Rearview Radar – Gimmick or must have accessory?

Surely part of the advantage to having this unit fitted is the increasing pulse rate as a vechile approaches.

This “should” at least make your presence more visible to the passing motorist, and it just might be enough to avoid a collision.

I’m tempted for this reason alone.
Regards

Denis

Maybe if it logged the oncoming driver out of Facebook, then they may have a chance of spotting the increased led flash

“I tend to move into the kerb slightly as a car passes then back out from the kerb when it is past me, I have sometimes been surprised by a second car closely following the first.”

always shoulder check for a 2nd car, always check for trailers

as to the device – I use a mirror with wind noise you often can’t hearing fast approaching vehicles – the ones that are intent on passing close and fast are the ones you want to know about – if you are riding say 1m out from the road edge to make yourself very visibly a road user then you do have some room to move across when it looks like a close pass will happen

the relatively busy roads of the UK may not be its main market – here in Aus’ rural light traffic roads can be dangerous as drivers are tired/stoned/dumb/on face book^^^/don’t care/etc – suspect US is similar

always shoulder check for a 2nd car, always check for trailers

Srsly? I’d spend more time looking behind me than forwards!

Has anyone either bought or made up some of those “cat’s ears” which attach to your helmet straps and supposedly reduce wind noise ?

They claim that most fatalities are from behind, which might well be true. You’re unlikely to be hit from behind but if you are, you’re generally stuffed.

As above, get a mirror like every other road user?

Oh wait, they don’t look cool. Lets spend 50x more on a gadget.

I can’t remember ever being really surprised by a car overtaking me as I can hear them coming.

Hmm no Teslas around your way then 🙂

I don’t think its for everyone but I can see the benefit tbh….

Its Just more info about whats happening around you which if you were in training mode you may inadvertently miss and depending on the range it may be able to see further than you.

My m8 just came back from a road ride where due to lack of local knowledge 3 of them went down a big hill fast and weren’t expecting a set of tight curves, so 2 ended in the bushes and 1 needed clean bibs.

I helpfully pointed out that if he had a Garmin he’d have seen on the display that the hill didn’t go up and down and could have approached it differently 🙂

You don’t have to rely on this stuff but it can give some extra info that lets you make possibly better decisions have less surprises.

My m8 just came back from a road ride where due to lack of local knowledge 3 of them went down a big hill fast and weren’t expecting a set of tight curves, so 2 ended in the bushes and 1 needed clean bibs.

I helpfully pointed out that if he had a Garmin he’d have seen on the display that the hill didn’t go up and down and could have approached it differently

You don’t have to rely on this stuff but it can give some extra info that lets you make possibly better decisions have less surprises.

? Comeon surely the MK1 eye ball gives you all the information you need.

Firstly, if your going too fast for the conditions (downhill corner) how will looking away from the road to check the curve/incline/descent on the garmin improve safety?

Secondly and more importantly if your going down a hill you’ve never been down before so fast that you miss the corner it also means they were on the wrong side of the road prior to impacting the hedge and taking up the whole road. What if a car had come the other way?

Gadgets dont replace common sense and good cycling behaviour on the road

I should add that off road on the MTB its of course its acceptable to enter steep down hill with off camber corners without having ridden it before at max speed, desirable in fact. This will, at some point, extract you from the gene pool and make the trails less crowded. thank you

Secondly and more importantly if your going down a hill you’ve never been down before so fast that you miss the corner it also means they were on the wrong side of the road prior to impacting the hedge and taking up the whole road. What if a car had come the other way?

Eh? Right hand corner…?

Agree that a Garmin is a mental solution though – you can’t really tell things like corner severity anyway, particularly on the fly.

Secondly and more importantly if your going down a hill you’ve never been down before so fast that you miss the corner it also means they were on the wrong side of the road prior to impacting the hedge and taking up the whole road. What if a car had come the other way?

Gadgets dont replace common sense and good cycling behaviour on the road

Ture, but there are lots of roads with corners that tighten unexpectedly, thats why you see lots of cars through hedges, and its even harder to slow a bicycle when cornering so its possible to be riding to what you think is sensible with some margin held back, only to find it gets tighter than expected and maybe damp too, so just past your margin for error.

To follow, ive not ended up in a hedge, but ive been close, despite being a conservative rider. When riding new areas and going down hills i always take a glance at the garmin map to be be sure if there is a junction round the corner or something.

Of course im always riding ready for a car or obstacle in the road, but giving some info in advance takes one thing away allowing more focus on others. So knowing which way the road turns lets me position myself safer and also concentrate maybe a little more on the road surface. Example, was out the other night and reached a junction with no markings, concentrating on trying to work out which way the road went i went through a pothole.

always shoulder check for a 2nd car, always check for trailers

“njee20 – Member
Srsly? I’d spend more time looking behind me than forwards!”

talking about rural roads not city – good chance that second car/vehicle will be close as they are watching car/vehicle in front not for you – some drivers forget they have a trailer – some just do what the hell to get past – I’d rather go for the verge than get caught – i like trailers that rattle big time – sadly horse boxes don’t

planning on plenty of time for looking back 8)

Ture, but there are lots of roads with corners that tighten unexpectedly, thats why you see lots of cars through hedges, and its even harder to slow a bicycle when cornering so its possible to be riding to what you think is sensible … knowing which way the road turns lets me position myself safer and also concentrate maybe a little more on the road surface.

Let’s not dress this sort of thing up for anything other than what it is: Not wanting to slow down.

In terms of reducing the risk of loss of control by failing to predict the road ahead, you could achieve the same by slowing down (with considerable reduction of additional risks into the bargain).

Being able to see the turns ahead on your handlebars isn’t a safety aid in the slightest. What it is, in the context of your argument, is a speed aid.

(By the way, before you think I’m claiming some moral high ground, I’ve done this myself once: in thick fog in the Ardeche a few years ago I did one twisty descent looking at the Garmin zoomed right in so that I could see the turns in detail. But I was under no illusion as to what I was doing: even though I still wasn’t going that quickly, I just wanted to avoid doing the descent at walking pace.)

I can see this device being handy on Sunday rides on quiet roads – when I’m tight in behind a mate’s back wheel I don’t necessarily want to look back, just in case he has to slow for whatever reason. Being able to keep my eyes forward and still tell if it’s OK to move up and take my turn on the front would be a benefit.

Be useless for commuting, though.

when I’m tight in behind a mate’s back wheel I don’t necessarily want to look back

“When I’m driving right up someone’s arse I don’t necessarily want to have to use my rear view mirror.” 😉

“When I’m driving right up someone’s arse I don’t necessarily want to have to use my rear view mirror.”

😀

… but not quite the same as drafting on a bike, is it?

Not entirely the same (not least because cycling up someone’s arse is generally done with their consent, while driving up someone arse isn’t) but certainly not without similarity.

I mean, imagine people driving in a manner such that the first person had to give signals to indicate hazards in the road so that those behind didn’t crash into them.

I would actively avoid this gadget. I think it would just make me paranoid.

Most of my road riding is commuting from surrey into London and I simply work on the premise that there is pretty much always a car behind me and ride accordingly (i.e. keep going in primary).

Also the shoulder-check is not only a method of checking what is behind but is also highly effective for controlling that driver’s behaviour. Having a device that removes any need to shoulder-check is not a good thing imho.

talking about rural roads not city – good chance that second car/vehicle will be close as they are watching car/vehicle in front not for you – some drivers forget they have a trailer – some just do what the hell to get past – I’d rather go for the verge than get caught – i like trailers that rattle big time – sadly horse boxes don’t

Me too! How many times have you ridden off the road, out of interest? I still don’t look over my shoulder when a car passes. Not least the vast majority of people can’t ride in a straight line whilst doing so, so it’s probably more dangerous to look behind you!

I can’t remember ever being really surprised by a car overtaking me as I can hear them coming.

I have a few times. Most recent was as I was trundling along a bus lane got to some traffic lights just as they were changing so everyone in the big queue of taffic to my right was gunning their engines so I didn’t hear the nobber driving very quick in the buslane squeezing between me and the queue 🙄

In the city there’s lots of noise so can cover the sound of approach. Out in the country you’re not always concentrating 100% on what is around you – it’s the countryside it’s a nice place to be, check the views, bit of thinking.

Wind noise affects you everywhere, I rode for years without a lid, when I started using one the increase in wind noise was very obvious. I’nt “safety kit” brilliant eh?

Also the shoulder-check is not only a method of checking what is behind but is also highly effective for controlling that driver’s behaviour.

Yep. It’s a very useful tool and its power shouldn’t be underestimated.

It always amazes me when people post videos of themselves, or other cyclists on the road, how infrequently they look behind them.

It always amazes me when people post videos of themselves, or other cyclists on the road, how infrequently they look behind them.

I certainly don’t look behind me that often when I’m on my road bike, why would I? It’s a tool to use when you’re about to overtake or move out for whatever reason. It also means you’re no longer looking where you’re going, which is of course risky too.

why would I

So you know what is going on around you.

what njee says, car approaching maintain your road position. Only need to look behind when you intend to manoeuvre. My head would fall off if I looked behind every time a car approached. Importantly I need to keep my eyes on the road ahead

Don’t assume when you cycle in the countryside that you can be less attentive. The amount of idiots I meet on country roads bears this out. The local dual carriage way bypass with good sight distances tends to be far safer than narrow country lane and 4×4 Chelsea taxis IMHO

So you know what is going on around you

I’d rather know exactly what’s going on in front of me at all times rather than spend 50% of my time looking behind me, which provides a lot of information I can do nothing with!

I remain curious all you “I look behind at every car” people, how many times have you ridden off the road to avoid the collision which probably wasn’t going to happen?

I remain curious all you “I look behind at every car” people, how many times have you ridden off the road to avoid the collision which probably wasn’t going to happen?

I don’t look at every car but the over-shoulder glance is useful for stalling a potentially dangerous overtake manoeuvre. If I hear a car approaching and the available space is too narrow for both of us AND I hear the lack of deceleration, I’ll sling a peripheral glance over my right shoulder* and almost every time it will gain the desired affect. I’ve tried this for about a decade on the same roads and it’s a worthwhile addition to road riding IME.

Oh yeah – just the once. Couldn’t unclip and slid along the curb before going arse over tit onto the verge. It was a tad close and a dumper truck – I wasn’t going to take any chances.

*You don’t have to lose all focus of what’s happening in front. That’s the joy of having our eyes positioned where they are. 🙂

So a few months down the line… has anyone got one and what do they think?

Thought it was a bit of an useless idea (see earlier post!) but am slowly coming around.

Edit… pffft. 11 mins too long to wait for feedback so I’ve ordered one, shall take it for a spin tomorrow.

. Car fast approaching, high “threat level”, should I brace for impact, ride into a ditch?

I have had to do this once when my mirror told me the overtaking vehicle was not moving out at all. I went off the road onto the gravel shoulder and stayed upright.

If I hadn’t gone off the road a large camper van would have hit me at around 60mph.

But I don’t see what this gadget does that a mirror and using ears doesn’t.

If I hadn’t gone off the road a large camper van would have hit me at around 60mph.

I wasn’t so lucky recently and got a glancing blow that sent me cartwheeling into a ditch. Not that this device would have done anything to avoid that.

But I don’t see what this gadget does that a mirror and using ears doesn’t.

I usually don’t hear cars until they are pretty much alongside, too much wind noise, especially when riding at a decent pace. I can’t quite bring myself to fit a mirror to my bike.

When I am cycling on faster roads i do worry a bit about somebody smacking into the back of me. An early warning system might just help that little bit and give that extra split second to evade by swerving to the side, hopping up the kerb or even just unweighting the back wheel at the point of collision so there is less chance being flipped off the bike.

No way i am spending £200+ on a radar thingie though 😉

This guy needs a radar

I do wonder how far back they see.

This guy needs a radar

twisty – that guy needs a white stick and a golden retriever! WTF!?!

I was hit from behind a while back. I don’t think radar would have helped though. It will only warn you that a car is approaching, not tell you that it’s not going to move out to overtake safely. Unless you’re actually riding out in the middle to avoid potholes at the time, I don’t see that the information will be of any use.

Only sounds useful if it can deploy effective countermeasures.

Next years Garmin Rearward EMP Cannon integrates fully with it

Yes now I’m more thinking it might stop me from soiling my chamois when a car makes a fast close pass, giving me a little advanced warning. Been unusually jittery since getting knocked off.

No way i am spending £200+ on a radar thingie though

£138 is hardly £200+

I do wonder how far back they see.

Up to 140m according to Garmin.

I’ve had the Garmin Varia Rear Tail Light since late last year and it’s been surprisingly useful, most of the time I hear the beep or see the display on my Edge change long before I hear the vehicle.

Interesting… I imagine that I would just ignore it most of the time. Very interested in actual experience rather than my guesswork though…

Dibbs, sounds good.

Gray, shall be giving it a go over the weekend evenings and will report back 🙂