My title may be harsh but I will explain in detail why I've come to this conclusion. Basically, my Varia failed me.
I bought the radar a couple weeks ago and had a serious safety issue come up with it on my second ride that lasted about 2 1/2 hours. In my setup, I am also using Virb cameras on my bike during my rides which, I suspect, are the cause of the issue (more on why later). A Garmin 1000 is being used as my bike computer. I also have a Quark power meter, a Bontrager duo-trap for speed, a Bontrager Flare-R tail light and a Garmin HRM being tracked by the 1000 so there is a bit of wireless activity going on. I also have live tracking turned on with my phone, a fenix 3 (not monitoring the activity but paired to the phone), and a bluetooth headset to add to the wireless communication mix.
The Varia worked wonderfully at the beginning of the ride and I enjoyed it much more than I had even expected. On two lane roads it was much more relaxing to not be looking behind me so often and to just focus on the ride listening for the beep as a vehicle came into the view of the radar. So about 15 minutes before my ride ended, which happened to be on a two lane fairly busy road (55 MPH speed limt) with a narrow shoulder barely big enough for a bike to operate in, I noticed a car passed by me and I didn't hear the beep from the Garmin. I looked down and saw nothing that appeared to be abnormal and no activity from the Varia. Another car passed me and then another. Again, no activity on the 1000 even though the radar icon was still showing it was active in the upper right corner. I stopped momentarily to verify the Varia was still turned on and it did still have blinking LEDs so it was definitely working. I considered turning my 1000 off and on again but decided not to since I was close to home and, to be honest, didn't want to risk losing data for my ride. :)
My Virb Elite will last just a tad over 2 hours of recording before dying. In the past, there was an issue where the low battery alert would cause the screen on the Garmin 1000 to go nuts. This issue was eventually fixed but is why the issue I am suspecting this is related to the Virb dying. Testing this will be difficult though. I can power my Virb from a lab power supply and lower the voltage to simulate the battery going dead pretty easily but I cannot think of a way to simulate cars on the Varia to make sure the 1000 and Varia is still working as expected.
Perhaps this was a big fluke. Perhaps it was a flaw. But until it is identified as to the cause and fixed, I have to treat this device is merely a toy for amusement and not a safety device I can rely on.
Has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas of how to simulate a car indoors to test?
