Bryton Gardia R300 Review: Sacrificing Safety for Savings?

Here's everything you need to know about the Bryton Garrdia RL cycling radar, and how it stands up to Garmin's existing Varia offering.

[Re-upload to fix audio skipping]

Last summer at Eurobike 2022 Bryton sorta-kinda-but-not-really announced their new Bryton Gardia R300 cycling radar. For those unfamiliar, a cycling radar detects overtaking vehicles (or cyclists/mopeds/etc…), and warns you on your bike computer/watch. At the time of announcement it represented an interesting option, as both Bryton and Magene were basically dual-announcing new radar units that were more budget-friendly than Garmin’s existing lineup of Varia radar units. Bryton’s R300 has a list price of $129, whereas Garmin’s current generation Varia RTL-515 is $199 (albeit often lower, around $149).

However, as every media outlet pointed out at the time it was announced – this isn’t a category where a product can have certain types of bugs. A cycling radar has to have a perfect record at detecting overtaking vehicles. There’s no room for exceptions or occasional misses – or so-called ‘false negatives’.

And as you’ll see here, the Gardia R300 shows promise, but ultimately suffers from a number of bugs that need to be resolved before it can be recommended.

Finally, it’s worth pointing out that while you’re seeing an influx of media reviews released today due to a review embargo, the reality is that Bryton has been selling these units in Europe and Asia for months. Any consumer could have gone and bought these units in certain countries for many months. The point is, this unit isn’t actually being released today. It was released to regular consumers back in November/December in a number of countries.

[Dcrainmaker]

Sorry folks for the initial bad audio. No idea what went wrong there, but re-exporting it fixed it! Thanks for watching...again?

[macktheinterloper]

False positives are fine, and I get a fair share of them on my Varia, but a false negative (i.e. missing traffic that is behind me) is simply unacceptable. I can't think of a single time the Varia missed something that was there. While I do get annoyed with it detecting cars every time I ride on a service road or a dedicated bike path, the Varia is absolutely indispensable on country roads. Can't imagine my cycling without it. The gist of it is that I wholeheartedly agree - do not cheap out on your radar. The Varia isn't perfect (no product is), but it's never let me down when it mattered. I'd recommend it to anyone. Like you said - this is one product I think we can all agree on that it does what it should, as it should.

[torreyhogan]

I have a hard time not picking the cheapest option. Thanks for making it clear I shouldn’t cheap out on a bike radar!

[johnli]

Several seasons with a Varia and worth every penny for all the reasons you pointed out, particularly the peace of mind knowing it accurately functions as expected.

[paulflory]

A vehicle slowing to your pace happens when they are waiting for a safe opening to pass you, so depending on the width of the roadway it can happen fairly frequently. If they disappear from the radar display as a result and you move out into the lane, either to make a turn or to avoid some issue with the paving, this can be very dangerous. So it's important to remember that the radar unit doesn't eliminate the need for head checks.

[ianccrook]

Garmin has been flawless, sealed roads, gravel, height traffic, low traffic. And the Varia is smart enough when riding in a bunch to still identify and warn of approaching objects behind fellow riders! Brilliant.

[DaveCM]

My wife bought me the Varia for Christmas. She got it because she thought it would help me be safer since my hearing isn't so great. Especially in my left ear. (I'm a veteran who heard too many things go boom.) I never thought I needed it, but it has been a game changer. I've even discovered it helps even when I'm on a bike path. Sometimes, I don't hear faster cyclists come up or call, "on your left". It will often tell me when a faster cyclist is coming up on me.

[Wyliedawg]

Telling it as it is, thanks for the detail and honesty as always.

[ianmcc]

I am glad your brought these to my attention. I ride the eastern Colorado plains with occasional truck traffic and these will be perfect. Thanks to your video, I have a better idea what to get now.

[PierreAlainMaire]

Usually it's good news when there are cheaper options, but not this time. At least it pushes some pressure on Garmin to not go crazy on prices :-) Thanks for the good advice ! And for being the only channel I can't watch at 2x speed haha !

[stevereaburn]

great video, especially being able to see how they operate & the differences with the exact same view. Purchased my first Varia 515 a few weeks back, absolute game changer. Highly recommend if you don't have one.

[mikeprytherch]

I find Ant+ lighting control a must have on group rides so you can turn the radar light off (using the bike computer) when at the front of the group so it doesn’t annoy other group riders, then back on when I’m at the rear

[davidm]

".... just in case you were curious" - lol, nice one Ray :)

[steveingwersen]

Love my Varia, won't ride without it

[Adanteh]

Very solid review like always. Media embargo for a product that's been sold for a good while is really strange. I happen to have picked up a Magene one yesterday that I still need to give a spin outside. From some other reviews that one at least seems like a solid unit. Hoping to see you do a review on that one as well.

[ADVRaiderKTM]

Can you please do a similar comparison between Garmin and the Magene? I am seeing some false negatives with the Magene unit, and like you said, it has to work 100% of the time, I'm curious if this is the norm.

[Pep]

I am just getting back into biking after a loooong time away and tech sure has changed. I am in the market for a radar. This vid helps me a LOT. I would much rather spend a bit more and have something that works properly when it comes to safety. Thanks very much!!

[vaslim]

Great breakdown as usual. Really helpful.

[sebastiend.]

Great review, and yes the Varia is the single best piece of kit I would recommend to anyone (and I live in China).

[andriesm]

I am very happy with the Varia. Surprised to see part of my commute route in the video!!