[8x]

The software feels a bit clunky but I was very surprised when I plugged my Fenix watch to USB and found it mounted as a storage device with all of the data directly accessible as files. The watch would be perfectly usable without the cloud and using an alternative app like gadgetbridge. This should be the standard, but it isn't, and it is more important to me than a sleek UI

[lostlogin]

I have used their watches, but the bike computer and radar are the same, and it’s really helpful.

You can plug in and access folders and files.

Also: the Garmin Varia bike radar is absolute gold. I feel more unsafe without it than I do without a helmet.

[codethief]

> Also: the Garmin Varia bike radar is absolute gold. I feel more unsafe without it than I do without a helmet.

Interesting, I didn't know such a thing existed. However, I'm struggling to understand the need. I ride my bike every day but I don't remember the last time I was surprised by a car approaching from behind.

Where in the world do you live / where do you typically ride your bike? In what situations are you glad to have that radar?

[lonelyasacloud]

I have one of the Garmin varia radar lights and feel exactly the same about them.

> Where in the world do you live / where do you typically ride your bike? In what situations are you glad to have that radar?

UK; It's handy for knowing when on town or country roads without too much traffic; it can typically spot fast moving vehicles before you can hear or see them in mirrors (let alone if relying solely furtive glimpses over shoulder)

Tbh, nice as it is to be notified about approaching vehicles, what I really like is that the light flashes at proportionately faster rates in response to the speed of the approaching vehicles. The changing rate does a better job of attracting the attention of drivers than constant illumination, and is also a psychological hack that makes the driver think they are being watched [0] and consequently behave slightly better when they do pass.

Cumulatively the light/radar combination is a winner because it makes cycling more pleasant _and_ reduces the chances of getting hit by drivers.

[0] In some of the newer units they are being watched as well, as they have camera's in them - apparently unit is a bit chunky and video quality in low-light is ropey.

[lostlogin]

> video quality in low-light is ropey.

The video quality is ok.. ish. It’s not good in any lighting conditions but is plenty fine for getting licence plates etc.

The main issue for me is how hard it is to get it off the unit wirelessly. It’s slow and frequently loses connection.

Removing the card and doing it that way is better but the card is clearly not designed to be removed regularly and it would be very easy to break the slot that holds it.

[throw0101d]

> The changing rate does a better job of attracting the attention of drivers than constant illumination

Variable-time/Random bicycle light flashing is a pet peeve of mine: I find it much easier to track the location and velocity of cyclists when the frequency of flashing is constant.

[lairv]

> I don't remember the last time I was surprised by a car approaching from behind.

With a headwind I often don’t hear cars behind me at all, so I can see the use case

[scottgg]

Not op but I also have a varia and feel safer for it. Living in Switzerland, cycle a lot on public curvy roads in the alps. Often I don’t hear someone coming if I’m focusing on something else important - like traffic in the other direction - or I don’t realise there’s actually more than one car about to overtake which the Varia also shows. Generally turning your head around to check is a bit dodgy!

[ashirviskas]

Why not just use a side mirror? I use one and it is so convenient

[RankingMember]

The Varia can give you auditory alerts so you don't have to take your eyes off the road and look in your mirror. In addition, it can tell you how many cars are behind you with a range that would be hard to see in your mirror.

[kgabis]

Varia can supplement bike mirrors with an early warning that a vehicle is approaching. Some people don't like bike mirrors (they look dorky), but personally I feel half-blind when cycling without a mirror.

[petre]

> I'm struggling to understand the need. I ride my bike every day but I don't remember the last time I was surprised by a car approaching from behind.

Not get rear-ended by a car? There's also model with a camera to collect evidence. I have the one without the camera, just the radar and a light.

> Where in the world do you live / where do you typically ride your bike? In what situations are you glad to have that radar?

Central and Eastern Europe. Whenever I share the roads with cars. Although I'm more relaxed on outdoor paths or gravel roads where I don't have to keep an eye on cars all the time.

For MTB you probably don't need it, but in road scenarios it's great.

[lostlogin]

> Where in the world do you live

I’m in New Zealand. I ride in the road in town and out in the hills at the weekend.

The way I use it is to look down, see if a car is behind, then look behind before pulling out. I don’t bother looking back if there is a car close (the range must be around 100-150m I think?).

It also yells louder if the car is approaching fast. The integrated light changes how it flashes when it sees a car.

In group ride with talking etc, it’s helpful too as it usually doesn’t pick up bikes (unless the guy behind is an absolute unit) and the squawk of an approaching car is helpful for the group.

Electric cars and busses no longer sneak up on me, it’s great use of tech on a bike.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/698001/

[arp242]

Ugh, I lived in Dunedin for a year, and it's the worst place I've cycled by a considerable margin. Much worse than e.g. Ireland or England, which also isn't exactly bicycle-friendly. The infrastructure isn't even half-bad, but the behaviour of motorists was just the worst. Kiwis are like that old Goofy cartoon where he's all nice and friendly until he gets in his car, after which he becomes a raging maniac.

So yeah, with "New Zealand" as context a device like that makes more sense.

[Lio]

Yeah you probably don't need it in slow moving urban traffic but I saw a video with some bike packers in Australia who used Varia. They were on rural roads shared with road trains.

Road trains a very big, move very fast and they don't stop for anyone on a bike. So knowing they are coming up on you from a distance gives you time to get off the road.

That's a very special usage case but I think any rural road with fast moving traffic would also benefit from the early warning even with just cars to contend with.

[dahcryn]

I just... dont understand why you dont hear them coming?

Do people with varia use headphones or something?

I don't have issues being aware about upcoming traffic, in either city traffic or rural environments. The only exception would be in heavy headwind situations

[Bishonen88]

Going 35-45kmh, most of what you hear is wind. Cars approaching 80kmh and beyond on a country rode. Garmin warns me 5+ seconds before the car passes me. I hear the car usually around 1s before it does (if that). Listening music (bone conducting) amplifies this.

[boringg]

You find the bone amplifying music works in wind? I figure it just adds more noise? Always tempted… its better than in ear for sure for safety.

[lostlogin]

What sort of cycling do you do?

Coupd that make hearing cars easier somehow?

The Caria is good in noisy situations or with multiple cars approaching. Unusually fast car approach get an extra alert.

I have used it with headphones but usually don’t. You detect the cars far earlier than you do by hearing them.

[jwineinger]

US. I ride shoulders on semi-rural highways. Sometimes there will be traffic in the opposing lane creating enough noise that I don't hear the vehicles coming from behind. With my Varia, I get warned well before they show up. It has even detected "hidden" vehicles that I couldn't visibly see -- like a small car trailing a truck.

[rukuu001]

Buses! The front of the bus arrives much earlier than the engine up the back where most of the noise comes from

[roryirvine]

Especially since engine noise is increasingly a thing of the past - in my part of London, only one out of ~20-ish routes still uses hybrid buses.

Almost all delivery vehicles and taxis round here are BEV too, along with a good chunk of private cars. Can be very hard to hear them above wind noise and general background hubbub, especially when wearing a helmet.

[zymhan]

Anywhere that has cyclists sharing the road with cars.

[nsteel]

Are modified ebikes popular where you live yet? They can be very fast, very quiet and will do a lot of damage if you collide with one.

[boringg]

I want to jump on this as the varia is easily the best safety feature for biking i have used beside helmets and arguably supercedes helmet since this warns you before a car shows up.

Its steep price wise but if you are doing a lot of road cycljng on rural roads and fast traffic where one hit is the end its an easy to justify life insurance product.

[stevenhubertron]

Honest question - How is it helpful to know a car is coming? On my commute to work I have a bike lane and 100s of cars pass me in their lane, knowing a car wouldn't be helpful, knowing a car was going to hit me also may not be helpful if I couldn't move over, exactly what is the benefit?

[insane_dreamer]

> the Garmin Varia bike radar is absolute gold. I feel more unsafe without it than I do without a helmet

I never knew I needed the Varia but once I tried it I can't cycle without it; best bike safety device ever -- especially if you ride in places without much traffic

[marbro]

You shouldn't feel safe riding a bicycle without a helmet because because accidents have not fallen since people began wearing helmets. Ski accidents haven't fallen, either, since they started wearing hemets.

[skeeter2020]

You have so many negatives in your statement I had to read it 3 times as a native English speaker to realize it doesn't make sense. We can make cycling safer in multiple dimensions simultaneously: 1. we learn from the Dutch about infrastructure and integrating cycling into the transportation fabric (slow and expensive), 2. the Dutch start wearing helmets (fast and cheap).

[mvanbaak]

There's so much the world can learn from the dutch when it comes to traffic

[bgnn]

and the Dutch can learn to use helmets from the rest of the world instead of making fun of them (I'm Dutch).

[meiuqer]

This only began to become a problem with the introduction of e-bikes. Old people especially are not wearing them on e-bikes. On regular bikes where you are going 15km/h you should not have to wear a helmet. The infrastructure in the Netherlands protects cyclists enough (in general) and a fall at that speed is not really that dangerous (in general, again).

Though an e-bike goes 25km/h. This is a lot more dangerous and people should definitely wear a helmet when driving one.

[saagarjha]

What infrastructure can protect you from hitting the ground with your head when you're on a bike?

[lostlogin]

I’m far from being the quickest cyclist out there and and my commutes are in the 30kmh range when it isn’t windy.

There are plenty of e-bikes that pass me, and I’d estimate they are doing 40kmh.

Not wearing a helmet would be mad.

[skeeter2020]

who goes a max of 15 km/h on a bicycle? You'd get passed by a very fast runner. I easily go 25+ on my fully loaded bikepacking bike on typical commuting terrain.

also, nit: you don't drive a bicycle

[Belopolye]

My wife enjoys telling the story from her time living in the Hague of watching drunk girls in mini skirts all attempting to ride side-by-side to keep each other upright, and...somehow managing to do it.

[herbst]

First and last and only time I saw actual brain on a street was in Rotterdam. I did wear a helmet in NL.

[saagarjha]

Would you say it is better or worse than a mirror?

[boringg]

Better but circumstance dependent. Its for rural roads, and less busy roads. Not urban traffic

[guerrilla]

What, that's amazing. Sounds like my next watch will probably be a Garmin.

[alfiedotwtf]

I just wish their “most rugged watch” (the Instinct) was sapphire like the Fenix :(

[windexh8er]

I've had multiple Instincts as well as Fenix. I am exceptionally hard on watches. I don't take them off when I'm working on anything out in the shop. The sapphire of the Fenix is not a silver bullet and the case on the Instinct does a lot more to prevent direct hits to the face than you'd think, at least in my experience.

The Instinct is also easier to polish than the sapphire. I've tried to buff out blemishes on Fenix watches I've gone to sell and have had a hard time getting them back to flawless. I've not had the same issue on any Instinct.

That being said I'm really tempted by the new Fenix Pro. I have an inReach device I take with me for backcountry snowmobiling in the mountains and I've forgotten it a time or two. I never forget my watch and always have some extra battery with me.

I just wish I could get basically the same specs as Fenix in a non-color and highly efficient display like Instinct. The 2 Solar is my daily watch and the battery life + built in flashlight make it my almost perfect watch. I don't even care about LTE but if I could get Instinct with inReach that would be a perfect setup IMO.

Garmin does a lot of things right, but pricing is not one of them. Especially given they're moving towards subscriptions which is counterintuitive to their buyer market. I really don't want anything AI in my watch.

[alfiedotwtf]

Totally with you on everything you’ve said. I’ve had a few Instincts and Fenixes, and yeah - I think the Instinct 2 was my favourite watch of all time (currently using an Apple Watch Mega Super Ultra), but I loved the concept of the 7X… just a shame I couldn’t get used to that red tone on the solar.

I found the same thing too - the instinct face gets protected while the Fenix is almost a brick and rock magnet :(

So far, I think it’s only the black Tacticals that look like they would hide more surface scratches… but I’ve never had one yet.

But, yeah - think if the Instinct 3 Solar came with Sapphire, I’d sleep better at night, so much so that it would probably be my forever watch!

[jerlam]

The bones of their software are over 20 years old at this point, back to the Forerunner 101 which came out in 2003, predating modern smartphones. You had to plug them into a COM port to download your runs. I have Garmin watches from this time period that still work, but I can't figure out how to get any data from them. They're also issued in some military circles where they're not allowed to connect to a smartphone, and the lack of a microphone is a plus.

[GranPC]

Did it mount as MTP or USB mass storage?

[tonyhart7]

"This should be the standard"

well the reason its not common is because they cant charge you their subscription fee integration or something like that