I live in downtown Chicago and you can never be too careful when it comes to cars. A lot of drivers are pre-occupied with their phones and some drivers are in a hurry, but going no where. So defensive riding is the name of the game.
One of the devices I have found really helpful is the Garmin Varia
Radar. I’ve been using it for about 3 years now and I won’t ride without it.
It is a smart light that attaches to the back of your board and it lights-up brighter when it detects a car. ALSO, I have the radar routed to my phone and smart helmet.
Which means, when a car is approaching from behind me while I am riding, a “ding” goes off inside my helmet letting me know that a car is approaching behind me. If the approaching car is coming fast, then it goes “ding, ding, ding” loudly. Also, when the coast is clear, and there are no more cars behind me, it send another “ding” sound to my helmet letting me know the coast is clear.
Here are some pictures of the Garmin Radar attached to a couple of my boards:
I have 2 Garmin Radars (one with a light and one without a light) and I have the Bryson Radar.
The Garmin’s are better and have very, very, few false positives. The newer models even have cameras.
The Bryson works well, but it has more false positives than the Garmin. But both are still pretty good. If I were to buy a new radar, I would spend the extra money and get the Garmin for $199 and I have seen them on sale for $169.
Just buy it on Amazon, try it, and if you don’t like it - return it.
I liked the idea of the product enough to let marinate rent free in noggin for a few months.
What is charging like? Could you hardwire charge/power it? I have a little voltage step down from pack to usb voltage.
Some lights work when charging internal device/light battery, some flash a red charging light and don’t function. I know myself, i will not consistently charge a board gadget with separate battery.
Does it work just as well during the day? And it sounds like it tends to overcall on alerts vs miss true events. like car radar detectors… you pay more for filters and signal libraries bc detecting is realatively easy.
Btw, classy rides, id put the garmin on the EUC probably. If i loved it, maybe the add a second my Proto, although I don’t get too wild on it, easy enough to glance behind and I don’t ride it in traffic.
Charging the Garmin Radar is fast and easy (just the usual USB plug). I really don’t think you want to hard wire a Garmin device, it would be more trouble than it is worth. Plus, like I mentioned before, I use it on all of my boards. So I just click-it onto whatever board I am riding and go.
Also, it works amazing day or night. It is a smart light. So it provides a normal amount of light when there are no cars behind you. But when a car is detected, it lights up really really bright (and it flashes).
IMO, Garmin Radar is great tech for riding on roads with cars - and it is great for both cycling and boarding. Hope this helps.
