GARMIN VARIA RCT715
PRICE: $400 WEIGHT: 147 GRAMS
Garmin's Varia rear light and-radar combo was already one of our favorite accessories due to its excellent functionality and usefulness to many types of riders. With the newest Varia RCT715, Garmin improved the system by integrating a camera into the design, creating an all-in-one solution.
The RCT715 weighs 147g, which is slightly more than double the weight of the 71-gram non-camera-equipped RTL515. The weight increase necessitated a new mount that has much thicker tabs. Unfortunately, the new model is not compatible with previous Varia mounts.
Battery life on the new unit is quite good, with Garmin claiming six hours of run time using daytime flash and recording at 1080p. This feels slightly conservative, as I got closer to six and a half hours on one charge.
The new unit is not without its issues. First, the image quality can be hit-or-miss. On a nice day with lots of sunshine, it's easy to read a license plate from the recording. But in lower light or on a mainly gray day, making out a plate became tricky. The other issue is the app, as it requires quite a bit of patience to download video from the device. Garmin splits your ride into 30-second segments, so first, you have to find the clip you want. Then downloading that clip can take anywhere from two to four minutes or, in some cases, closer to 10. Hopefully, this improves with future updates.
Garmin's light and radar hardware itself works very well. For riders who want to combine a rear light, radar, and a camera, the Varia RCT715 is the right product.-Dan Chabanov
GARMIN EDGE 1040 SOLAR
PRICE: $750 WEIGHT: 133 GRAMS
This story is from the Issue 06, 2022 edition of Bicycling US.
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This story is from the Issue 06, 2022 edition of Bicycling US.
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