Building a Handlebar Camera Mount

I have been carrying a digital camera on the handlebars of my touring bike for several years. That camera, an Agfa 1280, is unusual in its design. I was able to mount it on my handlebars by first gluing a flat platform, made of plexiglass, to a cycle computer mount, padding the top of the platform, and simply strapping the camera to the platform with velcro straps. This method wouldn't work with my new, more conventionally designed, digital camera since the new camera has a vertical, rather than horizontal, orientation.

Another problems was that the new camera, unlike the old camera, has a lens assembly which extends from the camera body when the camera is turned on. This lens has no threads for mounting a filter to protect the lens while riding, and its telescoping mechanism offers dust and moisture an easy route into the camera. This meant that I needed to come up with a way to protect its lens when the camera was mounted. With a little thought, a $2 plumbing adapter, and part of a wire coat hanger, I was able to accomplish both goals.

The MountAs can be seen in the image above, the mount has three parts: the padded platform (the cycle computer is now mounted behind its original mount), the modified plumbing adapter with a UV filter mounted to the front that now serves as a lens protector and part of the mount, and part of a coat hanger, which is bent around the plumbing adapter, glued to the bottom of the platform with epoxy putty, and then bent to form rear supports for the camera. The rear supports are padded with short sections of brake cable housing.

Two views of the mounted camera from the front

A wrist strap, coming down from the right side, as seen from the front, is connected to a hook on the handlebar bag as a 'safety wire.' It also prevents the camera from rotating out of the mount. The lens cap cord goes off to the other side. The cap is tucked into the handlebar bag. Either of these connections would probably be sufficient. On its maiden voyage, the camera stayed in its mount when I hit a pothole at about 30 mph and one of my water bottles went flying. The camera has survived that short tour - 120 miles over two days - and delivered excellent images as long as the road was smooth. Note: although you can't see it in these images, my handlebars are mounted on a Softride stem which greatly reduces the sock and vibration experienced by the camera.