I don't currently ride with one but I do have the upcoming Fly12 on preorder through their Kickstarter campaign.

https://cycliq.com

Seems so expensive given the lack of options available (as an action cam). I thought about handlebar mount but was wondering if helmet mount is better.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

okay, bottom line, no rideye (that i know of), the rear view camera's gone, is the Sony Action Cam Mini the best current solution? is this better than a gopro? what's the battery life? what does it do to the battery life to have the volume on? is there a good handlebar or helmet mount?

edit: saw the bike mounts.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Wow, that is why I wanted the rear facing video camera, and ideally a front facing one also. But him having on his helmet got more than those options might have. Looking forward to folks info on the
best camera.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Here's a good comparison.

Another Comparison

Video Comparison

I think a dedicated bike camera isn't the best option. I also snowboard, scuba dive, etc. so it'd be nice to have something more versatile. Also, I do think a helmet mount is better than bike mount. The guy in the video (OP) knocked the rider off the bike. If the camera were on the handlebars, they could end up viewing the ground. On the helmet, it's recording where the rider is looking, which in this case was the guy attacking him.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Battery life is 1 hour and 18 minutes for mini. However, much like a point and shoot camera, you can swap out the battery. I did a quick google and the batteries range from $8.99 on ebay (off brand) to $23.00 for sony brand. I also wonder if you could use a better pack charger. Example, when I'm on long flights, I have external battery size of a deck of cards that I can plug my Ipad into to get it longer life. Wonder if you could do the same with this or if the camera shuts off while charging.

GoPro appears to have 2.5 to 3 hours of filming and it does look like you can swap batteries as well. But the camera is more expensive that Sony.

It's such a tough comparison. I am leaning toward sony because the camera is so small it you don't look like a telli-tubie with it on your helmet.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

I have 2 rideye cameras and love them

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Follow me on Twitter @CK21TRHC
I use what I love: ISM, Blue70, Trek, FLO

I know this has been discussed before but after seeing this video it really got me thinking about riding with a camera.

I'd rather not have video evidence of me curb-stomping him.;)

So weird. Took the driver a good while to decide he was pissed off about the finger and then wait in the middle of the lane for the cyclist to come by. Or maybe he was just waiting for a stretch of road where there weren't any houses?

To interest me, the camera would need to be quite small, forward and back shooting, helmet mounted, 10hr+ battery life. Good enough resolution to read license plates. A low fps would probably be acceptable.

No offense but cycling is logistically complex enough as it is, w/o the need for yet another piece of technology to get set just right before you actually start to ride. This would be after putting your bike together, pumping up your tires, checking your lube status of your chain, getting to a place safe to ride (i.e., i never ride from home b/c the roads are just too narrow, and even w/ a camera i wouldn't ride from home), putting on your helmet, filling water bottles, getting your power meter ready to go, and prob 5 other things i'm forgetting.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Given how much I ride, everything you listed takes about 10 minutes. I figured a camera would be no different than adding my Garmin Edge or if night riding adding my light to my helmet. Pretty much a device you set and forget (until time to swap batteries).

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Do you ride from your house??? Takes me 15-min to drive to a safe place, but also if you do ride w/ the camera, then you'll always have to be futzing about is it positioned properly, working right, etc. It would just be another distraction from focusing on riding, plus if you go down hard, your camera might well be completely smashed and you end up with no "proof".

But really I am just anti-bike and am only very marginally even a "triathlete" any more, though i have done around 110 total tri races. I've had too many bad bike crashes plus I like swimming much better anyway. I should not even respond to any bike threads. If ST were not so amusing, I'd just quit coming here:)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

90% of the time I ride from my house. For interval training or FTP test I head to a park. However, if we factor in mountain biking, then that drops to 50% of the time. My background in mountain biking so I'm use to packing and unpacking. The back of my Subie Outback is always ready to hit the trails. Add a cooler with water and the bike to the rack and off I go.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Well, obv you are much more into cycling than i have ever been, although i have ridden 7000-7500 miles during about 3 or 4 diff years. However, my crashes have caused me to think three times before riding anywhere:)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Any of the action cams will work for just additional evidence in an accident/confrontation, but the Garmin Virb Elite adds another layer of information as an action camera with it's GPS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qsh8h0-gdBI


It is not the smallest, might even be the largest of the action cameras, but it can also be used as a bike computer, although with limited display screens for riding data. It does link to heart/power/cadence sensors and the data can be uploaded to Strava just like any of the Garmin bike computers. Real use battery life is closer to 2 hours, but the battery is replaceable, so you can carry a spare or two.


The linked video is easily made with the Virb Edit software. No special skills or additional software required.

I almost always ride with my Contour ROAM. Mostly for safety, and just in case I catch something cool.

The ROAM is waterproof without a case, has about 3 hours of recording time (at 1080p/30fps), and has a lower profile helmet mount.

I've never been that impressed with GoPro, I don't like the form factor, and looks horrible mounted to a helmet, but it has the most mounting options (especially 3rd party).

If you already have a Garmin, the Virb has very nice integration and control options.

The Sony is nice and small, but looks like it has limited battery life and mounting options.

For an on-bike camera, the Shimano looks interesting.

Your choice depends on how you are going to use it primarily, helmet mounted or bike mounted? Only for biking, or other sports also (skiing, snowboarding, surfing), etc.

.

I have a countour. I had a close encounter that escalated. I am not riding with a camera. I thought getting a package deal, and went searching for it - $249.99 for 2 cameras: Roam3 and a Roam 2 - cant find the deal anymore. Either way, they are slim, and you can rotate the lens so depending on where you mount, you have options.

The best part is they are waterproof without a case - which mean sweat is not an issue, ski/snowboarding - no issues - even swimming/boating/canoeing/ etc becomes an option. Unlike gopro's that require the waterproof case. GoPro has figured out how to market correctly. Contour seems to have missed that boat, but all in, not a bad deal and video quality is great on any device now....

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Team Gingerfight

The rotating lens is absolute genius. I have mine mounted just off center on my bike helmet. There's a ridge right along the middle that makes mounting there difficult. With it just off center it mounts securely and I just rotate the lens slightly (from 90 degrees) to keep the horizon horizontal. ;-) I mount it to the side of my snowboarding helmet with a stick on 'low profile' mount, in the original 'helmet cam' position.

Contour has the ROAM2 (there is a ROAM3) on sale for only $99 right now. You can get 2 or 3 for the price of a GoPro.

While the newer GoPros have phone and a little wrist mounted remote now, the Contours have a nice big slider switch on top that is easy to locate and operate, even with gloves on.

.

Countour does have their Contour+ 2 with live stream and remote control:
http://contour.com/cameras/contour2

Priced higher at 299, but still under GoPro and offers a lot more in terms of video production (remote mics, stereo audio recording, etc) but this one requires the waterproof case.

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Team Gingerfight

I just got a Fly 6 rear camera 2 months ago. It works great, but is limited in that I am only recording behind me. I am considering a front facing camera, too.

Just last week some kids threw an object at me. They missed, and it was generally harmless, but made me appreciate the camera.

It in no way excuses the actions of the driver, but this whole example could have likely been avoided by not flipping him the finger. If you flip off every driver you think comes too close to you, eventually you are going to piss someone off. I can't understand why a cyclist would escalate things like that.

I have been using a Fly6 rear facing and a Rideye front facing for several months now. I also own a GoPro but I don't think it would be a great option for a 'black box' style camera. The battery life is much shorter and it doesn't loop video (maybe you can set it to do so, I don't remember). As others have mentioned in this thread, I don't like having to deal with a bunch of setup nonsense. I just leave the cameras mounted on the bike. I have a bank of usb cables where I keep my bikes so I can just plug up my cameras and lights to recharge after every few rides. I rarely actually connect the cameras to the computer.

I think the Fly6 is the best option for the rear. It attaches with two rubber straps and has an adapter for aero seatposts for good stable video. I think it's only drawback is that it stops recording if the bike gets turned on its side, so if you crash or something it won't continue to record what happens after. The rideye continues to record but protects the video files at the time of crash from getting overwritten. The rideye is a bit unpolished though. I've written about a few of my experiences in the Rideye thread. It occasionally quits recording randomly when the battery is still mostly full. The rubber strap mounting is not stable at all and the optional GoPro mount adapter is cheap plastic. Mine broke after about a month of use. Video was more stable with the gopro mount but I'm now back to the rubber strap. Neither of these cameras are going to replace an action cam, but I simply wouldn't want the hassle of setting up an action cam every time I want to ride. I like being able to leave the cameras on the bike and forget about them.

Just picked up an SJCam (sj5000 wifi). http://www.amazon.com/...ield-keywords=sj5000

Perhaps he was mildly annoyed at having his life threatened and felt the insignificant finger gesture was warranted?

If you read the story on this, the cyclists admits to his part and does say he learned his lesson. I've flipped off people but interesting that 99% it's when I'm running. Maybe as a runner I have a smaller profile, but I've been damn near hit more times running than riding. 9/10 it's a soccer mom in a mini van not watching because kids are dinking around in the back.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.