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So we agree that there is opportunity for some growth in the POV camera marketplace but disagree in how much there really is. You mention "every urban biker in

So we agree that there is opportunity for some growth in the POV camera marketplace but disagree in how much there really is. You mention "every urban biker in the western world" but unless GoPro figures out someway to make it necessary for every biker in the western world to have a camera attached to their bike how on earth is this a realistic goal to shoot for? That is like saying Redbull is shooting to get their product into the hands of every athlete...it's a silly assumption.

Steltek 13y ago
I'm not sure about "necessary" but dash cams make even more sense for bikers. The default response for police in car-bike traffic accidents is to assume the biker did something stupid and let the driver go or worse, issue a ticket to the biker without any evidence at all. See: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/19284/it-must-have-been-your-fault-cmon-you-are-a-biker/ http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/19284/it-must-have-...
showerst 13y ago
People didn't put lights on their bikes at night until about 15 years ago when low-weight, bright LEDs became cheap and ubiquitous. Any city cyclist will tell you about all the close calls and accidents they've had, so it's just a matter of making a camera that's rugged and cheap enough to meet the demand. GoPro has rugged down, now they just need to come down in price and maybe up in usability. I think it's different from the Red Bull example because red bull doesn't really offer anything that tons of cheap competitors don't already offer, and with taste being what it is there's no 'default' drink to capture the whole market. If gopro just became 'the dash-cam' company, and any time you bought a new bike or car it was a $50 add-on at the register, I think they'd clean house. Of course we're a ways from a stabilized HD camera being an impulse buy, but they're probably the best positioned company to get there. Then they just have to fight commoditization, which is a nice problem to have.
- objclxt 13y ago
  > People didn't put lights on their bikes at night until about 15 years ago when low-weight, bright LEDs became cheap and ubiquitous Perhaps this is different in the US, but in the UK people were definitely putting lights on their bikes way before then, because if you didn't you were liable to get stopped by the police. Having a light on your bike in the UK has been the law for at least 30 years.
  - erichurkman 13y ago
    A light, maybe. Now it's not uncommon for a frequent night biker or city bike commuter to have several very visible LEDs on their bike and gear -- a far step up from the dim battery powered lights of 30 years ago.
- jesbickhart 13y ago
  I think it is a law in the US as well? Pretty hard to corner the market though with a bike light...
jesbickhart 13y ago
I bring up Redbull because there you have a company that was able to profit more-so from it's brand than their product. Their brand created more value in the company than the product they were making. GoPro has a similar mission as Redbull I think, therefore they would be wise to follow the lead Redbull has already proven successful.
barrkel 13y ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkRVJNmWmT8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkRVJNmWmT8 - this happened to me on Wednesday night (filmed with a Drift Ghost, a better camera for motorcycle helmets though). Capturing stuff like this is worth it.
moonka 13y ago
Living in Seattle, almost every bicycle commuter I know has a GoPro, and they are fanatical about their love for it.

Steltek 13y ago

I'm not sure about "necessary" but dash cams make even more sense for bikers. The default response for police in car-bike traffic accidents is to assume the biker did something stupid and let the driver go or worse, issue a ticket to the biker without any evidence at all. See: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/19284/it-must-have-been-your-fault-cmon-you-are-a-biker/ http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/19284/it-must-have-...

showerst 13y ago

People didn't put lights on their bikes at night until about 15 years ago when low-weight, bright LEDs became cheap and ubiquitous. Any city cyclist will tell you about all the close calls and accidents they've had, so it's just a matter of making a camera that's rugged and cheap enough to meet the demand. GoPro has rugged down, now they just need to come down in price and maybe up in usability. I think it's different from the Red Bull example because red bull doesn't really offer anything that tons of cheap competitors don't already offer, and with taste being what it is there's no 'default' drink to capture the whole market. If gopro just became 'the dash-cam' company, and any time you bought a new bike or car it was a $50 add-on at the register, I think they'd clean house. Of course we're a ways from a stabilized HD camera being an impulse buy, but they're probably the best positioned company to get there. Then they just have to fight commoditization, which is a nice problem to have.

objclxt 13y ago
> People didn't put lights on their bikes at night until about 15 years ago when low-weight, bright LEDs became cheap and ubiquitous Perhaps this is different in the US, but in the UK people were definitely putting lights on their bikes way before then, because if you didn't you were liable to get stopped by the police. Having a light on your bike in the UK has been the law for at least 30 years.
- erichurkman 13y ago
  A light, maybe. Now it's not uncommon for a frequent night biker or city bike commuter to have several very visible LEDs on their bike and gear -- a far step up from the dim battery powered lights of 30 years ago.
jesbickhart 13y ago
I think it is a law in the US as well? Pretty hard to corner the market though with a bike light...

jesbickhart 13y ago

I bring up Redbull because there you have a company that was able to profit more-so from it's brand than their product. Their brand created more value in the company than the product they were making. GoPro has a similar mission as Redbull I think, therefore they would be wise to follow the lead Redbull has already proven successful.

barrkel 13y ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkRVJNmWmT8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkRVJNmWmT8 - this happened to me on Wednesday night (filmed with a Drift Ghost, a better camera for motorcycle helmets though). Capturing stuff like this is worth it.

moonka 13y ago

Living in Seattle, almost every bicycle commuter I know has a GoPro, and they are fanatical about their love for it.