Garmin Varia RCT715, Rearview Radar w Camera & Tail Light, Built-in Camera

Why it's worth it

The Varia RCT715 is a tail light with radar and a 1080p camera built in. It tells you about cars coming up behind before you can hear them, and it saves video automatically if something happens, which is why road riders on shoulderless highways swear by it.

Radar changes what you know about the road behind you. The RCT715 watches for vehicles closing from behind and pushes an alert to an Edge computer, a compatible Garmin watch, or the Varia app on your phone. Garmin rates detection at 140 meters. DC Rainmaker's testing reported vehicles picked up as far out as 240 meters, which at typical road speeds works out to roughly 8 to 10 seconds of warning.

That warning is worth the most on the roads that scare you. Two lane highways with no shoulder, where a car appears without a sound until it's already on you. You ride the same line you always did. You just stop guessing, and you stop swiveling your head every 15 seconds. If your routes have real bike lanes, you'll get less out of it.

From our review of 7 bike lights

What we like

• +Radar changes what you know about the road behind you
• +That warning is worth the most on the roads that scare you
• +The camera is what separates this from the plainer Varia units

What to know

• –It's a tail light only, so you still need a headlight, and it's the most expensive item in this guide on its own
• –Running the camera eats battery, which is exactly why Garmin builds in modes that keep it asleep until the radar wakes it