Forrest Baum
Member
- Dec 30, 2024
- 29
- 43
I’m big on recording rides and this seems like the right place for this, but these aren’t necessarily e-bikes only - I’m open to suggestions if someplace else would be better.
There are some great guides for recording bike rides, and there are good options for setting up a GoPro, 360º cam, or other action cam.
There are several Dedicated Front/Back Cameras and Lights, so let’s start there.
Cycliq has long been the bike-specific dedicated option, often described as a “dashcam for your bike”, and they work very similarly to a vehicle dashcam.
Fly12 is a front-facing Camera
Fly6 is rear-facing (these are named like a clock face, a la “on your 6” being behind, and 12 right ahead)
Garmin just released their Varia Vue front camera, and they have a Rear Camera & Radar unit, the Varia RCT715.
These are more expensive than Cycliq. If you use a Garmin Edge (or compatible) bike computer (or many of their watches), these can be more useful, however - giving you more options as you ride, and the ability to automatically start and stop recording with your rides.
Main features these all share:
Additional specific features:
Cycliq give you the option to overlay strava data. (This is an additional step afterwards).
Garmin lets you overlay GPS and speed data, and sync front and back cameras. (These require a bike computer/app/Varia radar unit, depending on option).
The Garmin RCT715 is similar to a rear-facing Cycliq camera, and also works like a Garmin Varia Radar, detecting vehicles approaching from up to 150 yards / 140 meters away. The Camera can record video constantly, or when radar activity is detected.
Along with date and timestamp options, you can also overlay your GPS location and speed, and also the speed of the following vehicle!
These are expensive, but many find them worth it (US Prices):
$320 - Cycliq Fly12 Sport (front)
$240 - Cycliq Fly6 Gen3 (rear)
$350 - Cycliq Fly6 Pro (rear)
$550 - Garmin Varia Vue (front)
$400 - Garmin Varia RCT715 (rear)
Finally, some people have had Cycliq reliability (and specifically water ingress issues) over the years, while some love them and have had no problems.
And there are criticisms of Garmin’s image stabilization, blowing out license plates at night, and specs - especially at these price points.
I’ve used two generations of the Cycliq cameras, and find them very useful, despite some cons. I’ve also tried out the Garmin RCT715, and the feature showing the following vehicle’s speed is really a game-changer. My ideal setup would also have the additional ability to be wired into e-bike power, and turn on automatically when the bike does.
Thoughts on these? I know some of y'all have some great camera setups - I just wanted to start here!
There are some great guides for recording bike rides, and there are good options for setting up a GoPro, 360º cam, or other action cam.
There are several Dedicated Front/Back Cameras and Lights, so let’s start there.
Cycliq has long been the bike-specific dedicated option, often described as a “dashcam for your bike”, and they work very similarly to a vehicle dashcam.
Fly12 is a front-facing Camera
Fly6 is rear-facing (these are named like a clock face, a la “on your 6” being behind, and 12 right ahead)
Garmin just released their Varia Vue front camera, and they have a Rear Camera & Radar unit, the Varia RCT715.
These are more expensive than Cycliq. If you use a Garmin Edge (or compatible) bike computer (or many of their watches), these can be more useful, however - giving you more options as you ride, and the ability to automatically start and stop recording with your rides.
Main features these all share:
- Waterproof bike camera and lights.
- Loop recording, which records over your oldest unsaved footage so your camera keeps working when the memory fills up.
- A save button which locks the previous and current footage.
- Incident protection which similarly saves footage in case a fall is detected.
- Date and timestamp options.
Additional specific features:
Cycliq give you the option to overlay strava data. (This is an additional step afterwards).
Garmin lets you overlay GPS and speed data, and sync front and back cameras. (These require a bike computer/app/Varia radar unit, depending on option).
The Garmin RCT715 is similar to a rear-facing Cycliq camera, and also works like a Garmin Varia Radar, detecting vehicles approaching from up to 150 yards / 140 meters away. The Camera can record video constantly, or when radar activity is detected.
Along with date and timestamp options, you can also overlay your GPS location and speed, and also the speed of the following vehicle!
These are expensive, but many find them worth it (US Prices):
$320 - Cycliq Fly12 Sport (front)
$240 - Cycliq Fly6 Gen3 (rear)
$350 - Cycliq Fly6 Pro (rear)
$550 - Garmin Varia Vue (front)
$400 - Garmin Varia RCT715 (rear)
Finally, some people have had Cycliq reliability (and specifically water ingress issues) over the years, while some love them and have had no problems.
And there are criticisms of Garmin’s image stabilization, blowing out license plates at night, and specs - especially at these price points.
I’ve used two generations of the Cycliq cameras, and find them very useful, despite some cons. I’ve also tried out the Garmin RCT715, and the feature showing the following vehicle’s speed is really a game-changer. My ideal setup would also have the additional ability to be wired into e-bike power, and turn on automatically when the bike does.
Thoughts on these? I know some of y'all have some great camera setups - I just wanted to start here!
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