Need advice on a good bike cam

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TonyM
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Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:11 pm

by TonyM

Hi,

After reading and hearing about so many accidents involving cars and cyclists (remember Chris Froome's accident a few days ago...) :shock: :shock: I am considering having a cam, or I should better say one cam in the front and one cam in the rear, on my bike in case I get involved in such an accident. This would help in case the car is claiming a different story than mine or if the driver just go away :evil:

I would need a cam with the following features:
- a good resolution/ video mode (enough to record the license plate of the cars) during daytime (I am not commuting so it is just during daytime bike rides). What is the resolution/ video mode I need in order to capture the license plates of the car behind and in front of me?
- a battery life of up to 8 hours
- waterproof if possible

So far I have checked many bike cams like the GoPros, Garmin, Sony, Shimano, etc... but they all have a major drawback: the battery life is always maximum 2.5 hours. The only one that I found with a longer battery life are the Fly12 front cam/ light with claimed 10 hours (but the Fly12 is quite heavy with almost 150g) and the Fly6 (116 g) with claimed 6 hours but it seems that many users are reporting many problems with the durability of its battery and the overall reliability.

Is there any bike cams fulfilling my requirements above? Which bike cam/ solution do you use?
What do you think about that topic ?
Last edited by TonyM on Sun May 14, 2017 10:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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TonyM
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by TonyM

Just found this on Kickstarter :wink:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/11 ... ed-battery

Will do therefore for the short rides up to 4 hours only.

spdntrxi
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by spdntrxi

Fly12
RideEYE
Fly6 (for the rear)

these will give you more hours of video and are more setup for that purpose or extended capture. I have all of them but honestly rarely use them. I also have a couple VIRBs older elite and the newer ultra30. (but like go pros battery life sucks)

After someone just got killed on Niles Canyon here in the SF Bay area this past sat... I think I need to revisit the idea of using this stuff myself. I don't have tons of seat post showing on my main bike and I like to use the Garmin Radar gizmo also.. so I need to 3D print the seat rail attachment so I have room for both out back. I'll probably opt to use the fly12 in the front since it has a light.... there goes my weight weenie bike.
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TonyM
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by TonyM

I didn't hear of the RideEYE so far. Thanks!
What is your experience with the RideEYE in terms of battery life and resolution/ video mode etc? would you recommend it?

tomee
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by tomee

fly12 is the pick of the bunch as its waterproof and has the longest run time.

i have one on my bike as peace of mine. One thing is that they are particular about what SD card you run.
My one doesnt like sandisk Extreme cards

spdntrxi
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by spdntrxi

TonyM wrote:I didn't hear of the RideEYE so far. Thanks!
What is your experience with the RideEYE in terms of battery life and resolution/ video mode etc? would you recommend it?


I got the rideye from kickstarter a long time ago.. it's nicely built and pretty heavy for it's size. Battery life was good the times I used it, which was 3-4 hour ride max and it was still going. Video resolution is fine.. little vibration (not as good as my Virb ultra 30 in that regard). I had it attached to a go pro type mount on my bars and the mount cracked at 45+ mph going downhill. I don't know if they redesigned it or not.( I recommended they add a tether hole somewhere) I sent it back to them and they sent me a new one and I have not even opened the box. But kudos for the customer service. I'll probably let my kid use it once she starts riding more.

I'll add it still worked after the accident, but I was upset because I felt like the go pro mount was at fault and I had the limited edition kickstarter version and it was now all scratched to hell as expected.

If you notice the tether hole on the fly12... you can thank me for that :) as I was in contact with cycliq during their fly12 kickstarter.
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fordred
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by fordred

TonyM wrote:I didn't hear of the RideEYE so far. Thanks!
What is your experience with the RideEYE in terms of battery life and resolution/ video mode etc? would you recommend it?


Don't bother with Rideye.
Battery deteriorates very fast. Can't switch off accident/event recording, which means a slightly bigger bump will have the video file marked as "Need to keep" After a while, the whole memory is would be full of such videos and you need to clear after every ride.

Sound recorded is horrible as well, sounds like the mic hitting the casing but nothing is loose. Poor warranty, 3 months.
Won't be using my Rideye, and not selling it either as it is just passing the trouble around.

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TonyM
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by TonyM

Ok that would basically leave me only with the Fly6/ Fly12 options.

Unless GoPro comes with a better product this year, I mean with an extended battery life (they said there will be a new product this year).

jfranci3
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by jfranci3

2018 market...

GoPro session and light or Fly12 CE

The camera is only for dashcam duty. I have a decent light. I would rather charge fewer things.

Pros for the gopro: more uses, waterproof. Cons: battery life, another thing to charge
Pros for the fly12: one thing to charge every 3rd ride

c60rider
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by c60rider

I have the Fly12ce and fly 6ce and on just my 3rd ride with them caught a driver overtaking me on a blind bend and a vehicle came the other way. It was only because the vehicle coming the other way slammed the brakes on and stopped it prevented a head on accident. Contacted the police and they wanted the video files burnt to cd and they will prosecute if the driver has anything at all historically or not correct legal wise. If he's squeaky clean then it will be a warning letter threatening prosecution for anything in future. That's a result and worth every penny :thumbup:

mvcap
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by mvcap

c60rider wrote:I have the Fly12ce and fly 6ce and on just my 3rd ride with them caught a driver overtaking me on a blind bend and a vehicle came the other way. It was only because the vehicle coming the other way slammed the brakes on and stopped it prevented a head on accident. Contacted the police and they wanted the video files burnt to cd and they will prosecute if the driver has anything at all historically or not correct legal wise. If he's squeaky clean then it will be a warning letter threatening prosecution for anything in future. That's a result and worth every penny Image
Cool! Where do you live? Police everywhere are not always so interested

c60rider
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by c60rider

In the UK. There's been a gradual push the past couple of years to start to warn or prosecute drivers who overtake too close to cyclists and prosecute poor driving from camera evidence.

1415chris
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Location: Surrey UK

by 1415chris

There is something in British blood. We have already 20% of world's CCTV cameras, apparently one for every 14 people!
And now encouraged by Big Brother we will be spying on each other, great :)
On the other hand if it can improve our safety so be it.

Antoine
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Location: France

by Antoine

I have a Fly6 for some months and it works well, quality is good enough to see the licence plates on the video files.
Battery life is at least 4 hours, most of the time I turn the light on because it doesn't use much energy.
When there is not enough energy left the camera stops working but the flashing light stays on for at least 1 hour.

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Shrike
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by Shrike

c60rider wrote:
Tue Mar 13, 2018 8:09 am
In the UK. There's been a gradual push the past couple of years to start to warn or prosecute drivers who overtake too close to cyclists and prosecute poor driving from camera evidence.
It's basically only Surrey Police Force (understandably as a bunch of then actually cycle and have their own cycling club), with a pitiful number of other areas only have a one off or limited trial of some close pass initiatives.

Many local UK police forces have anti-cyclist mentalities. They'll stop and harass riders. Youtube is littered with examples. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... ss+cyclist

Cyclists are considered a nuisance in the UK, and that extends through to the police and politicians. Lords were talking about how cycle lane rollout in London was harming the emergency services a few weeks past. That's where we're at. At the supposed highest rung of political thought, we have Daily Mail level discourse. That's why bugger all changes here.

But all hell breaks loose if one pedestrian dies at the hands of a 'dangerous cyclist'.

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