DJI Neo for mountain biking? **Unsponsored experiment**
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- I test the DJI Neo out on some mountain bike trails to see how well it tracks on a deeply wooded trail!
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Yeah... we'll have to wait a little bit more for a drone that really follows you on the trails, but the first step was taken! Excited about that. Thanks for the review and cheers from Brazil :)
It's a very promising start! Thanks for watching and cheers back from Canada!
testei dji neo pela cidade de bike foi top show de bola
exactly the question i wanted answered. Thank you.
What a beautiful forest.
Awesome vid! Great to find another local riding the same awesome local trails!!? I just picked a Neo up as well....pretty much the same consensus. I took some vids on Thornhill as well....a lot slower than I would normally ride and the sun glares tbrough the trees threw it off a bit for me. However, i rode up on Rock Ridge a couple days ago with the Neo and it tracked really well through the tight trees and ferns. Ill go back for more vids next week. Nice video.... I'm gonna check out more of your stuff. Cheers.
Nice review. I just picked one up. It’s replaced my insta360 now for gravel bike rides. It can keep up with me to about 22km/h which is fine. In follow mode it’s pretty flawless. Tracks really well. But in directional track mode it struggles. I can’t cycle more than 10km/h without it drifting all over. For the price I’m happy with it. And the video quality isn’t that bad.
Thanks! I'm planning on using it for gravel rides as well.
Great ! Stuff we could only dream of doing only a year ago...especially for that price !
Jeff in the forest with a new techy friend!
😊
Hi Andrea!
Nice Video thinking about getting one for using in Bentonville!
So cool!! Adorable inviting to follow 🤩
Thanks for this video!
I ride a onewheel my top speed is roughly 15mph (20-25kmph)
I was thinking this drone might be good for vlogging my rides and you helped convince me!
@@xrism4010 I'm glad I could help. I'd love to try a one wheel sometime!
If anyone is really interested in filming moutain bikes ridiing down tight twisty trails you might want to look at fpv drones. It takes a lot of time and commitment to pull off, but if you want great mountain bike footage AFIK it's one option that can work.
Yeah FPV drones are amazing. I guess the biggest difference is they require a second person and a lot more money. The Neo is great for just having fun with, I think. 🙂
Thanks for doing this and putting a video up for us all! Such an awesome test! Wonder if they can push a software update to the Avata 2 to get this level of tracking at higher speeds with better low light performance 🤔
solid review
Great video. Questions...what setting was the drone set by distance. I have seen if you set it to close it would allow you to go faster. Am looking at one to follow my son on his MTB. We all know you need a little speed for jumps. Thanks.
It was set to close follow to give it the best chance to keep up. If jumps are in an open area and not massive, I'm sure it could keep up. I'll be doing a long term review video soon.
So fun!😊
I love it. I got mine but i would be careful my speed actually on MTB. Hopefully DJI would do something about the resolution? Like 4k/60fps that would be great for the coming firmware. Thanks you earn my Subscription. Keep it up.
I'm mostly happy with it too and I'm sure it will get better and better. Thanks for subbing.
Thanks! Amazing what you can get for 200$
Don't lose track of the fact that this is a $200 device, not $2,000.
Great vid. I was looking to purchase this for my mtb'ing vids. Glad I saw your coverage but wondering if it would be different for me as I ride in mostly open space. Thanks!
Open space makes a difference so long as you don't go faster than it's top speed. If you do, it will just stop. Glad it's helped!
Thanks I think this was awesome test.
If you had showed me a vid of the terrain and how fast you were expecting to ride before the drone footage... I wouldn't have believed it could have performed as well as it did.
I fully appreciate it doesnt suit your use case of tearing through the scrub at your preferred speed ,,, but this didnt crash once with no obstacle sensors?
For this price thats amazing.
It will only get better over time too!
Pretty crazy how impressive autonomous is at this point 👏.. at the same time scary, if i was skiing itd be buh bye dronie 😅
Hit up a glade run, and it would be buried in the snow until next spring!
I'm sure the the Neo 2 will be moch improve . its all IA and is learning but nothing on the market can touch this drone rite now. Dji now start...more to come
Thank you for the real world review, especially for mountain biking. This has been a question I’ve had with the neo as how will it be for the sport. The footage is decent and would be great for videos. Yet the neo is not beneficial for mount bikers. Until they come up with a way for stand alone drones to keep speed, track and avoid obstacles, then I will consider it.
While I don't think it's good for following in heavily treed areas, I'm going to do more experiments in how it does on technical trail features like rolls, jumps, and drops. I think that's going to be its forte.
Still Nice one Bro😎
Thinking that the drone is avoiding the trees is the joke of the day , did you reed the owners manual ?
I know it's not avoiding the trees...which is why I said it was convenient. Thanks for the comment.
Can you do a test in a fairly open area and show how well it can track you on the mountain bike when you are travelling much faster (Typical speed)? Thanks
@boomjunkie I'll see what I can do. There aren't too many open trails here, and it will only follow at about 24 kph, I think.
@@sketchyjeffart Also...just an idea. I though If you wore a bright color top that stands out maybe it might have a faster track, or at least identify easier.
A few firmware updates should make it follow faster. After all, when using the controller in sport mode, it's apparently able to go around 57kph, which is more than fast enough to keep up with most riders. At the moment, it's just software limited.
That would be great. I'm not sure it will ever be that fast in auto mode for safety reasons, though. I did some more testing and encountered some more interesting issues. I'll be doing another video soon!
No it is limited by the camera, propellers, processor, motors, trees, pretty much everything except for the software. And a software update could improve things only marginally. It's not going to stick with you at 57kph through a forest. Why I would want to watch an hour long video of someone's ass anyhow I don't know. A couple short clips is all you need. For that the Neo is fine. But then why not a 360 camera on a stick? If you want more cinematic areal shots you are going to need follow-me. By which I mean GPS follow-me that will never lose you. And DJI won't give it. So you just have to wait till apps like Litchi and Maven work with the Neo.
Now don't get me wrong. I like what I see. I may get myself a Neo next year or so. But I would always get the controller so I can fly it manually. Shame there aren't any split controller left/right for on your handlebars.
@driewiel It only has to match the new Hoverair X1 pro in speed, which can follow up to 42kph and no not through trees. No drone can do that yet. Many people seem to like seeing their but, I guess not you, though??
@@gregb1599 Maybe if DJI makes it he same price as the HoverAir X1 it can follow at higher speed?
You know, it's funny but DJI people never bothered about tracking. It was a gimmick blah blah. It never was DJI's thing to make a true hiker/biker drone. I guess their engineers all all locked up so they don't have any experience with the the real outside world. If they had they would add follow-me. That's GPS follow. Which is way more reliable. Ask people cycling around the world. Nobody uses optical active-track. You have to stop and stop again and you get nowhere that day. The shots don't even look good.
Now suddenly the Neo is all about riding your mountain bike down a fast trail. All the fat drone pilots hop on bikes. I didn't know they had bikes?
But you have to ask yourself what it is you are trying to achieve. If that is some video for your story, then ride a bit slower. The only way to have it follow at high speed is when the drone exactly knows where you are going and has a map of where all the trees are. The fact this $199 Neo can follow your track around most trees is amazing already. Follow-me you can only use in open terrain. Or I should say, in open terrain you should use follow-me. Because then you can have it fly in front or next to you in view. I don't know about you but I wasn't born with eyes in the back of my head. And when I try to turn my head like Regan in the Exorcist it really hurts.
I have seen idiots having their Mini 3 Pro or 4 Pro track them at eye-height on busy trails and along busy roads believing the obstacle avoidance would keep them from crashing into someone's face or car windscreens. how come I can't fly my 550 gram Fimi away from all danger without a stupid Remote ID, but people can fly their DJI drone in auto tracking mode exactly where it can do damage?
So perhaps it is the good thing the Neo is really small and light, a bit slower and makes a lot of noise? That way you can hear in time when it loses you. And luckily it has prop guards you can't remove. Because DJI owners are pretty dumb by definition. They never learned to fly without GPS or optical flow. And if they crash it they blame the drone.
Thanks, good video! Could you test if it’s possible to recover Neo with controller if it loses you and you get too far. I’m thinking if this drone would be useful when snowboarding, hiking back to get it would not be option in deep snow.
Thank you. That's an interesting idea! I will see what I can do to test that out!
Cool!
I sent mine back. If it couldn’t keep up then very little point in having it. But I’ve ordered the x1 pro max instead so hoping that will be ok
That one looks good. Quite a bit more expensive but I might have to pick one up and try it too.
Have you tried to have on a yellow jacket? Maybe It needs something with more contrast with the trees
That's possible but I'm not gonna change my wardrobe for a drone. 😅
Boys with their toys! Hey what's the bike you are riding?
It's a Giant Reign e-mountain bike.
Amazing 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
I have a Skydio and it has excellent tracking but its hard to concentrate on and enjoy riding while worrying about where the drone is.
Amazing
Have you tried it with the new firmware update that increase tracking speed?
I haven't tried it yet but definitely will be. Hopefully over xmas vacation.
I'm also thinking about this for mountain biking, but I'd like to know how it works or if it can work in a tripod mode. I mean, I'd like to set it to hover and stay put so I could use it more like a tripod. Thoughts?
I'm going to test that out tomorrow. I'll post up my results!
A minor issue with a great deal price
What’s the battery life like when using on the trail?
I think I get around 10 minutes of flight out of a battery, but I'll have to do an actual test to know for sure
@@sketchyjeffart that would be awesome to get your test summary on the battery. Great content.
@@RodPagador Thanks. I've been busy this week with school but am doing some more testing this weekend so keep an eye out. :)
Eh, how 'convenient' that you **usually** go faster, but need to ride slow for the drone, ha kidding dude. I want one of these to follow me on MTS (Mountain Scootering) I have full suspension, 2WD, 4000W stand-up scooters that can climb 36 degree hills. Really want a Follow Me drone camera, but the tech seems underdeveloped so far. So DJI Neo or Hover X1 Pro? When will they make these with obstacle avoidance, vertical tracking and faster speeds?
They do made drones that will do all that...they just cost a lot! Your MTS sounds fun!
@@sketchyjeffart Yeah, super fun, you should try. Be warned they can 45mph on dirt! Search Kaabo Wolf and Okai Panther. Mine are customized beyond stock. Wish I could find a drone that could follow.
Hi, can it connect your phone and use it to follow you?
No. Unless a third party app like Maven, Litchi, or Dronelink will add GPS follow-me in the near future. And you probably will need the controller.
While you can control the drone manually with your phone, it won't use the phone to follow.
@@sketchyjeffart It makes no difference if you use the phone as for the tracking.It is still optical. Except you can take over control within 50 meters or so if the drone won't come back to you.
👋🏼
doesn't this drone have a beacon?
I don't know exactly what you mean by a beacon. It tracks you with the camera.
@@sketchyjeffart i guess it does not have a beacon like the skydio. Would just make for more accurate tracking.
@@invisibleazn9330 Oh I see. I don't think so. I've never used the Skydio so can't really compare.
Question: Being that you were wearing dark clothing in a poorly lite environment. Would results be better if you wore light colored apparel or had a fiberglass flag on your bike?
That's a good question. It's possible the lighter clothing could help but I don't think a flag would. It uses AI to track and recognizes human forms. When you launch the drone in the follow mode it locates you and tries to keep you in sight specifically.
I watched another mountain biking video through the woods and he was wearing orange on a bright day and it tracked much better than here.
@@davidige276 I would love to check out that video. Do you have a link?
This new video follows well but I notice he didn't do any fast downhill and he was pedaling the whole time. ruclips.net/video/vZBR-ABuOFU/видео.htmlsi=MPPVAtWI6v-5mNkE
@davidige276 Thanks, I did some more testing today and learned a bit more. I'm going to do another video soon.
Heyyyyyy! Did you get my email?