{"id":452480,"date":"2026-02-04T03:25:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T03:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/452480\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T03:25:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T03:25:16","slug":"garmin-rearvue-820-adds-smarter-tracking-and-brighter-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/452480\/","title":{"rendered":"Garmin RearVue 820 Adds Smarter Tracking and Brighter Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated3 min read<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that I love cycling radars. It took me a bit to warm up to the concept, but I now consider using a radar as important as wearing a helmet on road and gravel rides. If you aren\u2019t using one yet, it\u2019s one of the most impactful changes<\/a> you can make to your riding experience. And Garmin\u2019s newly announced RearVue 820<\/a> should be on your list if you\u2019re looking to get a radar or switch to another device.
<\/p>\n

Over the last nine months, I\u2019ve ridden ten different cycling radars<\/a>, from budget options costing less than $100 to the $250 Wahoo Trackr Radar<\/a>. With the notable exceptions of devices that don\u2019t work great (I\u2019m looking at you, MagicShine<\/a>), most radar systems work pretty decently. They let you know a vehicle is approaching with sufficient time to react. But a few radars have standout features that set them apart from others in the category. <\/p>\n

Best New Radar<\/p>\n

Garmin Varia RearVue 820\"Varia<\/a><\/p>\n

Garmin\u2019s RTL515<\/a> is the benchmark for performance and value. Some radars have better battery life (Wahoo), a brighter flash (Leyzne Radar Drive<\/a>), or vehicle lane-tracking (Trek Carback<\/a>). But, until now, no brand has pulled off all of these details in one package.<\/p>\n

More Bike Radars We Love\"Varia<\/a>Garmin Varia RTL515<\/p>\n

Now 25% Off<\/p>\n

\"Trackr<\/a>\"Gardia<\/a>\"CarBack\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At first glance, the Varia RearVue 820 looks to be the best complete-package radar system to hit the market, and even better than the RTL515 or Trackr Radar. It boasts all of these important features\u2014and more. A brighter max flash (100 lumens), greater visibility (2 kilometers), longer battery life (up to 24 hours), wider radar beam (40 degrees), integrated brake light, and numerous adjustable flash modes.<\/p>\n

These are all great additions. But for me, the standout features of the new 820 are its vehicle size detection and same-speed tracking. Both are things I\u2019ve needed on road rides.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ridden with radar before, you know this issue well. A vehicle rolls up behind you, and the radar tracks it and triggers a notification. However, if that vehicle slows down to your speed (for example, while waiting to pass), the notification often drops away. Is the vehicle still there, or did the driver turn onto another road or into a driveway? If the driver suddenly accelerates to pass, it can catch you off guard. This feature should remedy that.<\/p>\n

\"screenshotsGarmin<\/p>\n

A software update allows you to track vehicles in different lanes.<\/p>\n

Vehicle size and location tracking are also helpful additions, particularly if you\u2019re riding on a multi-lane road. It\u2019s useful to know whether vehicles approaching from behind are in your lane or are in another one. Relative size of what\u2019s nearing will be good on routes frequented by other cyclists: Is a truck creeping up on you, or is a cyclist about to pass?<\/p>\n

Since the RearVue 820 only showed up yesterday, I don\u2019t yet have sufficient ride time on it to declare it my new favorite. But based on its specifications and Garmin\u2019s proven track record in the category, the 820 has me pretty excited.<\/p>\n

At $300, the RearVue 820 is now the priciest radar in the category (excluding Garmin\u2019s camera-equipped RCT715). However, that\u2019s less than cycling upgrades that cost much more but do very little to improve your ride. Radar helps improve your safety; that\u2019s worth the extra spend in my book.<\/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":"3 min read It\u2019s no secret that I love cycling radars. It took me a bit to warm…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452481,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[94297,186041,49,48,635,94299,1245,413,144161,186044,171055,186039,89331,186045,186042,82,48235,211,186040,186043],"class_list":["post-452480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-bike-radar","tag-brake-light","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-cycling-radar","tag-garmin","tag-gear","tag-gravel-riding","tag-lane-tracking","tag-rear-light","tag-rearvue-820","tag-road-cycling","tag-rtl515","tag-same-speed-tracking","tag-sports","tag-superenthusiasts","tag-test","tag-varia","tag-vehicle-size-detection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452480","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=452480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}