Camera mount for the bike

Posted on December 18, 2004

The camera mount in its final form

I have always wanted to share my cycling experiences with others. Showing a video of what I see on a bike will do the job the best, but being able to mount a camera safely and securely on a bike can only be achieved by building a custom made mount.

So I went ahead and designed one.

To achieve the thickness required for a stable mount, the board was shaped and screwed together in a stack

The mount I made was made of wood, screws, glue and bolts. To minimize cost, I used boards of wood instead of thicker and better quality rods. To create a mount that held onto the bike frame itself, the boards were cut in shape and stacked together to create the thickness required for a stable grip.

The initial design had two parts, with shock absorption in the middle

Originally the mount would have two independent parts - one to mount on the bike, the other to hold the camera. A sponge would sandwich between them to absorb shock. After initial tests, I found that the sponge did nothing but cause more vibration on the camera.

The revised design combined the two parts to become one solid mount, with rubber straps holding the camera instead. The camera effectively floated midair and moved independently in all directions, while the interweaving straps created just enough friction to dampen excessive movement. This system worked much better and had been used in many cycling videos.

The camera mount in winter action

The only problems with this mount was weight and durability. I didn't pick the right kind of wood for the job, being too soft in key areas. I nevertheless got good mileage from it.

The mount broke during a 12-day tour around Lake Erie when the bike fell to the ground. It has had no replacement since.