Front Camera Help, recommendations, for safety
 

I recently had an accident. It’s been painful, traumatic, and I’m off the bike, per my doc, for at least eight weeks. This could be going better if I had footage of what happened and it’s been a game changer. I don’t love cameras, but riding in Florida is dangerous.

when I get back out there, I’ll be riding with a Garmin RCT715. It has radar, looping camera, long battery life and has lots of good reviews. I’m open to other suggestion though.

does anyone have any recommendations for a decent front mount camera for safety? know there’s a lot of great action cams, like GoPro and Akaso, but I’m not interested in making videos. I want looping footage, long battery life, and I would like locked footage in the event of an accident. I would like to just get out and ride all day and not fuss with a bunch of electronics.

do you have something that works for you?

I don't have one, but it's hard to argue with a Fly12 from Cyclic for the criteria you describe, other than cost. And if you haven't already bought the Garmin camera, their Fly6 is a great rear camera / light and build specifically for your use-case.

https://cycliq.com/

The other option is just an older GoPro with an external battery pack and set it up for looping record. No need for a GoPro 11 or 12 - a 3, 4 or 5 will do you just as well for this and you can get one much cheaper than a Fly12

Aloyzius I have an earlier, less capable 1080 version of this camera. Five years on my helmet in rain, sun and snow...knocked it, dropped it...absolutely no problems. I still get 7 hours of battery life.

Drift Ghost XL Pro - 4K Action Camera, Image Stabilization, Waterproof, Rotatable Lens, Dashcam Mode, Livestreaming, Clone Mode, 7hr Battery Life at 1080P & 4.5hr Battery Life at 4K

...about $160.

I'm not nitpicking here, I just want to be sure that you're thinking clearly.

A front camera has nothing to do with safety. It does nothing to reduce the chances of you getting in an accident. It only helps after the fact, to show what happened. You want to be able to establish, after the fact, what went wrong/who is responsible. That is for civil or criminal liability, not safety.

(OK - I'm not entirely correct. A front camera can help with safety indirectly, I suppose, if you review the footage and change your riding behavior based on your review. But, it doesn't sound like you intend to use it in that way.)

I thought the OP was asking for a camera with built in AI that would steer the bike for him.

But thanks for clearing that up for me.

I feel your pain, or actually, I felt pain after getting pasted last fall and having a broken pelvis - off the bike for months. Fortunately there were three witnesses, and the uninsured, unregistered perp was cited. I'm considering a camera as well so am following this post. I did get rear radar, Varia, and won't ride without it now, for many reasons. I also bought the brightest rear light I could find, and run with both it and the Varia light - I don't ride in groups. Fenix front flashing light as well. Believe me, after going through the legal process, pics or witnesses make a huge $$$ difference.

Here in Florida there are no license plates or tags on the front of vehicles. So a front camera is useful identifying vehicles and documenting unsafe behaviors.

How thoughtful.

I have the Garmin 715 on the rear and a Fly 12 camera/light on the front.

The Fly 12 works well enough. Battery life is okay at about 4.5 hours while running the light in a daytime random flash mode. I wish it were longer so I could just recharge weekly. Now I recharge after every ride, unless I know I'm doing back-to-back rides under 4 hours total.

The Fly 12 seemed to be the best option for a combo camera and light. The image is fine and of course options for frame rates and resolution.

Negatives of the Fly 12 are the battery level indications are all but useless. I don't recall specifics, but it's like it indicates there is 50% or more left, but then battery dies in 30 minutes. That type thing. But the battery does last more than they say for various light and camera options. It's just you can't trust the level it tells you, other than fully charged.

The other is it has a microphone built in that is essentially useless. Any bike movement and wind noise dominates. They do sell a little "furry" stick on thing that apparently is meant to address this. I would have ordered that had I known. It's on my list to stick something on there as a wind block and see if it makes it any better.

Related to this is how good the mic is on the Garmin 715. No wind noise at all just the humming of my carbon wheels. Of course the location, front vs rear, likely has a lot to do with this.

I'd like to say buying a Fly 12 is a no-brainer. But, if you're willing to run a separate light (something that may make you safer), you obviously have more options for a camera only.

You an put larger memory cards in both the 715 and the Fly 12 that are going top give you all the recording time you'd ever want for any sort of normal bike riding. In fact, think that through a bit as larger just means more video files you'll have in the folder and it can be a lot of files. So, bigger isn't always better.

I used a Cycliq Fly 6 rear camera for a few years. Did manage to capture one crazy c**ksucker who buzzed us in his truck. Sent the video to the Sheriff’s dept and a deputy made a house call and gave the guy a warning. A camera won’t make you safer, just provide you or your next-of-kin evidence for a conviction or lawsuit. My Fly6 gave me ~4.5 hours in daylight flashing mode - not really long enough for “all day riding”. A Varia radar actually contributes to safety, so that’s what’s on my seatpost now.

How nice.

How will the camera keep you safe? I'll answer, it won't. Yes, it can give you footage for your loved ones to use in case of an accident, but it won't contribute to your safety.

As far as safety goes. Ditch the electronics that will only serve to distract you. Watch where you are going, and use a mirror. Everywhere is dangerous to ride. Try riding in the hills of Western PA in the Pittsburgh suburban areas on two lane roads where there are no shoulders, no bike lanes, and a hillside or a drop off at the side of the road, with lots of traffic. For that I use a flashing red taillight during the day, and a solid red taillight, and steady red taillights at night along with a Lupine Piko 3 headlight. A camera will do absolutely nothing to keep you safe.

living in PGH for ~6 years almost made me give up cycling - roads were in terrible condition, the drivers pretty intolerant. I ended up going out Sunday mornings at/before sunrise, when the streets were deserted

A camera can also help with safety if it is visible to others and to the extent that it cause others to moderate their behavior.

some ******* driver approaching too close and too fast is going to notice a small camera attached to your seatpost?🤔

I ran a Fly6/Fly12 combination for a few years. It did what it did fairly well, although the 4-5 hour life was long gone at the end of all day rides. The only time I really reviewed any of the video, besides the "new toy" checkout, was to find out if I'd been in danger when I heard some loud screeching behind me. (No, it was a kid enjoying burning up his tires coming out of a stop sign, not someone hitting their brakes close behind me.) Shortly after that, I forgot to put it back on after taking it off for refreshing the date and recharging the battery. Haven't missed it, TBH.

agreed but there's a caveat. if the camera is very obvious it can act a deterrent in some situations. so many cameras now, however, are built to blend-in & are NOT obvious

put a sports camera on the helmet? Not sure it is a good idea or not.