Chinertown
Other Resources => Component Deals & Selection => Topic started by: havox07 on June 28, 2025, 09:39:04 PM
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Noticed this on AliExpress, has anyone tried it? Am curious how it compares to the Magene L508 as the price is comparable. Haven’t found much discussion online.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAHpL3cS-dw
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They've supposedly completely changed their detection algorithm since that video so it might be outdated? I hope Petr can give us an updated review soon. I don't hate my L508 but the battery life is poor, and since IME IGPSport puts magene to shame when it comes to GPS unit battery life I'm hoping the same remains true for their radars
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These devices are only effective if you really trust them. If you don't trust them you will ignore them and then they are useless. They MUST be reliable and consistent in order to be trusted.
Saving $40 isn't worth questionable performance in a safety system. Buy a garmin. If the $40 matters that much, buy a used Varia. Be happy.
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These devices are only effective if you really trust them. If you don't trust them you will ignore them and then they are useless. They MUST be reliable and consistent in order to be trusted.
Saving $40 isn't worth questionable performance in a safety system. Buy a garmin. If the $40 matters that much, buy a used Varia. Be happy.
As much as I would love to I refuse to buy any device with micro-usb in 2025.
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Then get the new wahoo radar? From what I've seen, it's the only other radar next to Varia that actually works (aka constantly and reliable).
They've supposedly completely changed their detection algorithm since that video so it might be outdated? I hope Petr can give us an updated review soon. I don't hate my L508 but the battery life is poor, and since IME IGPSport puts magene to shame when it comes to GPS unit battery life I'm hoping the same remains true for their radars
Didn't know that. Was expecting they use the same. But even if that doesn't mean it's now magically good. I wouldn't buy one until someone with a good review reputation has put it through some tests.
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Bought one on the Eurobike booth 1,5 weeks ago - Had it on yesterday first time.
Completely leaves the Magene L508 dead in the water!
- Much much more brighter light modes
- more range - on a straight road the detection starts about 150m (also the car icon on the Wahoo starts on the bottom, with Magene, never)
- NO false positives on my home turf (Magene always had a couple ones, especially at 1-2 same points EVERY TIME)
- better battery, better light modes
- looks good IMO, good mount under seat rail, so more sturdy and higher view point.
- Retail $99, got in on Eurobike for EUR80.
No experience with other brands, though. Only used Magene L508 because I got a good RMB discount for it in China.
I prepare a (German) video, but still waiting on an email reply from those guys in regards of disabling the blinking... Hard to use on German roads, as the "Smart" radar will currently always blink when a car approaches, as well as when you brake it will happily disco along - Would rather disable those "features" as it maybe not street legal here.
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Bought one on the Eurobike booth 1,5 weeks ago - Had it on yesterday first time.
Completely leaves the Magene L508 dead in the water!
- Much much more brighter light modes
- more range - on a straight road the detection starts about 150m (also the car icon on the Wahoo starts on the bottom, with Magene, never)
- NO false positives on my home turf (Magene always had a couple ones, especially at 1-2 same points EVERY TIME)
- better battery, better light modes
- looks good IMO, good mount under seat rail, so more sturdy and higher view point.
- Retail $99, got in on Eurobike for EUR80.
No experience with other brands, though. Only used Magene L508 because I got a good RMB discount for it in China.
I prepare a (German) video, but still waiting on an email reply from those guys in regards of disabling the blinking... Hard to use on German roads, as the "Smart" radar will currently always blink when a car approaches, as well as when you brake it will happily disco along - Would rather disable those "features" as it maybe not street legal here.
Looking forward to the video. I wouldn't mind upgrading from the L508
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Any feedback on standby battery use would be great too - that's another bugbear of mine with the L508.
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There are two specific behaviors of the Varia that I wish would improve. I understand the technical limitations behind them, but they still need improvement. These are what I am always curious about with competing products.
1) The ability to filter out objects that aren't actually approaching me. For example, riding on a road that parallels a highway. Steady stream of objects getting closer, but not approaching me, results in a useless stream of alerts.
2) When an object approaches from behind (car) but maintains it's distance (same speed as me) I receive an alert when it first approaches, but if we go around corners and visibility is interrupted, the radar stops seeing it because its position hasn't changed in relation to mine. The car vanishes from the radar even though it is still there. This happens a lot on windy mountain roads when cars will be polite and wait for a safe spot to overtake/pass.
Whichever product can solve one or both of these issues will be a winner.
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Then get the new wahoo radar? From what I've seen, it's the only other radar next to Varia that actually works (aka constantly and reliable).
Didn't know that. Was expecting they use the same. But even if that doesn't mean it's now magically good. I wouldn't buy one until someone with a good review reputation has put it through some tests.
My Magene radar light has been flawless other than the battery life
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My Magene radar light has been flawless other than the battery life
I agree - my experience with the Magene is great other than the battery life.
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I agree - my experience with the Magene is great other than the battery life.
My Magene radar light has been flawless other than the battery life
I had the Magene for 2 years as my primary back light. So in general I would also say it worked fine, recognized most cars. BUT I have like 1-2 "Ghosts" per hour or more. There is spots, where it always "recognizes" cars, but there is nothing there! Did you not have those kind of issues?
Battery... yeah, I would guess like 5hish or so.
IGPSport blew it out of the water for me, still waiting for a reply from those guys on how to change blinking, or timeline for software updates.
I want to to a side-by-side comparison on the same road, maybe this weekend. Same spot, then I can compare the distance between the 2.
Otherwise: SR-Mini is lighter (49g vs. 63g for L508), smaller, brighter, has longer battery, looks better etc. at the (!)same retail price of about $99, so for me it's quite clear winner.
Fun fact: At Eurobike, I asked the iGPSport guys how many R&D people they have, he said about 100.
Same question to the Magene representative: 38 (Not sure, if that same dvision is also responsible for their vast hardware portfolio from exar wheels, to smart trainers, powermeters, groupset, lights,... nowadays).
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I had the Magene for 2 years as my primary back light. So in general I would also say it worked fine, recognized most cars. BUT I have like 1-2 "Ghosts" per hour or more. There is spots, where it always "recognizes" cars, but there is nothing there! Did you not have those kind of issues?
Battery... yeah, I would guess like 5hish or so.
No issues with false positives, but occasionally false negatives (i.e. it won't detect a car that is there). Most likely when there are multiple cars in succession it might miss later cars.
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I get quite the amount of false negatives personally on the L508, but thankfully always vehicles I would have otherwise heard. Only 1 in 10 motorcycles are detected I would say. False positives happen too but they don't worry me much.
I seriously doubt IGPSport has 100 r&d employees, unless they mean unpaid beta testers like you and me. But either way I have had excellent support from them from my GPS unlike magene, and would trust them more when buying a future product
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Link to AliX IGPSport SR Mini Radar Tail Light? My searches don't bring it up.
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Link to AliX IGPSport SR Mini Radar Tail Light? My searches don't bring it up.
Probably not, but at least there is a Buy option with lots of delivery country options on their website. Not sure about
https://eu.igpsport.com/de-de/products/sr-mini
To my German location it even had free delivery.
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Link to AliX IGPSport SR Mini Radar Tail Light? My searches don't bring it up.
https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005009259228450.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.2c11673886SulZ&algo_pvid=4cef262a-c912-4631-8c96-5faf93f8857f&algo_exp_id=4cef262a-c912-4631-8c96-5faf93f8857f-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%2231%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%7D&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21EUR%21107.43%2196.69%21%21%21882.74%21794.49%21%402103956a17520499551208483e3197%2112000048515109032%21sea%21FR%21777550326%21X&curPageLogUid=w4Z5kChw7DTB&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A (https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005009259228450.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.2c11673886SulZ&algo_pvid=4cef262a-c912-4631-8c96-5faf93f8857f&algo_exp_id=4cef262a-c912-4631-8c96-5faf93f8857f-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%2231%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%7D&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21EUR%21107.43%2196.69%21%21%21882.74%21794.49%21%402103956a17520499551208483e3197%2112000048515109032%21sea%21FR%21777550326%21X&curPageLogUid=w4Z5kChw7DTB&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A)
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https://aliexpress.com/item/1005008679863133.html
This is the international listing that ships from china for slightly cheaper. As someone else mentioned elsewhere, IGPSport definitely has a disadvantage in serch results. Many of their products are not findable from a simple search, you first need to get to their store page.
~84€ with coupons for me is getting very tempting
Another positive for me compared to magene is the app. It's the same as the app for their computers. Magene had a (shitty) app for their computer, and another even shittier app for their radar
I don't know how I feel about their provided mount on the saddle. The magene one isn't perfect but I have a bike with the saddle so far forward I can't clamp anything on it.
Would also love to know how good the computer integration is. I can't display more info on my IGS630 from my L508 (which performed horrible on today's ride with many many false positives and one unforgiveable false negative) like battery status (much needed), light mode and vehicle speed
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They've supposedly completely changed their detection algorithm since that video so it might be outdated? I hope Petr can give us an updated review soon. I don't hate my L508 but the battery life is poor, and since IME IGPSport puts magene to shame when it comes to GPS unit battery life I'm hoping the same remains true for their radars
I'm not sure if you are referring to me, but I've just finished the written review, which will go live next week. In short, I'm surprised that the SR mini was accurate and gave the fewest false positives among Asian radars. However, the detection occurs about as quickly as on Varia, meaning the 160m detection range was not achieved. Also, the battery life is a bit short. But overall, I'm mostly surprised (considering how bad the SR30 performed after one firmware update). :-)
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I'm not sure if you are referring to me, but I've just finished the written review, which will go live next week. In short, I'm surprised that the SR mini was accurate and gave the fewest false positives among Asian radars. However, the detection occurs about as quickly as on Varia, meaning the 160m detection range was not achieved. Also, the battery life is a bit short. But overall, I'm mostly surprised (considering how bad the SR30 performed after one firmware update). :-)
so will you recommend to purchase it? What was the battery life?
I am considering it over varia, as it is cheaper.
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so will you recommend to purchase it? What was the battery life?
I am considering it over varia, as it is cheaper.
I would recommend it at this point. Looks great, good, firm mount, bright light - esp. compared to Magene.
Also connected with a person from them on WeChat about the German light situation - the blinking can be disabled already with an iGPSport head unit, but app option is on their road map (in Germany, it's forbidden that mounted lights blink at all - which this radar does)
I made a German video about it, comparing it to Magene L508.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q8443-dTUE
Stationary warn range (bike not moving at the side of the road) is about 120m, but if you are moving it's a little bit more, more like 150m, even the "car" dot on my Wahoo is outside the lane when it gets red.
False positives almost none! I had like 1 in 300km now on an iron passenger bridge, Caveat: I am not riding a lot on roads though, prefer bike paths.
False negatives: nothing that stood out, of course there are "late" warnings when the cars are driving really fast (this is germany, so 120km/h on a road is kind of normal...). Also motorbikes had been warned, but with less distance.
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Cyclplus L7 can turn off the blinking
I do experience false positives, but then the dot isn't moving, so it doesn't matter
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so will you recommend to purchase it? What was the battery life?
I am considering it over varia, as it is cheaper.
If you don't mind the short battery life (~8.5 hours in day flash), then yes.
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If you don't mind the short battery life (~8.5 hours in day flash), then yes.
Is this not better than the L508 in your opinion? I get around that in radar only mode, flashing only on detection
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Is this not better than the L508 in your opinion? I get around that in radar only mode, flashing only on detection
I would say the SR Mini is better than Magene L508 or Gardia R300L, as it gave me fewer false positives. Basically, only about 3 within 20 hours of use.
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I meant in terms of battery life only. I get false negatives and a lot of false positives with my L508 but I can deal with that. It's the shitty battery that makes me want to sell it the most
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8.5 h in flashing mode sounds way better than my L508, feels like it's more like 5 h for me. Heavily considering switching to this one.
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I bought the sr mini, no issue work like a charm with my Garmin 1040. Only got 1 false positive, but it was a strange situation a car leaving a parking spot on the side of the road. Overall very happy with it. I recommend. Next I will see if I can connect it at the same time to both my Garmin and the wife bsc200
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Anyone able to compare this to the Bryton Gardia 300L?
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Anyone using this light/radar?
Considering it myself over the Varia. I like its small compact size.
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I've had it for about a month now, but only ~15 hours of road riding because I've been either sick or riding gravel but I'm pretty happy with it.
No false positive yet and only 2 or 3 false negatives that were understandable because of low speed difference/sharp turn.
Setting up in the app is more finnicky than expected, it doesn't remember your last light setting when you turn it off.
It connects to my IGS800 for data fields (something the magene L508 didn't - but it connected to a magene C606) to give battery percentage. It says ~18 hours with light off which is I think a little optimistic but 15 hours is still very good.
I kept the L508 mount on my seatpost as I prefer it to the SR mini mount that uses your saddle clamps, which is not compatible with some of my bikes with saddle as forward as possible, and the angle adjustment is always too loose no matter how much I tighten it, it will often point down
Still overall a clear upgrade over the magene L508 in my opinion
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did 300kms with it so far, no issue, 2-3 false negatives.
I notice something, if the car drives at the same speed as you, because they cannot over take you, the radar does not detect them anymore.
Set up on the phone was easy and i was able to pair it with my garmin 1040.
Also I noticed I was able to pair it with my wife bsc200s at the same time. So 1 radar connected to 2 gps.
overall very happy with it, it is small, charge fast.
agreeing with kbernstein, around 15h battery. You can also use it without light so it will increase thebattery a little.
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Used it more or less exclusively since Juli/August on the road - maybe 500km.
Would not change my previous good review; recognition is good (just watched a new video from gplama, he explained, that all Radars have this issue of detecting cars that stroll behind you). Very few false positives (One narrow metal bridge in 1/3 times gives one a false positives). Sometimes the distance is very good, like the dot on the Wahoo is not even visible (>130m or so), sometimes the warning comes a little late (<100m). As I have no back-cam I cannot say what's the factors are, such as curves, speed differential, road furniture etc.
Very light (50g + 28g mount), didn't use their app in the last 2 months, so I have no recollection of it - but surely it's not the best part, as kbernstein mentioned.
Also the price is very good for this package I would say.
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did 300kms with it so far, no issue, 2-3 false negatives.
I notice something, if the car drives at the same speed as you, because they cannot over take you, the radar does not detect them anymore.
Set up on the phone was easy and i was able to pair it with my garmin 1040.
Also I noticed I was able to pair it with my wife bsc200s at the same time. So 1 radar connected to 2 gps.
overall very happy with it, it is small, charge fast.
agreeing with kbernstein, around 15h battery. You can also use it without light so it will increase thebattery a little.
This is a problem with all the radar units. They detect the presence of an object by relative position. If an object stays the same distance from you (moving at same speed) it is essentially invisible.
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Just placed an order after seeing the positive reviews. From the US I used this link https://us.igpsport.com/products/sr-mini where it's 79.99usd AND they have a 10% off sale happening with free shipping.
Compared to 140.00usd thru aliexpress https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808493548381.html
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Just placed an order after seeing the positive reviews. From the US I used this link https://us.igpsport.com/products/sr-mini where it's 79.99usd AND they have a 10% off sale happening with free shipping.
Compared to 140.00usd thru aliexpress https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808493548381.html
(https://i.imgur.com/oFMMwDd.png)
Just be patient and use coupons
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I just bought myself one today. I should be getting it early next week. Bought from Bikeinn instead of AliExpress. They have for 83eur which isn't too bad imo.
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What do you guys use for seatpost amount?
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What do you guys use for seatpost amount?
I used the saddle clamp provided with it
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What do you guys use for seatpost amount?
Same here. The mount is very robust so far. On the other hand you can use any Wahoo compatible (Garmin + 90deg) one, for example the mount for Magene L508 is not perfect but workable. The mount is 28g.
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I went out with the radar for the very first time today. I was out with a friend of mine and the radar seemed to be picking quite few times when he was moving a bit around behind me.....not sure if he was dropping and catching up but the radar would flag him. Is this common enogh for you guys too when you ride with more people?
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By the way, did you all update the firmware?
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yes updated to latest fw
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I went out with the radar for the very first time today. I was out with a friend of mine and the radar seemed to be picking quite few times when he was moving a bit around behind me.....not sure if he was dropping and catching up but the radar would flag him. Is this common enogh for you guys too when you ride with more people?
Thats the point of a radar. If an object is coming up to you at speed, the radar will pick that up. It will then level off when the object is going the same speed. This is why its always a good idea to NOT rely on the radar and still do a shoulder check when changing lanes or turning.
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Went for my first ride with the SR Mini Radar (or any radar) the other day. While not a "game changer," I was surprised at how much of a benefit it was. I didn't have any false positives or false negatives. I noticed that the radar alerted me to a vehicle approaching about twice as far as I would have noticed with my "spidy-senses."
I am a big proponent of taking the lane when needed and that bikes have a right to use the road as much as any other vehicle. But I also believe that riding as safely as possible is more important than "the rules" or my rights and that being a little courteous at times is the best action. So previously when riding (without a radar), by the time I "sensed" (or heard, felt, or however realized) that a car was approaching from behind, my normal reaction was to hold my line, because it wasn't usually enough time to move without making it a really sudden move. But I found that with the radar, I could gently move over, well before I would normally. And I think the perception by drivers is positive – noticing that almost all the drivers moved over as well. I do fully expect the same occasional jerk passing closely on purpose, but just on this one ride more drivers were giving me more room. And mind you I'm not moving over very much, on one stretch of road where there's a rumble strip about 8-10" to the right of the while line and only about 10" of shoulder remaining on the right of that, and I would basically ride on the line on the left, and when alerted by the radar move the few inches to just on the right of the line or between the line and the rumble strip.
Anyway great product and about half the cost of the Garmin version.
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I have done four rides now with the radar and has been rock solid.....zero false positives, zero false negatives. Just flawless!! So impressive device. I had a Varia before and can't tell the difference between them in turn of performance to be honest. Fingers crossed and this good experience is to carry on.
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Can anyone confirm their SRMini has an update from 1.05 -> 1.08?
Does anyone know when this firmware was released?
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Can anyone confirm their SRMini has an update from 1.05 -> 1.08?
Does anyone know when this firmware was released?
Yes, i just made the update via their iPhone app successfully. Updated from 1.03 though, which worked fine so far.
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My SRmin was working flawless when I bought it, but then it was updated to 1.07 firmware and readings were all over the place. A lot of false positives and negatives. It was useless as a radar, only as a smart light.
I updated to 1.08 but didn´t try it yet. Hope it made it work good again.
I´ll see tomorrow
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Well after the update, everything is working fine again!
So I guess more than an upgrade, was a downgrade to it´s original state.
I did 200km in 2 rides and now it is reliable again. No false positives or negatives, and now the green/yellow/red line is working great again
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I'm getting good results with firmware 1.08. There's a difference with the alerting compared to most other radars. It'll switch an orange alert to red for almost every detection when the threat is within 30m or so - making it very chirpy.
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For me this update broke the auto sleep function. It's still enabled in the app settings but it doesn't turn off when I get home and battery is drained when I leave the next day - I really thought the unit had died
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I had a similar issue on the previous fw. The light was always discoverable with the phone even while shut down (not in sleep mode), so the battery drain was huge. Updated yesterday and when shut down, its not seen. Will test it now and hope for the best.
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I'm getting good results with firmware 1.08. There's a difference with the alerting compared to most other radars. It'll switch an orange alert to red for almost every detection when the threat is within 30m or so - making it very chirpy.
Well I use it in silence mode, so I only see the line. But with firmware 1.07 when a car was approaching, you would see the line yellow yellow yellow, then you see the car right passing you, and after that it would turn red. "Thank you for nothing SRMini".
I agree that now red line is a bit "anxious", but that depends on the speed of the car. I prefer this, than the other.
Btw, I´m getting 4 hours of battery with radar in "cascade mode", and smart brake light warning "medium" on.
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I had a similar issue on the previous fw. The light was always discoverable with the phone even while shut down (not in sleep mode), so the battery drain was huge. Updated yesterday and when shut down, its not seen. Will test it now and hope for the best.
my light is still detected by my phone even after the update... is anyone else experiencing the same issue?
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I bought it after seeing your review a few months ago ago - even before creating an account - and got myself one. It’s so nice to use and I feel much safer. I do think the battery is not huge but it’s easy to charge usb c and the form factor and weight makes it worth it
I did get false positive (people on e-bike mostly) but not often.
One thing I wonder but can’t really know if it works (as I don’t have eyes in this part of my body ;) ) is, is there a way to take the light of and have it only flashing when cars are detected ?
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One thing I wonder but can’t really know if it works (as I don’t have eyes in this part of my body ;) ) is, is there a way to take the light of and have it only flashing when cars are detected ?
I think you can set this in the app. in the Intelligent Function Configuration: Radar warning mode. If you toggle this to "on" and have the Light Mode set to Off it should only blink when it detects a vehicle. But I can't verify as I haven't figured out a way to follow myself on a ride to see.
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I think you can set this in the app. in the Intelligent Function Configuration: Radar warning mode. If you toggle this to "on" and have the Light Mode set to Off it should only blink when it detects a vehicle. But I can't verify as I haven't figured out a way to follow myself on a ride to see.
That’s exactly my problem haha I’ll give it a try and ask my friend to follow
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please come back with feedback when you test this setting.
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Bought one after seeing your positive reviews. I paid €63 with a coupon on AliExpress, and so far I'm very happy with it.
I get a few false positives, mainly when turning at intersections, but I haven't had any false negatives so far. Battery life is around 7–8 hours using a custom flashing mode (2-second cycle, 25% on-time) and the alert flash when a car is approaching.
On straight, wide roads, it usually starts tracking cars from around 140–160 m away, and I've even seen a few detections at 180 m. Multiple vehicle detection seems good too, tracking up to 3–4 cars.
I'm not a big fan of the design with the multiple LEDs (I personally prefer a single, more focused light like the Varia), but that's just my preference.
Overall, I'd say it's a solid radar, especially for the price.