Cameras - for commuting

[Sixmile]

I rarely leave the house without my Fly6 on whatever bike I'm on. It's very easy to switch across bikes and it is a very decent rear light aside from the camera feature. I have however needed the footage twice maybe but has also caught good 'happy' footage of out with friends and family. I also have the Fly 12 front but rarely use it as it's harder to move across bikes, isn't as useful as a light and is big and heavy.

Aside from that I have ETC camera, chilli tech cam and had an apeman and mobius. The latter two wouldn't be a recommendation, the ETC is ok for something cheap and nasty (it looks and feels that way and isn't as user friendly as the Fly's) and the chilli has a short battery life, is quite heavy and footage isn't great. I have it mounted on my Enduro helmet for when I take that bike/helmet combo out.

 

[Alex321]

Why strap on equipment at the start of a ride in anticipation of something bad happening? It'll destroy the enjoyment.
I've been knocked off a few times by bad driving but never been remotely tempted to take the "victim in anticipation" route.

At the moment I don't have anything but for years I was riding with a GoPro attached, and it didn't affect my enjoyment one iota.

The GoPro died, and I haven't got round to buying a (cheaper replacement yet is the only reasn I don't ride with an attached camera now.

 

[Alex321]

Cyclists and motorists both have rights but we are also sharing the same road with different objectives and capabilities, reporting drivers to the police doesn't win friends.

If somebody is driving dangerously, I probably don't want to win their friendship. I want them to stop driving like that.

However I do accept that sometimes education can be a good thing, I regularly get a close pass from a Fiat 500, the driver waits for ages to be sure that it is safe to pass so I am pretty sure that he/she doesn't understand how wide the tiny car is, as it passes at about 4mph faster than I am going.

But if that driver loses their licence as they are too old to be driving, will the cyclist who reported them be the hero or villain, even though the family probably knows that it is the time for the driver to surrender their driving licence?

The driver will not lose their licence for "being too old". They bmay lose it if the footage sent in shows dangerous driving. If t is merely passing a bit close, the response from the police will most likely be a warning letter, or at most a ticket for careless driving - which would usually only be three points.

 

[fossyant]

As someone who has been knocked off commuting more times than I care to remember (lots and some very very bad - broken spine nearly in a wheel chair), I'm not getting a camera. It's yet another 'thing' to fit and charge - winter I've four lights and a Garmin that needs charging. You'll also be reviewing footage etc, getting angry, posting it to the police. It's really not worth getting worked up about, and if you are getting stressed, then I really would suggest not commuting by bike, or finding a better route - it's not worth it.

Remember cycling is about being stress free, and faffing with more stuff, then reviewing footage about good/bad etc takes this away IMHO.

I didn't commute for about 6 years after breaking my spine, TBH I didn't use the road bikes either. I went MTB'ing all the time. During lockdown, I cycled to the vaccination centre near Manchester, but picked an off road route. It was quite good. This then lead me to research off road commutes into the city, for when I was back in work. I also started road riding again when it was quiet.

I'm now back commuting 3-4 days a week when not WFH, and my route is mainly off road. It's great. No stress, no traffic to get through, and the bits of road I chose to use, are relatively light traffic. I have, however, taken the decision not to press on if there is traffic jams - I'll carefully stick with it, or slowly go through taking the nearest cycle path.

I'd suggest finding a slightly better route if you need to. I've never had course to need a camera, even when I've been knocked off and injured - a camera won't stop that, but there has been enough evidence for a claim against a driver for damage and injury.

What's causing you to think about camera-ing up ? Think about the causes, and see if you can do something to do to relieve the stress it's obviously causing - that's not what cycling is about.

I commute because it keeps me fit, it's stress free, and I'm always at my destination within a few minutes of the 'estimated' time of arrival. No stress about being late, it's relatively cheap, and it wakes me up.

Stuff messing with cameras.

 

[Albrey]

Good evening,

A definite plus 1 to @slowmotion.
Cyclists and motorists both have rights but we are also sharing the same road with different objectives and capabilities, reporting drivers to the police doesn't win friends.

Actually I can't imagine I'd be doing much if any reporting to police. It's partly to highlight the state of my current road - which has turned into a rat-run, with drivers crawling all over the back of me the moment I leave my house. Secondly there are sometime scary incidents where I just want to see what happened..and to what extend anyone was in the wrong. And yes, in the worse case i would have evidence..

 

[Albrey]

I'm quite intrigued as to how people manage to be so magnanimous about crap driving - I mean the stats out today on hit and run driving in london are awful.

 

[classic33]

I'm quite intrigued as to how people manage to be so magnanimous about crap driving - I mean the stats out today on hit and run driving in london are awful.

The thing is, it's seldom the crap/lousy driving that's the issue. It's the feeling that we have no right to be on the roads I find the bigger issue.
The driver(drunk & other stuff) of the car that hit me, felt I had no right to be using the road.

Bad driving is going to happen whatever we do. Does that mean we should have to accept it, not a chance. We can try to get those drivers who are a hazard on the roads, off the roads. Along with trying to get driving standards raised.

 

[Big T]

I got front and rear cameras after witnessing someone getting knocked off on an Audax. The guy ended up with a broken cheekbone and a skull fracture. It all happened so quickly that none of us got the reg no. and the driver was never traced.

I run an old Cycliq Fly6 on the back. This is now 6 years old and still going strong. It’s a combined camera and light and has a 5-6 hour run time. On the front I had a ChilliTech but found it too rattly, so I now run a Techalogic front camera, which cost just over £100. Again it’s a combined light and camera. I get about 3.5 hours run time with both light and camera on, and about 5 hours run time in camera only mode. I don’t routinely review the footage unless something bad happens, which is surprisingly rare. I’ve had one successful submission to the police, where a driver overtook me on a sharp bend and had to pull in sharply, as there was a car coming the other way, almost knocking me off. The footage went to the Police and they prosecuted the driver for careless driving.

I plug both cameras in to charge at the end of each ride, which takes about 30 seconds to plug in and a couple of hours to charge. The Fly6 only needs charging every other ride.

You might never need to review the footage, but it’s there if you do need it.

 

[bonzobanana]

I think when you consider there are probably more than 1 million cars on UK roads uninsured and this figure is set to rise you understand how many drivers out there are completely irresponsible. In some areas 1 in 8 cars are uninsured and that statistic was from 2017 so I dread to think what it is now. I feel like with the police so under-resourced nowadays you almost have to hand them the evidence on a plate to get them to convict someone or take action. I'm sure there is a connection between uninsured drivers and poor driving. These people are high risk takers for sure. In the last 12 months motor insurance prices have skyrocketed and also people are becoming poorer. Some people will be priced off the road others may decide to take the illegal path.

 

[cougie uk]

I'm using one of these. No good in the dark but all my riding is daytime now.

Fantastic battery life on it too. It's done 6 hour summer rides. I do enjoy looking back at the footage. It's not all about bad drivers.

https://www.chilli-tech.com/action-cameras?product_id=181

 

[kingrollo]

Why strap on equipment at the start of a ride in anticipation of something bad happening? It'll destroy the enjoyment.
I've been knocked off a few times by bad driving but never been remotely tempted to take the "victim in anticipation" route.

Long name for a camera - where do I get one ?

 

[DogmaStu]

I have an Insta360 that I have a mounting for on my gravel and Winter bikes. Its purpose is to take videos of where I ride that I share with my Strava and Whatsapp friends. The 360 element means I won't miss anything and in edit I can make a video of the viewpoints I want to see.

Typically, it is in Standby mode so as to save battery and recording time and I tell it to start recording when approaching a scenic spot.

Last week, on a quiet farm road, a van drove up behind me and then hooted. I pulled further to the left, almost onto the verge - on my gravel bike, I would have gone onto it for a bit - and the driver pulled up alongside me. He then proceeded to berate me for not stopping and stepping aside to allow him to overtake more easily. Expletives, threats etc.

I pointed to my camera and he immediately backed off. The presence of a camera does make Drivers think twice once they clock it. Approx 100m down the road he overtook me, using the wider section. Why didn't he just overtake when he pulled up alongside? Because entitled driver who wanted a clear road to go faster than he should be and I slowed him down from 'making progress' in the manner he would prefer.

It's right that we respect each other and help each other's respective journey's but there are motorists who will never respect our rights to use the same roads, even quiet B and farm roads. I have zero issue in reporting them and actively encourage it.

 

[NickWi]

I run cameras front & back on my bicycle (Cycliq), car (Garmin) & motorbike (Innovv). I don't go out with the intention of recording and reporting ever bugger that closes passes, SMIDSY or MGIF. I have them because should the worst happen me or I witness it happen A.N. Other, there's a record.

 

[rockyroller]

fwiw - been enjoying the (2) gopro 8s that I bought renewed on Amazon. great cameras, absolutely love the digital image stabilization. fair warning, I use them for fun & I don't record constantly

 

[rockyroller]

Why strap on equipment at the start of a ride in anticipation of something bad happening? It'll destroy the enjoyment.
I've been knocked off a few times by bad driving but never been remotely tempted to take the "victim in anticipation" route.

I do it because I anticipate something fun happening, like falling off my bike cuz I was too dumb riding fresh powder over ice. pretty darn entertaining