{"id":326219,"date":"2025-12-05T03:40:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T03:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/326219\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T03:40:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T03:40:12","slug":"radar-is-essential-for-road-riders-can-brytons-gardia-compete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/326219\/","title":{"rendered":"Radar Is Essential for Road Riders. Can Bryton\u2019s Gardia Compete?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated4 min read<\/p>\n

Rear radar lights are quickly growing in popularity among road and gravel riders. These little gems track vehicles approaching from behind and notify you via your cycling computer<\/a> or cell phone.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, I was skeptical about whether I even needed one myself. But after a very close call with a truck six months ago that left me a bit shaken, I promptly installed one on my bike. Since that day, I haven\u2019t clipped in for a road ride without a cycling radar<\/a>. <\/p>\n

After my recent story \u201cI Wouldn\u2019t Ride Without a Helmet. Now I Won\u2019t Ride Without Radar Either<\/a>,\u201d and my review of the Lezyne Radar React System<\/a>, a few Bicycling readers and friends reached out to inquire about more affordable alternatives. While $200 to $250 for top-tier radar lights from Garmin or Wahoo might seem like a small price to pay for extra safety, some people do not have the budget right now. So, we decided to get a couple of lower-cost options and try them ourselves.<\/p>\n

Radar Light<\/p>\n

Bryton Gardia R300L\"Gardia<\/a>Pros\"Pro\"Lower cost option than big names.\"Pro\"Low weight.Cons\"Con\"Some initial pairing issues.<\/p>\n

The first lower-priced option to arrive at our door is Bryton\u2019s Gardia R300L. This radar has a slender profile, similar to the popular Garmin Varia RTL515<\/a>. And at 70 grams (without mount), it weighs 7 grams more than Wahoo\u2019s Trackr Radar<\/a>. However, the Gardia weighs a single gram less than the RTL515, 16g less than the Trek Carback<\/a>, and beats the Lezyne Radar Drive by a whopping 45g. <\/p>\n

Out of the box, attaching Bryton\u2019s radar to your bike is rather straightforward. It comes with a seatpost mount (including an adaptor for aeroposts) and a mount to hang the Gardia from your saddle rails. Although the Bryton uses a quarter-turn attachment, frustratingly, it is not the same as the Garmin or Wahoo mounts. And while similar to each other and to Bryton\u2019s, none are the same. So, be sure to double-check compatibility if you plan to use the Gardia R300L with an aftermarket mount from brands such as KOM Cycling<\/a>, Sheehy Labs<\/a>, or Neat Components<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"brytonTara Seplavy<\/p>\n

The Gardia app displays vehicles\u2019 approximate location.<\/p>\n

After mounting the Bryton radar to my bike, I charged it up, downloaded the Bryton Gardia mobile app, and updated the R300L\u2019s firmware. After that, the device was ready to pair with my head unit. The Bryton Gardia app can also serve as a display for the R300L if you don\u2019t have a cycling computer\u2014or want to use the Gardia on your commuter bike, for example. (Note: the R300L radar uses the Bryton Gardia app, not the Bryton Active app.)<\/p>\n

Connecting the Gardia R300L to head units was more tedious than my initial setup of Wahoo\u2019s radar. But it was similar to issues I encountered pairing the Lezyne Radar React. Initially, neither my Hammerhead nor Wahoo computer could \u201cfind\u201d the Gardia when attempting to pair. After resetting the computers and the Gardia (hold the power button for 12 seconds and allow it to cycle through its modes), my Wahoo Roam v.3<\/a> connected to the Bryton. <\/p>\n

Connecting to the Hammerhead Karoo<\/a> took a bit longer. First, I needed to move away from other ANT+ and Bluetooth devices for it to show in the Karoo\u2019s sensor menu. Then, the Gardia connected, but as a speed\/cadence sensor rather than a radar. Only after resetting the Bryton and Hammerhead again did the two pair. Attempting to pair the Gardia with a Garmin smartwatch<\/a> also ran into the same speed\/cadence sensor issue. <\/p>\n

However, some of my connectivity issues could be due to the sheer number of things paired to my Roam v.3 and Karoo computers. I have about 30 devices\u2014power meters<\/a>, electronic drivetrains<\/a>, heart rate monitors, heat sensors, lights, and radar units\u2014currently paired with my computers. (This is admittedly a test editor problem more than an issue most riders will face.) My colleague Tom Messina has a Roam v.1 with four connected devices; the Gardia paired with it on the first try without any issue. <\/p>\n

\"brytonTrevor Raab<\/p>\n

The unit\u2019s slim profile and low weight are big wins. Plus, it comes with an aeropost adaptor.<\/p>\n

At $130, the Gardia R300L isn\u2019t much cheaper than the $150 on-sale price of the Varia RTL515\u2014but it\u2019s a full $70 lower than the Varia\u2019s suggested retail price. Plus, the Bryton unit sometimes pops up at a discounted price. (It was recently available for $85.45 as a Black Friday promotion.)<\/p>\n

The Gardia arrived while I was traveling before Thanksgiving. And since the weather has been cold and snowy here for the past few days, I have not had an opportunity to use the Bryton for any long rides. But I\u2019ve used it for some commutes to and from the office. <\/p>\n

So far, the Gardia works as advertised and is similar to the Lezyne radar in around-town use. I need to test it simultaneously with the Wahoo Trackr Radar (our test team\u2018s current favorite) on the road to see if there is a noticeable difference in the detection range or if I experience any false negatives (not detecting a vehicle) with the Bryton radar. <\/p>\n

I will report back on my findings after I do some long rides to test the battery and evaluate the Gardia R300L\u2019s use in real-world conditions.<\/p>\n

Member Exclusive: Check Out Our Top Cycling Stories\"Chevron\"Chevron\"Headshot<\/p>\n

As Deputy Editor, Tara Seplavy leads Bicycling\u2019s product test team; after having previously led product development and sourcing for multiple bike brands, run World Championship winning mountain bike teams, wrenched at renowned bicycle shops in Brooklyn, raced everything from criteriums to downhill, and ridden bikes on six different continents (landing herself in hospital emergency rooms in four countries and counting). Based in Easton, Pennsylvania, Tara spends tons of time on the road and trail testing products. A familiar face at cyclocross races, crits, and bike parks in the Mid Atlantic and New England, on weekends she can often be found racing for the New York City-based CRCA\/KruisCX team. When not riding a bike, or talking about them, Tara listens to a lot of ska, punk, and emo music, and consumes too much social media. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"4 min read Rear radar lights are quickly growing in popularity among road and gravel riders. These little…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326220,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[144166,104318,144159,144167,144168,144157,122721,144169,49,48,635,144170,144160,144162,413,144161,144164,122719,144158,89331,82,48235,211,94303,144165,144163],"class_list":["post-326219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ant-radar","tag-bicycling-magazine","tag-bike-radar-review","tag-bike-tail-light","tag-black-friday-cycling-deals","tag-bryton-gardia-r300l","tag-bryton-radar","tag-budget-bike-radar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-cycling-commuter-gear","tag-cycling-safety-tech","tag-garmin-varia-rtl515","tag-gear","tag-gravel-riding","tag-hammerhead-karoo","tag-lezyne-radar-react","tag-rear-radar-light","tag-road-cycling","tag-sports","tag-superenthusiasts","tag-test","tag-trek-carback","tag-wahoo-roam","tag-wahoo-trackr-radar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}