[Farnsworth]

After reading about all the accident's wouldn't it make sense to have a bike mounted camera so you couldn't be contested or at worse find the person that hit you? Do they make these?

[whyeyebike]

Not a bad idea. I have been looking into bike mounted cameras for a while now, and the idea of being able to identify someone that has "wronged" me on the road would be a factor.

[Engyo]

Several questions: Would this camera be for use after an incident, or while it is occuring?

If during an incident, how would you ensure that the camera is pointed in the appropriate direction, unless you plan some sort of 360 degree setup? Second, how to trigger it (or do you just run it continuously?

For afterwards, I generally have my cell phone (with it's reasonable camera) with me, and given 20-30 seconds prep time, I can take photos of an accident scene, etc., unless I am incapacitated or the phone is broken. Whether I can get it into play quickly enough to capture a license plate number, etc., would depend on the specific situation.

I do know of a couple folks with velomobiles who have mounted vid cameras front and rear. Some of their vids showing peoples' reactions to the VMs are pretty hilarious.

BTW, RAM Mounts makes almost any sort of mount you can think of. Want to take your laptop on your bike?

[whyeyebike]

Originally Posted by Engyo

Several questions: Would this camera be for use after an incident, or while it is occuring?

What I am referring to is capturing the actual accident as it happens. Granted your field of view with the camera would be limited, so of course you will miss things like getting rear-ended, etc... But those times where a cyclist is cut off and ends up in the rear quarter panel of the car would be captured. A good camera mount covering the road ahead would show the cyclist held his line, meaning the driver didn't take proper precautions when attempting to pass/overtake the cyclist. Its not an answer to a problem, just another tool that could be beneficial.

[funetical]

I think it would be more important to capture the event. It's a good idea some one ought to develop it. With the sizes of cameras getting smaller you could probably mount a few in all the cardinal directions.

[Cyclomatic]

They put them in cars why not on bikes.

[Industry_Hack]

Hard to say which would be best for a single camera - left side rear facing, covering six to nine o'clock, or forward facing, covering covering nine to noon. It wouldn't have to be expensive, since it would be fixed focus, with a wide angle lens. Recording capacity wouldn't have to be much either. Maybe 30 minutes, then you record over the existing data? No need to record your entire ride.

Sounds like a good project for someone.

[Engyo]

Here is a reasonably priced helmet-mounted vid camera which should also be adaptable for bike-mount.

[Michigander]

Carrying a recorder on a bike or car is a great idea. But it's a tricky thing to do well. It is nearly impossible to find a portable recorder that is durable enough to be set up somewhere and left alone, has a battery capacity to go all day, and has enough storage to record all day.

Those helmet mountable cameras are nice, and I've seen them go for 100 bucks at Costco, and 100-250 elsewhere. Only potential problem is battery life. 6 or 8 hours of capacity is great, but worthless if you've only got an hour and a half of battery life.

Edit to add: It's also important to remember that in some places, recording someone without their consent is illegal. It may be a good idea to have a little disclaimer on the camera that says "warning, you are being recorded, talking to me or being near me is your consent"

[whyeyebike]

Originally Posted by Engyo

Here is a reasonably priced helmet-mounted vid camera which should also be adaptable for bike-mount.

Engyo....when I clicked the link, I got nothing. Just an error page from Amazon. Whats the manufacturer and model of the camera the link was pointing too. I am looking into getting something for next season and any suggestions are welcomed.