Is it practical to video record rides?

[toaster]

I'm interested in exploring the idea of always having a helmet or handlebar mounted video camera rolling on all my rides primarily to record anything that may happen good or bad.

I would think something capable of 4 or 5 hours recording time or on a loop. There are a couple cameras I've seen used, GoPro and Drift Innovations and probably more.

Basically, record every time you ride. Download the fun parts or not and then ride again. If something happens then there is a record. What set-up might be the most convenient, unobtrusive?

Would helmet mount become a pain or would handlebar mount too limited a view?

[AngryScientist]

i've thought about this, but there is just no way i'd have the time or interest to sort through the 90% of footage that i really dont care about. it would be cool for rides i really wanted to remember, but just too mundane for everyday riding. even taking the time to dump footage i wouldnt want seems like a waste of time to me.

[Kirk Pacenti]

This won't answer your questions, but...

For MTB rides it can be a lot of fun. It has become standard practice among Pro DH riders on practice runs. The idea being they can review the footage, better visualize the course and turn in faster times on race day.

On road bikes it could be pretty boring... though I have thought it might be interesting if you could somehow gather the data from your HR monitor / Power Meter / Map My Ride devices and sync it with the video. Lots of work, but could be fun for post race review.



Cheers,

KP

[Nooch]

For MTB rides it can be a lot of fun. It has become standard practice among Pro DH riders on practice runs. The idea being they can review the footage, better visualize the course and turn in faster times on race day.

On road bikes it could be pretty boring... though I have thought it might be interesting if you could somehow gather the data from your HR monitor / Power Meter / Map My Ride devices and sync it with the video. Lots of work, but could be fun for post race review.

Cheers,

KP

There's software for this, I think it's called dashware, and it syncs up with your ant+ device

[Kirk Pacenti]

There's software for this, I think it's called dashware, and it syncs up with your ant+ device

I figured there probably was by now... Thanks, will check it out.

[Nooch]

I figured there probably was by now... Thanks, will check it out.

Yep, found it now that I'm back from lunch. Dashware, http://www.dashware.net/

[maxn]

there's also bike telemetry.com

I haven't tried it because I don't have a power meter and I am afraid that it might be too much of a time sink.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJpj1ZAoxKI

pretty cool, though

As far as recording every ride for the whole ride, I think actually sifting through it all would be a pain. Depending on ride length and res, you could probably count on 3-20 GB or so per ride. Multiply that out by the number of rides and you're talking about a big, but not unreasonable number in terms of disk space.

[Merlmabase]

While I've seen some exciting handlebar-mount videos, I think it's usually a losing proposition. In a peloton, you end up with a lot of ass footage. And since you generally keep your head steady even on a bumpy surface, you're less likely to end up with a Blair Witch hommage if road conditions are less than ideal.

Most importantly, your field isn't locked in to what's going on directly in front of you. You record what you're looking at, which is usually what's most interesting.

[JMerring]

if you're interested in seeing some actual work product, there's a local ride here in atlanta, "the airport ride," which has a facebook page on which they post videos from most rides. you may even be able to find some info on the gear that's used.

[maxn]

I've used my go pro extensive on both handlebar and helmet mounts and IMO the bar is way better. Smoothness isn't an issue on even very bumpy roads since the stabilization is so good. The helmet mount also ended up giving me neck pain after a while. If there's something really worth shooting, you can always stop and aim your bars up/down/left/right at what you want to record. Final point: go pro mounted anywhere ain't pretty but looks particularly ridiculous on your helmet. While certainly not discreet on the bars, I no longer have people constant staring at my head.

[1centaur]

Is there easy video editing software out there for the output format of these cameras without a serious learning curve and yet good functionality, including adding in music?

[Peter B]

The Bad Vision video cams have worked well for a pal of mine.

With hi-def cam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=143MqQlB1A8

With lo-def cam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz5-KclKQW4

[toaster]

My guess is the technology isn't there yet because to be able to have a small unobtrusive camera mounted on bars or helmet and record rides in case you need evidence of a road rage incident (for example) and then either record over or run a loop or simply delete the file before each ride sounds not doable based on some of the replies here.

[tiretrax]

I'd go with a bar mounted camera. I think there are several that are smaller than go pro, but i don't remember their names. I video'd the Copper Triangle and the rest of my trip to Colorado in 2010. It's pretty cool. I turned the camera off during climbs and boring bits, but it's a lot of fun to watch the descents. I used a Canon Elph, so I was also able to take stills. The limitation on disk space and battery life was a drawback.

If you're looking to preserve evidence in the event of a crash, you'll need a camera aimed backwards, too, and one on each side. I've seen lots of folks get rear ended, and I was nearly T-Boned on Tuesday. A forward facing camera would not get the license plate or capture the action.

I would think that good editing software would let you sift through the video at a high rate of speed so you could get to the parts you want to keep. You'd probably have an idea of what you wanted and at what time it occured, making it easy to find.

[KF9YR]

I have the dashware/gopro/garmin combination.

I like using the camera mounted on my bars but I haven't honestly used it very much.

I think dashpro is very good for the price, syncing the garmin file is a little tricky but it's pretty neat when done. I need to take the camera on a mtb ride as there is normally more going on than my road training rides.

This thread made mw think about it and I will need to take the camera out more often now...