I’ve been using the NiteRider Vmax+ 150 for several years. The only reason I’d give it up is to get one with radar.
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What kind of $ has Shimano been giving out for power meters on warranty cranks?
IIRC for stages it was like $300 for a single side and $500 for a dual sided or something like that.
these are estimates, it could have been like $250/450 or something of that sort, but it was in that ballpark.
Cooool. My buds crank had a staged and he didn’t have the original arm to send back instead.
I got $500 for a dually Stages
Same
DQ: What does a light with radar do? Alert you to an approaching car? Flash differently when it senses a car?
Yes to both - the Varia lets you set it up so it only flashes when a car approaches, or change flashing mode on approach IIRC
Getting the audible alerts and “number of cars back” info on a head unit makes a big difference for me on road/gravel rides.
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Sounds cool for back roads but would be very annoying in the city when there are always infinity cars behind you.
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oh you mean like my teammate who has his radar on and it beep beep beeps constantly when we ride?
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yeah it doesnt seem meant for city use, but it also can alert you based on how fast the far is approaching so you have some extra warning if some maniac is plowing toward you.
that said, i think you can turn the noises off, but then you’d have to constantly look down at a display which might take away the safety aspect by making you take your eyes off the road.
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Agreed that they’re not optimized for the city. Cornelia has one and immediately turned off the sound. She rides with it everywhere, city or not. And I think there’s an immediate rise in utility as soon as you move outside the downtown core. It’s great on neighborhood streets and awesome in the suburbs. I enjoy being behind her because the light goes from solid to flash when it detects a car so I get the benefit too.
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My friends all love the garmin radar taillight, on a straight enough road it’ll often alert you of a car coming up behind before you can hear it. Definitely not intended for city use.
I personally detest things that beep at me so I do not have one, but I understand why people love them.
FYI you can connect the radar to multiple head units. Varia best money I’ve spent on bikes tbh.
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do you do anything different once it tells you theres a car coming up behindja?
do you move over? brace for impact?
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I think maybe just don’t make a quick left turn without looking. ATMO it mostly keeps someone from habitually looking over their shoulder every 30s when they’re just riding down a road. Still need to check when making turns or doing hard braking etc.
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This is great. Wonder what the range is.
I just read the Velo review of a Varia competitor, the Trek Carback, which boasted a detection range of 240 meters, 100 more than Varia. In real world conditions, the reviewer found the Carback couldn’t back up the claimed advantage, but had the same performance as the Varia.
fully planning on buying one of those before my cop bike prodeal expires EOY 2025
carback is a great name for a radar
someone needs to invent the automated light aero equivalent of those guys that put the pool noodle with the 3 feet sign
so you ride along, the radar detects a car, and it extends the noodle equivalent until the car passes
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