Bicycle taillight with built in video camera

[Admin]

Hey guys! With all of the road trips I've been taking recently the thought of buying a dash cam for my car has come up. These are popular in Russia and some European countries as they provide excellent evidence in the event of a car accident. Police use dash cameras in their squad cars for evidence as well and to hold them accountable for doing their jobs correctly.

Today I saw the Fly6 bicycle camera that's built right into an LED taillight. The founder created it after being harassed on his bike (someone shot him with a slingshot when passing by in a car) and indeed, I've been pelted with water balloons and had trash thrown at me when riding my bike before. Unfortunately, cyclists can also get rear ended at stop lights when they're in the right hand turn lane (seen this happen several times) and occasionally the driver will flee the scene vs. helping the rider. That's where the Fly6 comes in! It records the incident in HD video, gathering important details like license plate info, to be accessed later.



The project has already met its goals but will be up on Kickstarter through March 9th, 2014. These are some of the specs that I appreciated about the unit when watching the video:

• Price: ~$135 per unit
• Memory: 8 gig class 10 microSD card (I imagine you could upgrade it?)
• Performance: 700p HD video + audio, loops automatically
• Light: LED with chase pattern and flashing mode
• Durability: waterproof with nanotechnology coating of electronics
• Charging: USB charger with 5 hours of runtime
• Dimensions: 100mm in length and 105g in weight

Considering the distances and time on road that some of you are talking about, this kind of accessory could add protection while providing recourse if anything should happen. Here's the Kickstarter video and they have a bunch of back at the site

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[James]

Hey Court,

That looks like it might attach to the back of a backpack! Just like what I've been searching for plus I get some digital proof of getting egged too! Ha

 

[FitzChivalry]

How come nobody told me about being egged, slingshotted, & pelted with trash BEFORE I bought my bike?? (Not that these have happened so far.)

 

[James]

Ha! We needed to increase the bike army before we told you the truth!

 

[Admin]

Ha! Well Fitz... bad things can happen in cars too. Just last month I was riding with a friend who rear-ended another car on the highway going 75mph. Two years ago my girlfriend and I were smashed from behind by a semi truck on our way to Monterrey for a weekend getaway. On my 13th birthday we hit a drunk driver making an illegal left hand turn at 1pm going about 45mph. When I was 7 my Mom got distracted and rolled our station wagon. When I was 4 my Mom slid off the road and crashed through a barbwire fence and into a ditch. Not to mention the road rage I've encountered

It's true though, no eggs, slingshots or trash (maybe trash once or twice coming out the window of another car). Pick your poison friend!

 

[Vern]

Holy cow. That's a lot of history. It's amazing that you still get in cars Court.

 

[James]

And no wonder why he's always looking for the "plush" ride!! And for the record I have taken a barrage of eggs to the back on a commute. Damn rednecks

 

[FitzChivalry]

I did have someone yell something indistinguishable on my first ride home from work. Hopefully that's the extent of what I'll experience. I rode to/from work for the full summer of 2011, and had only a couple of experiences, and none of them involving any projectiles, so let's hope I continue to be as lucky.

I had a 25 mph motorcycle accident that left me with dead nerves and needing a skin graft on my right shin, and was hit by an ugly naked drunk lady in the afternoon of New Year's Eve in 2010 while I was in my car. So, yes, there are definitely risks no matter when or how we get on the road. I wouldn't do my ride without my helmet mirror, reflective vest, and, at night, my 700 lumen bike light. I'll also be moving my MonkeyLectric light to my new bike's spokes this weekend.

 

[Gilbert]

Funny. Cause I can't remember in all my life being harassed or being thrown objects at me while riding my bikes. But actually once in a GREAT while, someone may yell loudly at me, just to be funny. Actually it was at least once that I remember. When I was 11 (1981), I was riding my 20" banana seat bike on the sidewalk, while I was turning at the corner, I encountered some guys on bike going the opposite direction of me, then suddenly pushed me on my side and made me fall. I did not get hurt or anything, but it cause quite a stir in my mind. Feeling puzzled for why they did that?? Funny thing, those guys were actually my neighbor HA!

Those cameras are really good idea! I want one now!

 

[Admin]

Tough love from the neighbors... Maybe they were jealous of your awesome banana seat bike. That sounds pretty cool actually, I remember those bikes and then the low rider bikes that were popular for a while. Thanks for sharing your story Gilbert, glad you were alright

 

[Aushiker]

For what it is worth I have played with a Fly6 Bicycle Rear HD Camera and Tail Light but on my recumbent bike. I wrote up my review on it here but for me as a GoPro Hero3/Contour HD1080P user it really didn't tick the boxes. That said as I am looking to get a BH Emotion Race or Carbon I will rethink my use of it to avoid having to swap between bikes all the time.



Regards
Andrew

 

[Brambor]

you could think just attaching it to a small backpack, thus making it portable. I wonder if the camera shake were acceptable...?