Garmin Varia RCT715 Rearview Radar with Camera and Taillight
Continuously record your ride—and automatically save footage if there's an incident—with the Garmin Varia RCT715 rearview radar with camera and taillight. It looks back while you ride ahead.
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- Built-in camera allows you to see and record what's behind you
- Automatically detects incidents and saves footage before, during and after events if it detects an incident
- Rearview radar detects vehicles approaching from behind up to 153 yd. (140 m) away
- Capture sharp, clear video in 1080p at 30 fps, or set the resolution at 720p to extend battery life for longer rides
- A selection of operation modes lets you flex the camera and taillight features to maximize battery life for longer rides
- Choose from 3 modes to maximize battery life: always-on; lights and radar only; or radar-activated mode, which turns on the camera when an approaching car is detected
- Bright taillight makes you more visible to motorists
- Battery life up to 4 hours with radar and taillight on solid high or night flash; up to 5 hours on solid low; up to 6 hours on day flash—all with camera recording at 1080 p
- Radar integrates with Edge® bike computers, select Garmin wearables or the mobile app on your paired compatible smartphone to provide alerts
- Integrates seamlessly with a Garmin bike computer or the Varia™ mobile app on your paired smartphone to alert you to traffic as you ride
- Mobile app lets you easily access and view your footage, transfer videos, control the camera or customize camera settings such as data overlays
- Ready to use right out of the box with included 16GB SD™ card
Imported.
| Best Use | Cycling |
|---|---|
| Bulb Type | LED |
| Number of Bulbs | 3 |
| Max Light Output (Lumens) | 65 lumens |
| Taillight Mounting | Frame |
| Battery Mount | Integrated |
| Rechargeability | Rechargeable |
| Charge Time | 3.5 hours |
| Batteries | Internal |
| Integrated Battery | Yes |
| Battery Life on High | Up to 4 hours (with camera recording at 1080p) |
| Battery Life on Low | Up to 5 hours (with camera recording at 1080p) |
| Battery Life Flashing | Day flash: up to 6 hours; Peloton: up to 5 hours; Night flash: up to 4 hours (with 1080p video) |
| Weight | 5.2 ounces |
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Excellent Radar and Camera Video Recording
I used the Varia RTC515 (no camera) version for over three years and just upgraded to the RTC715 with the camera - both with a Wahoo Element Roam. They both pair with ease and display approaching vehicles on the head unit. The 715 camera works great at capturing license plates if the car is behind the bike and fairly close, which is the location that really matters. The Garmin Varia doesn't work very well at viewing videos, but connecting to a PC is excellent. The video is broken into small files of about 30 to 60 seconds - which is how other bike cameras work. I recommend it.
Pretty good, but could be better
So, I have tried the Varia several times with a Garmin 1040 Solar head unit. The radar function, which I initially thought was a bit useless, is actually great and works better than I ever expected. It is just fantastic to know if a car is coming up behind you in terms of crossing roads or just staying out of debris on the side of the road. That being said, the camera, while very good, could use better functionality. As others have mentioned, it only records in 30 second intervals. So for an hour ride, that means you get 120 different files. And when you want to download to your phone/Garmin App, you can only select and download one video at a time. Garmin should allow the ability to "select all" for download or review. Video and audio quality is good and installation is pretty easy. All in all, I would recommend it but hope that Garmin creates a more user-friendly video interface.
RCT715 is Excellent Safety Device
It is so nice to see and hear the 0.8 mile early warnings of the number of vehicles coming and passing by speed and distance. Videos quality allows getting make, model color, and license number. I may stop using my eye glass mounted rearview mirror.
A cyclist's biggest stress reducer
I have the Varia 715 and a Varia 515. Both of them work great all the time, paired with either my Hammerhead Karoo or Garmin 830. They have never missed a car approaching, which removes the highest stress factor of cycling on public roads. They have never dropped a connection with a head unit. The camera on the 715 is just for accident recording - it's not meant for posting ride videos. I haven't looked at any video records since I first bought the 715. The radar works great with visual alerts on the head unit or phone. It gives me about 10 seconds warning before a car overtakes me. It will pick up other bicycles and motorcycles. There is an audible alert, too, but I can't hear the tone when I have a lot of wind noise on fast downhills. TBH the 515 is all you need and it's cheaper than the 715. But the video recording could come in very handy if you ever get rear ended.
Safety first!
I love riding with the radar and I like the camera. It is easier to get video clips off of than I expected, it just shows up as another drive on your computer and the footage is already edited into 30 second clips. Once initial pairing with a Garmin Edge is done the radar and cam come on automatically. I also like that it never runs out of room, it loops over old footage when the card is full.
Stopped working with edge
Great for a year. With the last upgrade it simply stopped working, crashing my edge computer all the time. Ended up being a very expensive rear light.
Great product
I have the Varia with the camera. It works really well with my wahoo ELEMNT computer. Pairs immediately every time. It gives me a lot more confidence and comfort riding solo on the roads as a woman cyclist.
add 10 minutes to any ride
works great if you can keep it paired with the GPS. usually, I have to turn the GPS on and off a few times to get it to pair. it will show connected but not actually be, and the only way to get it to pair is to turn it on and off. after charging, I often have to unpair then repair the units in order to get it to work, sometimes taking many repeated pairings.
It kinda works, kinda
It will let you know if there's a car coming up behind you. It'll also let you know the car driving down the highway 600 yards away that parallels the bike path is coming towards the device. It'll also randomly drop from your Garmin computer and drop cars that are behind you going the same speed. Oh, the camera is 1080 and if you want a clear view of a license plate good luck. Garmin needs to stop making stuff that is great in theory but sucks in real life.
Need $$$ Garmin head unit to fully utilize product
I did not take delivery of product after post purchase research showed it not suitable for me. Got the device from another source and loved the radar functionality. Garmin Varia App does not support the functionality to to turn off the light while running the radar so that you can extend battery life. This functionality is only accessible via expensive head unit (Garmin Bike Computer). The alert sound tones are fixed and cannot be changed. The camera does not have image stabilization. Pulling up recordings to view takes quite a while (by 2022 standards). Garmin support states device can only be charged using USB wall charger or USB computer port and is not designed to be charged from USB powerbanks. I had an issue charging a RTL515 from a USB powerbank and this is how I found out this limitation.