15:40 - Trek enters the rear radar game with its CarBack
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The Trek looks big and clunky. And substantially earlier warnings than the Varia would be a nuisance. Glad to see the competition though.
No, only my current one. While your case may not show degradation, that seems to be a less common case.
It may be due to me always having mine plugged in at the charging station in my garage, or itās on my bike, but to be frank, Iām not going to go through the effort to charge my radar to 80% and maintain that until I need it, in which case Iād charge to 100%.
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I do charge mine after every ride. The problem is I frequently ride longer than 4-5 hours and the light will die.
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I admit I have forgotten a few times but I usually charge them after every ride.
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I charge my Varia and bike computer (and front light in winter) after every ride, and then turn off the charging station because its green and better for the planet.
I think the story is - fully charge before storing, and regularly use them (full or partial discharge) to keep the electrons moving.
Dave Romeās take on this is interesting, and probably correct.
For those who didnāt listen: Garmin apparently has very small margins for retailers, so his suggestion is that the main attraction of this product will be a higher margin for the dealer, not necessarily better performance for the consumer. Similar to Trekās SPD pedals, which offer little in comparison to Shimano to the consumer but have larger margins for the dealers. Every new bike sold needs to be accessorized, so better margins on these things can add up.
FWIW James Huang also said he felt the performance and form factor were both inferior to the Variaā¦
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Oh, that is undoubtedly the case and I meant to post something similar yesterdayā¦not from the margin perspective necessarily, but just making it easier for the Trek dealer in terms of stocking goods in the store. Fewer suppliers / vendors to deal with, likely better dating and (as Dave notes) a better margin.
So the dealer can now offer a similar product and doesnāt risk losing the sale, all while getting better terms and margins.
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The lane detection feature sounds like a winner if thereās a way to get it on Garmin/Wahoo head units
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So do I but Iām seeing the same degradation that other report but Iāve had my Varia for 5 years or more years and others were reporting it after 2 or 3 years!
Someone posted these on Reddit.
Iām not too sure about the widthā¦ The Garmin feels so much more slim, I dont know why Trek felt that adding width was good.
You donāt want something wider than the seat post. So the only good placement for it is under the saddle then.
I LOVE how bright the Flare RTs are, so its probably going to be a great light, but the form factorā¦
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Iām totally confused. After every ride, I plug in my 830 and Varia. I leave them plugged in for however long it is until my next ride. 'in season ', thatās basically each day. In the winter, the devices could be plugged in for a few weeks before my next ride. Still, after several years, Iāve had no issue on rides up to 4-6 hours. Did a 12 hour ride last summer, and both devices were equally fine the whole time.
Still, I would prefer a retina searing lightā¦ So if the Carback has better optics, Iām a buyer.
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But Iām still amazed at how many people are āstrandedā because their electronic shifting batteries die on a ride. But I did come close once.
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Is Garmin going to finally release a USB-C update of the Varia at some point this century?
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It 100% has better optics. Having ridden behind my friend with a Varia and girlfriend with Flare RT, the Trek is way brighter during the day, and over a distance.
It has this brightness that canāt be matched 
which makes me kind of okay with the form factor, if itās a better light.
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On group rides I can see the Varia about a mile away, on bikes ahead of me. On super bright California sunny afternoons.
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Re: light function, Iād be more interested in features and usability than raw brightness.
The Varia has the feature where the flash pattern changes/gets faster as cars approach. Do we know if the Trek does this? I think this is a key feature as it sends an āI see youā message to drivers.
Also curious what kind of āpelotonā mode the Trek has. Being able to easily change to a non-flashing pattern to avoid blinding your friends and/or some smart behavior so you donāt get notifications for riders behind you but do still get them for larger/faster things (cars) would be a key feature.
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Iāve read the statements about how the Trek is better and it left me wondering how much ābetterā does it really have to be compared to a Varia. At some point a super bright flashing light crosses over from being noticeable just being obnoxious.
What setting are you on? Iāve donāt 25,000 miles on mine and have never had an issue on a six hour day. About 3 of my weekly rides are over 3 hours.
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āLike clock-work, two years after releasing the last version of the Garmin Varia radar, the company has released its now third generation version.ā
-DCRainmaker 13-May-2020
Therefore weāre due a Varia update pretty soon anyway?
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