Cycling on the roads can be dangerous as many drivers out there don’t really think too much about cyclists or take them into account. Also due to the fact that bicycles typically do not come with side or rear-view mirrors, remaining aware of their surroundings can be tricky, which is why Garmin has introduced the Varia.
The Varia Rearview Bike Radar is an accessory designed with cyclists in mind. It attaches to the back of a bike and has a sensor that can scan for cars or traffic as far as back 140m behind the cyclist while acting as a rear light at the same time. The information gathered by the sensor will then be transmitted to a compatible Garmin Edge system or a handlebar-mounted system, which you can check out in the video above.
This allows the cyclist to keep an eye out for traffic coming up behind them so that they can move out of the way if necessary. For those wondering why this concept sounds so familiar, it is because earlier this year, Garmin acquired iKubu who introduced a similar concept in 2014, although Garmin’s version is a cleaner and more refined model of what iKubu had in mind.
The Garmin Varia is expected to go on sale this fall where it will be priced at $199.99 for just the sensor, but if you need the handlebar-mounted display, then the total package will retail for $299.99.
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