It’s a situation every cyclist has faced. You are riding on a busy road when you suddenly sense something large looming right behind you. Before you know it, a speeding car is right at your tail.
Usually this situation just leads to a few moments of nervous butterflies before the car speeds past. Your nerves might make you lose your momentum for a moment or maybe you swerve slightly in response.
But what if the situation were more serious? What if the car snuck behind you when you were about to make a turn into his lane? What if the driver is distracted and doesn’t see you in front of him? What if you are hit and the driver speeds off before you, or anyone else, can jot down his license plate number?
When it comes to sharing the road with drivers, cyclists need all the help they can get. And for some cyclists, lighting themselves up in LED or carefully following the traffic laws is not enough to prevent accidents. Too often, cyclists who are hit never get the opportunity to fight drivers in court.
Thankfully, cycling light accessory producer Fly6 has found a way for riders to arm themselves with evidence — a rear cycling light with a built-in HD camera.
Cycling Light With HD Camera Designed To Keep Riders Safe
This high-tech bike light protects riders in two ways.
First, it works like any other bike light and emits a bright flashing light to make riders more visible. Secondly, the camera — which records up to five hours of footage — equips riders with the tools to hold drivers accountable.
The camera allows riders to capture car details, including license plate numbers, right on film.
In the worst case scenario, the camera would capture footage of an accident that a rider could use in court.
The camera is also useful, however, to hold drivers accountable even when an accident does not occur. Documenting a driver being overtly aggressive and uploading that to Youtube or Facebook is a powerful tool to show the public what riders face on a day-to-day basis.
This evidence encourages other drivers to be more careful when sharing the road and, ideally, will push political leaders to make cyclist’s safety a priority.
The camera records up to two hours or footage, looping over prior footage once the two hours is up. The light and camera have a battery life of five hours.
Compared to other action cameras, the capacities of the filming are limited. There is no 1080HD option or slow motion capture, for example. However, the device is not designed to produce a heart-pumping adventure film. It is really meant to record an incident and keep riders safe.
New Fly6 Cycling Light Model Has Improved Functions
While the cycling community has applauded the basic function of the Fly6 light, cyclists have found some pitfalls.
The LED light, for example, is not as bright as many competing products. Cyclists have also complained that five hours is not a long enough battery life.
A brand new model, set to be released in November addresses these issues with LED’s that are twice as bright and a longer 6 hour battery life. The new version is also smaller overall.
Pre-order the improved version of the Fly6 camera.
Specifics Of This High-Tech Bike Light
- Price: Original Fly6 $160, new version Pre-Order Price $200, new version standard price $249
- Comes with materials to mount light to your bike. Optional, more advanced, adaptor kit available for additional $18.00
- Battery: USB re-chargeable lithium-ion battery
- Weight: Original 105 grams/100mm, new version 113 grams/87mm
- 4 dimming options from 100% to off
- 2 flashing options
For more tips on staying safe on your next ride or tour, check out these cycling safety tips.
Looking for more accessories to keep you safe? Check out this guide for bike safety accessories.
Here are some of our favorite safety accessories:
What do you think about the idea of a bike light with a camera? Have any other tips to stay safe on the road? Comment with your thoughts!
