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Bike Dashcam Recommendations Please


Skids

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Hi all, looking for folk with bike dashcam experience for recommendations.

 

I want both front & rear cameras, unsure whether 4k UHD is worth the extra, loop recording and bike-powered.

 

So far I've looked at Innovv & Viofo MT1 which is higher spec than the Innov (170 deg fov vs 120 deg) but is Chinese in origin (Innovv may be, I don't know) and I'm uncomfortable with purchasing from China.

 

Any others worth considering? Any experiences good or bad?

 

Thanks.

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My cars all have a Viofo in them. They're pretty great. Wonky interface, but that seems true for all of them. 

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Why? Just interested. Are you being followed or want a way to corroborate if you are unfortunate enough to get clobbered?

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15 minutes ago, Presson said:

Why? Just interested. Are you being followed or want a way to corroborate if you are unfortunate enough to get clobbered?

 

I commute 100+ miles a day, usually on the bike.

 

Every day I have morons who forget they have mirrors or indicators, have no lane discipline, believe tailgating is perfectly safe etc etc etc so yes, a bit of corroboration wouldn't go amiss and we're also thinking of riding to northern Italy this summer.

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I hear you. Maybe I'm getting old but it does seem to me that the standard of driving in England has fallen through the floor. Or is it just that traffic density has increased. Sorry, not much help with your dashcam question.

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Ever since lockdown the appalling behaviour of car drivers has deteriorated further 

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Agree with you both.

 

They're huddled in their safe, soundproof cage, oblivious to everything except that which they may collide with in a couple of seconds and so react late, don't bother with indicators, pull out even if that involves you having to slow down a lot, utterly selfish and self-absorbed and don't give a damn about any other road user.

 

Rant over! 😆

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Here: https://www.youtube.com/@MegaDrivingSchool/videos

 

We'll see you in a year when you get through all of them and realize they're all current...and there's no shortage of material available. 

 

Aside from the bad driving, the common theme seems to be that we're a country of liars. Video is proof. 

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On 1/29/2024 at 12:42 PM, Thumbs said:

Ever since lockdown the appalling behaviour of car drivers has deteriorated further 

I think were I am it's always been that bad 😆

 

I think a dash-cam is a great idea.  You don't need one...until you do.

I'm going to pick one up too.

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Speaking of ranting, I recently moved to the Netherlands and I am amazed how aggressive some of the drivers are here.  I don't remember them being so bad when I've visited over the last 30 years.  (And I'm comparing them with UK drivers, who aren't exactly timid.)  Maybe it's an influence from the unusual number of American cars and trucks you see on the road here...

 

Where were we?  Dashcams, right.  I have a Blackvue front/rear set-up in my van (which I sometimes swap to our car), but that obviously can't be transferred to a bike.  

 

My bike requirements include being able to transfer the set-up to different bikes, like my homemade "tank brick" does for power distribution and bike info.  So something like the Viofo might be just the thing.  I'd need to be able to buy additional camera units to build into each bike, which is pricey, but not as pricey as duplicating the entire installation over and over again.  The issue, as usual, would be finding suitable waterproof connectors, but I'm used to solving that one...

 

20170114_202232y.thumb.jpg.0dc6602b3f20c09d3ce3fbcf204c2fa3.jpg

 

Ciao,

 

JZH

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You are not ranting.

Since covid, the number of -excuse my French- cunts on the road have risen significantly.

Change lanes w/o checking, jumping in front on a roundabout.

VW Polo's at high speed, only surpased by UA plated SUV's. Must be a cultural diversified way of thanking us for our hospitality I am not fully grasping. My bad... 😇

 

Latest trend? In town you ride careful in narrow streets with parked cars. Only some dipshyte on his derestricted e-Phatbicycle pushes past you..

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If you see a driver in America...you'll not likely see them driving well. They stop for almost nothing here in Charlotte. No red lights. No stop signs. No yielding in rotaries. It's pretty grim. 

 

One of countless examples from yesterday on my first ride of the year ride. A newbie would have just ben squished. What does meathead's tiny penis truck and huge trailer rig weigh. 10k-20k pounds? 

 

 

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Apologies to Skids who just wanted to research a good bike video system. This has turned into a cager rant. But if we're honest, 90% of us are cagers at least part of the time, right?

 

Anyway, early covid--2020-ish--the number of cars on the road here dropped maybe 75%. And the number of speeding tickets went up about 100%. All those guys in their muscle cars (and in Marin especially the Turbo Carreras, 7 series BMW's, Ferraris...) saw the open road and took out their frustration of 20 years of commuting on highway 101 at 10 mph, in the absence of, well, almost everyone else on the road except the CHP.

 

One the one hand, on my bike approaching a left turn I know well when a 70's-era 911 comes through the other direction, sideways and all over the double yellow, was rather fun to watch once I braked, swerved, and realized I would not die. But it sure was a lesson that a seemingly empty road isn't a safe road. 

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It's ok guys, rant away, maybe some young rider will read it and make them think a bit more when they're out on the road.

 

I commute >100 miles per day, both bike and car and the idiocy and total lack of understanding or awareness that I see daily is frankly frightening. Indicators are rarely used, cars & vans are happy to pull out into my lane irrespective of closure speed, they hog the outside or 2nd/3rd lane (we can only overtake on the outside/right over here) and they're supposed to keep into the most LH lane when possible etc etc.

 

I have decided to buy the Viofo MT1 and managed to get a 5% discount from the UK importer (I shan't spend the savings all at once! 😏) and fit to my Crossrunner for my commute. May consider another for the VFR1200 if this one works out well.

 

:beer:

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My days would not be complete if I didn't watch the daily 10 minute dose from these guys. Be aware...it'll make you want to stay home under your covers. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/@MegaDrivingSchool/videos

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I have the Blueskysea B5M, it's about $130 USD off Ali Express. Here's an example video: 

 

 

I'll never go without a dashcam, when I was a new rider on my SV650 I installed the cam and literally the next day someone didn't see me in their blind spot, merged into me, I locked up and went down. We didn't actually come into contact, just came super freaking close - the guy pulled over, then just left. From the camera I made out his plate and showed it to the police, who ultimately charged him and I got his insurance to pay for full repairs (most of which I pocketed, really it was just a clutch lever, shifter, and some chinese fairings). 

 

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Can anyone read any of the plates? I can't. 

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To me (not knocking this as a choice), not being able to see plates and faces makes it useless as proof. 

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My previous helmetcam was great for reading plates even in the dark.

 

I wonder whether it's the design of US plates with their lack of contrast that causes the issues.

 

 

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Why is there a bloke standing in the middle of the street? 🙂

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It's a woman holding a child.??? Strange place to try and cross.

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Indeed. I called the police as it's a 60mph limit there and she has no protection, but that wasn't why I posted it, it was to show you the difference in number plates and much more easily they seem to stand out on a camera. 

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Yep, got and understood your real purpose; the cam you were using  gives really good resolution at relatively low light levels. Nevertheless, I bet seeing her there was a bit of an 'oh shit' moment though...

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Yeah, when I had my accident on my SV650 I was so lucky (or rather unlucky) that the plate was more or less right in front of the camera that I caught it. I think you'd have to spend like $3-400+ to get something that captures plates in high enough resolution with that fast of a frame rate. I'm satisfied enough with my cheap cam, still useful as long as people don't hit and run

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