Cycling safety cams ??
- Thread starter Suddabym
- Start date
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vickster
Legendary Member
Have a search of this forum (put camera in the search box 
), it comes up pretty often. The best ones like Go pro seem to have poor battery life, so you'll need to weigh up pros and cons
https://www.cyclechat.net/forums/components-accessories-clothing.75/
), it comes up pretty often. The best ones like Go pro seem to have poor battery life, so you'll need to weigh up pros and conshttps://www.cyclechat.net/forums/components-accessories-clothing.75/
I can recommend the Fly6 v1 - the only problem is finding one now. I struck it lucky and picked up one (and the front facing fly 12) second hand on ebay and they've been great - good picture quality, decent battery life and really easy to use. I also have an ETC camera, which for around £50 is ok but I rarely use it. I've an apeman too - didn't last. I also ran a mobius for a while - same, didn't last.
I've got a Fly12 CE, picked it up a couple of years ago after using a Chinese Gopro copy for a while. Pricey but really good image quality with the image stablisation on. The unit is quite robust (fortunately!). Light on the brightest setting is really bright, enough for dark paths on constant. There's 3 brightness settings each with multiple flash and pulse settings, configurable via the app. Now discontinued though. The latest model is the Fly12 Sport but I don't know how that compares.
cougie uk
Guru
You can get a decent camera for daylight for £40 from Chillicam. Rubbish at night though - you need to spend a lot more.
BoldonLad
Not part of the Elite
- Location
- South Tyneside
Not sure it will keep you any safer, but, the AKSAO EK7000 works for me. At roughly £50,
I have two, one mounted on handlebars pointing forward, one mounted under saddle, pointing to the rear.
Vantage
Carbon fibre... LMAO!!!
- Location
- Behind everyone else, Bolton
Same here. Bought mine about 2 weeks ago and so far not disappointed.
a.twiddler
Veteran
"Safety cam" is a term which I find hard to digest. If it were a device which emitted a force field and kept others at a safe distance, that would be ideal. Perhaps if drivers think you have one fitted they would be more likely to play nice. Maybe even a prominent fake one with an attention getting LED might do the job.
I did buy a bike cam once, with a view to recording my more interesting rides. Fortunately it was quite cheap but there seems to be trade off between image quality and battery life. If you invest in a more up market one, you might get a better balance but to me at least, the potential benefit of recording the one in a million scrotes who might invade your space versus worrying about battery life, charging, vibration damage, how waterproof it might be, remembering to take it off when parked in case it gets nicked, and so on just spoiled the spontaneity of my ride.
If you have a commute that makes you feel like a WWII fighter pilot then the feeling of security it can give might well be worthwhile. Or you could just buy one of those signs that says "camera on board". You'll never forget to charge it, it will be waterproof, it has no electronics to go wrong, and unless it actually vibrates loose and falls off, it will keep on working. The main drawback is that the kind of inattentive driver who doesn't see you is also unlikely to see your sticker.
Perhaps for those more fond of gadgets than I am, a camera is worthwhile, but despite the advice of those who use them here, you will probably go through a few, becoming your own expert, before you find the ideal one for you. But beware, for some this sort of thing can be addictive, and before you know it you might become another Cycling Mikey!
I did buy a bike cam once, with a view to recording my more interesting rides. Fortunately it was quite cheap but there seems to be trade off between image quality and battery life. If you invest in a more up market one, you might get a better balance but to me at least, the potential benefit of recording the one in a million scrotes who might invade your space versus worrying about battery life, charging, vibration damage, how waterproof it might be, remembering to take it off when parked in case it gets nicked, and so on just spoiled the spontaneity of my ride.
If you have a commute that makes you feel like a WWII fighter pilot then the feeling of security it can give might well be worthwhile. Or you could just buy one of those signs that says "camera on board". You'll never forget to charge it, it will be waterproof, it has no electronics to go wrong, and unless it actually vibrates loose and falls off, it will keep on working. The main drawback is that the kind of inattentive driver who doesn't see you is also unlikely to see your sticker.
Perhaps for those more fond of gadgets than I am, a camera is worthwhile, but despite the advice of those who use them here, you will probably go through a few, becoming your own expert, before you find the ideal one for you. But beware, for some this sort of thing can be addictive, and before you know it you might become another Cycling Mikey!
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vickster
Legendary Member
I'd use this if wanting a deterrent to close passes or other moton behaviour from behind. Won't do much for those that pull out or across unfortunately
https://passpixi.com/
(with or without a camera)
https://passpixi.com/
(with or without a camera)
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Cameras can, and do, bring out more anxiety in people. You'll watch the footage etc, rather than just get on with a ride. Unlike a dash cam, they aren't fit and forget, you've got to charge it, fit it to the bike, press play etc etc, on-top of unlocking a bike, putting on lights.
I've had a fair few accidents n the bike, and a bike cam wouldn't have made a difference TBH. I've got a dash cam in the car, only as I was bought it as a gift, and it's fit and forget, I've never taken the card out to look at idiots etc, it's just there in-case of a crash (e.g. crash for cash).
Cams on bikes are for when you do fun stuff.
I've had a fair few accidents n the bike, and a bike cam wouldn't have made a difference TBH. I've got a dash cam in the car, only as I was bought it as a gift, and it's fit and forget, I've never taken the card out to look at idiots etc, it's just there in-case of a crash (e.g. crash for cash).
Cams on bikes are for when you do fun stuff.
In terms of improving safety some advance of this https://homeli.co.uk/blaze-laserlight-a-bicycle-light-that-projects-a-warning-symbol/ with a continuous zone front back and to the sides could be the way forward
cougie uk
Guru
Oh I don't know. It's quite good fun reporting a bad driver.
Charging the camera isn't any more demanding than charging the lights or gps or whatever.
How is the battery life on these ?
BoldonLad
Not part of the Elite
- Location
- South Tyneside
The batteries as supplied (1050mAh, I think), last for about 1.75 hours.
I bought compatible 1400mAh batteries off Amazon / EBay, these give 2.25 hours per full charge.
A few additional points:
Battery time appears to influenced by recording mode, I use 1080p 30fps.
It would be possible to plug in a "power pack", since the camera will record, whilst charging.
Alternatively, swapping batteries is quick and simple, but, bear in mind, it is necessary to either plug in a power pack whilst doing this, OR, reset the date/time (which is lost on removing battery, unless a power source is plugged in).
