Big Brother is Watching, and He’s on Your Side

Oct 15, 2014 – When you spend hours and hours riding who’s watching out for you? Who’s got your back?  Your riding buddies? Your hi-visibility kit? The ICE system on your fancy new POC helmet?  The folks at Fly6 have raised their hands and are volunteering up a new piece of technology designed to save our rears.  Fly6 produces a compact camera packed into a convenient rear flashing LED safety light.

Taking a two-step approach to safety FLY6 aims to first go on the defense with its flashing tail light.  Providing visibility and spreading the message to motorists that cyclists are now equipped with action cameras capable of recording car details, including license plate information, is just one way Fly6 aims to protect us and prevent incidents out on the road.  It uses platforms like YouTube and Facebook to promote its videos to the masses and hope to raise awareness everywhere, causing motorists to think twice when passing cyclists.

The second step to our safety is recall, bringing an element of accountability that can’t be argued with.  Simply activate the Fly6 at the start of your ride then forget about it until you’re finished and power down.  There isn’t a record button, once activated and blinking the Fly6 is recording continuously on a loop, the size of memory card used will dictate the size of the loop. If you encounter an incident you want recalled simply plug the unit into your computer and begin to recall the ride with sound and 720p video.  Its that simple. The car, dog or any other factor that may have impacted your ride will be recorded for posterity, or potential litigation. It’s the ideal companion to a GPS unit tracking your movements.

Straight out of the box the unit provides numerous mounting options to ensure it will fit on just about any seat post with a clear, unobstructed view. If you run a deep aero post you may need the $18 aero post kit to mount. The best quick start feature in the box is the included 8GB micro SD. Many other cameras keep costs down by excluding this obviously needed item.

The 8GB card delivers two hours of record time at the only resolution available, 720p, with a total camera and light battery life of five hours. While that record time may not seem like much for a long training ride the unit just loops over the prior footage once the card is full. While this isn’t ideal as an action camera, it’s more than enough to ensure any incidents are captured, which really is the entire point of the Fly6 – safety. Without a full 1080HD option or slo-mo, the Fly6 doesn’t offer other action camera features either. The light is only 15lumens, which isn’t much, but it does offer multiple flashing modes and constant burn. When the weather gets nasty be prepared to reach back and wipe the lens clean every now and then as its position, ideal as a safety camera, is prone to spray.

While the current Fly6 model is a fantastic step towards keeping us safer a new model is right around the corner designed to up the ante.  The new model, due out in November, boasts LED’s that are twice as bright, a longer 6hr battery life, and a smaller overall size.

Original Fly6: $160
New Fly6: $200 Pre-Order Price ($250 Standard Price in November)

Check out Fly6 for more info and a ton of great user videos. One of our favorites is below.