Recording your epic mountain biking adventures is a thrilling way to relive your adrenaline-pumping rides and share your experiences with the world. However, capturing high-quality audio can be a challenge, especially when battling the relentless wind noise. In this blog post, we'll walk you through a GoPro mic setup specifically designed for mountain biking, featuring the Rode SmartLav+ microphone and essential accessories to ensure your audio is as pristine as your trails.
Here is what my setup sounds like high in the mountains at fast paced. The audio from the Go Pro microphone alone would sound painful.
This is the mircophone setup I use with my Gopro Hero 9 and a chest mount. You could adapt this to a helmet mount as well. Below I'll also cover some alternatives.
My Setup About $235
This is the mic setup for nearly all my videos and I like it because I can just sling my chest mount on an the Mic is in position and ready to go.
1. Rode SmartLav+ Microphone:The Rode SmartLav+ is a versatile and compact lavalier microphone known for its excellent audio quality. Its omnidirectional pickup pattern captures sound from all directions, making it ideal for recording in challenging outdoor environments.
2. Rode Furry Windshield:Wind noise can ruin your audio recordings, but the Rode furry windshield is here to save the day. This furry little accessory acts as a windscreen, minimizing wind interference and allowing your microphone to capture clear, distortion-free sound.
3. GoPro Media Mod:The GoPro Media Mod is an essential accessory that enhances your GoPro's audio capabilities. It provides you with additional microphone options and the ability to plug in external microphone.s
4. TRS to TRRS Adapter with L-Bend:This adapter is the linchpin of your GoPro mic setup. It connects your Rode SmartLav+ microphone to the GoPro Media Mod, ensuring a stable and secure connection. The L-bend at the TRRS connection is crucial as it prevents the adapter from protruding into your chest, guaranteeing a comfortable fit.
Note: go with the Rode brand on this, not a generic. The generics may pick up cable noise i.e. your jacket rustling on the adapter cable.
Alternative Go Pro Microphone Setup
Let's cover some alternatives.
Ultra Nice: Rode Wireless Me $230++
The Rode Wireless setup wasn't available a few years ago when I got started or I probably would've got it.
The huge plus side is that it is wireless so you can place your microphone anywhere. The downside that I see however is that you have more 'moving' pieces. You'll have another attachment on your media mod that ads weight and the microphone itself can fall off or be lost. With my set up, everything is just there and ready to go when I toss the chest mount on.
The Rode Wireless Me Kit comes with a the cable adapter to connect to the media mod, along with a fuzzy which covers the microphone on the square piece. The square piece microphone can also plug in a lav mic like the Rode Smart Lav. I am unsure of the quality of the rode me square piece microphone vs the smart lav when plugged into the square piece.
What You'll Need:
> Go Pro Media Mod $80
> Optional Rode Smart Lav Mic $109
> Option Rode Wireless Go 2 Mics $300 (get your buddies audio as well).
Lower Cost: Windslayer
A foam windslayer can be picked up for about $10 on Amazon. These covers do a good job for the cost at reducing wind noise. You won't get clear audio but it will be better than atrocious.
The Go Pro Hero 11 has a better mic than my hero 9 and gets surprisingly good audio with a wind slayer. You can here a sample in this video which starts off with the same trail segment as my personal video above.
Recording your mountain biking adventures with pristine audio is now within your grasp.
With the Rode SmartLav+ microphone, Rode Furry windshield, GoPro Media Mod, and the right adapter, you can conquer wind noise and capture the excitement of your rides like never before. Get ready to share your epic biking adventures with the world and immerse your audience in the thrill of the trail!