Knowing that a car is coming long before it gets to you can be very nice as a cyclist, allowing you to move over and make plenty of space before they even have to slow down. Obviously that’s not always possible, but it’s great when it is, especially when tons of drivers seem to be really aggressive towards cyclists these days (shoutout Colorado drivers, it seems like every road biker I know here has a horror story).
Trek’s new CarBack bike light could wind up being a massive help in these situations. The device, fully named the CarBack Radar Rear Bike Light, flashes and shines like any rear bike light, allowing drivers to see you from up to 2km away during the day. But it also uses radar to detect oncoming cars from up to 240 meters behind you (~787 feet), connecting to your GPS device and providing an ample heads up.
It’s four flash modes, Day Flash 90LM, Day Steady 25LM, Night Steady 5LM, and Night Flash 5LM, make sure drivers can see you from far behind, leaving no excuse for reckless behavior (not that there was one, anyways), and its 7+ hour battery status is easily monitored with a series of “fuel gage LEDs”. It takes four hours to charge using a USB-C cable, and weighs just 87g, so you don’t need to worry about it adding too much heft to your setup.
The highlight, obviously, is its ability to connect to most GPS devices, directing those “car back” alerts straight to your handlebars. If you don’t have a GPS device, you can just connect the CarBack to your phone with the Trek Accessory App. Plus, it comes with its own quick connect rear mount, so you won’t have to worry about figuring that out…
Right now, the CarBack is on sale for $199.99 through the Trek website. You can also take a look to see if it’s available in local Trek suppliers because you should always try to support your local bike shop.
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Image Credit: Trek Bikes