When riding in traffic, having eyes in the back of your helmet sounds pretty good. With more range, more lumens, and more battery life, Garmin’s new Varia RearVue 820 is an evolution of an already great product. Like previous versions the 820 uses ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart to talk to your Edge or your phone, displaying approaching vehicles on the screen. A new radar chipset, lets the 820 see 30m further than the previous version and has a 15° wider radar beam angle. This means you get better visibility of vehicles heading your way. When paired with an Edge 40-series or newer computer, the 820 shows the difference between small vehicles (motorbikes), medium vehicles (cars), and large vehicles (trucks and buses), rather than simply displaying an incoming dot. The integrated taillight has four different lighting modes and brake-light functionality that gets brighter as you slow down and come to a stop. And if four modes aren’t enough, the free Varia app lets you create your own.
- 170m range (vs 140m) lets you see cars long before you can hear them
- Tracks multiple vehicles at a time
- 60° radar beam angle (vs 45°) can see vehicles in multiple lanes (multiple lane view requires an Edge 40-series or newer).
- Vehicle classification displays different symbols for different vehicles, from other cyclists, motorbikes, cars, and large vehicles – like buses and trucks (require an Edge 40-series or newer, older computers will get a standard icon)
- Improved same-speed accuracy, meaning when an incoming vehicle is matching your speed, the 820 will still see it, where most other radars will “lose site” of the vehicle
- Free Varia app lets you customize light profiles, choosing the brightness and flash pattern, and more
- Bluetooth Smart and ANT+ communication to your compatible Garmin device, other Bluetooth compatible computer (ELEMNT™ series, HammerHead™, etc.), or phone with Garmin Connect app (or other 3rd party apps) allows your speed to control your light
- Colour coded approaching vehicle display, green shows you're in the clear, yellow indicates a car at a normal speed, red when a car is approaching quickly.
- Display minimizes when no cars are around, for a full screen view of your Edge unit. Display pops out to show approaching vehicle until it passes
- Audible alerts are also an option, where the beeps increase in frequency as the car approaches.
- 4 lighting modes: steady 25 lumens (10h), peloton 8 lumens (15h), night flash 40 lumens (10h), and day flash 100 lumens (24h)
- Brake light mode gets brighter under braking (up to 100 lumens)
- Radar only mode extends battery life to 30h.
- Peloton mode dims your light when riding in a pack.
- Up to 100 lumens and a 220° viewing angle.
- USB-C charging lets you top-up your taillight nearly anywhere.
- LED charging indicator lets you know how your light’s battery is doing, both charging and discharging.
- IPX7 waterproofing protects your 820 from even the heaviest downpours.
- Updated tool-free mount is easy to swap between bikes and even more stable
- In the box: Varia RearVue 820, mounting kit (fits both round and aero seat posts), cables and documentation
