Attaching a video camera to a track bike

[mikesbytes]

I'm planing to video a lap of my local velodrome on my track bike.

The ride itself goes like this, I am held upright by a bloke at the outside of the track, while another checks the traffic to see that it is safe to launch me, while I am stationary, you can hear the communication between them deciding whether to launch me. Having decided to launch me, I ride blind diagionally accross the track while a group of riders undertake me while following a motorbike. I hit the 100mtr mark behind the riders doing about 40kmh, come off the banking and overtaking the riders down the short straight and pull parallel with the motorbike at the 200mtr mark doing about 50kmh. I enter the corner a little up the bank and then cut infront of the motorbike, which you can no longer see, but can still hear it and I finish the 333mtr lap doing somewhere between 55kmh and 60kmh.

To add a bit more interest, I get a second rider to launch directly behind me, follow me and when I'm approaching the finish line (333mtr), overtake me on the outside on the banking and beat me to the line by about a bike length, he would be wearing the club uniform and as he will be very close to me, the uniform would be clearly showen in the clip.

So my question is, how do I mount the camera effectively and inexpensively to the bike?

[gadgetguy]

Can you post a picture of the bike? I would suggest a 2-3" thick piece of foam rubber and a bunch of nylon ty-wraps. You'll have to figure out the best place to position the camera but you'll want to criss-cross and wrap the camera with the ty-wraps so that it's securely held on top of the foam, but allowing access to the controls.

Edit: Make sure you use nylon ty-wraps and not cheap plastic ones that tend to break easily.

[ozymango]

My question is, how many pieces will your camcorder be in when you're finished? :P

Okay, seriously, this sounds like fun (I'm a recreational cyclist myself but my brother and dad have ridden track) and I think you're gonna have to experiment a bit to see what kind of vibration you're gonna have when riding with the camera, period. That is, I like the zip ties and foam padding method, but as shock absorbers to a very solid mount so your $$$ camcorder doesn't end up with serious road rash.

Assuming your track bike has a brake mounting hole in the front fork, what I'd do -- I've got access to a workshop and some cool tools, but you could get by with a lot less -- is get a piece of steel angle iron and fashion a simple bracket that screws to the bottom of your camcorder (1/4-20 thread) and then bolt that bracket to your fork, though the brake mounting hole. You'll have to do some cutting and drilling, but it shouldn't be much, and this would also give you a very cool location to shoot from -- just above and beside your front wheel. Depending on how you frame your image, I bet you could get some great shots.

And once I had everything sturdily bolted on, I'd do the belt-and-suspenders approach and cover it all with foam and zip ties, so if you go down or bump somebody, you won't hurt either people or equipment.

Good luck!

[mikesbytes]

No I don't think I'd risk simply strapping it on, I'd want to use the camera tripod mount. Theres quite a bit of volent forces at play and if the camera came adrift, it could bring down another rider or myself. You are 100% right that I will need to dampen out the vibration somehow.

Good idea on the brake mounting hole, my trackie has the break holes and water bottle mounts, one day I might convert it to a fixie.

I did have passing throughts about getting a new photo camera, I suppose I could pick on that does OK video with audio, still it won't compare with the old mini-dv.

The picture is when I first got it, I have changed the small alloy handlebars for some larger steel ones.

[gadgetguy]

I would advise against using the tripod mount hole. The jarring it's going to get is likely to crack the plastic around the metal threaded hole making it useless for future tripod use. (I mounted my camera to a sled with the camera mount and straps. The straps stayed secure, but when I removed them the camera fell off the sled and the mounthole was still bolted on.) Of course, now that I see the bike there isn't really a good mounting location without doing some modifications to the bike as Ozymango suggested. Something that would bolt securely to the wheelmounts and the neck and provide a flat surface large enough to cover the entire base of the camera. Then the foam rubber and straps. Lots of straps. And strap tight and secure.

[olyteddy]

Get an Oregon Scientific helmet cam from REI.com. $120 and built to handle it.

[ZAPPER]

Helmet cam!

Steadycam and pipe clamps

Front bicycle basket with cam packed around with pillows and duct tape.

I would also think that the single point mounting via the 1/4 20 threads is possibly risky. However if you had a suitable platform about the size of the bottom of your cam and padded the space between cam and platform to spread load on the cam and then wraped padded velcro web straps around it all and used the 1/4 20 bolt, the fastening of the cam aspect should be covered.

As for vibrations. Perhaps a hinged cantolever arraingment of some sort. A barn strap hinge with one leaf clamped to a fork vertically and the other leaf with the cam mount sticking out perpendicular/horizontally from the fork. At an appropiate distance below the hinge leaf mounted to the fork, mount a right angle bracket (Maybe 2" Down) (One leg down and one out and under the horizontal hinge leaf) Fill the space between the hinge horizontal and the right angle bracket with your vibration dampining material. (perhaps a very soft natural or synthetic sponge secured with rubberbands.)


It all depends on what you have on hand and your creativity. Calculating the risk is for sissies. Er..,um... I would let everyone on the track know what you were up to though. Ain't no sense in having a wipeout and getting the hell sued out of you because you took some guys advice from the internet.

[mikesbytes]

OK, it sounds like the mini-DV is not the go, gagetguys broken mount experience with the sledge would indicate a similar risk to me.

Helmet cam has been used a fair bit, but what do I need and is it costly. If it plugs into the mini-DV, then I could put it in my back pocket.

Otherwise, it seems that the sponge rubber suggestion isn't that far off the mark, but put in a small box with a viewing hole and then the box is mounted to the bike.

[ZAPPER]

Check with the local skydiving nuts er.., I mean club, for someone that might have a helmet cam. I think that the mounted kind of close to the ground veiw is always kind of cool though.

[olyteddy]

http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/product.asp?cid=6&scid=14&pid=709 has a demo on a waterslide. Pretty cool.