MTB action camera mounting position for POV footage is never going to be a subject everyone will agree on. Some will prefer the super smooth footage a gimbal gives. Others will prefer the camera’s own stabilisation and the look of footage shot from a chest mount taking in the riders arms, the bike’s stem, bars and controls. Others might prefer a cleaner helmet visor mounted option.
There are positives and negatives with every mounting position so I’ll not bother boring you to death about them here and just focus on the mounting option this product allows.
In the last year or so a few mtb Youtubers. Notably Scottish MTB trail Vlogger McTrail Rider and our very own Rob (Rob Rides EMTB) have been mounting their GoPros to their full face helmet chin piece.
To do so they have been using the rather crude approach of ziptieing a GoPro extension piece inside the mouth piece of the chin guard so it sits below the riders chin facing the direction of the riders view point and naturally stabilizing itself suspended by the riders head. Here’s Mctrail Rider’s video explaining his setup.
Although this option works absolutely fine and might even bag you a Blue Peter badge there has to be an official GoPro product to do the same, right? Er… Well, actually. No. But luckily motorcyclists have been mounting cameras to their chin guards for even longer so courtesty of Chinese manufacturing and the magic of ebay there is a decent purpose made product available.
So here it is. The “Motorcycle Helmet Front POV Shots Chin Mount Holder For GoPro Hero 6/5/4 Camera” Bit of a mouthful, eh? Simply search Ebay for “TELESIN Helmet strap mount” and you’ll find it available from various sellers
So what do we get for our nine pounds? Well… it’s basically a GoPro compatible quick clip mount neatly attached to a felxible plastic backplate mounted on a silca rubber base offering grip and protection to your helmet when attached.
The three corners of the backplate hold the mounting straps, two in the middle underneath the plate and one either side from the top pieces. The two top straps have clip buckles attached and go over the top rim of the chin piece.
Thread the lower straps under and behind the chin piece, through the buckles. Adjust the position of the mount to suit your helmet, tighten and close the clips and that’s it! You’re now ready to fit your choice of quick clip extension piece and then your Gopro to the thumbscrew mount.
Fitting was a simple procedure but did involve cutting a small slot in the material that sits underunderneath the chin of the Troy Lee D2 helmet I chose to attach the mount to. (most Full face mtb helmets don’t have this and many riders remove it for better air flow anyway).
A word of warning though. I did break one of the buckles when closing the clip with it pulled too tightly. (completely my own fault but a replacement was sent out FOC when I mentioned it to the Ebay seller)
In use. I opted for the shortest quick clip extension (the one that comes with new GoPros) I found fitting any longer extension would result in the GoPro making contact with my shoulders and chest when I was riding more dynamically (Squatting, looking down or looking over my shoulder).
When wearing the helmet with the camera mounted in this way I didn’t notice the increased weight and the camera didn’t obscure anything. The Camera’s buttons are all still easily accessible but obviously to see the LED screen your helmet or quick clip extension piece (along with the camera) must be removed. When replacing the camera while wearing your helmet try not to swipe the screen by mistake like I did and end up with an hours of descending all shot in time laps.
I’m a complete beginner at filming any sort of video and managed to get pretty decent footage using this mount on the first try. Here’s an example from one of the first times I used it.
My noob settings and lack of editing skill aside you can still see it’s a nice stable watchable view. I actually prefer watching footage shot with this style of mount to a chest mounted gimbal as it shows dips and drops and feels more connected than the super smooth almost floatiness a gimbal set up gives.