Features:

  • See and be seen, day or night. Battery life up to 15 hours in flashing mode or 6 hours in solid or night flash mode. Lumens is 20 solid, 29 night flash and 65 day flash
  • Provides visual and audible alerts to warn of vehicles approaching from behind up to 153 yards (140 meters) away. Sleek vertical design easily mounts to most road-use bicycles, including racing, touring and commuter styles
  • Tail light offers daylight visibility up to a mile away and is visible within a 220-degree range, so drivers can see you well before the radar sees the vehicle
  • Compatible with fenix 5, fenix 5 plus, fenix 5s, fenix 5s plus, fenix 5x, ffenix 5x plus, fenix chronos, forerunner 735xt, forerunner 935, tactix charlie, vision in-sight display, vívoactive 3 and vívoactive hr
  • Compatible with d2 delta, d2 delta s, edge 1000, edge 1030, edge 130, edge 130, edge 25, edge 510, edge 520, edge 520 plus, edge 810, edge 820, edge explore 1000 and edge explore 820
  • Requires a dedicated radar display unit or wirelessly integrates with compatible Garmin devices (sold separately)
One of those "must have" cycling accessories!

This is one of the cheapest insurance policies you can buy while riding! It's like having eyes in the back of your head and gives another level of situational awareness while riding. Worth every penny!

I ride alone and this has been pretty reliable to give me a heads up when cars ...

I ride alone and this has been pretty reliable to give me a heads up when cars are coming my way. The beep is the important bit as it tells me I need to raise my situational awareness, I still use a mirror and glances over my shoulder but this is a great alert and compliment. I have it hooked up to my Fenix 5 (mounted to handlebar) and the two work great together. Note if there's a lot of traffic (city) it's useless, it becomes helpful when you're riding on suburban or country roads where 75% of the time there is no one behind you. If there's always someone behind you then this would actually become annoying (constant beeps) and irrelevant. I've taken it out for multi-hour rides in the cold (32deg) and it worked perfectly AND the battery lasted. Overall it's a bit pricey & a bit gimmicky but I'm very happy with it and would definitely buy again. My only negatives are 1) the battery is built-in, so once it goes bad the whole thing goes in the trash (given the price point & my eco-friendly mindset that's a bit concerning) and 2) it takes up a lot of space under your seat, I have a seat bag and the two don't play nice with each other. A reduction in vertical size would be ideal for the next version if Garmin is listening.

It's a bike radar and rear facing taillight.

It's a bike radar and rear facing taillight that's also visible from the side. I have been riding with my Garmin Varia RTL510 for a few weeks now and it does a good job at being a radar and an excellent job at being a solid or blinking taillight. The radar works really well detecting cars that are sporadic on long rural roads. In the city, with constant traffic it will continuously beep and register every single car on my Garmin Edge 1030 and I start to not pay attention to the alerts. The Varia RTL510 includes 2 rubber bands, 1 aero seatpost shim, 1 traditional/round seatpost shim and the standard Garmin quarter turn adapter that you connect it to. Works with most Garmin Edge GPS cycling computers.

A couple grams of protection is worth...

All, I had a coworker run over by a car when she was on a long ride and tired. She didn't have Varia. That prompted me to go out and buy this light. I took it out and it is GREAT. It lets me know what is behind me via my garmin device. It beeps if there is an issue. I just wish it had a way to sync up to my watch so that it would vibrate as well if there a high speed car approaching. Sync'd up without issue. Product is under-rated. If you ride on the road with cars, this is a must. You can even use it in a group ride to share your Varia status with other riders. GREAT work GARMIN

This unit is a lifesaver.

I had problems with my neck from years of staring at computer screens/monitors, etc. Turning my head had become difficult. When I first saw this unit I was excited to try it out. It’s expensive, but worth every penny. I have never gotten a false positive and never a failure to alert me of vehicles coming up on me. The light itself is almost too bright and as a consequence I keep it in flashing mode. Battery life is good. It is easy and quick to recharge. It is paired with my Garmin Edge Explore which, when in battery saver mode, activates every time a vehicle approaches from the rear. It shows up as a dot that starts at the bottom of the left side of the screen and moves up as the vehicle gets closer. Multiple vehicles appear as multiple dots. When it is all clear a green border appears. Nicely thought out and implemented.

If you have a Garmin computer get this

Probably one of the best things I've ever put on my bike. The radar is why I got this and it is amazing. It alerts you on your Garmin screen when a car is coming up on you. It has never missed a car at all. Very nice to know when a car is behind you given how dangerous it can be riding on the open road. You may have to be a little creative with mounting as it is about 3-4 inches tall (thats what she said haha), but seriously if you have a saddle bag it gets difficult. I have actually had to mount mine on the side post but still works great.

Impressive Product. Expensive.

Immediately changes riding habits for the better and safer. Works seamlessly with my Garmin Unit 1030. You never have to worry about what's behind you because this gives a really good warning. Although I have noticed blinds with curves and hills. I still look behind me if I need to get into traffic, but if this tells me something is coming then I can keep my focus on what's ahead until the radar says it's clear. Very light and made of plastic. This was surprising for a $200 product, but I have dropped it several times and ride in the rain all of the time and it doesn't seem to have affected it. Battey lasts me about a week riding about an hour a day. Not great but not as bad as their Varia headlight.

Exactly What I Expected and Wanted It To Do!

I bought this Garmin RTL510 in conjunction with the Garmin 520 Plus. Though I have some issues with the Garmin 520 Plus synching with my iPhone right now, the Garmin RTL510 works perfectly with my Garmin 520 Plus. When I first heard about the Garmin RTL510, I thought that would be awesome to know when a car(s) is/are approaching from behind. I ride a lot at night and on side roads and country roads. I also listen to music through a bone conduction head set so I can hear the warnings from the Garmin 520 Plus. I did a ton of research on the device through YouTube and articles I could find online before purchasing it. I wanted to make sure it was everything it was hyped to be. Yes, I still need to be very careful about the riding, but having that additional warning and awareness is great. Of course I still look behind from time to time and awlays look before crossing, but really like that extra warning system. It has worked flawlessly so far after 5 rides and 100 or so miles. It does work great with the Garmin 520 Plus as it warns me as a car or cars are nearing, showing up to 5 cars at anyone time. My left screen side (which is what I have it set at) turns red and beeps as a car approaches. I can see and hear the warnings. I have read other people cannot, I can, though quite, I still can hear it. It shows if the car is coming fast or slow by how fast or slow the black/white (depending on if you have it set for night or day) dot(s) are moving on the screen. Once it/they pass, the left screen goes green then clears. I have had no issues with the battery life, but I only ride 45 mins to 2 hrs at a time right now. Gonna take it on a 4 hr ride soon, but I don’t suspect any issues with it (knock on wood). It is clippped to my seat post with the Garmin Seat Post 1/4 Turn Mount for Varia, as I did not like the mount it came with. The rubber straps just did not seem strong enough to me, and I did not feel it would stay securely on. I cannot validate that statement, I can only express the fact that buying a mount that screws onto my seat post made me feel better, worth the extra $25 for a $170 investment into my love for riding and my desir to be safe. Overall, the investment is worth it to me as anything extra for safety is always a good thing. The light itself is good too, though, any light, as long as it’s bright works. The radar itself is what makes this a must have for me. Sure, not for everyone, but for me, 100% worth the money.

One of the best items I've ever bought for my bike

Hands down, this tail light has been one of the best products I've ever bought for my bike. I tend to be a bit skeptical of products and I had my reservations at first, but after reading some reviews and watching a few videos it seemed to be a great fit for the type of riding that I do. I generally ride alone on rural roads and having the ability to know if someone is coming up behind me has been a great asset. Operation: The unit is charged with a USB cable with one power button to select between several blinking modes. I suppose it can be used as a standalone tail light, but that defeats the main benefit, which is radar. I use an Edge 810 and after a software update of my headunit, the tail light paired up without issue. There are settings in the headunit that can change the blink pattern of the light when a car is detected as well. Once the light is paired with your headunit, the screen will display the data like normal but will have an additional symbol in the upper right corner. When a car is detected, the unit will give an audible beep, and a red bar will show up on the left and right side of the display with a small dot that represents a car, if the unit detects two cars, two dots will show and so on. If the closing speed of the car is quick, the dot will move rapidly from the bottom of the screen to the top. Once the car passes, the display will change from two red bars to two green bars. If you do Strava segments, you probably know the display on the headunit will change from your "home screen" to the segment and if the RTL510 detects a car, the same red bar/dot will overlay on the segment. So you will always know if a car is approaching you. I've found the light will detect a car with enough distance and advance warning to allow you to maneuver as needed. It's accuracy has been 100%. The RTL510 will detect motorcycles as well. Pacelines - During a recent event which occured on a closed track, I was in a paceline and the riders behind me were not picked up on radar. However, I did notice that if a faster rider was coming around us, it would pick them up on radar. Installation: The tail light comes with a single quarter turn mount for use with either a round or aero seat post. I have an aero seat post and the fit is terrific. I'm a big fan of Garmin mounts and I purchased an additional mount for my other bike, it makes it so easy to switch between bikes. Miscellaneous: This tail light is bright even in daytime and with the various strobe patterns and burst modes, I don't see how you can't be seen. It's a premium tail light, so it should be expected to be bright. Cons: As far as I know, this light is only compatible with Garmin devices (a full list is available from Garmin's website). Buying this taillight is making a pretty large investment into the brand and Garmin headunits have caused frustrations with users in the past (myself included), so do your homework on the headunits before buying this tail light. Closing thoughts: As a tail light it's impressive, but not a standout, having the radar capability makes it standout from the crowd. It's one of those things that after taking a few rides with it, I find I don't want to ride without it. If you're already a Garmin user with a compatible device, it's terrific. If you're just getting started or thinking about switching from another platform, I'd make sure Garmin is where you want to go before buying the RTL510. To use an analogy, Garmin headunits are like a sundae, the RTL510 is like the cherry on top.

Love the Radar Most of All

Especially great when riding alone on country roads. Radar has great range and is very accurate. On minor occasions when two cyclists are side by side behind me the radar will identify them as a car but it never does that when riders are single file. I have it paired with my Garmin Edge 520 Plus. The light portion is icing on the cake. Recommend for anyone - especially if you're nervous about cars.

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