Bike camera with decent battery life?????

[Darius_Jedburgh]

SWMBO insists that I get a bike camera.
Plenty on the market, most of which are TEMU standard.
I want one with good resolution and decent battery life.
Looking around 2 hours seems to be the normal battery life.
GoPro and the like are ruled out as are anything that mounts on helmet.
Problem in my normal rides are up to twice that long and my weekend rides can be 6 hours.
I'm not the beard and sandal brigade with saddlebags and panniers and dont want to load my bike with battery packs, solar panels or any of the other paraphernalia that tourists are happy with.
I've seen Cycliq cameras which claim a battery life of 7 hours but nobody seems to be able to achieve this and the company are very coy on giving instructions. (But then they are Australian)

Anyone know of a good camera that has a decent battery life and can fit nicely under my bars?

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I used the Cycliq Fly12 for years, and could regularly get 6+ hours of recording with it. I rarely used the integrated light, as my bike has a hub dynamo setup.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

I used the Cycliq Fly12 for years, and could regularly get 6+ hours of recording with it. I rarely used the integrated light, as my bike has a hub dynamo setup.

Can I ask what settings you used?
No light obviously but presumably video on lowest setting. What was resolution like? Good enough to read number plates when sky is overcast?

 

[Sixmile]

I've the original Fly 6 and Fly 12 (I'm not sure if the newer one's are as good) - I like GC get a good number of rides out of both but I definitely prefer the Fly6. Audible beeps on and off let you know roughly how much battery you've left.

I've also had an apeman, chilli cam and techlogic but wouldn't bother with any of them.

 

[presta]

SWMBO insists that I get a bike camera.
Plenty on the market, most of which are TEMU standard.
I want one with good resolution and decent battery life.
Looking around 2 hours seems to be the normal battery life.
GoPro and the like are ruled out as are anything that mounts on helmet.
Problem in my normal rides are up to twice that long and my weekend rides can be 6 hours.
I'm not the beard and sandal brigade with saddlebags and panniers and dont want to load my bike with battery packs, solar panels or any of the other paraphernalia that tourists are happy with.
I've seen Cycliq cameras which claim a battery life of 7 hours but nobody seems to be able to achieve this and the company are very coy on giving instructions. (But then they are Australian)

Anyone know of a good camera that has a decent battery life and can fit nicely under my bars?

Can't you get around this by using loop recording?

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Can't you get around this by using loop recording?

Not if the battery is flat. Nothing will record with no power.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Not if the battery is flat. Nothing will record with no power.

Your wife won’t know.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Your wife won’t know.

She will if I get knocked off and have no recording!
This has all come about after being badly knocked off - BMW of course- and I was lucky to survive.
Plod won't do anything despite two witnesses because there is no camera footage.
SWMBO says no camera no ride.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Can I ask what settings you used?
No light obviously but presumably video on lowest setting. What was resolution like? Good enough to read number plates when sky is overcast?

I think I left it on the default setting of 1080x1920 @ 30fps. The quality was plenty good enough to get number plates and prosecution/fixed penalty action from police, even in overcast conditions (it’s Scotland, it’s the default weather).

By the way, I also used 2 x Fly6 cameras; one on the seat post and the other on a mount on the front right fork, around halfway down. That gave a good view of my bike, pannier, and right side of my body to show better the proximity of any close passes.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

Another Fly 6/12 user here. Mine are both are over 6 years old and I still get very good battery life on them. The 12 camera is set to 1030 @30FPS and has provided evidence for two insurance claims (car crash in front of me) and three prosecutions for close passes at speed over the years.

 

[Slick]

I love my fly 6 and have often thought about getting the new setup to include the front camera. Really good stuff.

 

[Bazzer]

I used the Cycliq Fly12 for years, and could regularly get 6+ hours of recording with it. I rarely used the integrated light, as my bike has a hub dynamo setup.

^^^WHS^^^ although I have very little knowledge of the later CE version. I believe the battery life is less than the original Fly 12. I also have a separate front light, using the Fly 12 for backup only to save battery life, as the built in light, particularly on continuous mode can suck the life out of the battery.
It would sometimes be useful to twin it with a Fly 6, particularly on low sunlight days, when registration numbers can be obscurred by glare, but generally it is more than sufficient for notifying the police. Sadly something I have to do with depressing regularity.
The Cycliq also has the advantage of looking like a light not a camera, should a motorist be one of the more observant types. Even more so when fixed under the handlebar, as my main light is.
This is a topic which comes up regularly and you should be able to find other threads with suggestions from members such as @Arjimlad who reports mobile users and close passers.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Thanks guys. The 12 seems to have been updated to 12 Sport. Maybe it's an improvement, or maybe not.
Seems like this is the only setup with enough battery life for my style of riding.
"A wife's council may be bad but he who doesn't take it is mad"

 

[Arjimlad]

I use a Drift Ghost XL and it sits on my helmet or under the bars. 9 hours battery life...

https://youtube.com/@jimswheels?si=BRKjNBdj94CzOXz0

I've got a Seemee rear camera light combination also. Hope this helps.

 

[Arjimlad]

On the bars .. over or under