Bicycle Camera Mount for Under $1

Intro: Bicycle Camera Mount for Under $1

Mount almost any camera that accepts a screw in tripod for under a buck, using stuff you may already even have.

STEP 1: What You'll Need

What you'll need to make it:

1 x Reflector Mount (a friendly bike shop will give these away for free)
1 x Shim for reflector mount (also probably free at your LBS)
1 x 2 inch 1/4" x 20 thread count screw of your choice (pretty standard for most cameras)
2 x 1/4" wing nuts
2 x 1/4" washers
2 x 1/4" rubber washers

You might also need a drill with a 1/4" drill bit

STEP 2: Drill Out Hole

The mount I had has 2 holes in it, make sure to drill out the farther one large enough for the screw.

You can use a mount that has only one hole, you'll just have the mounting screw double as the screw for the camera. Make sure you take into account that you'll need a 1/4" diameter hole through there when rummaging through their reflector bin.

STEP 3: Assembly

Put the 1/4" screw through the bottom of the mount, put these things onto it in this order:

metal washer
rubber washer
wing nut (could also use a regular nut)
wing nut (upside down! this one is more helpful if it's a wing nut)
metal washer
rubber washer

the rubber washers were to help absorb shock. it's not perfect, but it does a better job than nothing. still looking for an improvement on that though.

STEP 4: Put It on Your Bike!

I've got mine mounted on my handlebars for a front view. for a rear view you could mount it on your top tube under your saddle, most tripod mounts are offset, so depending on your model you might have a seatpost in the way. I'm using a Canon SD600 and it works just fine there.

Comments

[A_Str8]

Thanks for the tutorial. I just made one and it works great! I made a video walkthrough as I put it together

[BikerBill74]

Here are some pictures I took of what I did.

[BikerBill74]

Thanks. This video really helped me, even though it cost me a little under $5.

[povertyonwheels]

great video! thanks.

[scottredd]

Nice video.

[sbhatla]

i am planning to make a strong one for my D3000.

[sbhatla]

What If u add a small spring between the top flynut and rubber washer for extra stability

[bwoodward1]

It actually cost me $2.35 to build, being that I had the free reflector mount. Still not bad at all, and its plenty sturdy for my Mino Ultra.

[f3rg]

I tried this out, and the results weren't very promising.  Even with everything as tight as possible, the camera (a Nikon L20) shook enough that you can hear the sound of it shaking on the mic.

The video is somewhat acceptable on smooth roads, but I wouldn't want to go anywhere near a trial.  It's not the fault of the mount so much as the weight of the camera.  The L20 is a pretty compact model, but it still weighs too much to hold steady, and I bet other similarly sized cameras will have the same issue.

[jar0n]

a little late, but you're probably looking for something like this..
https://www.instructables.com/id/Updated-Bicycle-mounted-steadicam/

[rocky502]

This is more of a reply to f3rg, no matter what you do you are always gonna get movement on camera. I made this and it's great, I go mountain biking and use this. Yes I get a rough video but its fun. The other way to film your ride is a helmet mount, then it only sees what your looking at.

[razorE500s]

To Help Prevent it from slipping AND to make it more shockprof wrap some foam tape under it.

[ryanstan]

to stop it from slipping, try adding a cut-up bicycle tube around the inside of the reflector mount.  Then, you can really tighten the crap out of the screw and the tubes will press against the bars, therefore keeping it from slipping and sliding.  Great idea!  It works perfectly on a Scott Sportster

[macguy787]

i just made one for less than a buck. beautiful. if anyone wants a photo, just let me know.

[sharlston]

me please

[dre0101]

Just made one today. Brilliant. Thanks

[povertyonwheels]

effing fantastic! thank you!

[Graham9470]

You're the man! I'm off right now to go and make one.

[Yates_94]

if you made the mount, can you please tell me if it is fairly shockproof, will it slip or snap if you go over many bumps/jumps, i only have a small camera so it is not as if i will be using an slr or anything!

[Yates_94]

nice instructable, but to anybody who has made this, is it fairly shockproof, as in if it went over a few drops and bumps with a camera on top would it slip or snap.