Smart lighting, focus on riding

UT800 evaluation:

Whether you are riding in the city or on a country road, as long as you start riding, everything will happen. Of course you will do everything possible to pay attention to safety, but what about the others on the road? You never know when an electric take-out car will pop out, when a taxi will be inserted diagonally to pick up passengers, or even a pedestrian crossing the road in a race with the god of death... how to improve driving safety, yes Every bicycle brand and the problems we should think about when riding on the road.

The introduction of the concept of daytime running lights in the automotive field also allows bicycle lights to extend from night riding equipment to active warning safety equipment regardless of day and night. GARMIN（Jia Ming）Recently, its smart car lights have been updated and the brand new VARIA UT800 has been launched.

The appearance of the entire VARIA UT800 car light adopts a rounded design. The volume of 9.66 x 3.35 x 2.97 cm is also three or four times smaller than the previous generation. The main body material of the shell is still made of a good heat dissipation capacity. Aluminum alloy, escort the car lights for a long time.

The power button on the side of the lamp body is the only button for the entire lamp. An LED power indicator is hidden in the rubber underneath, and the state of the lamp can be judged from the lighted color and frequency.

▲In order to realize the automatic adjustment function of the irradiation angle, the lamp bead layout has returned from the previous generation of "German top-mounted" to the conventional central setting of the lamp cup, and the heat generation has also been reduced a lot

At the top is the universal mounting port for sports cameras, which also means that the UT800 can be mounted on any GoPro base that is strong enough. Road and commuter riders can use a variety of Garmin code meters with universal interfaces to install the UT800 in the center of the front of the car.

▲GARMIN VARIA UT800 centered installation

▲VARIA UT800 can be used with helmet mounting accessories as headlights

Mountain bikers can not only use the same handlebar to install in the center, but also use a variety of universal interface accessories placed on the top of the helmet to turn the UT800 into a headlight to get a better view in the dark forest road at night; of course, The author does not recommend UT800 to be used as a headlight in the city.

VARIA UT800 still uses the same non-removable rechargeable lithium battery, providing longer battery life than the previous generation of VARIA smart headlights（Depends on the brightness of the lights）, And the Micro-USB interface is sealed by a more rigorous double-loop glyph rubber cover, providing IPX7 waterproof capability, allowing users to ride in various rainwater environments without any worries.

Most of the smart-related functions of VARIA UT800 are realized by the coordinated computer, and there is no need to install too many electronic components in the body of the car light. The actual weight is only 131 grams. The low self-weight allows it to be mounted at will. This kind of sports camera universal interface will not bring too much burden on the weight of the whole car, and it has a satisfactory performance.

When used separately from the stopwatch, VARIA UT800 can be used in high brightness（800 lumens, 1.5 hours battery life）, Medium brightness（400 lumens, 3 hours battery life）, Low brightness（200 lumens, 6 hours battery life）, Daytime flashing（700 lumens, 25 hours battery life）And night flashes（100 to 300 lumens, 6 hours battery life）Switch between five lighting modes.

Off-topic, in fact, up to now, the cycling lighting market is still a mixed bag. Many brand merchants have also caught the misunderstanding of car lights "the brighter the better", and launched a large number of car lights with thousands of lumens at every turn; However, in reality, too high brightness is accompanied by huge heat generation, which not only accelerates the rate of power consumption, but also affects the life of the car lamp components; too high brightness will also make the road reflect more light back to the user, not only You may not be able to see the road clearly, but will also be（EDonkey, retrograde bicycle or something）It can cause blindness instantly, and in serious cases it can lead to traffic accidents.

Brightness is often a double-edged sword, just enough.

In our normal riding, the main patrol range of the line of sight falls in the range of 4-40 meters. When the VARIA UT800 high-brightness gear is in the dark, the area of ??the main light spot is approximately equal to the area of ??the three cars. The main light spot area , The surrounding floodlight can be evenly dispersed, enough to allow users to notice the changes in the main spot and the surrounding environment, and at the same time, it does not affect the driving on both sides; although the previous generation and the usual German-standard car lights on the market are not used There are lamp beads on the top of the cup, but the secondary spot area in front of the VARIA UT800 main spot is also enough to illuminate the front end of the front of the car. Oncoming people and vehicles can be clearly captured by the user. The overall illumination performance meets the safety needs of night cyclists .

Studies have shown that the addition of daytime running lights in the automotive and bicycle fields can significantly reduce the probability of accidents. I believe everyone knows that the VARIA UT800''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s daytime flashing gear up to 700 lumens is not an ordinary burst flash, which is similar to Bontrager and uses The specific flashing frequency of "two shorts and two longs" can indeed be used for retrograde shared bicycles and eDonkeys at a certain distance during the day commute.（far）It serves as a warning at times, but when a low-quality retrograde vehicle approached and discovered that the author was riding a bicycle, he unscrupulously forced the author to the outside …… night flashing gear, although the name had a flashing “ The word "", the actual realization is the "breathing light" effect, referring to the low-brightness mode of the constant light mode, the visual brightness of the night flashing mode is brighter than the official nominal 100 to 300 lumens, which is more like Between 300 and 500 lumens, it is enough at night, and even a little too bright.

▲Connect with the GARMIN EDGE series code table that supports the car light option, that is, turn on the "intelligent mode" of the UT800 front light

The new firmware version of the Garmin code table will actively remind the user of the lamp network formed after the lamp is connected, the page adds new data display items for setting, etc.; on the lamp network page, you can also check the UT800 lamp brightness mode, Adjust the elevation angle and light up with the computer power on, etc. to make settings suitable for your personal use environment. After turning on the automatic option, the car lights will automatically adjust the illumination angle and brightness of the lamp beads according to the speed, slope, environmental brightness and other information of the stopwatch. The switching speed of the light brightness gear can also closely follow the changes in driving speed and ambient light. It can be said that "how fast the stopwatch is, how fast the brightness changes".

The data display page leaves the author with a little regret. Although the power of the lights, the number of network connections, the angle of the lights, and the light mode can be displayed on the data page, it is only the display status here. It is not possible to adjust the settings of the car lights by clicking on the data item. The brightness and mode adjustment of the car lights need to be implemented in the notification bar pulled down on the screen. The author recommends that Garmin update this in the next firmware version of the code table. The bar page is integrated into the cycling page, and the user experience is faster and better in seconds.

GARMIN VARIA UT800 has indeed fully accepted the feedback from the previous generation of products in the market, reduced the volume of the body, lowered the overall weight, provided more abundant and diversified installation methods, and added more functions connected to the computer. Increase the maximum brightness and maintain the same endurance…… to better meet the safety requirements of cycling. The author also expects Garmin to add more optimizations to the UT800 in future firmware updates to obtain a better and smarter car light experience.

• Powerful lighting allows you to notice you immediately, whether you are in the streets or alleys, or in the mountains and trails, even if it is a distant vehicle.
• Combined with the Edge® device with light sensing function, it can automatically adjust the brightness based on factors such as current ambient light, vehicle speed and riding status, extend the battery life, and reduce the risk caused by adjusting the lights when you are riding at high speed. , You can ride more attentively.
• Five-segment lighting mode: high brightness, medium brightness, low brightness, night flash and day flash, up to 800 lumens brightness, stable light up to 1.5 hours¹.
• The simple all-aluminum body is good for heat dissipation and very light. When matched with helmet accessories, it can also be used as a headlight.

Indulge in the mountains and the wild

Compared with the previous generation of Varia, we have increased the maximum brightness and adjusted the beam to a larger wide-angle, which is more suitable for complex and changeable outdoor environments. The joints that can move up and down independently are added, so that the rider can find his own satisfactory light angle on the road with different slopes.

Open a new era of smart riding

Whether you are riding in the streets or on mountain trails, you don’t have to worry about the sun going down. With Edge® equipment with light sensing function, Varia™ UT800 can automatically adjust the lighting according to your real-time speed and riding status. Intensity, the faster the speed, the stronger the light, and vice versa, it will also comprehensively adjust the brightness according to the ambient light source and the remaining power, effectively extending your riding time and avoiding the risk of manually adjusting the lights.

Multi-stage adjustable, suitable for commuting

Varia™ UT800 has high brightness（800 lumens）, Medium brightness（400 lumens）, Low brightness（200 lumens）, Flashing at night（100 lumens）And daytime flicker（700 lumens）Five lighting modes and two flashing modes can improve your safety on the commute.

Ready to ride confidently

Varia™ UT800 adopts a light and simple design, and the weight of the whole machine is less than 140 grams. Using the universal front extension mount, the Edge code table can be installed on the handlebar together, and the separate movable joints can adjust the angle of the car lights without affecting the angle of the code table. It can also be used as a headlight with a helmet mount.

Specifications

Volume 9.66 x 3.35 x 2.97 cm Weight 130 g Battery type Rechargeable lithium battery Life time High brightness 1.5 hours
Medium brightness 3 hours
Low brightness 6 hours
Flashes for 25 hours during the day
Flashing for 6 hours at night with maximum brightness of 800 lumens Operating temperature range -20ºC～60ºC (-4ºF～140ºF) Charging temperature range 0°C～45°C (32°F～113°F) Wireless transmission 2.4GHz ANT+ wireless transmission
Low energy smart Bluetooth wireless transmission 2.4GHz ANT+ wireless transmission
Low Energy Smart Bluetooth

Standard configuration:

Varia UT800 host.data transmission（Recharge）Line. Universal front extension mount. Fixed base. Chinese operating instructions