Cycplus L7 Review: The Best Radar for the Money?

Cyclists Hub is supported by its readers. We could obtain a fee should you purchase merchandise utilizing our hyperlinks.All content material on Cyclists Hub is written by people, not robots. Study Extra

If every little thing went in line with plan, this Cycplus L7 assessment was initially supposed to return out on the finish of 2023 as a result of Cycplus offered this radar at Eurobike 2023. Nonetheless, its launch has been postponed a number of occasions. The primary official launch came about in Might 2024, however the radar was quickly withdrawn from sale once more. And solely now1, two years after its introduction, I used to be lastly in a position to purchase it. So, how does it examine to competing radars? I examined it to seek out out.

My L7 score at a look:Reliability 3/5 | Multi-object Detection 5/5 | Battery Life 4/5 | Brightness 4/5 | Aspect Visibility 2/5 | Mount 5/5 | App 4/5 | Value 4/5 | WEIGHTED OVERALL SCORE 4.0/5More about this biking radar scoring.

NOTE: I examined this radar with firmware v2.0.7.

Cycplus L7 Abstract

Beneath is the abstract of the Cycplus L7 technical specs.

My Expertise with Cycplus L7

Primarily based on my testing, I discovered the next execs and cons of the L7.

I first used the L7 with Hammerhead Karoo 3. Then I additionally paired my Garmin Varia RTL515 with Garmin Edge 1050 to do side-by-side comparisons. L7 has a 20m longer detection distance however the identical detection pace, so in idea, it ought to detect vehicles quicker. And it actually did, by about 1s. Later, I additionally examined the L7 with Garmin Edge 840 as a result of I observed a wierd conduct of Karoo 3 with radars, however extra on this later.

The L7 additionally carried out fairly effectively in detecting a number of vehicles directly. It was in a position to monitor them effectively, particularly in bends when a number of vehicles had been driving behind me. I attempted to duplicate this by pointing the radar at a freeway, however as a consequence of excessive speeds, it was typically not in a position to monitor the vehicles.

The variety of false positives was not as excessive as with iGPSport SRTL SR30 or Magicshine R300. I received 3-5 per hour, relying on the world. For instance, in city areas, the false positives are extra frequent than within the countryside. I additionally observed that Karoo 3 struggles with radars a bit, because it gave a number of audible alerts for one automobile. This was generally annoying as a result of I received two, three, or much more alerts as a substitute of only one. I confirmed this conduct with Varia RTL515 (you’ll be able to order it right here) paired with Karoo. I first thought it was due to the radar, however the head unit was in charge, as L7 labored effectively with Edge 840. So, I then switched to iGPSport BSC300.

The battery is meant to final 22 hours within the flash mode. After deducting all stops after I manually turned off the radar, I ended up with numerous round 15.25 hours. It is a first rate battery life, but it surely lags behind the claimed one. It could even be good if the auto-sleep function could possibly be adjusted for a shorter interval, for instance, 5 minutes. The ten-minute interval is simply too lengthy. By the best way, one function I need to spotlight is the LED battery life indicator. When it’s inexperienced, your radar nonetheless has greater than 30% of the battery. Beneath you’ll be able to see the battery lifetime of another radars.

Cycplus L7 brightness is common. The flash has larger brightness, so I desire utilizing it as a substitute of the strong mode. Fortunately, the radar remembers the final used mode and the flashing sample modifications all through the complete overtaking interval. This helps alert the drivers. It’s also possible to management the L7 mild modes from the pinnacle unit if the pinnacle unit presents this performance. Sadly, the bike pc can’t mechanically wake the radar from standby mode, so it’s a must to flip it on manually.

The Cycplus app permits for adjusting mild modes, just like the Magene L508. The choices are a bit extra restricted, although. You must also needless to say growing the brightness will result in shorter battery life. I saved all settings default throughout my testing. Please additionally do not forget that the app can’t exchange a motorbike pc by displaying you vehicles like another radars (Varia, Gardia, and many others.). It doesn’t have this performance.

I even have to focus on L7’s mount, which doesn’t slip on my seatpost. It’s one of many firmest mounts, relying on how effectively you tighten it. This implies the radar stays in place even after wild sprinting or driving on cobblestones. It additionally doesn’t look as low-cost because the Trek CarBack one. Additionally, do not forget that the field features a strong saddle mount, but it surely prevents you from carrying a saddle bag. One other excellent news is that the Cycplus L7 is suitable with the Garmin mount, so I take advantage of the Cycplus one as a substitute of the Garmin one.

Cycplus L7 vs. Different Biking Radars

The next desk summarizes the technical specs of the L7 and different common biking radars.

FeatureVaria RTL515Magene L508Bryton Gardia R300LiGPSport SRTL SR30Trek CarBackCycplus L7

Dimensions98.6×19.7×39.6 mm 3.9×0.8×1.6 in94×38×25 mm 3.7×1.5×0.98 in97×20.9×40 mm3.82×0.82×1.57 in99×20.3×39.7 mm3.9×0.79×1.56 in70×50×30 mm2.76×1.97×1.18 in76.5×37×25 mm3×1.46×0.98 in

Weight71g65g66g68.8g70g67g

Claimed battery lifeUp to 16 hours (flash mode)As much as 18 hours (flash mode)As much as 17 hours (flash mode)As much as 18 hours (flash mode)As much as 7 hoursUp to 25 hours (flash mode)

Actual battery life9 hours and half-hour within the day flash mode¹7 hours and 20 minutes within the flash mode11 hours and 40 minutes within the day flash mode²16 hours and 55 minutes within the flash mode11 hours and 21 minutes within the flash mode15 hours and quarter-hour within the flash mode

ChargingMicroUSBUSB-CUSB-CUSB-CUSB-CUSB-C

RadarYesYesYesYesYesYes

TaillightYesYesYesYesYesYes

Brake sensingNoYesYesYesNoYes

Auto stand-byNoYesYesYesn/aYes

LumensUp to 65Up to 40Up to 73Up to 65Up to 90n/a

Gentle modesSolid, peloton, evening flash, day flashSolid, peloton, flash, pulse, rotation, fast flash, radar onlyHigh/low strong, group experience (peloton), flash, radar onlyConstant (strong), fleet, respiration, day flash, evening flash, radar onlyDay flash, day regular, evening regular, evening flashSteady, flashing, respiration, radar solely

Customizable mild modesNoYes³NoNoNoNo

Detecting distanceUp to 140mUp to 140mUp to 190mUp to 150mUp to 230m⁴Up to 160m

Relative detecting speed10 to 160 km/h (6 to 99 mph)10 to 120 km/h (6 to 74 mph)10 to 120 km/h (6 to 74 mph)10 to 120 km/h (6 to 74 mph)n/a10 to 160 km/h (6 to 99 mph)

Water resistanceIPX7IPX7IPX7IPX7IPX7IPX6

Viewing angle220°220°220°220°n/a270°

Horizontal detection angle40°40°40°40°n/a40°

ProtocolsBluetooth, ANT+Bluetooth, ANT+Bluetooth, ANT+Bluetooth, ANT+Bluetooth, ANT+Bluetooth, ANT+

Extra infoRTL515 reviewL508 reviewR300 reviewSR30 reviewCarBack reviewn/a

BuyCheck PriceCheck Value (rei.com)Examine PriceCheck PriceCheck PriceCheck PriceCheck Value (trekbikes.com)Examine Value

This desk compares options of the chosen bicycle radars.¹About two years outdated unit. The battery depreciation most likely influenced the battery life.²Demo unit – I’m not positive if this influenced the battery life. ³Paid subscription or free for e-mail subscription.⁴Early opinions recommend the actual detecting distance is round 150m, which suggests kind of the identical as different radars.Up to date: Might 16, 2025

Issues to Think about Earlier than Shopping for Cycplus L7 (or Any Different Bike Radar)

Biking radars need to be extremely dependable. They might provide you with false positives, however they need to by no means provide you with false negatives, which means they by no means miss a automotive.

You need to have zero tolerance for false negatives should you purchase a tool like a biking radar. However you additionally shouldn’t 100% depend on a bicycle radar and use your different senses whereas driving.

Primarily based on my testing, the L7 proved dependable by way of its technical specs. It detected vehicles faster than Varia and didn’t miss any vehicles, however gave me extra false positives than Varia radars (3-5 per hour of driving).

My Verdict

I respect that Cycplus postponed the launch of their radar and did their finest to enhance its accuracy earlier than they launched it to the general public. It took longer than anticipated, however the delivered radar is fairly first rate. It’s presently one of many higher Chinese language radars in the marketplace. In fact, I might like to see numerous false positives nearer to zero. The variety of false positives is decrease than on some Chinese language options, however nonetheless larger than on Varia radars.

I’m a bit disenchanted with the battery life, which is first rate (~15 hours in day flash mode), however solely about 70% of the claimed one. However, the mount is among the finest from all of the radars I examined, and it detects vehicles about 1s faster than Varia, supplying you with extra time to react.

Contemplating the worth, and bear in mind, I counsel not saving an excessive amount of cash on such a vital gadget because the biking radar, Cycplus delivered extra worth than a few of its opponents.

Cycplus L7 FAQ