The Varia Rearview Radar is helping alert cyclists’ to the threat of approaching vehicles

CYCLING without bike paths is a scary task, but it is a harsh reality many face. But, thanks to this genius product, riding just got safer.

REVIEW:

CYCLING without bike paths is a scary task, but it is a harsh reality many of us face on a daily basis.

The ever-present fear a collision with an approaching car is sometimes enough to make people stay off the bike all together.

But now there is an amazing solution and it doesn’t involve fitting your bike with daggy rear vision mirrors.

Innovative GPS technology developer Garmin has created a simple, but effective method to keep cyclists safe on the road.

The Varia Rearview Radar does just as the name suggests and alerts riders to vehicles approaching them from behind.

It works by using a radar tail light, which has been designed to detect cars at distances up to 140m.

This information is then sent to the radar display unit situated on the handlebars of the bike, which uses LED lights to demonstrate the distance between the rider and up to eight approaching vehicles.

As the vehicles get closer, the LED light will move up the radar and change colour to indicate the cyclist’s current threat level — green for none, amber for caution and red for danger.

Impressively the unit is smart enough to differentiate between the traffic going the other direction and parked cars meaning you won’t receive an unnecessary scare.

The product retails for $A389 as a bundle, although if you already own a compatible cycling computer you can wirelessly integrate the stand-alone radar tail light dropping the price down to $A259.

As far money is concerned, it’s well worth the investment for peace of mind on the road if nothing else.

So, if you are a cyclist looking for added protection, it’s hard to go past this product life saving product.

On behalf of bike riders everywhere, thank you Garmin.

Garmin Bike Radar locks onto the back of your bike and handlebars.