Lights, Camera, Cycle: Garmin’s New Headlight Records While You Bike

Garmin is levelling up its biking equipment with Varia Vue, a headlight equipped with a front-facing, video-recording camera. The technology is similar to the “dash cam” feature for vehicles. While its 600-lumen light illuminates the road, its 4K camera can detect if an incident occurs and automatically saves the footage it records to a memory card in the headlight. The light can also be paired with Garmin’s Edge bike computer to adjust automatically based on the rider’s lighting conditions and speed.

The headlight and camera have 7 hours of battery life when recording, and 9 hours when the headlight is off. It is also compatible with Garmin’s Varia RTL515, a rearview tail light that alerts riders of vehicles approaching from behind. Both devices can be linked to the Varia app on a user’s smartphone to view footage and receive alerts, respectively.

The Varia Vue is the latest development in Garmin’s pursuit of harnessing technology to improve user safety when engaging in physical activity.

Author: Joeley Pulver, 2024/2025 Articling Student-At-Law