Cycliq cameras – should I?

The algorithms are pushing the Cycliq Black Friday deals at me….

I’ve always been tempted, but resisted having more clutter on the bike and things to remember to charge. But in the last couple of years two friends have been knocked out In crashes that they have no recollection of, and a couple of mates are regularly getting Poluce action on reporting dangerous driving, so I’m seeing a benefit to having them.

So I’m open to persuasion. And if I do, what extras do I need – seem to be various silicone covers and mounts that can bump up the price from ouch to eye watering!

The bonus of the Cycliqs is that they integrate the light and camera so it’s less clutter and faff than having them separately, but more cost than buying a standalone camera. Some people have issues with reliability or waterproofing but mine have been fine for the last 5 or 6 years, and if you do 4hr+ rides you’re running into battery issues. I don’t report much but I think the new versions have better access to the video so you don’t need to take the sd card out.

As for extras – I’d go for some lens protectors as they can get splattered in the wet and then scratch if you wipe them off with your manky glove. I don’t have any fancy silicone covers or suchlike.

Watching with interest

I’ve had both rear (6) and front (12). Sold them both on as they weren’t that great. Run times weren’t long enough for our average club run (5 hours) and when a car shot past, you could rarely make out the number plate as it would be in shadow etc.

I’ve had two fly12s, the first one broke in warranty and was replaced. The replacement is out of warranty and broken again, I suspect it’s battery related.

I’ve all of iterations of the fly6 apart from the newest one. V1 and v2 died outside of warranty, the v3 (I think it’s a ce) is still going.

Does anyone have any experience of the chilli tech?

I received an email from them and I’m sure I have heard good things on here regarding their front facing.

https://chilli-tech.com/content/rear-bike-camera-rear-light-for-cycling/

very tempted but would like some real world experience if possible.

On my third rear Fly6. I like it but the battery life is limited to about 2-3hrs. I use it for a commute to central London for insurance purposes and when riding around town on my folder. I also have a bricked first generation front Fly12. And it is quite a brick too. When it worked it was a reasonable 400 lumen light and a decent camera. But it does not work now and I have not seen fit to replace it. Original mounting for the rear was fragile and snapped – they sent me a replacement light when I lost mine. Then I lost the mk2. The latest is smaller and the mount is a 1/8 turn (sadly not Garmin). bought the silicone cover but don’t use it. The only extra I use is a rack mount, which works well on the commuter. I also bought a cheaper one for the recumbent off eBay. Works just as well.

I’ve mentioned this before but on one of our club evening rides in 2016, a clubmate was killed when he hit a huge pothole. This was all recorded by my Fly6 and presented at the inquest. It exonerated the club and the group who were all riding in a tight disciplined through and off formation. The footage was sufficient quality to justify witness accounts  no number plate readings needed

These cameras are insurance for when things go wrong. A better device for active safety, which I use all the time, is a Garmin Varia rear light and radar. If I was to choose one, it would be the Varia. When I commute I use both. Otherwise I just take the Varia. They also make a combined light, radar and camera that works well. It is, however, a bit of a lump and uses a dedicated mount. A clubmate has one and likes it. But it’s still first gen. I’ll probably buy in at second or third gen when it’s shrunk.

Yes I’m also the recipient of the Cycliq BF deals as am actively considering options for the commute. Have a Garmin Varia and it is a brilliant bit of kit. I’m veering towards the Innovv K6 though as I need a 3.5 hour runtime and don’t need to move it between bikes. Just being able to recharge the external battery is rather handy. If anyone has one of these I’d be interested to hear feedback as I’m still doubtful about whether they’re capable of picking up a fast moving number plate in the dark.

One advantage of the Varia camera is that it can activate its camera when the radar knows there is a car coming. That extends battery life. Fly6 is always on. The sum of volumes of the Fly6 and the Varia RTL515 is about the same as the RCT camera radar light. Dcrainmaker is always worth a read.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/11/cycliq-fly6ce-fly12ce.html

Chillitech cameras are very basic, about 3 hour battery life. Do a decent job but are pretty poor in the dark or wet

Have have the 6 and the 12. I order them on a black Friday deal a couple of years ago. The main issue I had with them was that it took more than 6 months for them to be delivered! Absolutely ridiculous, continual missed deadlines. Other than that they do work as described tho the front light interfered with the GPS on my old wahoo bolt. Not tried it with newer Garmin, back one still gets used and is fine.

Cheers a/a , that’s all I needed to know.

Does anyone have any experience of the chilli tech?

A couple of folk in our club chat have suggested the standalone Chilli Tech cameras. View seems to be the latest ones are “good enough” but not as good as the far more expensive Cycliq.

I looked into it, as everyone does, after a few near misses etc but for now I don’t think any of them are really up to the job yet except perhaps the Varia but it’s so expensive and I’d want one system that did front and rear.

I bought the models that came out around 2016

Suffice it to say that I still use the rear lights, but the front Fly 12 was compromised IMHO. Heavy and not more than an average light with a shorter camera battery life than the rears.

I’d go for a separate light and camera at the front, but the rears have done well.

IME none of the reasonably-priced cameras are good enough in the dark to get a registration plate, but they’ll show what happened.

The newer models may well have improved, I don’t know. Expect both the battery life and memory card to run out on a longer ride, but the memory card will loop back and record from the beginning while the battery lasts.

Magicshine rear light and camera ?

SEEMEE DV Camera Taillight

110 hours? Without camera and in eco-flash light mode

I have the 12 and the 6ce I think.

I bought them after I got hit by a car which smashed up my gopro.

The 12 sometimes struggles to start up in freezing temps. If I have left it set with light on I need to take it in the house to warm up. It also suffers from starting up and charging if it has been left to go flat.

The 6ce will fill up with water from wheel spray if you don’t run guards (not for me as my commuter does run guards but a couple of friends have had this issue). My first 6ce developed a battery issue and wouldn’t charge. I reported it and cycliq sent me a refurbed one as a replacement, this developed the same issue about 6 months after that (out of warranty) so I just use the front now.

If they could resolve the above issues I would like the product. I like a lot of the features. Image stabilisation is good, app is ok for viewing battery level and changing settings (but you can’t watch video). I like the fact that files are locked if you put the bike on it’s side/if you get knocked off.

They are closer to a dashcam in terms of loop recording etc.