Today's commute was great until a pickup truck pulled out in front of me and gave me the bird like it was my fault for being there.


So aggravating and dangerous thus prompting me to buy a camera in case anything happens.

So sad it has come to this...

Eh I would pass on the camera. I tried one when I started commuting but so much of an extra hassle, not even worth it on the off chance that someone might flip you the bird. Then there is all that footage to sift through, edit, etc.

I've used a GoPro knock-off (SJCAM SJ4000) for a year and a half now, and it can be a hassle but usually isn't. Fortunately nothing too bad has happened that I've needed to turn over video to the police or anything, but I've caught a lot of interesting things. Bad driving, pretty sunrises, unexpected events. The SJ4000 and most action cameras is set to just loop recording, so I never bother looking at footage unless I know something has happened I want to look at.

Get a Contour Roam 2 or 3 whichever you can find cheaper. I love my Roam 2 and like my helmet, I just don't feel safe without it. The Roam has great video quality, much better battery than a GoPro also it's much less noticeable and has a better shape. For insurance and legal reasons, a helmet camera is one of the best things you can buy. I'd recommend a head mounting for it instead of a bike one that way you have POV recording of anything that occurs.

I think the handlebar mount is fine, and it's less hassle, but sometimes the helmet mount is fun too. A GoPro on your helmet is just too dorky... no offense to any dorks out there.

I just mounted an Activeon CX to my commuter this year.........





Here is the test ride video to check for vibration and clarity.........

Go for it. Video evidence can make a significant difference in compensation and who pays for injuries. The problem with relying on eye witnesses is (1) they're unreliable, (2) testimony depends on who the authorities choose to interview and which questions they ask, (3) if only the parties involved in the accident are witnesses, they may not be reliable due to shock, injuries, etc.

Without video evidence, anything an injured victim says immediately after an accident may adversely affect their compensation. For example, it's not unusual for victims of head injury to deny any problems (Google "head injury and lucid interval"); and victims of other physical injuries may not realize the extent of their injuries until later. This happened to me 15 years ago after a serious wreck caused by another driver running a red light, cracking several vertebrae in my back and neck and permanently damaging the C2 -- the full extent of the longterm injury wasn't apparent until days or weeks later, after I'd already spoken with authorities and the adverse insurance company under the effect of concussion.

And just this week I had a very minor crash -- more of a slow motion flop over -- with no scrapes or apparent injuries for almost 12 hours. I popped up, straightened the handlebar and rode 15 miles home without any apparent physical problems. But I woke up with a very sore tailbone where I'd apparently caught myself. Nothing serious, not even an apparent bruise, but it did remind me that the human body does a nice job of protecting us from the effects of immediately experiencing pain in order to enable us to escape danger. Later, after the adrenaline wears off and swelling begins, we being to experience the real pain.

But video evidence can be unambiguous and may offset statements made under duress or the effects of shock, concussion, etc.

Keep in mind that, depending on your state laws, liability may be limited to whatever your state's minimum liability insurance covers. This may be nowhere near the actual cost of the injuries and property damage. Unless the responsible party has deep pockets or was working for a business (presumed to have deep pockets), you may still bear the burden of most or all costs for an accident and injury that you didn't cause. So, again, why not go for the video camera as a buffer, especially if you're responsible for a family? Just makes good financial sense from that perspective.

I would also recommend a camera on the helmet rather than the handlebars for the reasons already stated by others. A handlebar mounted camera restricts the video to the vehicle's forward view. You are likely to be looking at whatever may endanger you, and a head mount may then capture what you see on video.

If you own an automobile and carry insurance for it, then you may file a claim with your own insurance provider. In this way, you may recover further damages if the responsible party has inadequate or no insurance, or in the event of a hit-and-run. For this reason, it makes sense to evaluate your insurance policy to determine what level of protection you desire and wish to pay for.

I was the victim of a hit-and-run somewhat recently, and the suspect was never identified. I filed a claim with my own auto insurance policy, and have been able to recover damages using the Personal Injury Protection and Uninsured/Under Insured Motorist portions of my policy, both of which I had increased above the minimum. Like you said, video evidence was instrumental for the police report and the insurance claim settlement.

I still don't know... some of the videos people post here... like the one where the cyclist rides into a car turning left in front of him... just plows into it at low speed... I'd be ashamed to let that footage see the light of day, but some of you have no shame.

Anyone entitled enough to feel that being flipped off is reason to go out and buy a video camera is probably just the kind of person who would T-Bone a Camry because its driver didn't wait until you plodded through the intersection at 10mph. So you hit it at 10mph and now you want the driver to pay for a new fork and front wheel...

Its working for me not having a camera in that I don't feel the need to entertain others with my pratfalls. I think some camera owners T-bone sedans mainly for the entertainment value of the resulting footage. Maybe "America's Funniest Home Videos" will pay cash for it if the other drivers insurance policy won't. Yeah, that's got to be it.

There are some major difficulties with cameras in terms of usuability.

1) Battery life
Usually ~2 hrs, which means you're always needing to charge multiple times per week.

2) Image clarity & contrast
Most cameras work decently well in bright over-head daylight. Shadows or bright lights tend to cause significant under/over exposure making the video almost useless.

3) Looped recording
How do you stop the recording after an accident?

Typically cameras seem to capture usable video in about half of incidents. The other times the video is sufficiently blurred or washed out that you can't actually see things like license plates or even make/model of a vehicle. I tried a camera for a while and eventually stopped bothering. My commuting is typically at dusk, and the video was always terrible.

Maybe that's some people, but it's not me.

Battery life, yep, needs to be charged regularly. For me it's not a big deal because I'm charging my headlamp battery with the same frequency. It is annoying though, don't get me wrong.

Image quality really depends on the camera. The one I use exposes correctly when lighting changes, and works acceptably at night. When I have it front-mounted, my headlight is good enough for usable video.

Saving video in the event of a crash isn't an issue as my battery will run out before the memory card fills and overwrites old footage.

I don't get on my commuter or road bike without my Fly6. It's a great rear camera. I'm currently waiting for my front facing Fly12.

I don't go anywhere these days without a helmet mounted front and rear camera recording everything going on around me, even if I'm just walking around the block. The helmet keeps me from getting hurt if I fall down or bump into something. And the cameras record stuff so in case something happens, I have evidence. Sure, it's a bit inconvenient, but I feel much safer. People seem to smile and laugh around me much more, too.

Hmmm ... had a close look at these and saw some videos on their site. I have the back light camera on my 'wish list'

I did a "guest review" of the Fly6... can't figure out how to make it work for my bike, but it's pretty cool.

Cycliq Fly6 Tail-Light Camera - The Diablo Cyclist

I bought a Gitup Git2 camera just a week ago, mounted it on my bike's handle bar and have been using it, both during my commute and outdoors. Great image stabilization and very acceptable quality at about half the price of any decent GoPro. As mentioned above in this thread, battery life is never over 2 hours, so that's indeed something to keep in mind.

I also wear a helmet regardless of travel distance and have a front (500 lumen LED) and back (not-as-powerful red LED) light, living under the "see and be seen" motto I still have to settle on the accoustics.

the mounting straps look like a flimsy design. A hassle everytime you need to remove the light/camera.

It would be better with a mount similar to the cygolite hotshot and perhaps a mounting bracket that could fit on a pannier rack?

from what I have read, the camera works well at night with the light on. I would use this on the seatpost at night, and my cygolite hotshot on my pannier rack. I think I will end up buying one.

I've been through probably a dozen cameras, and have sold most of them after they didn't meet my needs for one reason or another. GoPros, GoPro clones are not even close to sufficient for commuters IMO. Stupid mounting, ugly and the battery life is way too short. Others fail for various reasons, most because battery life is too short.

Right now I'm relatively happy with what I have:

Front/helmet: Contour Roam3 on the helmet (< $100 on Amazon) - 3.5 hour battery life, perfectly acceptable video quality, good mountings, can turn on with gloves on.

Rear - Fly6 mounted in a 3D printed mount on the rear rack. 6 hour battery life, a pretty good (nighttime, not daylight) taillight, and bicycle-specific modes.

I may wind up with a Fly12 up front. 10 hour battery life is very good. The price seems a bit steep though. I may instead take a $80 Mobius cam and 3D print a case that holds it and an 18650 LiIon cell, which should give at least 5 hours runtime, maybe more. Looks like they have two cells for that 10 hour so that is about right.

IMHO... flipping someone off is vulgar, threatening, and at least one step (maybe the only step needed) towards a violent interaction. However... it's unlikely the police (around here anyway) would react to a video of someone flipping you the bird. So... what's the point of recording it?

With that said... I have a handlebar/helmet mount camera. I haven't as-of-yet recorded any of the interesting cycling footage I thought I might when I bought the camera. I think mine was a better idea... than a useful tool.

What if you screwed a vertical piece of PVC pipe to the back of your rack?

Oh, also. My Fly6 fits nicely right under my saddle bag on my road bike. You just need 2-2.5 inches of clearance between the bottom of you bag and the top of your top tube.

(not my bike). My rack uses the clip-in trunk bag, so that part of the structure is not available. There is a blinky mount thing below the rack that uses standard blinky light attachments that a clever maker could probably figure out something for. Seems like Cycliq ought to be the ones to make something that fits the standard mounts though, rather than expecting the consumer to kludge it.

Heh heh, I liked.