You don't need a film crew to make a cycling video worth watching. You need one small camera, a mount that puts it in the right place, and a little intention. Here's the setup we use and recommend.
1. Put the camera on your helmet, not your bars
Bar-mounted footage is stable but dead: it never looks around, never checks over a shoulder, never glances at a riding partner. Helmet POV captures attention the way your eyes do — and with today's pocket cameras (DJI Osmo Nano, Insta360 GO 3S / GO Ultra) the weight penalty that used to make helmet mounts miserable is gone.
Our TPU helmet mount holds your camera's magnetic clip on the front of your aero lid, secured through the vents with zip ties. It adds almost nothing to the helmet's profile and the camera pops off in a second at the café stop.
2. Set your angle before every ride type
The most common rookie error is filming the sky. Head angle changes with riding position, so set the mount's tilt for the position you'll actually hold:
- Group ride on the hoods → moderate tilt
- Fast chain-gang in the drops → tilt the cradle up a few degrees
- Climbing day → tilt down slightly
Check the live preview in the app for ten seconds. Done. (This is the whole reason our mount has an adjustable cradle — read more in our angle guide.)
3. Shoot in segments, not marathons
Nobody edits three hours of continuous footage. Roll the camera for:
- The start (30 s establishes the day)
- Any climb, sprint, or technical descent
- Every head-check moment — junctions, group moves, overtakes
- The finish
Small cameras encourage this: magnetic quick-release means the camera can live in your jersey pocket between segments (and swapping batteries mid-ride is trivial).
4. Sound sells the ride
Wind ruins helmet audio at speed — plan around it. Record a voiceover after the ride, or lay music over the fast segments and keep natural sound for the quiet ones. The whirr of a freehub on a descent is worth more than any soundtrack.
5. Edit for someone who wasn't there
The test for every clip: does it show something a viewer can feel? Speed, gradient, weather, effort, banter. Cut everything else. A tight four-minute video beats a faithful forty-minute one, every time.
The kit list
- DJI Osmo Nano or Insta360 GO 3S / GO Ultra
- XEcycle helmet camera mount, shaped for your exact helmet ($19.99, $5 flat worldwide shipping)
- Your camera's magnetic clip (comes with the camera)
- A story you want to tell
Mount it once, set the angle, and the camera disappears — which is exactly when the footage starts getting good.