14 Best Cycling Camera For Helmet or Handlebar
Are you searching for a camera to mount on your bike helmet or handlebar to capture the beautiful scenes from your mountain biking? Are you looking for a camera that can capture the fun and exciting snippets from your routine rides? You have to consider several things when getting the best cycling camera, and the choices are endless.
Bluetooth helmet-mounted cameras are different from regular cameras because they are designed for the specific function of capturing your ride experience without you having to handle the camera. These are designed to stay put on your head, so you have nothing to worry about. If you think your phone camera would do the job, you are gravely mistaken. If you’re cycling track is next to a road, a crossing, or along a mountainous climb, you could seriously injure yourself when filming.
Besides, cycling cameras offer some pretty cool features that make the videos far more exciting than an average phone camera. From the top of your head, you’ll get Instagram-worthy perspective shots that you can’t get by simply tapping your phone on your helmet (at least not without risking your phone). From a 360 degrees view to an in-built GPS, cycling cameras offer many exciting features.
Top Cameras for Cycling
Navigating through all the different options you have can be difficult, so we compiled a list of the best cycling cameras for you to choose from. We’ve selected a range of cameras that are amazing in their own right. Rest assured, if you went with any of the cameras on our list, you’d be satisfied with the money you spent.
DJI Osmo-Action Camera – Best Bicycle Camera
If you don’t have the most significant budget or if this is your first time investing in a bicycle camera and you don’t want to spend too much on high-end cameras, DJI Osmo-Action is the way to go. While DJI Osmo-Action stands in the middle of the pack in the price range, it offers some of the best value for money deals.
For a quick summary, DJI Osmo-Action is packed with a 20 megapixels camera, a 4K/30 fps resolution, and comes with both Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. If you’re worried that it’ll start raining cats and dogs when you’re biking and your new camera will be ruined, don’t. The DJI Osmo-Action is waterproof for depths of up to 10 meters.
Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 – The Best Bike Camera
The Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 is one of the best products to come out of Garmin’s recent venture into the world of action products. The Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 Stands out because of the hi-tech features that will impress your fellow bikers in an instant. Among our favorites was the voice command feature, which makes functioning your Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 much more convenient. You also get a built-in GPS.
You can analyze your runs by connecting your device to other Garmin devices. You’ll get information about your heart rate, speed, and elevation to keep track of your biking progress. However, what Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 leads the market in is the bike camera display. This 1.75-inch screen is unmatched in quality.
GoPro Hero-10- Top Bicycle Helmet Camera
This helmet camera is a winner among its peers. If you only want a helmet cam for safety, the GoPro Hero 10 could be a little more than you need. However, if you want a camera that will record super-smooth high-quality video on a helmet mount, it can’t be better. Also, it may have a similar appearance to the GoPro Hero 9, but it is a substantial upgrade. Plus, its new G2 processor improves the responsiveness of the interface and doubles frame rates. Moreover, it powers the greatest image stabilization tools available in action cameras.
Additionally, the ability to capture 5.3K 60p utilizing GoPro’s new HyperSmooth 4.0 video stabilization is a standout feature. It can also snap photographs at 23 megapixels and boasts the incredible low-light performance of any GoPro yet. If the colors in your pictures look bleak, you can order professional photo color correction to tweak them.
GoPro Hero-7 Camera – The best GoPro for Cycling
The GoPro Hero-7 will cost you something in the same price range as the DJI Osmo-Action camera, but it has unique features that set the two apart. While its camera has only 12 megapixels quality, I personally like GoPro Hero-7 because of the fantastic high-quality video stabilization. You can capture smooth footage of your fastest biking without any disruptions. Best of all, the GoPro Hero-7 has impeccable picture quality, recording content at ultra HD up to 4K videos at 60-fps.
But if you want to truly impress your friends and get stunning clips from your cycling ventures, try the GoPro Hero-7 Slow motion feature. With 1080p high definition at 240 fps, you’ll capture some breathtaking videos.
Sony FDRX3000 Camera – Ideal Cam for Cycling in the Rain
Whether you’re cycling in Alabama, the US, or Meghalaya, India, you’ll probably have to face unexpected heavy rainfall. If you’re looking for a durable camera to get you through a wet situation, we highly recommend getting the Sony FDRX3000 camera.
The older model of Sony FDRX3000 was a pretty solid camera for all purposes but lacked a little in the video quality department. The 2020 Sony FDRX3000, however, is a top contender on our list of the best cycling cameras. This camera can sustain up to an astonishing 60-meters depth of water, one of the best on the market. Additionally, it is equipped with pretty impressive features like the ZEISS Tessar lens. This lens lets you choose from 3 different views -narrow, medium, and wide- depending on the vibe you’re going for.
Best Cycling Safety Cam
Getting your bike stolen is not as unusual as you think. You might feel safe just because you invested in a chain lock, but you’d be surprised to know how creative and efficient bike thieves have become with their process. Whether it’s sawing through your lock or picking at it with a pin, there’s always a hack. Your bike camera can be a great way to scare away onlookers with bad intentions, but not all cameras serve the security function well.
Fly12 CYCLIQ Action Camera – Perfect for Cycling Safety Camera
The Fly12 CYCLIQ is an excellent pick for bicyclers who go out for longer durations and want to cover many miles. If you’re using the camera to make sure you can catch any accident on tape and use the footage later, then the Fly12 CYCLIQ action camera’s battery will amaze you.
This camera is excellent for long-duration uses. You can attach it to your bike once you’ve parked it somewhere, and if anyone tries to get their hands on your stuff, you’ll have proof of it.
Additionally, the Fly12 CYCLIQ has two features that make it an even better pick for safety purposes. Firstly, the camera comes with a built-in alarm system that will ring whenever someone touches your bike. This beeping sound will usually be more than enough to scare away any thief. Secondly, the camera comes with a long-range flashlight. This works in tandem with the alarm and starts flashing when it detects intrusion.
Olympus TG-Tracker Camera – The Best Cam to Track your Bike Rides
The Olympus TG-Tracker camera is another great pick for security and safety. If you have to park your bicycle in a strange parking lot, then you’ll find yourself constantly paranoid. The Olympus TG-Tracker camera can bring you that peace of mind. Once you’ve held this bulky monstrosity in your hands, you’d be sure that you’re bike is safe. This massive camera will cost you a little more than the average camera, but we can promise you that the features are worth it.
With a 30-meter waterproof depth and a 100kg crushproof built (tried and tested), this camera is durable in every sense of the word. It can also record up to 4K quality videos at 30 fps. While these features are great value for money, the catch comes in the battery life. However, you can easily make this camera last longer by using only a few features as needed.
Best 360 Cameras For Cycling
Garmin VIRB-360 Camera –The perfect 360 Bike Cam for Wet Weather
You might be wondering if mid-range cameras offer all those features. What do you get in the high-end cameras? The Garmin VIRB-360 is one such camera that will cost you around 600 dollars. But it’s a great supplement to your adventures experiences.
The Garmin VIRB-360 has it all: It comes with a hyper-stabilization capability that makes for smooth videos. It also records mind-blowing qualities, giving you up to a 5.7k resolution at 30 fps, but you can lower that to 4k if editing is not your thing. My favorite feature is the Hyper-frame director mode because it gives you a massive freehand in editing power. The stand-out feature, however, as the name suggests, is the complete 360-degree view. This compactly designed camera will capture your cycling ride in a sphere view, making it great for when you are cycling in nature.
GoPro MAX Action Camera – Best Live Streaming camera
The GoPro MAX is a solid camera for capturing videos in a 360 view. But the GoPro MAX features several other exciting qualities. The recording quality, for instance, is one of the leading ones in the market at a 6K/30 fps resolution that can also be brought down to a 3K/60 fps one, depending on your need.
The Max hyper smooth will eliminate any motion sickness that it captures at your fast speeds, while the Max Timewrap will allow you to shoot a motion time-lapse for those cool Insta posts. The GoPro MAX is also voice-activated and is waterproof for up to 40-meters water depths to make things better.
MADV Xiaomi Camera – Amazing 360 Ultra HD Cycling Camera
The 360-degree feature is fun to play around with, but if you’re seriously looking for jaw-dropping cinematic shots, MADV Xiaomi Camera is the way to go. This camera is a solid and reliable pick for anyone looking to spend extra money on a reliably amazing product.
The MADV Xiaomi Camera has several features that make it stand out among the high-end cameras that offer 360-degree views. First off, it has a long-lasting battery that won’t let you down when you encounter the perfect sunset on your bike ride down a mountain. The six-axis electronic image stabilization also makes for accurate recordings. We would especially recommend the MADV Xiaomi Camera for travel bloggers who want to capture the beauty of their adventures in a video.
Insta360 Go 2 Action Camera
The most difficult part of these action cameras is deciding what isn’t useful about them. Thus, this gadget comfortably leads the pack for the easiest to use, making it the best camera for a bike all-around.
The Insta360 Go 2 Action Camera is extremely compact, resembling wireless earphones in a charging case. Moreover, these high-quality bike cameras are approximately half this size. However, because the case also serves as a charger and a stand, it’s a good idea to keep it with you at all times.
There’s a bewildering assortment of resolutions and image quality options. Thus, all you have to do is play about with them until you find something you like; it’s that simple!
The mounting choices, of which three are included as standard, are another major plus. A magnetic pendant, a pivot stand, and a bike camera mount allow a lot of options for shooting angles. Albeit the magnetic pendant isn’t going to hold up to a lot of movement.
The editing software is easy to use, however without a 4k option, you may find it lacking in video quality compared to other alternatives on the market.
However, if you are looking for a waterproof case, you will be disappointed.
Insta360 One R
Where the Insta360 Go 2 Action Camera is a treat for novice photographers and filmmakers, the Insta360 One R and more professional users are similarly enthralled.
Thie camera’s modular architecture allows buyers to choose precisely what they need on board from a variety of options. These include lenses, storage cards, batteries, sensors, etc.
Furthermore, we put the Insta360 One R Expert Edition Ultimate Kit to the test. Hence, it’s a package that includes everything you might want from the best action camera for cycling. For example, it offers batteries, accessories, and even a selfie stick.
We particularly appreciate how you can set it up to record on a loop, making it useful as both a road safety device and an action camera.
Also, it’s definitely equivalent in functionality to a GoPro Hero 7, but with a lot more capabilities, making it a competitive choice for anybody commencing with their own equipment.
The opportunity to communicate with the camera via your mobile does, however, imply that when it comes to picking textures and the final edit, you’ll have more options.
Moreover, it’s a fantastic combination of capabilities in a single bike camera that might well be your best option.
Best Cheap Action Camera for Biking
AKASO V50 Camera – The ideal Budget Helmet Cam
The AKASO V50 Lite camera is the perfect camera for when you are on a budget. It has one of the most impressive value-for-money factors among all the cameras on our list. You might buy this camera on a budget, but none of your friends or family will be able to tell that from the results. The camera features an impressive number of high-end features. The Lite version is both voice-activated and has a 170-degree wide-angle view. This wide-angle also makes this camera great for security purposes to check if you were followed on your route. Best of all, you can record your cycling adventure at HD quality in 4K at 60 fps.
APEMAN A80 Camera – Best Lightweight Camera
APEMAN A80 is a great example of a cycling camera that offers all the basic features you will be looking for in a lightweight cycling camera. It has a dual 1050-mAh battery which will last you up to 1.5 hours of recording. The APEMAN A80 can record videos in 2.7k/60 fps resolution or 1080p/240 fps which is pretty amazing for the price. You can connect it with WiFi, making data transfer convenient and easy to use for people who aren’t very tech-savvy.
While the APEMAN A80 camera is equipped with a number of amazing features, there are some places where it is lacking. The two most notable downsides of buying an APEMAN A80 are the lack of a GPS service and the sub-par audio quality.
Crosstour CT7000 Camera – Best low price Camera for Cycling
The Crosstour CT7000 is one of the cheapest cycling cameras you can get your hands on that won’t scam you. This camera won’t give you the best results, but its 12 MP camera will record 1080p resolution videos, which are good enough. Additionally, the Crosstour CT7000 has a decent large LCD display as well as an image stabilization feature.
Criteria for Buying a Cam for Cycling
Knowing what you’ll be using the camera for is essential in determining what the best cycling camera is for you. Here are some features you should keep in mind:
Battery Life
The Battery life of your camera is one of the most essential factors to consider when investing in a camera. The features might seem irresistible at first glance, but what often ends up happening is that your camera runs out of battery too fast when you’re using all the features at once. You end up having to limit the use of the features on your camera. This is especially important for you to consider if you go on long rides.
Connectivity
Connectivity essentially means how well your camera pairs up with all your other devices. The connectivity factor rarely becomes a major issue, but we find that a camera that has several connectivity options is much easier to use and can pair up with any device.
You can determine the connectivity of a camera by checking if it has WiFi and Bluetooth connections that you can use to pair it up with your laptop. These connections help in transferring the hours of content that you may have recorded on your camera. Without wireless connections, you will be limited to using a cable, which limits when and where you can transfer stuff. Besides, good connectivity opens room for other exciting features like tracking your heartbeat, speed, and elevation.
Does a Cycling Cam need to be Waterproof?
This question really comes down to the route you cycle on and whether it rain’s a lot in your area. But with the new waterproof technologies, you can pay less for a lower waterproof depth. This can save you money in the future because you never know when it starts to rain or when you splash over a puddle. However, if you are a travel blogger looking to capture your adventures on camera, then we would recommend you get a camera with at least a 40-meter depth waterproof capacity.
Ease of Use
Not everyone is tech-savvy enough to make use of complicated features. If you don’t know your way around technology, then it’s important to make sure the camera you are buying is easy to use. This applies to the interface of the camera as well as how easy it is to do things like activate voice commands, transfer data, and vary the resolution at which you record your videos. You don’t want to end up paying extra for features you don’t end up using.
Field of View
Field of view refers to the degree to which your camera will record. While you can get a range of options in cameras these days, we believe anything above 170 degrees is good enough. If you’re looking to get fancier, you can invest in a camera with a 360-degree spherical view.
Image Stabilization
This is one of the most important factors to look out for in biking cameras. Image stabilization refers to how well the camera overcomes the motion sickness and blurriness that is associated with the recording while moving. Good quality stabilization features are especially important when it comes to hilly or rugged mountainous biking. You want to make sure the jitter in your videos isn’t too distracting.
Inbuilt GPS
This feature isn’t essential to cycling cameras, but it’s readily available. You won’t find many cameras that don’t already offer inbuilt GPS services. That said, it’s a pretty neat spec to help you navigate the best cycling routes.
Size & Weight
Size and weight vary a lot across different cameras and brands. This usually comes down to the features that the camera offers because the more the features, the more the hardware needed to be packed into the camera. You can find sleek and compact cameras that are lightweight and fashionable, and you can also get yourself bulky and heavy cameras that are usually high functioning.
Storage capacity
Storage capacity, like battery life, depends on how long and for what purpose you intend to use your camera. Also, like battery life, you want to make sure the storage capacity stated is scaled according to the quality of recording the camera is capable of. You don’t want to end up paying for higher video resolution and end up using lower qualities to match your camera’s storage.
Video & Photo Quality
Video & Photo quality also has a great range among cameras. You can find very high-resolution, 360-degree cameras like the GoPro MAX action camera and lower 2.7k resolution cameras like APEMAN A80. This again boils down to what you want to use your camera for. If you are a travel blogger looking to capture amazing visuals, better video and photo quality is worth your money. Furthermore, you can also look for a tool to do voice over in your videos, since you might not be able to do that while cycling.
Where to Mount a Bike Cam
From the dizzying heights of your helmet to the dash space of your handle, there are several clever places you can mount your camera onto. The most popular one is the helmet mount. This perspective allows you to record the visuals as you see them while riding. If you’ve seen any bike parkour videos, this angle makes for an exciting first-person perspective. However, if you find this position too uncomfortable or are paranoid that your camera will fall off, you can switch to the handlebar position. This makes it much easier to manage your camera settings.
Other creative places to set up your camera include the drop bar mount (good to record cars behind you), the seat mount (not the most comfortable), the mule mount (has to space for two cameras), and the chest mount (another cool first-person perspective shot).
Conclusions
Cycling cameras come in several different forms and are tailored to several different uses. If you’re a travel blogger looking for the best cycling camera to document your journey, then a high-resolution camera with a 360-degree field of view is most suitable for you. If you are looking to capture amazing visuals while mountain biking, a GoPro is the way to go. If you want to use a camera for safety purposes, then the Fly 12 CYCLIQ and Olympus TG-Tracker are great options to get.
What you are looking for in a camera and what features you want to spend your money on depends on what purpose you are getting a camera for.
