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review

Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera

7
£159.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Good quality camera for dashcam-style recording of ride incidents
Sharp enough image for getting number plates
Decent low-light performance
Long run-times with an external battery
Picture shake on rough surfaces
G-sensor thinks everything is a crash
Mini-USB? In 2024?
Weight: 
109g

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The Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera is a good quality system for recording your rides, and the external battery option means that it'll last the distance on all-dayers too.

> Buy now: Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera for £159.99 from Recall

For more options, check out our guide to the best bike cameras.

The Recall Rider 4K is a tube-shaped camera with an alloy body, and feels nicely made. At the front there's the lens, covered by a convex glass housing, and there are power and photo lights on the top.

Behind a screw-on cover at the back there's a micro-SD card slot (a 64GB card is supplied), a charging port, a Wi-Fi button and a photo/video mode switch. With the back cover screwed tight the whole thing is waterproof to 10m, so a wet commute shouldn't unduly worry it.

2024 Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera - USB and memory card ports.jpg

The camera has a built-in Wi-Fi connection, and that gives you access to a bunch of the settings – recording quality, loop time, timestamp, audio recording and the like – through the Roadcam app, a third-party app that a fair number of cameras use. You can also get a live preview to make sure your camera is set up correctly. You can view files on the camera too, and some basic editing, but you're much better served just taking the card out and doing that on a laptop. The app is functional, and not really much more than that, but aside from setting the camera up you probably won't need it.

Recall Rider 4K: Mounting and accessories

This is a camera designed to be used as a bar cam, a helmet cam or a horse-rider cam and because of that you get a lot of mounting options and accessories.

The camera has an internal battery that lasts for an hour or so but you also get an external battery pack and a replacement end cap with a long USB lead. With these fitted, Recall claims a run-time of over seven hours, and I can confirm that's accurate: I got nearly eight, four of which were the camera pointing at the wall of my shed after I forgot to turn it off. If you want to go longer, you'll just need a bigger battery than the 5,000mAh one supplied.

Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera - battery.jpg

You can also charge the internal battery with the lead/cap – and you'll need to, unless you've squirrelled away a mini-USB lead from a decade hence*. Who uses that standard anymore? Recall may have chosen it because it's a nice chunky plug which makes getting everything lined up a bit easier. But it's still a bit of an odd choice; USB-C would be better for lead compatibility. And charge times. The camera turns itself on and starts recording every time you plug it in, either to the battery or to the wall, which is a bit annoying when you're trying to charge it.

2024 Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera - charger plugged in.jpg

I mostly used the external battery, and put it in a Tailfin top tube bag. You could also use a frame bag; Recall supplies one designed to fit in the rear of your front triangle but it's the worst bit of the kit – badly made and not waterproof. It assumes your top tube and seat tube meet at right angles, too, which they don't.

Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera - bag.jpg

There's also a waist pack which is more for horse riders, although it could be useful if you're running the camera on your helmet with the battery attached. That's a much nicer bit of kit, although the waterproof port is designed for a headphone jack, and the USB lead won't go through it, so that has to poke out of the zip.

2024 Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera - accessories bundle.jpg

There are various mounting options: straps for ventilated and solid-shell helmets, sticky GoPro style mounts, and a bar mount in two parts.

2024 Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera - accessories and mounts.jpg

The bar mount works after a fashion, but it's designed for small-diameter flat bars and won't work on a standard drop bar. in the end I stuck one of the action cam mounts to the bottom of my out-front mount and hung the camera from there, where it's out of the way.

Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera - mounted.jpg

Whatever your setup, you should be able to sort something that works from the bits you get, although it has to be said that none of the bike-mounting options is better than okay, really. Both the GoPro-style mount and the bar mount are difficult to lock out, and the camera tends to wander a bit from centre. Luckily the 170-degree view from the lens makes that less of an issue.

I also used the camera as a helmet cam without the external battery, on shorter rides. Personally I think it's on the heavy side for a helmet camera, probably not helped by the fact that my camera mount on my helmet is at the front, which means the camera tends to tip the helmet down a bit. Stuck right on the top it would probably work better.

Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera - helmet mount.jpg

I'm not a fan of the look, but you can point the camera at things you want to record more easily, and your body acts as a shock absorber which makes the footage less jumpy. There's no image stabilisation in the camera itself, so on rougher roads the shake is substantial if you mount it to the bar. There's a G-sensor inside the camera that can be set to move files and protect them if it detects an incident, but my experience was that riding along any normal knackered UK road was basically an incident, so it wasn't especially useful.

Recall Rider 4K: Picture quality

The Recall Rider 4K packs a Novatek 96670 Chipset, and records at a maximum of 4K (3840 x2160) at 30 frames per second. There's a 60fps option at 1080p (1920x1080) too.

First things first: despite the fact that Recall claims the camera will capture 'stunning footage of your riding experiences to share with family, friends, or social media', you're not really going to get footage out of this camera that you're going to want to compile into cool ride vids. The quality isn't up there with the likes of a GoPro, or even a mid-range action camera, and it probably won't be as good as your phone either. That's moot, to a large extent: I found that recording in 4K, the camera, for the most part, did exactly what you need a bike camera like this to do, in the most obvious use case: capture legible number plates if you find yourself in any kind of incident.

Normally I'll stick a camera on the bike and suddenly everyone will drive like an angel around me. Not this time though! Literally the first time I switched it on there was this chump undertaking me at about 20mph as I slowed to turn right, leaving about 30cm between his van and my bar...

Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera - idiot1.jpg

...and then a quarter of an hour later this idiot slowed to close pass me and his passenger sprayed me with water for good measure.

Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera - idiot2.jpg

I reported these incidents, so we'll see what comes of that. In both cases the number plates were clearly visible in the footage.

> 10 tips for submitting good quality camera evidence to police

In daylight the picture is very decent, and even pointing directly into the sun the lens doesn't get swamped. When Josh reviewed Recall's dual-lens camera he had problems with the exposure, but it wasn't an issue here, probably thanks to the higher-quality internals.

After dark, in street-lit areas, the camera is pretty good: you get more shaky footage but normally you can read number plates of passing vehicles just fine (nothing wrong with this pass, by the way).

Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera - plate at night.jpg

Out of town you're more dependent on what light you're bringing to the party, but even so the picture is okay: this is the view illuminated by a not-especially-bright light (Cateye AMPP 500) not even on high beam.

Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera - night lanes.jpg

The darker it is, the less likely you'll get a hit on every plate, but the Recall Rider does a pretty good job all told. In most conditions, and especially in lit areas, you'll be fine.

The Recall Rider has a photo mode too: hit the red button on top and it'll take a snap. The pics aren't really very good, and obviously you'd need to remember to immediately hit the button if there was an incident, and the police wouldn't be interested in a still image anyway, so I'm not sure there's an awful lot of point having it for the main use case of the camera. It's there, though.

Recall Rider 4K: Value and overall

At £160 the Recall Rider 4K is reasonable value: it's a well-made camera, the picture is as good as you need it to be, and you get a lot of bits with it including a battery pack for a long run-time.

Recall's Rider Dual isn't much more, but it's a step down in terms of quality. I liked Innovv's K6 system which marries a 2K front camera with a 1080p rear, but that's a fair bit pricier than this one that just looks forward, and the picture out of the Recall Rider is a bit better.

Action cameras such as the DJI Osmo Action 4 easily trump units like these on picture quality, but they're expensive and the battery life isn't great for longer rides.

Overall, if you're looking for a camera to record rides because you want actionable footage if things happen, then the Recall Rider 4K is a good option. It's not perfect, but it'll certainly do that job.

*I mean, obviously I have about ten

> Buy now: Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera for £159.99 from Recall

Verdict

Good quality camera for dashcam-style recording of ride incidents

road.cc test report

Make and model: Recall Rider 4K Safety Camera

Size tested: 107mm x 37mm

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Recall says: "Introducing our revolutionary new cycle and rider camera, the perfect accessory for any motorcyclist, cyclist or horse rider looking for that extra protection when out and about on the UK's roads. The Recall Rider camera offers high-quality 4K video recording capabilities, allowing you to capture all of your riding adventures with ease.

With a robust and lightweight design, our camera is built to withstand the toughest riding conditions. The camera easily attaches to your bicycle (handlebars or helmet or horse riding hat, providing a first-person perspective of your ride. With the ability to record in high definition, you can capture a clear view of the road ahead and stunning footage of your riding experiences to share with family, friends, or social media.

The camera's features include an easy-to-use control system, an long-lasting battery life using an extended power pack, and built-in Wifi to easily adjust the viewing angle and positioning using your smartphone. With its waterproof casing, the Recall Rider camera is designed to withstand rain, snow, and even muddy conditions, making it perfect for any type of adventure both on-road and off.

Our camera is also equipped with a 170° wide-angle lens, allowing you to capture a wider field of view and providing you with clear evidence of numberplates and the surrounding area should you require it. The camera has an in-built G-Sensor, meaning it can also be set to automatically save your recording from a heavy knock, ensuring that you have evidence in case of an incident.

The kit comes with a full long-life expansion pack extending the operating time of the camera up to over 7hrs. Various mounting options, cycle frame pouch and waist pouch for holding the battery pack."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Recall lists these features:

Incorporates the Novatek96670 Chipset with H.265 video technology which gives high quality recording, but taking up less storage space.

Ultra High Definition Video Recording. Up to 3840 x2160 (4K).

In-Built G-Sensor. Records can be protected when the camera takes a heavy knock (in the event of an accident).

Extra Long Battery Life. Capable of up to 7hrs + (when using the external powerpack supplied)

Waterproof to 10m. For those brilliant English summer days we all love that never go to plan. If you're caught short in a downpour, there's no need to worry, the Recall Rider will power on through with no issues.

Huge 170° Angle View allows the full capture of what's in front of you with clear capture of number plates if required.

Loop-Recording. All the Recall range offer this option. This allows the camera to loop back and record over the oldest recordings meaning your camera memory will never get full and you will have constant recording.

Fast Access One-Press Recording – so it's always ready to capture.

Dimension: 107mm x 37mm

Weight : 100g

Includes:

Camera

External Power Pack

64GB Micro SD Card (takes up to 128GB)

Waist Pouch

Cycle Frame Pouch

Accessories and Mounts

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
6/10

Camera pretty good, mounts less so.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
7/10
Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Pretty well if you assume that purpose is going to be capturing footage of near misses and the like, rather than making a cinematic epic.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

It's robustly built and waterproof, and it'll run for a long time from the external battery.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The mounts are functional but not great, and some image stabilisation would be nice.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

Much cheaper than a GoPro, about ballpark for a dashcam-style camera of this spec.

Did you enjoy using the product? For the most part yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Maybe

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Maybe

Use this box to explain your overall score

Overall it's good: the camera itself is better than a lot of the accessories but you'll probably be able to make it work on your bike or helmet, and the picture is decent and the run-times long.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 50  Height: 189cm  Weight: 98kg

I usually ride: whatever I'm testing...  My best bike is: Kinesis Tripster ATR, Merida Scultura, Dward Design fixed

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, commuting, touring, club rides, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

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4 comments

Avatar
Oldfatgit | 2 weeks ago
2 likes

1 hour battery... unless you use an external ...
Did I read that right?

I keep hoping that these reviews are going to remove me from my relationship with Cycliq [as its a bit one sided, and the amount of cash makes me feel duurrrttttyyyy], but alas, once again I fear not.

True, it's around half the price ... but it seems to be half the camera with a 7th of the battery life.

Avatar
dave atkinson replied to Oldfatgit | 1 week ago
1 like

if you're designing a camera to run from an external battery, you wouldn't put a big internal battery in it too. I generally used it on my helmet for short town commutes, and added the external battery for longer rides. You can't really say it has a seventh of the battery life of a Cycliq: you get everything you need to run it for seven hours in the box for that price. The whole external battery thing might not appeal to you; thats okay.

Avatar
ubercurmudgeon | 2 weeks ago
6 likes
Quote:

Literally the first time I switched it on there was this chump undertaking me at about 20mph as I slowed to turn right, leaving about 30cm between his van and my bar...

You don't hear the word "chump" used so much these days. Or at least I haven't heard it recently. Kudos for attempting to revive it.

Avatar
henryb | 2 weeks ago
7 likes

But if they ever need to do a product recall, how would they publicise it without it being really confusing?

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