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Varia front light UT800 Auto Beam Adjustment dangerous behaviour

9429966
over 2 years ago

I tested UT800 front light for the first time on descent through dark tunnels. I had Auto Beam Adjustment set to On and it got me into a dangerous situation twice.

Light was set to High intensity. As I approached the first tunnel I reduced speed and just before entering the tunnel, the light switched to Low. My eyes were adjusted to daylight, there was no light in the tunnel and I was effectively blind.

At second tunnel I intentionally did not brake, so that light would stay on High setting. Another mistake. In front of me was another rider with Varia radar, and since I was approching fast, his light flashed bright (as it should), and my front light went to Low again - this time I presume because of bright flash in front of me. So I was blinded in the second tunnel again.

That makes me think - if at night a car approaches, does Varia light go to low because of car's bright lights? If a pedestrian steps on the road in front of you and you brake, does the light go to Low becuse of reduced speed?

Reminds me of Danger Goggles in Hichhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. In case of danger they blind you, so you don't see the danger. Varia front light does the same.

This kind of behaviour is very dangerous and I would advise to turn Auto Beam Adjustment off until Garmin fixes this.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    There is no "On-coming" light sensor in the UT800 to automatically dim upon approaching lights.  It's all speed based.  If you don't like the behavior, just keep if turned off.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Dan.Boilermaker

    It is not just that I don't like the behavior - it is downright dangerous. So yes, I will keep it turned off.

    Regarding ambient light sensor, Garmin official site would disagree with you:

    https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/550821

    AUTO BRIGHTNESS CONTROL

    Select Edge bike computers can detect ambient light conditions and automatically adjust your headlight brightness accordingly to help you conserve battery life.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to 9429966

    Yes, but not this, "That makes me think - if at night a car approaches, does Varia light go to low because of car's bright lights?"

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Dan.Boilermaker

    I reasonably would not expect Varia dimming the light when an approaching car floods me with Iight.

    I also did not expect Varia dimming the light when red light flashed in front of me in pitch darkness. Yet this is what I experienced, so I am not sure I want to trust Varia with Auto Beam Adjustment set to On.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to 9429966

    That's not how it works.

    When paired with a compatible Edge device, the headlight can adjust automatically based on the current lighting conditions, sunrise and sunset information, and speed.

    As your speed increases, the headlight shines brighter. At lower speeds, the light intensity is reduced to maximize battery life.

    www8.garmin.com/.../GUID-D7C51746-9CAD-4048-9E81-97CCD60DFB2A.html

    Edge bike computers and UT800 lights lack the sensors to detect lights in front of you such as another vehicle's headlights or taillights. It's simply impossible for them to work as you describe. The device can only detect ambient light level. If you're not concerned about battery life then you can set the intensity to high and leave it there.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to nradov

    The irony of setting the UT800 to a fixed brightness level is that if you do that, it's no longer a "smart" headlight.