Can the Insta360 handlebar mount be used with a selfie stick?

Insta360's bike kit says the handlebar mount has to connect straight to the camera. No extensions, no selfie stick. If you want the floating third-person shot, use a computer-style out-front plate plus a short stick, and keep the stick short.

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Best Insta360 X5 bike mount: cage, then a short stick

Q: What is the best Insta360 X5 mount for a road bike?

A metal cage around the camera, on a short invisible selfie stick, bolted out front of the stem or under an integrated bar. Jack films Melbourne road rides this way on a ZTTO mount. Screw the bare camera straight to a vibrating bar and the small bottom plate is what eventually lets go.

Q: Does the official Insta360 bike mount break?

It can. BikeGremlin's X5 broke at the mounting plate after four months of gravel and city riding on Insta360's stem mount, with no crash. Insta360 pointed at the small print: that mount is for slow riding on smooth paved roads. Owners on Reddit use a metal cage so the load spreads through the body.

Q: Can you helmet-mount an Insta360 X5?

You can. It is a poor default. The camera is about 200 g, road.cc found a helmet shot awkward because you struggle to get yourself in frame, and some helmet makers ban anything fixed to the shell. Read that manual before you buy a helmet mount.

By Jack, Jack's Coaching Updated 8 November 2026 Melbourne, Australia

Buy buttons go to the Insta360 store for the X5, the camera I film on. I earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. Insta360 didn't see this before it went up. Specs and lab tests are from the reviewers I name. I have not used the X6 or a GoPro Max 2.

The short answer

Out the front of the bars. Short stick, metal cage, and I check the bolts when I get home. That's how the X5 stays on my bike. Skip the cage and the little plastic plate you screw into is the bit that eventually lets go.

Copy this

Cage first. It grabs the body of the camera.
Short stick, in front of the stem. A long one looks great until it wags.
Tighten the camera, the stick and the stem bolts after the ride.
Gravel: take the stick off. A ball head is the first thing that flops.

Reframed selfie from an Insta360 X5 mounted in front of the handlebars on a Melbourne road ride — This is the shot. Stick edited out, clamp still there, me looking a bit close to the lens. I'll take that over a helmet cam.

Where do I actually put it?

Out front. One file has my face, the bars and the road, and I decide later which one is the video. road.cc did a three-day audax on an X5 and came back saying the same thing. That was the bit that made me leave it there.

Mine's a ZTTO mount off AliExpress. Sealed Melbourne roads. No chest strap. The helmet stays a helmet. The selfie from this close is a bit brutal, so I tilt the stick up a touch before I ever think about making it longer. Longer looks cinematic for about ten minutes. Then you watch it bounce and you spend the edit pretending it didn't.

The other places people stick it, and why I don't:

Where	You get	The annoying part
Cage and a short stick, out front	What I use. Two angles from one take	Check the bolts. A loose camera at 40 km/h is a bad day for everyone
Insta360's computer mount	An aluminium plate that also holds a Garmin, Wahoo, Bryton or Giant	Their listing for the X5 version says slow riding, smooth roads. The X6, on the same plate, is the one they rate for hard riding
Their handlebar kit	A clamp and a chest strap in the box	It has to bolt straight to the camera. No stick. So you lose the floating shot
Under the saddle	The follow-cam, the one that looks like a drone	road.cc liked it, then parked it for descents
In your hand	Fine if you're walking	One bump and the camera and the bike both meet the road

Forward view from the same Insta360 X5 road ride, looking down the Melbourne road — Same file as the selfie. I just swung the view around afterwards.

Selfie view from the same ride — And back to me. That's the whole reason it's out front.

The little plate is what lets go

I learned this off someone else's camera. BikeGremlin rode an X5 on Insta360's own stem mount for four months. Gravel, city streets, no crash. The little steel thread pulled out of the plastic. He sent it back. They pointed at the small print: slow riding, smooth paved roads.

Reddit has the same photo. The plate is still bolted to the bike. The camera is in a hand. Riders who got tired of that photo put a metal cage on it, so the clamp holds the body. A fat zip tie stops the sideways wag. A ball head is the part that slides once the surface gets loose.

Mine is in one piece. I ride sealed roads around Melbourne, and I have not pointed this setup at gravel. I won't call the ZTTO bombproof. One bloke crossed Europe on a motorbike kit because it locked down in more than one place. Beach Road does not need that.

Buy the cage with the camera, not after the first scare. BikeGremlin totted up the rest of the pile too: guards, a spare lens kit, the official mount, a 512 GB card, the long stick, a charge case, a spare battery. About €485. The card hurt. The cage is the line that keeps it on the bike.

Keep the stick short

The app rubs the stick out, so the finished clip looks like the camera is hanging in the air in front of the bars. The sun still draws a shadow. If I grab the stick mid-ride, my hand is in the shot. road.cc caught both. So did I, the first week.

About 15 cm is enough if you want the bars out of a tight crop. I tilt mine up a touch, because a selfie from this close is brutal, and I'd rather do that than make the stick longer. The 114 cm one stays in a jersey pocket for when I'm off the bike.

What about the helmet?

I wouldn't.

It's about 200 grams on your head. You can barely get your own face in the shot, which is half the reason you bought this. And some helmet brands are blunt about it: nothing gets bolted to the shell. Read yours before you buy the mount.

If the bars are already a luggage rack, fine. Helmet it is. Otherwise leave your head alone.

There's a single-lens mode, up to 4K, that turns the X5 into an ordinary action cam. Handy on a trail where a stick would catch a branch. On a road bike you've paid for the second angle and then switched it off.

The rides themselves, and the settings I leave it on, are in the X5 cycling review.

Insta360 X5 bike mount FAQ

What is the best Insta360 X5 mount for a road bike?

A metal cage, a short invisible selfie stick, bolted out front of the stem. That is how I film. Check the bolts after the ride.

Does the official Insta360 bike mount break?

It can. BikeGremlin's mounting plate failed after four months on the official stem mount, with no crash. Insta360's listing limits that mount to slow riding on smooth roads. A cage is the usual fix.

Can you helmet-mount an Insta360 X5?

You can. About 200 g on the lid, and you struggle to get yourself in the shot. Read the helmet maker's rules. Don't drill the shell.

Can the handlebar mount be used with a selfie stick?

Insta360's own bike kit says no. That clamp goes straight on the camera. For the floating shot, use an out-front plate and a short stick.

Get the cage before you get a longer stick

A longer stick is a look. The cage is the camera still being on the bike at the cafe.

See today's X5 price ↗

Sources

road.cc: Insta360 X5 review: out-front mount, tail mount on descents, helmet, stick shadow, 4K single-lens mode.
BikeGremlin: X5 mount failure: plate failed after four months, the warranty reply, and the accessory bill.
Insta360: bike computer mount: aluminium, computer brands, 11 to 39 mm bar bolts, X6 rated for high-intensity riding on the 1/4 inch thread.
Insta360: bike kit: handlebar mount connects directly to the camera, no stick.
r/Insta360: broken official mount: cage, zip tie, don't screw the bare camera to a vibrating mount.

The road still is from my own X5. The gravel failures are other riders' cameras.