For the dozens of you that own a Garmin Varia Vision HUD, does it pair well with modern Garmin devices?

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sumant28
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:12 am

by sumant28

I cannot find much information of how people are finding pairing this 5 year old technology with more modern Garmin components. Officially this device is supported by bike computers that are two or three iterations out of date. I got a good deal online with a Varia Vision and don't want to make a mistake pairing it with something new which considers it obsolete. Preferably I would pair this HUD with a Garmin Edge 130 Plus because to my knowledge this would be the lightest setup that also conveys information that is easily scanned visually

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ms6073
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by ms6073

Can't offer any meanngful content to your inquiry, but I have always thought Garmin's long term plan is to add a camera to the Varia Radar, for which the images could be displayed on the Varia Vision as vehicles approach from behind.
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desperado95219
Posts: 120
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 7:49 pm

by desperado95219

I use my Varia both with the Garmin Edge 520 and the 130 with no problems. (I don't have the 130 plus though.)

sumant28
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:12 am

by sumant28

desperado95219 wrote:
Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:55 pm
I use my Varia both with the Garmin Edge 520 and the 130 with no problems. (I don't have the 130 plus though.)
If it pairs with the 130 almost certainly it pairs with the 130 plus. Thank you for solidifying my decision! Just out of curiosity what do you think about the aero qualities. That's the only drawback I see of this technology rather than going for a larger bike computer screen. It didn't occur to me online but in person this thing looks ridiculously un aero

Butcher
Shop Owner
Posts: 1917
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:58 am

by Butcher

I purchased mine on close out, probably close to two years now. I pair it up with a RTL510 and an 830.

One thing for certain, this is a gadget and I like gadgets. I needed a rear tail light so I purchased the RTL510 because I thought the radar was something I would not really use, but thought it might be ok. I was wrong about the radar, that's a must have. Like others, you probably would turn around if you forgot to put it on. With the HUD, it's more of a gadget. I do like it and 99% of the time, it pairs up up seemlessly. Every once in awhile, the HUD disconnects on a ride, not often. It will give you a warning when it the connection is lost. It can disconnect from the radar and the 830 but never both. The 830 never disconnects from the radar so I suspect it's the HUD that is buggy. Again, it's rare, maybe 1-2 a month. It usually comes back online or worst case senario, I turn it off/on. I do not recall it ever acting up more than once on a ride.

The battery life is just about perfect for a century [5.5-6hrs] but not much longer than that. I wish there was a better hook up to the glasses [I've tried several brands]. One pair, the best fit was where I could not fold up the temple [yeah, I had to Google that, the arm that goes to your ears].

You can program what you want to see and I believe the choice is no more than 4 on a screen. I have one screen I use for hills [grade, power, cadence, HR] and another screen for just riding [Speed, Power, Cadence, HR]. There is an option for navigation but I rarely use that feature so I can't give you a good opinion. I have 4 screens but I do not recall how many you can swipe. I ride with Campagnolo SR EPS11 and would love to see the gear I'm in. There are reasons why I would not update to the newer interface and right now, I've got a EPS12 on order [soon to be a 10 month wait].

When the radar is working, the display will vibrate to let me know something is going on. Having the radar display is great, a simple glance assures me if someone is back there or not. When I elect to make a turn, I do turn my head to confirm what Garmin is telling me. It just saves me a lot of head turning.

During a sprint, I do not look at it, but on a longer hard effort, I do look at it to see where my power is at and confirm it's where I want to be. Works great for hill climbs.

In the end, it's a gadget that does not reach the status of the radar, but it's sad when the display does turn off because the battery is low. I do miss it when that happens.

Would I buy it again, yes, but only if it was on close out. I really do not believe it was worth the full price and I was real close to buying it when it first came out.

If it could see a rear camera, I would take it off the gadget list and put it on the must have items. From my understanding, it uses ANT+ and that does not support video. Other electronic geeks can say for certain if that is true.

desperado95219
Posts: 120
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 7:49 pm

by desperado95219

[quote=sumant28 post_id=1702424 time=1631477705 user_id=106121]
[quote=desperado95219 post_id=1702420 time=1631476548 user_id=11571]
I use my Varia both with the Garmin Edge 520 and the 130 with no problems. (I don't have the 130 plus though.)
[/quote]

If it pairs with the 130 almost certainly it pairs with the 130 plus. Thank you for solidifying my decision! Just out of curiosity what do you think about the aero qualities. That's the only drawback I see of this technology rather than going for a larger bike computer screen. It didn't occur to me online but in person this thing looks ridiculously un aero
[/quote]
It's no more un aero than any other garmin and it is about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of any other cyclometer with the same capabilities. That should more than make up for any un aeroness. I use it on my TT bike mounted behind and almost under my hands.

kode54
Posts: 3740
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 9:39 pm

by kode54

Problem with Garmin in my experience is that every time they come out with new models...update the firmware, the older head units tend to suck battery 2-3X faster than newer head units...forcing you to upgrade. I have a RTL510 and with an older 520...it was bad. Prior to firmware update, had normal run time...i can get 2-3 rides without charging. Post firmware update, barely lasts a 4hr ride...and that's after turning down screen brightness, etc.

You would think they test for backward compatibility, but if you have an older GPS...you may run into similar battery depletion.
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sumant28
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:12 am

by sumant28

So after months of planning and waiting I received my Garmin Edge 130 Plus. I pressed the add sensor pairing button with my Varia Vision turned on and ... nothing. Pretty disappointed tbh. I would like to persevere and see if I can remedy this because other people seem to have gotten it to work with their Garmin devices. Is it a problem with the Varia Vision firmware? I am on V3.60 according to the title screen. My Edge 130 Plus is brand new and on SW Version 2.80 and Sensor Hub: 0.06. I am ultimately not too surprised by this because officially this HUD only supports computers that are several years old like the Edge 1000 and Edge 520. If it is a specific problem with this particular Garmin (Edge 130 Plus) and other modern Garmin devices work fine I wouldn't mind exchanging to a 530 or 830 but I am also apprehensive now from past experience

Butcher
Shop Owner
Posts: 1917
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:58 am

by Butcher

I would think going to the Garmin Forum or just calling/email Garmin to get a good answer. I do not call Garmin often, but when I do, they are very helpful. I can only say that my 830 works great with the Varia Vision.

sumant28
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:12 am

by sumant28

I contacted them by email in the past they only gave me the stock answer of saying it's compatible with Garmin 1000/520 and other older devices from the official list. If I can talk to someone there who is informed rather than pasting from the technical documents that would be appreciated but I'm not optimistic

sumant28
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:12 am

by sumant28

Garmin support was not very helpful, all they could do was give boilerplate responses on officially supported compatible devices.

by Weenie


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sumant28
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:12 am

by sumant28

So I can give an update now. The Varia Vision does pair with the Garmin Edge 530 which I refunded the Garmin Edge 130 Plus to partially pay for. There is no official support for the Garmin Edge 530 on the Varia Vision product details even though there is a dedicated section in the Garmin Edge add sensors menu for it. That should also mean the Garmin Edge 130 is supported since it is older than the Garmin Edge 530 which is supported though I can only guess since it is no longer available new and I would have to purchase it in a non refundable secondary market to find out.

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