Drivers have plenty of gadgets and gear that help keep their car safe- from radar detectors to dash cams. But cyclists have completely different needs, and at least in New York City, your average bicycle might just be as expensive as your first car. Add in some crazy traffic, and it’s pretty critical to find ways to make the urban environment a little more friendly.
The Cycliq Fly6 combines two items, one of them very necessary and the other more unusual. Billed as the “world’s only combination tail light and HD camera”, it began life as a successful Kickstarter project over a year ago. Most biking enthusiasts will already have a rear light, but if you don’t- or if you need a replacement- then you’ll be impressed at bright new 30-lumen LEDs and solid battery life. Plus, built in is a nifty little camera capable of capturing full 720p video at 30 frames per second, with a lens that grabs a wide field of view, a full 100 degrees, sharp enough to make out license plates.
The obvious question: who needs a recording from the rear of their bike? The answer is: just about anyone who rides. Whether it’s to cover you and establish the facts of an accident, or to catch the crazy world that you’re passing by. Nanotechnology helps keep the Fly6 water-resistant and weatherproof, and it even ships with an 8GB microSD memory card pre-installed. The video files can be played back easily on your computer since they’re in an AVI format, and come embedded with a timestamp too. Recharging is handled via a mini USB cable, and speaking of which, your battery life will vary widely depending on your light mode, and whether you have the camera recording or turned off. You can expect about six hours with the lights flashing and regular recording,
At 116g, the Fly6 won’t weigh you down, and you don’t even need to worry about keeping track of or managing files- the unit automatically records over older files as needed. The only tricky part is attaching it to your bicycle, as it attaches around your seatpost. If you have panniers or saddlebags, they can block the camera. Also, during nighttime, the changing conditions can be tricky- passing headlights will blow out the video. For those who want an even more sophisticated, front-facing bike safety camera, Cycliq just successfully finished the campaign for a larger model, the Fly12. But if you want a taillight that will keep you safe and also serve as a record of your travels, then the Cycliq Fly6 is available now for around $170.
