My girlfriend wanted me to gift me a camera for Christmas, because she knows that I’m after one for safety reasons, ideally, she wanted to get me something that I could use also for pictures and small clips of my rides. She had thought of the Insta360 x4, and after much thinking, while also realizing that there is not a perfect solution, I came to the conclusion that it could be a good match: relatively clean look with the stem mount, both front and part of the rear, etc. etc. until I found out that it seems to be a common issue the camera breaking down because of the way its mounted at the end of the stem (no way I’m going to embrace the teletubbies look with the camera on the helmet). On one end I’m bummed, on the other I feel like maybe I dodged a bullet, as Insta doesn’t seem to have the greatest reputation as a brand from what I’ve been able to gather. Does anybody have experience with this and/or with another camera for what I’m looking?
I have an x5 and I wonder these things too.
I just got an x5 a few days ago. What seems promising for me is two handlebar clamps with tripod 1/4” screw mounts on my handlebar, on either side of my stem. Those screw into a metal case for my x5 such that the camera’s long axis is parallel to the front of my handlebars.
My first attempt tilted the camera down so it sat below my head unit. It worked, and I like that the handlebars seem to act as a kind of roll cage. But the hoods, cables, head unit, handlebars, and stem take up a lot of the frame. So I’ve rearranged it so the camera now tilts above my handlebars (one lens is kind of pointed at me, one lens is pointed towards the road in front of me). I reversed my head unit arm clamp so the head unit hovers over my stem. Seems like it’ll have better video but I haven’t actually tested it yet.
Edit: Norcal Cycling has some YouTube videos where he talks about how he mounts his x5. IIRC, he uses a custom mount and foregoes the head unit. I’m to lazy to figure out a custom mount and I want my head unit so I can have a chance at tamping down overeager Watts during some races.
For something fairly expensive, it seems crazy that one has to go the extra mile to figure out a way for it not to break.
I find that the camera in front of the bike looks super silly. Isn‘t there a more subtle solution like for the Go Pro? (See picture)
Edit: This is the only reason I haven‘t got a insta 360 yet.
I realize you’re talking about the x4 but DC Rainmaker compared several newer cameras not too long ago.
Yeah I’ve seen that video, but doesn’t say anything about the mount breaking down.
Yeah I agree with you. I may end up with something like that - a bit more limited compared to a 360 view, but there are other pros I guess.
An alternative to a 360 camera, took a new DJI Osmo Nano on a 3 week bike trip recently, filmed mostly hand held or used the mouth mount loads (chest strap was not available on launch). Cargo shorts really help. Not a great choice for the safety aspect if you want it always on.
If you must 360, the new Air might be a safer bet.
Ben Delaney did a decent video recently on filming while on the bike, not all the latest models but good tips to consider when choosing type. I’m sure some critique of the poles is in there too..
The video is excellent, thank you for sharing it, and it did confirm some of my doubts.