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Cameras, bike or helmet mounted

I am looking into getting a camera, but thinking of the pros and cons of where to mount, what's the general consensus?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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20 comments

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Flying Scot | 9 years ago
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As I ride a unicycle without a Helmet I went for the Go Pro tellytubby kit.

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ianrobo | 9 years ago
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just got a go pro and no chance on my helmet defo on the bars.

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bdsl | 9 years ago
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If you want to make a video of yourself cycling you could mount the camera up in the air on a long stick clamped to the back of your seat post, like Colin M. did.

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userfriendly | 9 years ago
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The GoPro is really an unfortunate shape for helmet mounting. Got one of those bullet formfactor cams on my helmet, and I think that still looks a bit daft. May go back to mounting it on the bars again.

Also got a rear facing cam mounted on the back of the pannier rack.

(Rear facing as in pointing backwards, not facing my rear.)

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PonteD | 9 years ago
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I tried the camera on the helmet, and it just made it sit lobsided on my head due to the extra weight (plus it made me look like a bit of a tit)

I bought a headset top cap that has a gopro attachment and it now sits on the end of the fork steerer tube (just feel the need to avoid confusion by referring to headset, as in "on the bike" as opposed to a "headset" I.e. Something you wear on your head). I feel it better than an up front mount as you can see my bars, this gives a better sense of distance as you have a point of reference close to the lens, plus the actual bars are a little less cluttered.

If you could get a camera with a small remote lens on a wire I might consider sticking that on my lid (a-la-miners lamp stylee with the main gubbins in a box either at the rear of the helmet or somewhere like in my rucksack or on a belt) and I think people who cycle around with GoPro's stuck on top of their head like a little Blackpool tower just look idiotic (I did mention the word tit earlier didn't I?).

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andyp | 9 years ago
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What jacknorell said, with a tweak.

If commuting, put it on the helmet as your awareness of view of other traffic is what you need to capture together with events.

Otherwise, leave it at home. Nobody will be interested in the footage  3

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jacknorell replied to andyp | 9 years ago
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andyp wrote:

What jacknorell said, with a tweak.

If commuting, put it on the helmet as your awareness of view of other traffic is what you need to capture together with events.

Otherwise, leave it at home. Nobody will be interested in the footage  3

Unless capturing some seriously interesting racing crashes, please share those!

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oozaveared | 9 years ago
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I don't wear a helmet so it's on the bars.

I do use bars..

didn't always when I was a kid. Not always a good idea. If I saw a kid riding no hands now I'd probably advise them of that. If I was a kid, I'd probably ignore the old fart giving me advice on riding no hands. What the hell would he know. Doesn't even wear a helmet...

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giff77 replied to oozaveared | 9 years ago
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oozaveared wrote:

I don't wear a helmet so it's on the bars.

I do use bars..

didn't always when I was a kid. Not always a good idea. If I saw a kid riding no hands now I'd probably advise them of that. If I was a kid, I'd probably ignore the old fart giving me advice on riding no hands. What the hell would he know. Doesn't even wear a helmet...

Use bars as well myself, cycling though becomes unadvisable after a while mind  4

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jacknorell | 9 years ago
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If commuting, put it on the helmet as your awareness of view of other traffic is what you need to capture together with events.

Otherwise, yeah, put it wherever.

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rhodrigo27 | 9 years ago
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I Ride with a helmet mounted go pro, first day it felt heavy and cumbersome, now it just feels normal, viewing angle is great, sees what I see, found it better for commuting to have it on the helmet rather than on the bars. what ever suits your needs / wants really!

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bashthebox | 9 years ago
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I bar-mounted my GoPro and found the road buzz gave it far too much sensor wobble when going at speed. This was the original Hero HD, and they've improved the cameras so much now, but I imagine it'll still be a slight issue. I've vaguely thought about getting one of the out front Garmin/GoPro mounts. Still only got the old GoPro though, never getting used.

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Ants | 9 years ago
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I tried helmet mounting and it was also too heavy and footage is really hard to watch back without feeling ill. K Edge bar mount worked best for me. A small light helmet cam may be preferable for coverage as it would record more of what you were seeing and may be helpful in a accident situation as it may show vehicles behind as well as in front, if this is what you want it for. Perhaps we all need a 360 degree google-cam to be really sure of catching the moment.

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Wookie | 9 years ago
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I tried a light on my cycle helmet and didn’t like it. I have mounted the one camera as a rear facing and intend to get another to mount on the front of the bike. Probably on one of those out front mounts that take a Garmin on top and a Camera can be fitted underneath.

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OldRidgeback | 9 years ago
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Putting the camera on the helmet will give you good footage. But think what the helmet is supposed to do, and bear in mind what happened to Michael Schumacher.

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quinophex | 9 years ago
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I tried putting a cam on my helmet but it was too much weight on one side and gave me neck ache so now it lives on the bars.

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bdsl | 9 years ago
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For watchable footage I think the head tube is the most stable place to mount a camera. Lots of people do handlebars though which can also work well.

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tomisitt | 9 years ago
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Depends what you want the footage for. Helmet mount for "catching" other road users being naughty, bike mount for stable, watchable footage of a ride.

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Ric_Stern_RST | 9 years ago
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helmet, then the camera can track what you can see (e.g., people on the phone, how close the car/lorry is, etc).

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glynr36 | 9 years ago
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Bike.
Helmet mounted moves around way too much.

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