Video: Slow-moving driver forces cyclist off the road on Woodhead Pass

Fifth Gear wrote:

There is not much point in having a camera if it is not turned on 

The battery life is shocking so it is the only way I am afraid
if you know of a good alternative to Cycliq - I am all ears

Battery life is a problem which is why I normally take at least 4 cameras and change them half way. I understood that Cycliq cameras had an unusually long battery life.

I've had a first gen and now a second gen Fly6 and battery life is at least 6/7 hours.

KalerDev wrote:

The battery life is shocking so it is the only way I am afraid
if you know of a good alternative to Cycliq - I am all ears

Before you abandon the Fly12, there are some things you can try to improve battery life:

• Using 30fps setting instead of 60fps - writing data to the SD card takes a lot of power, by halving the frame rate, you halve the power this takes.
• Reduce (or turn off) the light - use a flash instead of a pulse pattern and at a lower lumen setting, or turn it off completely.
• Use the 'airplane' mode - when you turn the camera off, it keeps the bluetooth on, which can drain the battery in storage. When it's off, press and hold both power and wifi button for 5 secs and it will power down everything.
• Try a different SD card - some of the higher speed cards / different brands can use more power than others.
• Try reformatting the SD card and checking it for errors - they can develop bad sectors, causing slower writes and increased power draw.

whats the impact on image quality switching to 30fps ? even without using the light my Fly12 lasts 6hrs at most from a full charge, and I dont ride with it at full charge the whole time. I mean Im not using it to make documentary films of my rides, its there to record driving around me that puts me in danger and the number plates of those vehicles involved. The video above sure you dont need 60fps for that its slow,close and even though the weather & light is not perfect it would probably be fine, but for rides in much lower light levels or trickier conditions and with vehicles at normal close passing speeds, Ive often found the lower frame rates dont cut it

Using the Fly12 to capture bad driving and number plates, I've found 30fps to be fine. I don't even bother with 1080p, just run it on 720p and it picks up number plates great - got the idiot that close passed me at 70mph 5-points and a court appearance.

At night, you're actually better off with a lower frame rate as the shutter can open for longer, letting more light in (and the 12CE has a high dynamic range mode that is only available at 30fps).

The key is to have a stable mount for the camera - vibration is what kills the image quality, so mount it somewhere that's not going to move - i.e. close to body weight contact points. I tried it on an 'out front' type mount and it was noticably worse than direct mounting it to the bars.

Thanks, some useful tips there.
I've been using a Fly CE12 for a couple of years now. Highly reliable and pretty good video quality. I've found the biggest problem is capturing numberplates at night.
With the light on too bright a setting, the glare bounces back and obscures the letters and numbers.
Also, shame about the front mount affecting image quality - I kinda like having the camera and the Garmin off the bars.

I prefer the aesthetic of the out front mount and to be fair the image quality is still pretty good if you've got a solid mount. The 12CE might do better in this location as it has image stabilisation, whereas I don't think the original 12 does.

I find the Fly6 better for getting numberplates at night, still not perfect, but more chance with a flashing light.

As you say, it's a case of playing around with the settings to find a combination of light pattern/lumen and camera resolution/fps/hdr that works the best for you.

I use a GoPro hooked up to a power-pack.

Normal battery life is c. 70 mins. Hooked up to the battery pack, it was at 55% after a 2hr ride.

Chilli cam battery lasts 4-5hrs but quality isn't great. Good for a backup though. On the rear I use a Teentok light/camera combo. Similar to Fly6 but better IMHO. Battery on that is 6-7 hrs

Clipless pedals and unclipping?
Possibly language is how people use it
and no matter what you call it the proximity was the problem not the description

For some, the door mirror is a deeply meaningful object. To have it incorrectly referred to can be taken as a personal affront.

This is why a cyclist gently pushing said object can provoke a driver into unimaginable rage.

Indeed, the door mirror is seen as more precious than the rest of the vehicle - which the driver will have no fear in damaging in order to defend their most revered object.

swldxer wrote:

It's not a "wing" mirror, but a DOOR MIRROR.

Congratulations! You've won the award of Least Helpful Comment of the Week. Well done.

It's a wing-nut, not a door-nut

Quite shocking that the police try to pass the buck like this.  It must be clear whose jurisdiction it falls under.

The driver of the car is genuinely dangerous and should be prosecuted for this behaviour.

Zigster wrote:

Quite shocking that the police try to pass the buck like this.  It must be clear whose jurisdiction it falls under.

The driver of the car is genuinely dangerous and should be prosecuted for this behaviour.

I can't see why they're not fighting to be the one that pursues it. It'd be a straight forward win for their KPI's...

Brauchsel wrote:

with a broad Yorkshire accent.

you have made my day with that comment #proud

Cycliq 12, date and time stamp are random.

Only if you haven't connected to the app recently.  My Fly6 & Fly12 are generally within a few seconds of the true time.

My Fly6CE refused to connect to the app before it was a year old. Still works fine as a standalone camera, but the timestamp is annoying.  

Reformat your SD card once a week and timestamp stays in synch. Also the day after the clocks change.

Thanks. But given that one of the selling points (compared to e.g. a GoPro which I run on the front) is the looped recording, it would be nice if it just worked without having to faff with the cards regularly. PS: on the actual topic - shocking driving, I really hope you get an outcome from the police, but appreciate that sometimes pursuing it (rather than just trying to forget it) can be worse for your health.