I always thought bike radars were 'cool' but not really useful. However, after using one it totally changes the way you ride on the open roads. Definitely feel more confident and don't mind increasing the volume on the bone conducting headphones, etc. because you're a lot more aware of what's going on behind you. Very impressed. Link to purchase in description!

The flashing pattern is terrible in comparison to the Garmin which keeps flashing super bright until all cars are gone. This one only flashes once even if many many cars are still behind you. 20 lumen is not enough during the day. Most ppl ride with 150-300 lumen day flashes. I expected more, even if it would cost the same as the Garmin. Good to see someone creating finally a radar alternative anyway!

The Varia (516) was a game changer for me, should have gotten it way earlier (in hindsight). My "problem" is, wind noise cancels out a lot of other sounds for me, so especially on the quieter country roads this thing is just perfect. My hearing is just fine btw.

loving the fact that you're finally posting product links. BTW this product is a game changer for me as the wind rushing by my ears is enough to cause a failure to detect vehicles approaching from the rear. Definitely a must have addition to any safety conscious rider's accessories. Thanks bro

Cool, thanks for reviewing Joe.

Ordered one, can’t wait to try it out

excellent. Never thought this product exist. Definitely getting Magene

Literally ordered one of these from Toabao a couple of days ago! Annoyingly it isn't shipping until the 24th! Really cool product, and thanks for the review :)

Another great video, Joe. I just picked up a small shipment of these for my store, along with the RideNow tubes from your prior video. I don’t want to say that you are informing my inventory decisions, but it’s starting to look that way…

My L508 arrived yesterday, it's awesome. I always said if garmin hit a price point I'd get it they never did, and then Magene came along with a really nice product. The only downside is they don't sell their mounts separately, so I'm going to have to find 3rd party mounts for all my bikes.

Well done. Great review of all 👍👍

Thanks for the video. Went out and got one. Took seconds to connect to my wahoo. Picks up all those crazy meituan couriers on their ebikes. Price at the shop was the same on taobao

In Europe you can find 162 EUR lowest price for Garmin Varia (New) while Magene Radar from official Aliexpress store costs 158 EUR. There is no brainer which to purchuase. I will definatelly go for Magene if price was diferent.

The Magene Radar is still working well and the brake function is useful, in my opinion!

I have the Garmin radar and love it. It has given me the confidence to ride on the road especially after getting hit by a car. I'm no longer constantly looking back to check for cars especially on windy days or long descents.

Interesting that it have motion sensors to put it in sleep mode while stationary and indicate as a break light when you slow down, and hopefully not at downhills. I can see in the video that it has some ghost cars, or doesn't indicate properly if two cars are too close to each other. I have the Garmin and I must say it performs perfectly. If another cyclist catch up on me and then stays behind it still indicates it for as long as he stays there. If a car 100 meters behind has a moped just behind him, it still indicates both of them reliable. If I have stopped it indicates people walking very slowly, or if a carry my bike backwards it indicates for everything, so very sensitive to anything that approaches at any speed, without any false triggers, ghosting or other problems. I would like to see if Magene has the same error free detection. Garmin also automatically stops to alert if there's a long queue of cars behind, I think it might be three or more, so you don't have to listen to a continuous alert tone for each car. But then my Garmin 520 computer doesn't give a "all clear" signal when all cars have passed, and I instead have to keep looking at the computer to see when it goes green. I would like Garmin to add that but it isn't related to the actual radar. What will be common to all radars are that some cars have radar blockers, they send out radar signals to block speed cameras by the road side so that they cannot detect the speed or registries a low legal speed. My Garmin then triggers the car to start transmit the block signal and then my radar stays quiet when one of those cars approaches. So do not rely 100% on that there's no cars behind you when you sway out to the middle of the lane. I've also noticed that if there are cellular tower right next to the road it can sometimes block out the bluetooth connection to the radar, but that's probably the computer that gets interfered. If I would like Garmin to add something else it would be a sleep mode triggered from the computers GPS and an indication that says that the radar are compromised and interfered.

this is awesome, market needs more competition

Got one coming from Magene hopefully soon!

I have a few question... Does the radar change driver awareness? Does the radar becoming a pest when you're riding to work with a constant stream of traffic?

very informative!! TQTQ

love the Top Gun clips :)))

great video, but it would be good if you compared the brightness from a distance of 200 meters or more. Somehow it seems to me that the Magene does not have the brightness of the Garmin Varia..

I like the brake light idea the best

Hello... Can it be paired with few items in the same time?(bicycle computers, watches)... It will be helpfull for all riders in the group...

Pesky Mig 28's. PMSL

cool...good for us consumer! btw, can it detect motorcycle?

Infinite Top Gun references? Me like.

Will this work with the Garmin Edge 520?

Can you use the magene with an iPhone instead of a bike computer ?

I'm not the fastest rider in our town, and sometimes I wander out of line when riding popular biking roads. I'd like to have the radar to keep me safe from other cyclists and especially when riding alone on roads with a narrow shoulder. On some of our more scenic rides, the car traffic is only doing about 20 or 25 MPH so you cannot hear some of the cars approaching. I have been using a small helmet mounted mirror for 30 years and there's plenty that I miss because the mirror is pretty far away from my center of vision. I'm going to get one of these and keep the mirror. The mirror mounted on the handlebars jiggles too much for my taste.

Already have a Varia but good to see more radars out there.

Prices are so different in the EU, both units cost exactly the same - 160€.

Are the rubber bands included long enough for a VERY wide aero seatpost on a TT/tri bike?

Weight and battery life comparisons?

The price, 163€, in Aliexpress shipped to Finland (free shipping) is about 10€ cheaper than Garmin from Bike Discount. I’d consider this if it was significantly cheaper but maybe they already increased the price from $129?

Now I'm waiting for Magene to produce a radar camera tail light 😊

$129 my $2 mirror on the end of handle bars works well 👍😁

Great to see some competition, but I'd still go for the Garmin for the proven support and updates

Will it detect motorcycles as well?

Or just get a cheap mirror like the CatEye BM-45 or The Beam Corky :)

Does it have the same features like Garmin Varia Radar? Which whenever it detected any vehicle, the light pattern will change to alert the driver.

Can you use all the functions of the Magene Radar with your smartphone instead of a dedicated bike head unit?

You are right, especially electric cars, they are so quiet - a silent bike & pedestrian killer.

wonder how the Magene Speed & Candace Sensors working with Wahoo Head units 🤔 because Battery replacement with the Wahoo Ones are HORRIBLE 😭

Nice to see some company's developing alternatives to garmin radar, but they need to reduce de price, at least in europe we can get the garmin for almost the same price no even 20€ difference. If we take in account delivery times and garanties to it's not really that great.

For the same price (as happens to be now in Europe), which one would you go for?

Loving how you said the Radar doesn't replace your common sense and don't make you invisible.

is this device suitable with all computer magene? or only a few models?

A point that I would like to add. With the growing number of EV and Hybrid cars, you may not be aware of them even if they were up your arse! (I am America, but arse just sounds better)

Not available in the US :(

Do you plan to test Bryton Gardia R300 and domostw the whole three? 😀

Any problems with False negatives, my first ride with the L508 last week (2 weeks shipping from official AliExpress store to Australia) had some cars "disappear" from my radar display when they were matching my speed but only a few metres behind, so the radar didn't pick them up as "approaching". Not sure if it was due to me mounting the unit too low on my seat post (only just above the wheels). I've remounted it to my saddle bag but have yet to test it again due to poor weather.

The problem with taxes and aliexpress now is that it ain't so cheap anymore. Magene directly on aliexpress 136€ shipped and taxed. I can get a Garmin from onlinestores in Europe for just 149€ so I don't know if its worth saving 13 bucks...

Quality of Magene is always very good. Question: does it also detect motorcycles?

I've never had a false negative reading from my Garmin. Occasional false positives are ok. Any false negatives with the Magene?

I have two questions re L508 1) does it work with smartphone like Varia doing? smartphone with BT. no ANT+ 2) does it work with Garmin 7/EPIX 2

Whats the bike over your right shoulder?

what to check on head unit whether it can support or not? anyway more eyes on the road is better rather than down on small head unit screen seeing small car like playing a game 😬

I don't get it how can this be half the price of the Varia??? Here in DK the Magicshine Seemee 508 and the Garmin Varia RTL516 cost almost exactly the same?

In term of price it's not a true here in heart of Europe, I can get magene radar at about 160€ and local shops have Garmin radar for about 180€. So is the worth getting magene radar for a little money saving???

Loved the video, but don’t really get it. Right after the watching, I went to check the prices and there is hardly any difference in price. Am sitting in Denmark and Varia RTL516 (newer than 510) is sold for $165 in many online shops here. And Magene is $160. Both products are on sale btw. So….am I missing something? $5 difference is no difference at all. Or are you comparing it with Varia RCT716, which has camera in and costs far more. But that wouldn’t be fair comparison. Or?

Any news if Sensah will make hydraulic brake groupsets for their lower tiers?

rear-view mirror

Bummer that neither company has anything other than seat post mounts; anyone with a rear rack, or are too short to have the height necessary for the light is SOL.

B-roll framerate is low Noisy background sound desk seems dirty...

Can you use them to track your bike in case of theft?

Magene :139€ and Garmin: 149€ in France i take Garmin

"Car back" - car is still 1km back down the road 🤣

What is "rear traffic warning"?

Will it tell you if that car is towing a caravan?😂

Step 1: radar early warning Step 2: ???? Step 3: safety!!! No one has ever explained what exactly you're supposed to DO with the radar information, other than what you should be doing anyway. Kudos to Joe for the pothole situation, but if you're going that fast that you're coming up that fast you should be owning the whole lane anyway.

Glad that now even more cyclists can afford this tech. It's worth every cent.

Do these radars ever pick up motorbikes??

varia o magene

Great video nice comparison, my 2 cents on bike radars... 1. another gadget, yes it works yes is a game changer, but still another marketing candy we can fall in ... OR? 2. ergonomics, helmets are quite expensive and they need to really add value this kind of tech as many other MUST be included NO cost added to the Helmets, some day we gonna have a light safe well design helmet that includes light from 300 lumen back up to 1000 flash, open ear BT headphones, and in the back RADAR! yes there is a way , sure must be heavier than some actual helmets and ventilation gets tight but then most aero helmets have plenty room also most of the tech goes from bulky stuff and moves to smaller and tiny.

Would the radar pick up cyclists or getting interference in a group ride?

Try using a mirror.

Allez Sprint Detected.........

are you relying on your hearing for electric cars? good luck with that. rear view mirror with radar for best protection with looking over your shoulder

Nah… If it was at least 2.5x cheaper I would probably think about it. A questionable knockoff above $100 with who knows what battery life and longevity which is already not so great in original garmin… no, thanks. But kudos for making the market more competitive! Will see how it goes.

Small rear view mirror on the end of the handlebars is much better, cateye is the best one

Haha, I see Magene is actively promoting its crap.

mate, almost half the price is is a bit of a misstatement...

Get a bike mirror of Amazon for around £12!

The Garmin is $299

God Messengers (who are a people) are sent from God. This light with cammera is made from han. Allah give them inspiration to make it