Greatest motion cameras for cyclists 2024: Report your trip for all to see

One of the best motion cameras for cyclists help you movie your trip, whether or not that is since you fancy producing video for social media or simply desire a report in case one thing goes awry.

However selecting the very best motion digital camera for cyclists is difficult, as there are such a lot of selections, codecs and features accessible. You need one thing which you could trip with simply, both hooked up to your bike or your self and that provides sufficient runtime for an prolonged cycle trip. Picture stabilisation is essential too. Some cameras double up and performance in addition to the very best bike lights.

When you get house, you could get pleasure from spending hours within the enhancing room, getting the proper lower, or you could simply need to obtain your footage and do the minimal to maintain a report. 

Some motion cameras include intensive enhancing software program, others include none and some help you get issues completed shortly and simply.

Hold studying for our decide of the very best motion cameras for cyclists, and beneath that, you will discover a purchaser’s information with a number of the key issues when choosing an motion digital camera in your wants.

Fast listing

Greatest motion cameras for biking

Greatest motion digital camera for biking

The tiny Insta360 Go 3 weights simply 35.5g and is a good, low-profile possibility for cyclists. It makes use of a magnetic mount to connect to your clothes, however you possibly can hyperlink it as much as the Motion Pod to show it right into a extra customary motion digital camera format, full with a touchscreen that folds upwards for a selfie view. 

The digital camera itself sits in a recess within the entrance of the Motion Pod and is detachable. The two.7K30fps picture high quality is not pretty much as good because the Insta360 X3 (see beneath), however the Insta360 Go 3 makes up for that with its tiny dimension and flexibility. You may as well buy the Go 3S, which can shoot at 4K30fps.

With out the Motion Pod, runtime is simply 45 minutes, though that extends to 170 minutes when the pod is used.

Insta360 additionally makes enhancing very easy, with an internet app and a telephone app. The latter is intuitive to make use of to edit and export clips, though there is a restricted alternative of in-app music. 

We did really feel that the Insta360 Go 3 is extra of a secondary digital camera although, for which use it is costly. 

There are extra particulars in our assessment of the Insta360 Go 3.

Greatest for video high quality

The Ace Professional is Insta360’s present high digital camera and has all of the bells and whistles a budding filmmaker or skilled may ask for. In comparison with Insta360’s 360 cameras, modular design or with tiny kind components the Ace Professional is way extra standard. There are nonetheless loads of novel design options, together with larger high quality and class-leading picture stabilisation.

The Insta360 Ace Professional could not reinvent the wheel, but it surely takes every little thing you like about motion cameras and elevates the expertise. Sure, it does 8K recording, but it surely most likely will likely be overkill for many. Whereas different cameras provide app enhancing and accent compatibility, the Ace Professional stands out by seamlessly bundling all of the important instruments a content material creator wants into one user-friendly package deal. It’s not flawless—some minor tweaks are nonetheless wanted—however what it delivers is undeniably spectacular. Seize your self with crystal-clear audio, experiment with inventive angles, and shoot beautiful cinematic scenes when inspiration strikes. Then, effortlessly rework your footage into a cultured story proper in your telephone, able to share in your favorite platform.

The Insta360 is not in need of add-ons, together with exterior mics, chilly shoe and GPS Distant controls. It additionally comes with a plethora of mounting choices, though the digital camera makes use of a magnetic adapter slightly than a finger-style motion digital camera mount or threaded digital camera tripod mount. You possibly can select from all kinds of mounts, it is only a two-stage course of slightly than on to the digital camera when mounting it to your handlebar or helmet, strap it to your chest, or holding it through a grip.

It is a dear possibility, which is why we suggest this extra for the professionals who’re paying for the additional particular high quality. If do not want the high-end options however nonetheless need most of Insta360’s nice ecosystem, inventive instruments and nice high quality you could be higher served by the usual Ace.

Take a look at our full assessment of the Insta360 Ace Professional for extra particulars.

Greatest for compact 4K

GoPro has packed its tech right into a smaller package deal with the Hero. It is half the burden of the Hero13 Black however can nonetheless shoot 4K video at 30fps. It is also made it simpler to function, a plus when using. 

The lens is protected by a replaceable, water repellent cowl. The built-in mounting fingers make it straightforward to hook up beneath an out-front mount as nicely. The Hero has a single rear touchscreen and wi-fi connectivity to an non-obligatory distant in addition to voice management. 

The Hero routinely uploads footage to the cloud whereas charging and GoPro is about to launch automated enhancing to ship a highlights video to your telephone. 

There are some compromises although, principally a non-swappable battery that GoPro says will shoot for as much as 92 minutes. The Hero does not assist TimeWarp video and different fancy shoot modes and you may’t connect a large angle lens. There’s additionally no in-built picture stabilisation, with this sorted out post-shoot within the enhancing software program. 

Greatest for 360 footage

If you happen to’ve gawped on the exploits of Safa Brian, they’re shot with the Insta360 X4. Whereas the older Insta360 X3 stopped at 5.7K/30fps, the newer X4 ups that to an astonishing 8K.

We rated the Insta360 X4 for its ease of use each when capturing whereas using and post-ride enhancing. It shoots 360 diploma video, which you’ll then body in enhancing to chop your self out or in, relying on how good you look. 

The enhancing suite is a giant energy of Insta360’s choices, permitting you to attach wirelessly and shortly body and lower your footage each on a pc and a telephone.  You continue to produce 4K video post-edit. 

So too is the flexibility to stuff it in a jersey pocket, pull it out and, with the 360 diploma protection, simply shoot pointing it anyplace then body later. Picture stabilisation and horizon lock are nice too.

There’s additionally slo-mo accessible at a most 3K/100fps and the claimed runtime is as much as 81 minutes.

Choices embody a motorcycle bundle with an out-front pc mount, a lens guard and an invisible selfie stick. It’s a dear possibility although, with the X3 providing nearly as a lot for lots much less outlay.

For extra particulars, take a look at our assessment of the Insta360 X4

Greatest for primary trip recording

If you wish to report your mate being taken out by a kangaroo, the Fly12 will do it for you in the event that they’re in entrance. It gives comparable performance to the Fly6 and incorporates a lightweight as nicely, though it is not bought all of the options of the very best motion cameras like horizon lock, wi-fi knowledge switch or enhancing – your footage is in your Mini SD card. 

However the Cycliq Fly12 does provide picture stabilisation and a future time of seven hours, which is beneficial for cyclists. It may be mounted both above or beneath the bars and you may overlay the footage with Strava knowledge. All of the configuration of the sunshine and digital camera is finished through the app, though there is no potential to regulate it out of your biking pc.

The sunshine is now 400 lumens, down from 600 lumens, which can be somewhat low for night time using however might be sufficient as a daytime working gentle. Then again, there’s now the next digital camera decision. At 148g, the Fly12 is on the heavy facet too.

You possibly can learn our full Cycliq Fly 12 Sport assessment for extra particulars.

Greatest for rearward trip recording

Cycliq’s Fly6 is not fairly an motion digital camera within the conventional sense, however when many cyclists look to motion cameras, it is not the 4K footage, dwell streaming functionality and deep-sea diving compatibility of the digital camera they’re on the lookout for. A lot of the time, the very best motion cameras for cyclists provide a easy perform of with the ability to report the trip, within the occasion of an incident or accident. Now in its third technology, that is precisely what Cycliq’s Fly6 gives. 

Built-in right into a 50-lumen rear gentle, the digital camera gives extremely stabilised 1080p / 720p footage at as much as 120fps, capturing at a 135-degree angle. The footage is saved on a detachable SD card (suitable with as much as 32GB), which when it fills up, will routinely wipe the oldest footage to offer a steady recording of the newest footage. 

Nevertheless, the Fly6 Gen 3 comes with what the model calls ‘Black Field’ expertise — automated incident detection that auto-saves footage when a crash is detected. This implies it can cleverly protect the footage from the incident and never overwrite it, so you possibly can relaxation assured it can nonetheless be there while you return house.

Greatest for crash detection

If you happen to’re already a Garmin person, then this addition to its ecosystem might be a welcome sight. Not solely is the Garmin Varia Radar a great rear bike gentle in itself, however the rearview radar informs you through your bike pc or many smartwatch fashions of automobiles approaching from behind and might flash to alert them to your presence.

You may as well management it remotely out of your head unit (dependent upon which mannequin you are utilizing), and use the identical apps you are already aware of to obtain your footage. 

Equally to the Cycliq Fly6 listed above, Garmin’s Varia Radar RCT715 additionally gives automated incident detection, which isolates the essential footage from the remainder and preserves it whereas the recording continues to loop and overwrite older footage. In comparison with the Fly6, the Varia Radar is extra reasonably priced and comes with a number of gadget and app connectivity potential. For a lot of, this will likely seem to be a no brainer.

Nevertheless, it is essential to notice that it does have some downsides. It lacks 4K video, to maintain the battery life maximised, and the important thing situation our reviewer found was that in low-light circumstances, the dearth of picture stabilisation meant that it was unimaginable to decipher automobile quantity plates, which might show to be unhelpful must you be concerned in an incident after sunset. 

Nonetheless, it is a worthwhile funding that our reviewer had a number of reward for in our Garmin Varia Radar RCT715 assessment.

Greatest for battery life

DJI dietary supplements its drones with a spread of motion cameras. Whereas the Osmo Pocket vary incorporates a gimbal, the Osmo Motion 5 has a extra typical GoPro fashion, making it a greater possibility for mounting to your bike or your self for photographs when using.

DJI claims superior efficiency for the massive format sensor within the Motion 5, in addition to longer battery life than GoPro, which supplies the choice to report an entire trip, not simply highlights. Different options embody topic monitoring and HorizonSteady and RockSteady 3 picture stabilisation. There’s additionally SuperNight for low gentle shoots.

As is common with most motion cameras, you possibly can accessorise to your coronary heart’s content material, with an extended life battery, a selfie stick, a distant and a lens protector engaging choices. The street biking combo package deal provides a handlebar mount and a seat rail mount to the digital camera. 

How to decide on the very best motion digital camera for biking

Fashionable motion cameras could be simply mounted to nearly something, with an array of mounts included or accessible as extras which frequently embody cycling-specific choices. 

They’re going to report your adventures in 4K video or higher with built-in stabilisation, which could be shared straight to social media. Most can even shoot at excessive body charges for slo-mo photographs or you possibly can select decrease decision for longer runtimes and smaller file sizes.

350 diploma cameras are additionally accessible. They may give you panoramic photographs, however until you mount them in your helmet, a big proportion of the picture will likely be you. Enhancing software program means that you can slim down the sphere of view although.

A very powerful consideration when shopping for a brand new motion digital camera is what you propose on utilizing it for. Whereas most cameras can report high-quality video and take photographs, it is very important think about what different options are a precedence. 

A wide selection of video, photograph, time-lapse and connectivity choices in addition to stabilisation, waterproofing and construct high quality make this resolution extra sophisticated.

What video high quality do I want?

Motion cameras have been able to capturing in full HD for some time now and nearly all are actually capable of report 4k video or higher. If you wish to report slow-motion motion search for cameras with excessive frames per second (FPS) settings; 240fps will permit footage to be slowed down by 8x and even price range cameras will permit at the least 2x.

With the rise in reputation of vlogging and producing video edits, high-end cameras provide superior options to attain the best high quality. Greater high quality optics, stabilisation and audio make an enormous distinction to a video’s high quality in addition to the flexibility to report in superior log format. Log codecs equivalent to GoPro’s Protune or DJI’s D-LOG settings seize extra knowledge and permit larger flexibility when enhancing in post-production.

On the minus facet, 4k video takes up a number of space for storing, so you will want a big reminiscence card, probably with a back-up. Runtimes could also be brief as a result of battery too, so you could want a spare. Full HD nonetheless gives sufficient decision for a lot of functions and will enhance considerably your capturing time.

Do I want picture stabilisation?

There have been a number of massive advances in stabilisation not too long ago as digital camera producers attempt to easy footage to make content material shot in bumpy environments, together with when biking, extra watchable. 

Optical stabilisation gives the very best outcomes, nonetheless digital stabilisation equivalent to GoPro’s HyperSmooth could be very able to eradicating the digital camera shake successfully. Even price range cameras are beginning to embody picture stabilisation though don’t count on the identical outcomes because the top-of-the-range fashions.

Ought to I get a touchscreen digital camera?

A touchscreen is the most well-liked methodology of management and permits simpler shot framing, menu navigation and video replay. Nevertheless, touchscreens are ineffective in environments which might be very moist or require gloves. 

If you happen to trip in all climate it is price contemplating whether or not essential capturing modes are nonetheless accessible by means of buttons. You might have the choice of a distant.

Ought to my digital camera connect with an app?

Most digital camera producers provide a cell phone app that enables distant digital camera management, video playback and uploads to social media. Some apps have enhancing options to mix clips and add music earlier than importing, permitting fast edits to be shot, edited and uploaded without having a pc.

The place ought to I mount my digital camera on my street bike?

This all is dependent upon what you are attempting to attain, however usually, the commonest locations to mount an motion digital camera are on the handlebars or beneath the saddle. 

Relying on how a lot actual property you will have up entrance, you could need to go for an upside-down mounting, which does not normally have an effect on the footage. 

Many out-front biking pc mounts could be fitted with a GoPro mount on their underside, which most motion cameras from different manufacturers may use.

Filming on the entrance of your bike means that you can seize the open street, whereas filming on the again will help you seize footage of your mates and fellow riders, in addition to approaching passing drivers.

Helmet mounting provides the next vantage level and also needs to preserve the lens cleaner for those who’re using in soiled circumstances or taking to gravel trails. A chest mount is well-liked for mountain bikers and may work for gravel, however the place adopted by street riders means that you could be simply get some nice footage of your stem.

Many motion digital camera manufacturers promote a selfie stick to suit their cameras. It is an ideal possibility if you would like a drone-style view with out truly shopping for a drone and a few are ‘invisible’ so they do not present up within the footage. 

If you happen to mount it to your bike, good picture stabilisation will likely be important, whereas for those who maintain it, you are going to be restricted to brief, simpler runs which you’ll trip one-handed.