By Stan Purdum
Two of the local guys I ride with regularly have radar tail lights on their bikes, and I’ve noticed how it helps them be aware of overtaking traffic without having to turn their head and look behind. I’ve asked them some questions about their setups and recently decided to get a radar tail light myself. Both of my buddies happen to have Garmin radar units, and their decision to buy that brand was easy since they both already had Garmin GPS computers on their handlebars. Those units can receive the signals from their radar and display them on the GPS screen.
When I started looking at radar lights, I didn’t particularly want a GPS unit, for two reasons: First, my current bike is an ebike from Specialized, and I already have the Specialized Turbo Connect Display mounted on my handlebars. While it doesn’t have navigation capabilities (which I seldom need), it does supply the other information I want — odometer, trip mileage, speed, average speed, time of day, etcetera — as well as ebike details including percentage of battery charge remaining and the assist level being employed. Thus, I didn’t want to clutter up my cockpit area with another device that duplicates some of the same features. Second, I do like the idea of using running lights in the daytime, and I wanted to add a better headlight.
These factors led me to the Lezyne Radar React System, which has positive reviews. The system includes a radar tail light that will pair with your smart phone and GPS computers from other manufacturers. But if you don’t want to employ either of those, the Lezyne system comes with a 1200-lumen headlight that will display traffic alerts on a rider-facing illuminated panel.
But here’s the reason I’m writing about this: Lezyne has designed the tail light so the only easy way to mount it is on your seat post (Garmin, Wahoo and other competitors provide additional options). It seems like a poor business decision, for it assumes that everyone interested in the Lezyne radar unit has a clear, unobstructed area behind the saddle.
I’m not the only one to grumble about this shortcoming in the Lezyne system. Look at this review from Cycling Weekly, which is quite positive about the system itself, but then takes a more critical tone beginning in the paragraph that starts, “My love for the Radar Drive Rear’s distinctive, Tonka-Toy-esque design is tempered by its frustrating mounting arrangement.” The rant goes on for the rest of that paragraph, all of the next one and the one after that.
To be fair, I knew of this mounting issue before I purchased the system, but in the past, I’ve adapted other tail lights to work with my setup — which includes a roomy under-the-seat bag from Rivendell — so I figured I’d be able to improvise something for the Lezyne radar.
Alas, satisfactory adaptation has proved elusive.
Since there is some room between the underside of my saddle and the bag, my initial thought was to find a seat rail mounting assembly that I could rejigger, but I could find nothing that would hold the radar unit firmly enough that I wouldn’t be worried about it falling off while on the road. If I were an engineer with access to a 3D printer, perhaps I could have invented something, but my attempts with strapping iron were too heavy and too clunky.
My next attempt was to mount the unit to the horizontal leather strap on the flap of the bag, making the strap work vertically by attaching the rubber mounting band to the strap with two cable ties. I was able to get the radar unit mounted this way, but it was much too wobbly in that location, and I had visions of it bouncing off as I pedaled.
My last fallback will be to give up the under-the-seat bag and force its contents into my handlebar bag and jersey pockets, so I can mount the radar unit on the seat post, but before I go there, I thought I’d ask you, my readers. So, if you have any suggestions, I’d be happy to read them in the response section below.
And if someone at Lezyne is reading this, how about coming up with a classy solution? (or even just an adequate one!)
Stan Purdum has ridden several long-distance bike trips, including an across-America ride recounted in his book Roll Around Heaven All Day, and a trek on U.S. 62, from Niagara Falls, New York, to El Paso, Texas, the subject of his book Playing in Traffic. Stan, a freelance writer and editor, lives in Ohio. See more at www.StanPurdum.com.
“And if someone at Lezyne is reading this, how about coming up with a classy solution?”
👀 We read it! Your article has been shared internally with the product team. We are really good at classy solutions. But other than a 3rd party 3D printed adapter, there’s currently no easy way to attach to your setup. Shoot! Thanks for article!
they make clips to attach to your saddle for garmin radars. I haveventseen the lezyne, but would think you could get it to work. got one off of Amazon.
I also took the female part of the mount and blted it to one of my saddle bags to mount the Garmi Radar.
There would have to be some reliable way to affix the male part of the Garmin clip to the slotted back of the Lezyne unit. As far as I can tell, this is not feasible. Nonetheless, thanks for thinking about the matter and making the suggestion
Garmin? Not from “the box”! However, a buddy & I used assorted other mounts to mount mine to a seat stay. It flashes and detects following “traffic”. The down-side is, for some reason, I get lots of false positives, especially when I start riding (like 4-5 detections). This annoyance is worth it though!
My I use the Garmin radar, but my solution might point you toward a workable solution. I use a rear rack to hold my bag, and the tail portion of that rack has a place where I can attach (with bolts) a GoPro adapter. This provides a solid platform for connecting the radar. The Lezyne probably needs something different for it to attach to, but the idea is to find a middle piece that (a) attaches to the rear rack and (b) allows the unit to solidly and reliably attach to that middle piece.
I switched from a saddle bag to a “bike wallet” years ago. The bike wallet fits in my jersey’s rear middle pocket nicely. It contains 2 tpu tubes, an e-air pump, tire levers, multi tool, credit card, $20 bill and, tube patch kit. Brand is Maverick, it measures 6.5” x 3.5” and 2” when filled. Love it. Now your seat post is freed up.
Maverick bike wallet, $22 Amazon
Using 2 small flathead screws and a strip of aluminum, I secured a Garmin mount to the back of my saddle bag. The aluminum is on the inside; 2 holes allow the screws to pass thru the fabric and fasten into the threaded holes in the strip.
I’ve gone to a small frame wedge in the front triangle.
My replaced shoulders won’t allow me to reach in my back pockets anymore.
This frees the seatpost entirely.
My bag is from Amazon, it is a Rhinowalk small wedge, but there are hundreds available.
I like this one because it has shock cord to hold a pump or tubes/co2 inside above the zipper in space not usable for other items.
Good luck !
Hi Jim,
For even more flexible riders, in their drops, can look under their left shoulder/armpit to view behind traffic.
above should be with Jim Langley collum
Amazon has an aluminum unit from several companies that attach to the back of the seat rails, then extend the mounting post for the bike radar behind the seat bag. The one I ordered is the TUSITA Seat Rail Mount Kit Compatible with Wahoo TRACKR Radar. It will also work with other brands of radar.
I would check with BUP Labs to see if they have a mount or can produce one. They make mounts for several other tail lights. I use their mount for my Varia on all my bikes.