Garmin Varia RTL516 Cycling Rear Light/Radar

Oh no - I find myself commenting on a divisive thread.

I cycle over 6k miles a year and am already equipped with eyes and ears. I bought one (secondhand) because it is techy and I wanted to play. I now use it for every ride I do.

I ride mainly on country lanes [I don't know how useful it is in town].

I can see how far away the cars behind are - and how quickly they are moving. Most importantly - I can tell if there are two or more cars - so I don't relax too quickly when they overtake. I can also check very quickly that I am not going to pull in front of a car if I have to avoid a pothole.

It does not replace looking or applying common sense - it simply extends your awareness

Its expensive (but not for what it is or does) - so not for everyone. There are slightly cheaper competing products now from at least two other good manufacturers (and some cheap ones on ali-express).

You will need a compatible head unit or smart watch - so more expense

My Garmin is at least 6 years old - and works flawlessly (apart from a "saturation error" sent to the head unit every couple of hours - and it forgets a car after a while if it is moving at the same speed as the bike)

Reading more comments on the thread it does seem more and more that these do have a function as a comfort blanket for those who don't have the confidence to "take the lane" as needed. Most cyclists don't, because they prefer to confirm to the idea of kow-towing to the motorist, preferring to moan about them as opposed to doing something about it.

Why illegal? I always have two rear light. One flashing and one solid. Did research and that's what the advice was

Again to comment on such a thread... I bought a 515 model over a year a go and as others have said give me a good indicator of how many and how quick vehicles are approaching on my wahoo bolt v2 before I making turns which is great as I can't turn my neck on the move as readily as I used to be able to.
In short, outside of my helmet this is the best piece of safety equipment I've bought for cycling, especially if you do a lot of solo cycling.

Good price for this model so voted hot.

but when your looking over your shoulder you have to take your eyes of the road ahead even for a split second. these are a great bit of kit and a must for anyone. having visual notifications and hearing them is a great peace of mind you know whats coming especially on windy days and when my hearing isnt the best

 Very overpriced, so cold sorry. It’s basically just a big stained led back light. You can find some with same quality and brightness but FOR MICH CHEAPAER!

I'm also a convert, my 510 is still going strong and I'd replace it immediately if it stopped working.

On the roads I ride it gives a warning far earlier than than you would realise naturally and whilst I still check behind me from time to time I get to spend more of the time looking ahead for potholes etc which IMO is a much bigger risk.

@cubegame it's a shame that you can't adapt your cycling style to adapt to modern technologies (it's not even that modern TBH) or can't multitask well enough to deal with more than a couple of inputs whilst cycling but it's obviously not for you. Great - you've saved some money