, and but the end of the season they start giving warnings toward the end of big days, then the next year the warnings drop to 4hrs, then to 3, etc.
I personally would happily take a significantly heavier unit in order to retain battery life. Iām not racing with one, so weight really doesnāt matter.
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Exactly this. The Varia isnāt exactly cheap either and one season of max capacity is ridiculous. Itās the one thing I hate about my Varia, 4 hours into a ride and Iāll start getting low battery warnings. So, either I need a better Varia or Iām going to have to get fast enough to do a 4 hour century. TR has made me faster, but Iām not quite there yet 
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Yeah the battery life on my Varia is ordinary, and my Bontrager lights are brighter - so if this new radar is bright, with better battery life than my Varia Iām in. Also, I damaged the USB port on my Varia and I only have one (from a gazillion) USB cable that seems to work with it now. If I lose that cable Iām in strife. Just saw this comparo, interesting that the Carback seems to have fewer dropouts, I do notice that my Varia loses connection with the Edge annoyingly often.
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Or maybe a changeable pack like axs. (But hopefully smaller)
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Im interested to see what the regular testers have to say. On paper, seems good. Not enough to ditch my varia, but certainly āon my radarā for when the time comes for needing a new one
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100% agreed on thisā¦so it is a shame that Trek did not mention it (let alone seemingly address it in the development of the CarBack).
That could have been a valuable point of differentiation for current Varia users.
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Unfortunately bright searing lights are targeted at cars and other vehicles on the road, and not aimed at riders in a peloton.
Been there, done that. I know how painful it is.
But give me bright lights over crappy useless blinky any time.
One good thing about Varia is ā¦ you can adjust the blinking lights from your head unit. No more excuse for tormenting your fellow riders.
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Unsure about degradation but life is covered in Flowās review Fresh Produce | Trek CarBack Radar Light - Flow Mountain Bike
āOn the box, Trek claims the battery life to be 7 hours regardless of the brightness or flashing setting. We asked Trek AU about the run time, and it said radar is the most significant battery drain, and the team tested the CarBack at worst case, always-a-car-in-range, radar use. Trek predicts up to 10-12 hours on a single charge in more realistic conditions. The Garmin will go for up to 16 hours on Day Flash mode.ā
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Thatās hideous.
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All 3 Varias were the current gen? Mine is about 2.5 years old and no issues with 4-7 hour rides. A lot of people around here are using them on long rides too.
Just to be sure I did a spot check of long rides over the last 2 years, by pulling up the fit files in FitFileViewer and didnāt immediately see any obvious battery degradation. The Device Info message has starting and ending voltages and status of all connected devices (radar, HRM, eTap, power meter, ā¦). A 6.7 hour ride in September drained from 4.30V to 3.8V. A 4 hour ride in December drained from 4.23 to 3.77. A 3 hour ride a in January from 4.26 to 3.94, another 3hr a couple weeks ago from 4.25 to 4.01.
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I think the problem here is that the use case just doesnāt align well with the battery technology.
Lithium batteries do not like being run until empty. Unlike, say, a laptop, where keeping it at 50-80% is a reasonable proposition, everyone runs bike lights until they are empty or āone ride leftā.
This combined with a small form factor necessitating a small Lion battery means that the only solution to this is SRAMs; aka a removable (and so replaceable, and hopefully I pray recyclable) battery pack - or, better - a standard lion battery like an 18650.
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@Jonathan
Mine is at least 3+ years old and I still get 6+ hours out of it (daylight flashing). In fact, I donāt think Iāve ever had a low battery even when not charging between rides. Now if I have always on it gets me much less time.
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Am I the only one who charges my lights after every ride? I canāt imagine leaving the house with a light that isnāt at 100% charge.
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Nope. I have a charging station right with my bikes. Lights and head units all charge right after placing the bike in the rack.
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Also nope, I charge after each ride.
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