This is part of a Guide to Family Biking. You can learn more about: 

• Getting Started Family Biking
• Kid-Carrying Options
• Family Bikes:
  • Filming Your Ride
• Transporting Big Bikes
• Resources

Filming Your Ride

The easiest was to film riding a bike is to grab an Action Cam and give it a try. The GoPro is one of the most well-known options, but you can find inexpensive cameras which work pretty well. 

It’s good to think about what you want to use your camera for. It’s nice to record rides and share what you see, but many people want a camera so they have a record of bad situations and dangerous driving. You’ll want a camera and mount that accomplishes what you want to get out of it. 

A solid handlebar-mounted camera is a great place to start. This gives you a good view of most of what’s important while riding. This includes everything from beautiful scenery to troublesome trucks. 

But what about capturing events that aren’t right in front? A helmet-mounted camera can film right where you’re looking, but can also be heavy and unwieldy. 

Front and back cameras are another option, and this can be done by just mounting two cameras and rolling. Some people just want a rear-facing camera, to have their back when they aren’t looking. One simple option for this is bike lights that double as a camera. Cycliq is well-known in this area, but there are now several options. A useful feature is looping recording, which records over the oldest files, so you won’t miss capturing something important because your memory card is full. Cameras such as the Cycliq have a “save” button and incident protection which automatically saves a recording if the camera is on its side for a set length of time. 

Finally, a 360-degree camera will capture all angles. This can be great for capturing a ride, and especially showing both you and what you’re seeing. It does have an extra-wide view, however, so it’s not as good at capturing detail. Readable license plates, for example, must pretty close to be made out. Finding a good location to mount a 360 camera is also a bit tricky, but the results can be really great. Finding a location to mount a camera so you can film your ride and your child can be rewarding and entertaining (what are they doing during the ride, anyway…)

This is just a start. What suggestions or questions or do you have about filming your ride?