mlt34 said:
Ykick said:
these past couple years I always do a ride cam.
at the risk of getting fairly off topic, what is your setup for a ride cam? Automatic recording or a GoPro you have to turn on and off each time?
I've been wanting to setup an automatic ride cam like all those russian dash cams but haven't found a good solution for an ebike that is no-fuss enough. The problem with GoPros and the like is that you still have to take the time to turn it on and off and erase the card when it gets full and such. I'd really love an automatic setup that just runs off a DC-DC converter on my bike.
Nothing as elegant as you desire. My setup is an old Tachyon low-res action cam that I repowered with a small RC Lipo - it originally used AA Alkaline. Waterproof and uses SD memory cards. I just recharge it when charging the bike. My only complaint is that it's not HD. Hard to capture license plates in less than ideal conditions.
The best part is if/when I have an angry run-in with NYC drivers/peds, point to the cam and say "smile" - their behavior always changes drastically. Geez, I wonder why? Plus, it's just cool to have video when weird shit happens like presidential motorcades or running across something strange and/or unusual.
I think there's an untapped market for front & rear Hi-def cam loop video recorders loop-recording whenever a bike's on the road. Not just for bicycles/eBikes but motos too. It would be much simpler and better to have an automatic central DVR and small wide angle cams.
Years ago one of our UK brothers showed a sweet system similar to that description. Dunno whatever happened to him but I'll look in my post history and see what I can find? He posted some vids that were perfect for this application.
As to this sad "dooring" incident - I can assure everyone that you can be in between gridlocked fast-slow lanes and some idiot will have the bright idea to swing a vehicle door open. Perfect example years before I started recording - traffic pretty much stopped along 6-lanes (2 each direction plus bus lane) 57th St. NYC.
Rolling between traffic fast and right lanes when some woman pax realized her coat belt was caught in car door. She swung the door open at just the "wrong" time - but luckily years of experience lane-sharing in CA, MSF and general riding paranoia I was travelling at speed in which I could react and stopped before a major collision.
It's similar to riding motos in Elk country at night - you must SLOW DOWN and keep a keen eye out for those critters as they will ruin your life if you're riding too fast without extreme situational awareness.