After covering the front lights, it’s time to list our rear favourites! I’ve created a form for all the responses so you can tell me about your favourite here, or feel free to comment below. I assume quite a few might like to ride with a radar, so just clarifying that any rear light that you use is ok for this category 
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Trek Flare RT rear light on my daily commuter. Compact, light weight, long range visibility, and auto-sensing that dims the output after nightfall. Only con is USB-mini charging. There’s a newer version for urban riding that has USB-C charging but a shorter range of and lower light output.
I have no complaints about my Lezyne Strip Drive Pro Alert 400+
Garmin Varia, what else?! It’s plenty bright, the battery lasts for about 6 hours and it has a radar. Only a usb-c could make it better. For my commuter I use the built in light of the bike (Elops 920), my commute is short and is lighted the whole way. As a back-up I almost always carry a tiny Nitecore NU05 or Nitecore Thumb (the also have a white light so they work as a front and backlight).
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I have the original Varia 510 but my wife has the 515. The 510 lacks peloton mode where it never flashes. It’s a small thing but flashing on dark gravel trails is an annoyance to ride behind.
Garmin Varia all the way. However, on my TT bike I have a Lezyne Saddle AI Alert light. It has similar flashing and automatic brake light modes like the Garmin does, butmounts complely out of the way (and the wind) under the saddle.
I got the Wahoo Trackr after having constant connection problems with my Varia on group rides.
I prefer the light mode options on the Wahoo, honestly. Seem a tad brighter and more varied.
But the Varia 515 is still the king of the hill in the market.
Garmin Varia for the radar and sometimes tail light. Cygolite Hotrod for something flashing all day.
Project Flock. When a rear light makes me more visible than just a flashing red bulb it’s hard to ignore, even if it doesn’t have a radar in it.
6h is pretty weak tbh. I know I know it‘ll work for 95% of the rides. But if I plan to do a long trip I don’t want to have an extra light for that.
That’s the stvo one, so always on, I think 6h and radar is perfectly fine. I don’t do many rides longer than that.
There’s an Alpkit Tau on every bike in my household. A small COB light that goes onto the seapost, or more often for me, seatstay with a rubber band. Small, inexpensive, plenty bright enough to be seen. Inconspicuous enough that I’ve never bothered to remove it when leaving bikes out in public. There are plenty of similar ones on the market, but these have always stayed put on my bike, survived wet weather and lasted many years.
Not a fan of the super-bright throbbing jobs that some riders use. I’d quite like to be able to see after I’ve been stuck behind you in traffic thank you very much.
On the survey I said the Varia, but it requires a head unit. Bontrager RT are amazing and for my analog bikes, which I relied on for years. For my city cargo bike I add Redshift peddles so I have the human motion lighting added
The Lupine Rotlicht, no radar, but a very sturdy construction and it has a replaceable battery.
Even the electronic board is (or was) user-replaceable. Currently not produced anymore, but hopefully they will come up with a successor.
Every other rear light I owned either died (battery) or fell off the bike.
You can use it just with the Varia app, if you want….but have to use headphones or have your phone in place where you can hear the alerts.
Varia radar light (RTL-510) along with a NiteRider Omega 300. I run the Omega on daytime flash and the Varia in solid mode. Sure that’s a fair amount light coming from those two units, but I really don’t like getting hit from behind at a stoplight. I found getting hit by a car from behind was definitely suboptimal. So the lights are there to make me a lot more visible and to prevent unplanned exchanges of energy and momentum.
I have the Exposure Blaze Mk3 & the old Garmin 315 radar unit. Also often use an Exposure Boost in steady mode. The Garmin light/radar combo was prohibitively expensive when I was looking a few years ago.
I think the question should be “favorite non-radar rear light”, otherwise the answers are obvious, a Garmin Varia 515/516 or a Wahoo Trackr Radar. I used to own the former (I lost it) and now own the latter.
Interestingly, to get a good non-radar rear light (in Germany) is hard, I discussed my options with my LBS. I was still waiting for the delivery of my Trackr Radar after losing my Garmin Varia 515. There were very few rechargeable options, my LBS claimed that this was connected to the industry moving away from disposable electronic lights.
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Yeah, the Rotlicht is a bloody good light. I like the saddle mount too.
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Suvi was clear that if a radar is your favourite rear light, then that is the appropriate answer. I think that stance is fine - if you think a radar delivers everything you want from a rear light (and more), and you are happy with the price premium over a non-radar rear light, then that is useful information.
In terms of other options - is that the result of StVZO rules meaning that the majority of lights available in other countries cannot legally be sold/used in Germany? I believe even Varia radars are slightly different versions when sold in the German (and now also French?) markets. Which is manageable for a company the size of Garmin, but I imagine most brands aren’t producing separate models for one country.
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