Talk to me about cycling cameras

[stargazer30]

So Cool Starry Bra part first...

Started cycling in Covid, have covered about 10K miles. Mostly gravel but recently bought a road bike. I had my first very close call yesterday. Approaching a quiet mini roundabout. Van woman speeding onto it, but I have right of way. I start to slow as I don't think she is gonna stop. My riding buddy shouts its our right of way, passes me and enters the mini roundabout to turn right. He passes safely but as I follow she comes off the brakes and drives across my path. I slam on, she slams on and I come to a stop 1 inch off her drivers door with her giving me the startled rabbit look, then she drives off, no sorry or nothing. 2 mph faster or a metre further down the road my lovely carbon Orca would have been scrap and I'd have finished the ride in hospital.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a camera, I already have a Varia Radar which is simply brilliant, and up until now I've had no interest in being one of those dash cam warrior types, but if the worst happened and I wasn't dead, I'd like to think I had some evidence to give to plod and hopefully claim back for a broken 2K bike. Its a minefield though, after some reading, most the cameras won't reliably capture a plate and the ones that do have a very short battery life. The ones that have a 4hr battery life and image stabilization/4K quality are £££. Then there's the whole do I get a front or rear cam debate.

So over to the PH massive, what do you lot use and have any of you ever had to use the footage? Or should I just stick to gravel....

[WelshRich]

I think GoPro introduced decent stabilisation from about “Hero 7” onwards and you can pick these up second hand for about £100…. Plenty good enough resolution to pick up number plates and the wide angle lens is probably helpful, plus there’s a massive range of mounts and accessories.

I’m not sure if you can set them up to automatically overwrite old footage (like a dashcam) so you’ll probably need to manually delete the footage after each ride

Biggest issue is that you won’t get four hours continuous recording out of the internal battery. You can plug them into an external powerbank to extend the life.

For your purposes you might get away with the Timelapse mode instead (set to take a still photo every 0.5 seconds) - In this case, you probably don’t even need to worry about image stabilisation so could go for an older/cheaper model.

Disclaimer: I’ve not tried this but it should give you a much longer battery life and if it doesn’t work, you can just sell it on again for much the same as you paid for it…

[IroningMan]

I’ve had a Cycliq rear light/camera for four years or so - I bought it because riding solo during the early days of COVID I encountered some interesting driving - it’s been very reliable and runs for around five hours.

I’ve never reported anyone for their driving, but having been hit from behind once before I’d like to think there’s a reasonable chance that the camera will provide something useful should the worst happen.

Their front light/camera is a bit bulky for my liking, not to mention expensive, so I don’t have one, but if it is as good as the rear then it’s plenty good enough.

I did buy a Chillitech front camera, which is a lot more basic, but works. It cost buttons, and it’s more effort to use than the Cycliq, but the biggest issue is the durability of the mounting hardware - I seldom use it, whereas the rear one is on the bike all the time.

[TheDrownedApe]

i use one that attaches to my quadlock mount on the front. Spent a while looking for a decent and cheap one and chose the Akaso V50 X.

It records in 4k (i stick to 1080), has stabilisation (however you can't invert the image and have stabilisation on, hence the time stamp is upside down )and sound too. It manages about 3 hours on a single battery if you don't have the rear screen on and comes with 2. I've posted images on here before from the camera and, unfortunately, had to submit footage twice. here is a still from it:

Edited by TheDrownedApe on Wednesday 2nd October 15:24

[stargazer30]

Thanks all, I'm leaning towards the chilli tech cams as they seem to be best value for money and still have a half decent battery life. Its a shame the Varia rear cam didn't have better reviews as there's no way I want to ditch my radar, but I'd prefer to only have to attach 1 bit of tech to the rear vs 2.

[Some Gump]

stargazer30 said:

So Cool Starry Bra part first...

Started cycling in Covid, have covered about 10K miles. Mostly gravel but recently bought a road bike. I had my first very close call yesterday. Approaching a quiet mini roundabout. Van woman speeding onto it, but I have right of way. I start to slow as I don't think she is gonna stop. My riding buddy shouts its our right of way, passes me and enters the mini roundabout to turn right. He passes safely but as I follow she comes off the brakes and drives across my path. I slam on, she slams on and I come to a stop 1 inch off her drivers door with her giving me the startled rabbit look, then she drives off, no sorry or nothing. 2 mph faster or a metre further down the road my lovely carbon Orca would have been scrap and I'd have finished the ride in hospital.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a camera, I already have a Varia Radar which is simply brilliant, and up until now I've had no interest in being one of those dash cam warrior types, but if the worst happened and I wasn't dead, I'd like to think I had some evidence to give to plod and hopefully claim back for a broken 2K bike. Its a minefield though, after some reading, most the cameras won't reliably capture a plate and the ones that do have a very short battery life. The ones that have a 4hr battery life and image stabilization/4K quality are £££. Then there's the whole do I get a front or rear cam debate.

So over to the PH massive, what do you lot use and have any of you ever had to use the footage? Or should I just stick to gravel....

You don't need a camera, you need a riding attitude adjustment. Right of way? Who cares if you're flat / broken. Would van woman getting a telling off make you un-bleed?

When road riding, you have to take into account that 5% of drivers are truly and utterly inept, and 2% are massive s. Ride around their shortcomings, and you'll have a better time.

[mie1972]

Likewise - had my rear Cyclic Fly 6 camera/light for the past 8 years, its is a great bit of kit, albeit expensive.

Key featres are battery life and loop recording (ie once memory card is full just write over automatically).
So essentially fit and forget until its needed - just keep battery charged between rides
Battery lasts 5-6 hours so usually enough to last entire ride - which is something the go-pro/chillicam etc cant match as they are generall only 1-2 hours max.

I've used the cyclic rear to prosecute close passes a couple of times - both resulted in drivers being prosecuted. Footage is easily good enough in daylight to capture registrations.

Looking to add a front and the chillitech one is the obvious option, but remember the battery wont last full ride for longer days. an extra battery is a decent option.

[MB140]

Some Gump said:

stargazer30 said:

So Cool Starry Bra part first...

Started cycling in Covid, have covered about 10K miles. Mostly gravel but recently bought a road bike. I had my first very close call yesterday. Approaching a quiet mini roundabout. Van woman speeding onto it, but I have right of way. I start to slow as I don't think she is gonna stop. My riding buddy shouts its our right of way, passes me and enters the mini roundabout to turn right. He passes safely but as I follow she comes off the brakes and drives across my path. I slam on, she slams on and I come to a stop 1 inch off her drivers door with her giving me the startled rabbit look, then she drives off, no sorry or nothing. 2 mph faster or a metre further down the road my lovely carbon Orca would have been scrap and I'd have finished the ride in hospital.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a camera, I already have a Varia Radar which is simply brilliant, and up until now I've had no interest in being one of those dash cam warrior types, but if the worst happened and I wasn't dead, I'd like to think I had some evidence to give to plod and hopefully claim back for a broken 2K bike. Its a minefield though, after some reading, most the cameras won't reliably capture a plate and the ones that do have a very short battery life. The ones that have a 4hr battery life and image stabilization/4K quality are £££. Then there's the whole do I get a front or rear cam debate.

So over to the PH massive, what do you lot use and have any of you ever had to use the footage? Or should I just stick to gravel....

You don't need a camera, you need a riding attitude adjustment. Right of way? Who cares if you're flat / broken. Would van woman getting a telling off make you un-bleed?

When road riding, you have to take into account that 5% of drivers are truly and utterly inept, and 2% are massive s. Ride around their shortcomings, and you'll have a better time.

There is a lot to be said for this response, I think you’re entirely right.

It’s no good being right and having a lovely video whilst your lying in hospital drinking through a store with a broken pelvis or legs.

Simple fact, 150lb of pink squidgy stuff is always going to lose out to 1.5 tonnes of metal travelling at speed.

I’ve ridden bikes on the road since I was 10 years old (now mid 40s). Not once have I thought it would be a good idea to test what will happen if I have the right of way. I learnt from a young age that arguing with a car is a waste of time.

Just ride your bike more defensively. All this BS about “holding primary position”. “It’s my right to cycle down the middle of the road”.

What a load of crap. None of it will help or matter if you have a collision.

[RicksAlfas]

MB140 said:

There is a lot to be said for this response, I think you’re entirely right.

It’s no good being right and having a lovely video whilst your lying in hospital drinking through a store with a broken pelvis or legs.

Simple fact, 150lb of pink squidgy stuff is always going to lose out to 1.5 tonnes of metal travelling at speed.

I’ve ridden bikes on the road since I was 10 years old (now mid 40s). Not once have I thought it would be a good idea to test what will happen if I have the right of way. I learnt from a young age that arguing with a car is a waste of time.

Just ride your bike more defensively. All this BS about “holding primary position”. “It’s my right to cycle down the middle of the road”.

What a load of crap. None of it will help or matter if you have a collision.

This, this and this again.
OP, by all means get a camera, but have a think about your riding style and discuss it with your mate too.

[maffski]

stargazer30 said:

...Approaching a quiet mini roundabout. Van woman speeding onto it, but I have right of way...

Sorry to be that a***hole. But you didn't have right of way. Every one approaching a roundabout has a give way line. You give way to traffic on the roundabout, you don't have any rights over, or obligation to, traffic that hasn't reached the roundabout it.

[irc]

I think your reaction here is wrong. You realised the driver wasn't going to give way. Correct response - brake. Your mate did the wrong thing and you folliwed which is very easy to do.

Nothing wrong with a camera but avoiding a crash is better.

I would be asking myself why I saw a crash coming and didn't brake sooner.

Works for me anyway. No collisions with cars despite their best efforts. over several decades.

[Gareth79]

maffski said:

stargazer30 said:

...Approaching a quiet mini roundabout. Van woman speeding onto it, but I have right of way...

Sorry to be that a***hole. But you didn't have right of way. Every one approaching a roundabout has a give way line. You give way to traffic on the roundabout, you don't have any rights over, or obligation to, traffic that hasn't reached the roundabout it.

That's not correct, it's not a race across the give way line. Vehicles must give priority to traffic approaching from the right. If you pull onto a roundabout such that a vehicle approaching from the right has to brake/swerve then you commit an offence, regardless of whether they had crossed the give way line. Obviously there is a caveat that vehicles cannot plow onto a roundabout regardless, but that's subservient to the duty to give way to the right.

[Julian Scott]

irc said:

I think your reaction here is wrong. You realised the driver wasn't going to give way. Correct response - brake. Your mate did the wrong thing and you folliwed which is very easy to do.

Nothing wrong with a camera but avoiding a crash is better.

I would be asking myself why I saw a crash coming and didn't brake sooner.

Works for me anyway. No collisions with cars despite their best efforts. over several decades.

This 100%. You can be in the right and dead. A camera will only let your next of kin watch what killed you and watch how a smarter attitude on the road could have saved your life.

From personal experience, those with cameras are more 'unlucky' than those without, when I lead a ride, I ask people to turn their cameras off and will not let anyone with a 'CCTV/you're on camera' sign visible ride...., I've witnessed some ahole cyclists goading drivers by pointing at their camera sign.

[IroningMan]

Julian Scott said:

This 100%. You can be in the right and dead. A camera will only let your next of kin watch what killed you and watch how a smarter attitude on the road could have saved your life.

From personal experience, those with cameras are more 'unlucky' than those without, when I lead a ride, I ask people to turn their cameras off and will not let anyone with a 'CCTV/you're on camera' sign visible ride...., I've witnessed some ahole cyclists goading drivers by pointing at their camera sign.

I defer to your personal experience, but mine is the opposite. On the odd occasion when I remember to stick a camera sign on my gilet the improvement in drivers’ passing distances and behaviour is quite marked.

A group ride from a neighbouring club was skittled by an incompetent elderly driver a few years ago, and their camera evidence helped to determine that he had driven through them as if they weren’t there - his assertion (after he was chased down and forced to stop by another driver) that he hadn’t hit anything might well have lead to a different outcome without the footage.

That case may be part of the reason that no one I ride with is in the least bit bothered by a camera - every cyclist (and every equestrian, for that matter) I’ve ever met has first-hand experience that drivers don’t need any ‘goading’ in order to be a threat to their safety.

[Pickled Piper]

I purchased a TOOO Cycling rear camera after a recommendation on here. I'm very pleased with it. Easy to operate with gloves on and gives good footage.

I ordered the TOOO cycling front camera and was less impressed. I found it to complex and difficult to operate. The touch screen was useless with winter gloves on. I ended up returning it. I will probably get a Chilli Tech at some stage.

[qwerty360]

MB140 said:

Just ride your bike more defensively. All this BS about “holding primary position”. “It’s my right to cycle down the middle of the road”.

What a load of crap. None of it will help or matter if you have a collision.

The first part is correct.

Then you completely ignore that primary position IS defensive riding.

1. Riding where people look
2. It leaves an escape route
3. Margin for drivers nosing out of driveways, junctions, etc

Most dangerous drivers aren't malevolent, just incompetent. They incompetently have no idea how wide there car actually is, so will pass cyclists way too close (up to scraping with wing mirrors), whether the cyclist is 10 cm from the kerb or 1m. But at least 1m from the kerb the rider has somewhere to go to avoid the collision. Also at least 1m from the kerb it is clear to the driver that they won't fit with oncoming traffic (unlike the original mini (etc) they learned to drive in...)

Leaving an escape route is also important re road surface issues; If at all possible I want any swerve to avoid potholes to be towards the kerb, not away from it. So I need to be far enough out that I don't need to swerve around 0.5m wide sunk drain covers

[Portofino]

Just had three close calls in my 45 min lunchtime ride & they were all caused by dhead driving.

So I’m getting a camera so I can report the tts,

[ian in lancs]

MB140 said:

Some Gump said:

stargazer30 said:

So Cool Starry Bra part first...

Started cycling in Covid, have covered about 10K miles. Mostly gravel but recently bought a road bike. I had my first very close call yesterday. Approaching a quiet mini roundabout. Van woman speeding onto it, but I have right of way. I start to slow as I don't think she is gonna stop. My riding buddy shouts its our right of way, passes me and enters the mini roundabout to turn right. He passes safely but as I follow she comes off the brakes and drives across my path. I slam on, she slams on and I come to a stop 1 inch off her drivers door with her giving me the startled rabbit look, then she drives off, no sorry or nothing. 2 mph faster or a metre further down the road my lovely carbon Orca would have been scrap and I'd have finished the ride in hospital.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a camera, I already have a Varia Radar which is simply brilliant, and up until now I've had no interest in being one of those dash cam warrior types, but if the worst happened and I wasn't dead, I'd like to think I had some evidence to give to plod and hopefully claim back for a broken 2K bike. Its a minefield though, after some reading, most the cameras won't reliably capture a plate and the ones that do have a very short battery life. The ones that have a 4hr battery life and image stabilization/4K quality are £££. Then there's the whole do I get a front or rear cam debate.

So over to the PH massive, what do you lot use and have any of you ever had to use the footage? Or should I just stick to gravel....

You don't need a camera, you need a riding attitude adjustment. Right of way? Who cares if you're flat / broken. Would van woman getting a telling off make you un-bleed?

When road riding, you have to take into account that 5% of drivers are truly and utterly inept, and 2% are massive s. Ride around their shortcomings, and you'll have a better time.

There is a lot to be said for this response, I think you’re entirely right.

It’s no good being right and having a lovely video whilst your lying in hospital drinking through a store with a broken pelvis or legs.

Simple fact, 150lb of pink squidgy stuff is always going to lose out to 1.5 tonnes of metal travelling at speed.

I’ve ridden bikes on the road since I was 10 years old (now mid 40s). Not once have I thought it would be a good idea to test what will happen if I have the right of way. I learnt from a young age that arguing with a car is a waste of time.

Just ride your bike more defensively. All this BS about “holding primary position”. “It’s my right to cycle down the middle of the road”.

What a load of crap. None of it will help or matter if you have a collision.

That's my view too. By all means get a camera, or whatever tech - I have a Vario RADAR - but, taking greater risks by not riding defensively because you have tech isn't going to end well.

[Salted_Peanut]

qwerty360 said:

... primary position IS defensive riding.

1. Riding where people look
2. It leaves an escape route
3. Margin for drivers nosing out of driveways, junctions, etc

Most dangerous drivers aren't malevolent, just incompetent. They incompetently have no idea how wide there car actually is, so will pass cyclists way too close (up to scraping with wing mirrors), whether the cyclist is 10 cm from the kerb or 1m. But at least 1m from the kerb the rider has somewhere to go to avoid the collision. Also at least 1m from the kerb it is clear to the driver that they won't fit with oncoming traffic (unlike the original mini (etc) they learned to drive in...)

Leaving an escape route is also important re road surface issues; If at all possible I want any swerve to avoid potholes to be towards the kerb, not away from it. So I need to be far enough out that I don't need to swerve around 0.5m wide sunk drain covers

+1