Drones and biking are the perfect pair. You don’t need to be riding through open desert trails to film yourself with a drone, either. Rapid development in follow-me drone technology has made it possible for drones to capture bikers in their elements even in dense, forested areas. If you’re seeking to get an aerial video of your extreme sports adventures, here are the best drones for mountain biking (as well as a few other interesting accessories to consider):
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The best follow-me drones for mountain biking
I’ve extensively outlined the best follow-me drones here. And the best follow-me drone for other sports like skateboarding, snowboarding or skiing is quite frankly no different than the best follow-me drone for mountain biking.
A follow-me drone is quite simply a drone smart enough to follow a pre-determined subject and keep it in the video frame.
The best follow-me drones use vision sensors, recognition tech and complex algorithms to track you — all without necessitating an additional GPS tracker for most scenarios. These days, I’d only recommend a follow-me drone that can not just track you, but is aware of its surroundings and can avoid other objects, like trees or bridges, in its way. From there, quality follow-me drones can intelligently navigate around those objects, even when flying at high speeds.
The follow-me drones that I recommend are:
DJI Mavic 3 Pro: the best overall drone for mountain biking
The DJI Mavic 3 Pro is excellent for mountain bikers seeking a reliable follow-me drone. The Mavic 3 excels due to its advanced camera system. As the world’s first three optical camera drone, it features the following three cameras:
- A custom Hasselblad wide-angle camera
- Medium tele camera (70mm)
- Tele camera (166 mm)
As far as what specifically makes it a great follow-me drone, it’s all due to the six fish-eye and two wide-angle sensors. These sensors help navigate the complex terrains and unpredictable elements of mountain biking trails.
All that sensor power not only enables obstacle avoidance, but it’s also critical for tracking mountain bikers, thanks to an impressive software called FocusTrack. Within the FocusTrack system comes features including ActiveTrack 5.0, Spotlight mode, and Point of Interest, all of which enable stable tracking shots.
ActiveTrack 5.0 tracks subjects in eight directions via multiple vision sensors that can simultaneously recognize a subject (and differentiate it from other objects). From there, it locks the subject in the frame.
DM Products demonstrates how it all works primarily on a driving car out in the desert, but there is a nice little e-bike shot in here, too:
The Mavic 3 Pro also features an advanced return to home (RTH). That allows the drone to automatically determine a safe and efficient flight route back to its home point. The Mavic 3 Pro can bypass obstacles on the RTH path.
Another standout feature for mountain biking is battery life. With up to 43 minutes of flight time and a maximum flight distance of 30 km per charge, the Mavic 3 Pro ensures that you won’t miss any moments due to battery constraints. This long battery life is beneficial in remote or rugged mountain biking locations, where changing the battery frequently is impractical.
Purchase the Mavic 3 from Amazon for $1,749
DJI Air 3S: the best mid-range drone for mountain biking
If the Mavic 3 Pro’s $2,199 price tag is too steep, the DJI Air 3S delivers impressive follow-me capabilities at nearly half the cost.
The Air 3S is the first drone in the Air Series to include omnidirectional obstacle sensing with forward-facing LiDAR technology — critical when you’re flying through forested trails at speed. The LiDAR system provides enhanced obstacle detection in low-light conditions, which matters when you’re riding early morning or late afternoon.
Key features for mountain biking:
- ActiveTrack 5.0: The same advanced tracking found in the Mavic 3 Pro
- Dual-camera system: Wide-angle and 3x medium tele camera (useful when you can’t fly directly overhead)
- 45-minute flight time: Even longer than the Mavic 3 Pro
- 4K/120fps video: Capture smooth slow-motion footage of technical sections
The Air 3S offers FocusTrack with ActiveTrack 5.0, Spotlight mode, and Point of Interest—the full suite of tracking features you need for mountain biking. The omnidirectional obstacle avoidance via APAS 5.0 technology means it can navigate around trees and other obstacles while keeping you in frame.
At $1,099, it’s significantly more affordable than the Mavic 3 Pro while delivering 90% of the tracking performance that matters for mountain biking.
Price: $1,099
Flight time: 45 minutes
- Order the DJI Air 3S drone from Amazon, starting at $1,099.
- Order the DJI Air 3S drone from B&H Photo, starting at $1,099.
- Order the DJI Air 3S drone from Drone Nerds, starting at $1,099.
Read my full DJI Air 3S review here.
Antigravity A1: the best drone for post-production flexibility
Here’s a different approach to mountain biking footage: rather than relying on perfect tracking during the ride, capture everything and decide the framing later.
The Antigravity A1‘s dual 360° cameras record everything around the drone simultaneously. This “fly first, frame later” philosophy could be transformative for mountain biking documentation.
Why this matters for mountain biking:
When you’re riding technical trails, the action is unpredictable. With traditional drones, if the tracking falters or you want a different angle after reviewing footage, you’d need to repeat the run. With the A1, you capture every angle simultaneously.
In post-production, you can:
- Create multiple clips from a single run with different perspectives
- Switch between rider-focused shots and environment shots
- Extract the perfect angle even if automated tracking wasn’t perfect
- Focus on bike handling, body position, or line choice from ideal angles
Mountain biking-specific advantages:
- 39-minute flight time: With the high-capacity battery, you get significantly more air time than most alternatives—critical when you’re deep in the backcountry
- 249 grams: No registration required for recreational use
- Sky Path: Pre-program the same flight route for multiple runs down the same trail, ensuring consistency
- Deep Track: Insta360’s subject tracking technology handles moving subjects well
The A1 also features point-to-fly controls via the Grip controller, making manual piloting easier when automated tracking isn’t working on particularly technical or tree-covered sections.
The trade-off:
You’ll need to edit 360 footage in Insta360’s software, which adds time to your workflow. File sizes are larger. But for riders who want to analyze lines, document progression, or create polished edits with multiple angles from single runs, the flexibility is worth it.
When the A1 makes sense for mountain biking:
- You’re documenting trail features or progression on specific sections
- You want multiple perspectives from single runs
- You’re analyzing technique or line choice
- Long flight time matters for remote locations
- You’re comfortable with post-production editing
Price: $1,599 (Standard Bundle), $1,899 (Explorer Bundle), $1,999 (Infinity Bundle)
Flight time: 39 minutes (high-capacity battery)
- Buy the Antigravity A1 drone now directly from Antigravity.
- Buy the Antigravity A1 drone now directly from B&H Photo.
Skydio 2+: the best American-made drone for mountain biking (if you can find it)
This recommendation only comes to you as a “kind of.” Unfortunately in August 2023, Skydio canceled its consumer drone arm, meaning this drone is no longer in production. I still recommend it simply because there just aren’t any other good camera drones made in America.
If you can get your hands on one (hey, you might have luck buying a used drone), then you’ve got an American-made gem.
The Skydio 2+ costs $1,099 (though you might have to pay more given that scarcity premium). It comes equipped with six, 200-degree color cameras to see in every direction (in theory never crashing as it follows you).
Skydio is a California-based drone maker. The Skydio 2+ drone films 4K60 HDR content and offers up to 27 minutes of flight time with the improved Skydio 2+ Battery. It can be purchased in a few different kit styles with varying accessories. You’ll likely want the $1,549 Skydio 2+ Sports Kit, which includes the Beacon (more on that later), three batteries, two extra propellers, a dual charger, memory card and more.
The company put together a pretty epic YouTube video showing its drone flying alongside some downhill mountain bikers. Check it out here:
The Skydio Beacon: While Skydio 2+ does not necessitate a GPS tracker, it stands out thanks to a unique accessory: the Beacon. This roughly $200 accessory provides GPS tracking. That’s helpful if the Skydio 2+ can no longer see you (such as flying in an extremely dense area where the drone is higher than the trees and you’re on the ground). The Skydio 2+ Beacon extends the range of your phone up to 3km when using the Skydio App.
Custom RTH: An important feature of Skydio drones is the ability to set a custom return to home (RTH) point, so you can send a drone to a place of your choice should you get disconnected. To set up your custom RTH behaviors and designate a home point ahead of your next mountain bike ride:
- Open the Skydio App
- Select Settings > Drone >
Return Behavior - Set your desired Return Height, Speed, and other behaviors
- Launch your Skydio 2/2+
- Select the Home icon
- Select either Phone or Launch Point as your return location
- OR go to the Map to select and hold a custom Home point
Check out my full review of the Skydio 2+ drone here.
The best drone-like cameras for mountain bikers (that don’t actually fly)
While drones are great (hey, this blog is devoted to them), they’re not always the ideal tool for filming. You might be biking in a place where it’s illegal to fly drones, such as a National Park. Maybe you just don’t want to put in the effort to set up your drone. After all, even the impressive 46-minute battery life on the DJI Mavic 3 could cut short a ride. And perhaps the drone is just too cumbersome to pack, particularly when a tiny action camera can fit in your pocket.
I know you came looking for a drone, but I sometimes recommend people don’t get a drone. If that’s you, consider these action cameras instead:
DJI Osmo Action 4: best overall action camera for people who love drones
The DJI Osmo Action 4 is the latest and greatest in DJI’s action camera line. The Osmo Action 4 has plenty of additional accessories well-suited for mountain bikers. That includes an action helmet chin mount, which is just $15, or a $32.99 action handlebar mount.
I absolutely love this video showing exactly how the DJI Osmo Action 4 is the perfect camera for your bike ride. That stabilization algorithm really shows off here — check out how smooth this footage is:
While a bit pricier than its predecessor, the DJI Action 3, it majorly improves upon image quality and color performance. Much of that chalks up to a larger sensor than what previous Osmo Action cameras offered. Not only is the 1/1.3″ sensor the largest of any of the Osmo action cameras to date, but it’s even larger than the GoPro Hero 11‘s 1/1.7 sensor (and it also touts a bigger equivalent pixel size).
Purchase the DJI Osmo Action 4 from Amazon for $489
DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro (upgrade pick)
Released in late 2024, the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro takes everything great about the Action 4 and improves it with an even larger sensor and better low-light performance.
The Action 5 Pro features a 1/1.3-inch sensor (same size as the Action 4) but with improved processing and a new chip that delivers better dynamic range and color science. It’s particularly impressive in challenging light conditions—think riding through dense forest with dappled sunlight, or early morning and late afternoon rides.
Key improvements over Action 4:
- Better low-light performance
- Improved color accuracy
- Enhanced stabilization
- Longer battery life
- Better thermal management for extended recording
For serious mountain bikers who ride in varied conditions and want the absolute best image quality from a body-mounted camera, the Action 5 Pro is worth the premium over the Action 4.
Which option is right for you?
Choose a drone if:
- You want third-person perspective footage
- You’re riding in areas where drones are legal
- You want the flexibility to capture different angles
- You’re documenting trail features or progression
- You have time to set up before rides
Choose an action camera if:
- You’re riding in National Parks or other restricted areas
- You want first-person perspective
- Minimal setup time is important
- You want something you can forget about while riding
- Budget is tight
For the ultimate setup: Many serious mountain bike filmmakers use both! They. use action cameras for POV and detail shots, and they use drones for establishing shots and third-person perspective.
What are your favorite drones for mountain biking? Leave a comment below!
And for more reviews and analysis, check out my guides to the best camera drones, and the best follow-me drones.