Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Well I've just commissioned my Fly6CE. I've had the gen 1 and gen2.

I've only done a couple of rides but so far it seems like a pretty good device. The picture is **significantly** better than either of my previous units. No rain yet.. cross fingers. I'm a little disappointed in the light. They said it was 90lm compared to my 30lm G2. It doesn't look that much brighter.

I am constantly amazed that there hasn't been an Asian competitor. I'm not sure if it's because the niche is too small... or the product too challenging and unique..

Can you post a screenshot of some number plates?

Our Fly6CE is useless for number plates (primary purpose of having the unit).

Comedian wrote: I am constantly amazed that there hasn't been an Asian competitor. I'm not sure if it's because the niche is too small... or the product too challenging and unique..

It's possible there was, but they joined the brand on a manufacturer agreement rather than competed.
Which would explain why Fly6CE is such a redesign.

The market is pretty small so it can also just be that nobody has bothered.
From what I can see it's not running any more efficiently than dashcams, just has a largish battery included. So it's mostly about the packaging into bike friendly unit.

Some of the $50 actioncams apparently use the same chipset, possibly same ccd/lens. But they lack the battery capacity and lights.

Here is a Fly6CE video sample. Allow for the fact that YouTube recompresses and makes it worse (ensure full quality playback enabled and unscaled resolution) and that the Cycliq app also recompressed it when trimmed.
YouTube makes it significantly worse actually, so a bit of a waste of time...

https://youtu.be/PPje-ZdUTGY

With the moving traffic at 47 seconds to 50 seconds you can't make out the number plate. Well, I can't. Not with it full screened and running 1080/60p on a 1080P screen.

It is course bitumen on the shoulder around that point so a lot of buzz which really blurs it.

Oddly it went flat last night (stopped recording but kept flashing). Which is odd.. because I'd only done a short ride in the morning and a couple of commutes. I reckon probably 3.5 hours? The Gen2 unit would last longer than that - even with it's advancing age. Will see how it goes.

I'm finding both the Fly12ce and Fly6ce to be seemingly random. Even without using the lights. Get anywhere from 30mins to 6hrs..... No idea why it isn't consistent.

Important tip for Fly12CE

If you are not happy with the handing of light/shadows (contrasts) choose HDR. This limits you to 30fps and not the max 60fps but I was unhappy with detail getting lost in the shadows and the HDR (High Dynamic Range) really does work in lifting it and providing the detail.



Still very happy with the Fly6CE video - massive improvement over all the previous Fly6 cameras. Drizt, not sure if you used the old units - but the new CE is a significant improvement. Don't fall in the trap of thinking it is a 10K resolution GoPro... it is a safety camera. Also vehicle comparative speed, direction, distance from you and light all affect the results. When worst comes to worst, that is when a vehicle is also closer and you have a better change of getting detail... when they pass with a safe distance, I am still happy with the recognition, but it is not needed for safe drivers.

The runtime is random - specifically the Fly12CE and am asking Cycliq for info. I got 2.5 hours, 4.5 hours, random not working properly - all after a full charge. I did a number of runtime tests (off the bike, set and record until empty on various light settings and resolutions) and am wondering if vibration or even bumps while riding could be impacting it... essentially don't yet know the answer.

Comedian, I experienced exactly that - light was working but for a 2 hour segment in a ride it didn't record. But it recorded before and after... strange.


Regarding Youtube - typically if you want to export and get the best quality, there are some settings and bit rate that still will drop the quality but give you the best change once Youtube does its work. The problem for many is that you need the right video editing software which is able to deliver these export settings. As a tip for sharing, dropbox is a fairly good solution or some temporary 'large file transfer' services that let you make the original file available.

I think the runtimes are related to battery charge percentage issues.

Mine is still only indicating 91% as full charge. I think their battery voltage measuring and managing that to test it under consistent load is a mess so it is all over the place.
It isn't fully charging and it is declaring itself flat early.

In looking at the light.. I do now think it's noticeably brighter than my G2. If it knocks runtime about I might knock it back to a lower flash mode which I think would still be very acceptable.

I've owned every model of the Fly units. And none of the Fly6* units have acceptable video quality. If you can't consistently and easily make out number plates from the footage (moving cars, stationary cars are irrelevant) then the device is useless as a safety camera.

Thanks for the tip on HDR. I'll try it out.

When the hell is Cycliq going to release the fix for the horrible video quality ?

I am aware of a compatibility issue with the Fly12CE and the Wahoo Bolt. The Fly12CE inferfers with 1.5GHZ frequency that the GPS signal uses from the Bolt. The Fly12CE makes the Bolt unusable. Does anyone have a work around?

That's ridiculous. There better be a work around. Im hoping to get a new wahoo if one is announced at eurobike

Do you have latest firmware?
They did improve the BLE interfering with a change a while ago.

New firmware updates due any moment now. I also have some pretty detailed test footage and indepth review due over very soon.

Finally - some quite detailed comparisons and samples for the Fly12CE and Fly6CE. These two serve the purpose of showing footage so are not a review of the features - that review is coming soon as an article on BNA. If you want a video review of features, you have to start voting.


For the best results - open the videos directly in youtube and on the bottom right chose the highest setting (1080p). If you are on an Australian internet connection... especially NBN, expect to wait 3 days for each video to load (they are both about 4 minutes). Yes... that's a joke but remember, youtube compresses the video a little and for a true reflection you want to ensure you have the highest possible seetings.



Fly12CE 4:20
For the Fly12CE we can see the handling in different light conditions with the highest settings 1920x1080p at 60fps, direct comparison with the previous (gen 2) Fly 12, comparisons of the Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS) and High Dynamic Range (HDR) settings and some further sample footage.



Fly6CE 3:53
For the Fly6CE it is similar and begins comparison, at the highest settings, the footage against the previous Fly6 (gen 3) in different weather conditions, a test of the Electronic Image Stabilisation, sample footage at 1920x1080p with 60fps and further sample footage at 1920x1080o at 30fps



I did so many different tests and have ca. 60 hours of footage from each camera... five in total so there was plenty of boring stuff to cut and multiple tests that failed because of the known problems or poor alignment.

Jmuzz wrote:

Comedian wrote: I am constantly amazed that there hasn't been an Asian competitor. I'm not sure if it's because the niche is too small... or the product too challenging and unique..

It's possible there was, but they joined the brand on a manufacturer agreement rather than competed.
Which would explain why Fly6CE is such a redesign.

The market is pretty small so it can also just be that nobody has bothered.
From what I can see it's not running any more efficiently than dashcams, just has a largish battery included. So it's mostly about the packaging into bike friendly unit.

Some of the $50 actioncams apparently use the same chipset, possibly same ccd/lens. But they lack the battery capacity and lights.

A couple of friends and I looked seriously at bringing the latest tech into a competitor for the Fly range.
The cycling market was too small to justify the R&D and risk.
So from the outset, we were looking at developing the IP for a number of applications, including body cameras for defense forces and police. Products in this market still lag by several years the latest tech developments.
We intended to license the IP to several interested parties who have established manufacturing and marketing channels in their respective markets.

We finally canned the endeavor after discussions with one of a few tech consultants, who brought our attention to short life cycles, the threat from Chinese rip offs, and emerging trends with smart phones.

Incidentally, Cycliq went public on the ASX several years ago. Their share price history deserves a look.
https://www.google.com.au/search?lr=&hl ... &q=ASX:CYQ

And that was a mistake according to our consultant who went into detail on GoPro's journey.

BNA Review now Published

Are You Ready to Fly? Indepth review of Cycliq’s Fly12CE and Fly6CE Integrated Bike Camera Light


A shout-out to the forum members in this thread as some of the items raised relate to comments here - particularly water issues and firmware updates so thank you - this also helped me to resolve early Fly6CE issues.

Here are a few of the photos, I am sure the gaffa-tape one of the two Fly6CEs and Fly6 gen 3 will be amusing... I prefer just riding and enjoying but had about 3 rides which were solely (only) to test and generate specific footage. These are boring as I have to stop and change settings and continue and repeat. The good news now... I can start deleting my stockpiles of cycliq footage now.

Fly*CE will never have the wireless footage viewing because it has no wifi chip.
Bluetooth is far too slow.

Can use a USB OTG capable phone and cable.
Or a USB SD card reader (needs OTG capable phone).
Or put card into phone, if phone has SD. But that's usually too much hassle.

USB OTG card reader is probably best and most reliable option because it can still read from a smashed/failed/flat device and is the smallest lightest cheapest option ($5, more for iPhone usually).
Anyone with an OTG capable phone should have a few, useful for other cameras/dashcam too plus it lets you use SD cards as tiny wallet friendly USB thumb drives.
Plus if you ever crash you should pull the card anyway, that's your crashcam for your evidence benefit only, don't leave it in for police/insurance to confiscate. Ask a bystander to pop cards and put in wallet if you have to.

Yes I do have the latest software. I’m in contact with Wahoo and Cycliq. The accuracy is way off then the Fly12CE is on and recording. When the unit is off the GPS accuracy is great. Airplane mode on/off has no effect.

are there any good mounts for under the saddle?

i dont have much seatpost real estate because im a shortarse.

tomee wrote:are there any good mounts for under the saddle?

i dont have much seatpost real estate because im a shortarse.

Me too! Cycliq has one in development, you can register interest and be emailed when it’s available.

I use the KEdge gopro saddle rail mount. I have a Fly12 hanging from mine. I use a small extender to get the clearance I need to position it correctly.

I've just tried the latest firmware update for the Fly6CE again.
It says DSP firmware: 1.1.25.6
Is that the latest as on Cycliq: 1.1.25.636
https://support.cycliq.com/support/solu ... t-firmware