Hi,

I was wondering where to mount a camera would be the best for road biking.
It's mostly to capture any accidents if I ever get into one. Last year a truck came into my bike lane and forced me to bump the curb and fell off my bike, the truck just did a right turn and left. I couldn't get their license plate number.

My camera is a contour HD which I have a flat surface mount to mount on my helmet by adhesive.
But I start to wonder which side is the best to mount it.
I was thinking about mounting on my left side, since that way it's closer to the cars to capture their plate numbers. (Canadian road)
But everywhere I look people are mounting on the right side of the helmet. So I'm not sure anymore...

Thanks

I mount mine on top of the helmet, with the microphone facing to the left (toward traffic).

I tried mounting it to the left side of my helmet, but the weight would...unbalance the helmet, I had this feeling of the camera pulling the helmet down on that side. I briefly considered a counter weight on the other side, but I felt this too excessive.

The issue with mounting it on the helmet is the potential of it causing you further injury in a crash - should it snag on something. But same goes for mirrors or helmet lights.

Another issue is tilting it up to point down the road rather than looking at the road in front of you. I solved this by using a piece of rigid cellular foam, cut as a wedge. Not the solid white packing foam mind you, rather this is a denser foam, that you can compress, but is more difficult to do so.

Mounting it on the helmet means that there will be a lot if panning as your head turns, but I found there was a lot less shake than if mounted on the handlebars.

JMO, but I feel that mounting it on top of the helmet would be out of the way when crashing or hitting your head on the pavement. I think that in a crash you'd be a lot more likely to hit the helmet on either of the four sides, rather than directly on top. I have no data to support this, just an assumption.

Last night I just ordered a handlebar mount for filming. We'll see how it goes, I'm assuming it will be too bumpy but I will be mainly on the road so hopefully not. If you are wanting your voice to be heard in the video, thats probably not the best idea lol.
Onyx Easygrip the link to what i bought. i know its not for filming but it looks like it would work haha.

I have a GoPro mounted on the top, behind the very top of the helmet. I'm not totally happy with this mount for two reasons: it adds weight to my helmet and over the course of longer rides it adds up; and I know damn straight that the helmet is less effective at protecting my head with a camera mounted to it.

On the other hand, bar mounting the camera really limits the range of view, the helmet mount means that the camera records where I'm looking. Reference, a video I took earlier this year, with a bar mount, you'd lose much of the details of what happened here:

*** Language warning, I was 'colorful' with my words and the GoPro picked it up ***

Are the first two videos on your channel taken from the bar mount? They look that way. Also i subscribed to you btw.

Edit: And if those are taken from the handlebar mount then was that with or without Youtube's stabilization feature?

Under your Garmin.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MSL4LBI/...0GL5DCY2&psc=1

On a tripod by the roadside, catching the action, as the race passes you.


By the way, you can Buy a Ski-Skate-Bike helmet with a Built in Camera..

Subscribe right back at you!

This example with handlebar mounted:


I likely didn't use stabilizer on this video, I was a n00b and it was a long time ago (not sure when YouTube added that feature). You will get more stable video from the helmet mount than the bar mount.

Ok, that wasnt too bad. It probably wouldn't be too shaky at all with the stabilizer. I already ordered the mount, so we'll see how that works out, and if its too shaky ill try to find a helmet mount. The only reason I didn't get one was because I couldn't find one inside of my price range that worked with vented helmets, also the helmet mount would cause increased weight and decreased protection

I expect you will not have the stabilizer issues in this example, new cameras (this is from an old Hero 2), improved editing software, and higher resolution video, will remove most of those issues.

Good luck. Look forward to seeing your videos.

Thanks, I will have the mount in by Thursday at the latest, so might have some videos up by friday, although I will be gone all weekend, so im not quite sure at the moment. I will try to find time to do a test ride after school one day.

On top of your shoe gives you a unique perspective that has a similar level of appreciation among all viewers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nu2SuSAkY4

my new experiment (yet to actually do) left drop bar pointing backwards

I use mine on my head sometimes forward sometimes rear facing. I think 2, w 1 in ea direction is best

hahaha omg!

With my Hero 3 there's hardly any shake unless I nail a pothole or ride on really rough surfaces using my K-Edge handlebar mount. I just did video this weekend of a 2000' winding descent but haven't posted it yet. I was quite impressed with how it looked though.

I've never done the handlebar mount for mountain biking, but I found my helmet cam mount bounced a lot on top of my head. Plus I feel kind of dweeby with a giant camera mounted to my helmet.

Totally agree, I don't like the helmet mount for the looks. But I did have a funny exchange with an aggressive police officer (long story), he calmed down when he saw the helmet mounted GoPro. Irony, the GoPro wasn't running, I had an issue with the SD card that day.

I hope to get the CFO to approve the funds for a new GoPro and a handle bar mount this year. My one issue with a handlebar mount that is quick/easy to change from one bike to another. I don't want the camera limited to one bike.

I have considered bar mount, but the mounts are pretty darn expensive.
I have a contour, so it's a bit different than a GoPro..it's not as bulky so I'm okay with putting it on my helmet.
On top looks really weird..So i guess I wanted one the side. But which side became an issue..

comment from Digger. I think from your point, I should either mount it on top or on the left. All my crashes so far are 100% on my right, didn't bump my head yet but yeah, could happen.

I'm assuming that your country drives/rides on the right hand side of the road? I mounted mine on the left side of the helmet ( before switching to top) so as to better catch any right-hooks or left-cross type incidents. Both of which are more common, and happen on your left. Especially the right hook, and somewhat the left cross.

I can't think of too many incidents, save someone pulling out from an intersection in front of you, that would happen on the right.

If in your country, you drive on left side of road, then I feel it better that you mount that camera on the right side of helmet.

Regardless, I've come to like the top mounted cam, as I can see more to left and right, I can point the camera if needed, and really, I find there's no road vibration as compared to handlebar mount. But yes, a lot of panning or video movement. I oriented the camera so as the mic is to the left, as I feel that any sound that need to be recorded would come from that general direction.

If you decide to mount on the side, and IF you find the weight or feel of the weight pulling down, or unbalancing the helmet bothersome, you may want to consider a counter weight on other side.

You might want to attach it temporarily to the side of your helmet. While not very heavy, it becomes more uncomfortable the further you ride. I've found that a handlebar mount works best for me. Here is one that works very well:
Amazon.com: Minoura Handlebar Camera Mount (22-29mm): Sports & Outdoors. This mount can be adjusted to fit various bar sizes and is very easy to remove. I do not recommend the Contour handlebar mounts. I found that all their rail mounts rattle -- noticeable when you watch the video

https://www.amazon.com/Onyx-EasyGrip-...=onyx+easygrip This one isnt expensive at all. I just ordered it last night.

Edit: Although I am using my iphone, so disregard the above link haha.

So I have to ask- Is that a CrossWALK? (cause the indicator light made it look that way). That would indicate walk, not ride. Clearly, you had the right of way, but that really doesn't matter when you're dead. As a cyclist, you'll rarely win against a vehicle. Glad you're still around to share the video. My wife wants me to get a GoPro for my upcoming cross country tour. I'm against the idea only because it's another thousand bucks-like I haven't spent enuf already. (Hero 4, plus a couple batteries and memory cards, taxes, etc.)

Yes, it is a crossing (formally know as crosswalk), in Minnesota, a crossing is for all non-motorized vehicles. There is NO requirement to dismount at crossing. The trail in this clip is a multi-use path called the Lake Minnetonka LRT, not a sidewalk. The irony, I was normally ride the roads to avoid this type of conflict, but the fresh snow made me decide to avoid the roads and use trails, 'cause it's 'safer'.

With 5,000 miles per year of riding since the 1980's, this is a fact I know well. I'm a major proponent of defensive riding (or driving): always look for the unexpected and trust no one on the road. This has served me very well, I have many near-misses to talk about but no collisions in my adult riding (knock on wood).

I honestly don't know how useful a GoPro would be on a long trip. I use mine for daily commuting. It needs charging and memory cleaned daily. I'm sure a new Hero 4 is better than my old Hero 2. But it would be hard to keep a GoPro running all day for a long tour. I never bring my GoPro for century rides, it just won't last long enough and I don't want to stop to fumble with batteries and SD cards during a ride. However, if my wife's supporting a cross-country ride and all I need to do is spend some extra money to make her happy.... maybe I'd do it.

I wonder if mounting a camera on a helmet reduces the effectiveness or otherwise interferes with the protection a helmet provides

I believe it does decrease the protection offered by a helmet.