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Best bike phone mount: 7 popular phone cases and holders tested
Smartphones are becoming increasingly useful to us riders thanks to a ton of ride-friendly training and navigation cycling apps. A dedicated bike computer won’t drain your phone’s battery, is designed specifically for the job in hand and offers connectivity (typically both ANT+ and Bluetooth) to a wide range of accessories.
Using a smartphone, on the other hand, means you don’t have to splash out on a separate device and normally offers a user-friendly interface.
Plus there’s a growing number of apps and, generally speaking, you’ve always got your phone on you for quick trips by bike, so it’s a popular choice for cycling to work.
We’ve pitched the most popular bike phone mounts head-to-head to find out which are worth buying. Should you want to learn a little more about the different designs and what might work best for you, then head to our buyer’s guide towards the bottom of this page.
Best bike phone mounts, as rated by our expert testers The following products scored at least 4 out of 5 in our test. To release, pull down the retaining ring and twist – even though the lock is firm, it’s an easy operation.
With its high-quality construction and a kit system that allows you to buy only the parts you need, the Quad Lock feels worth its relatively high price. The padded bag sits on the top tube, attaching around that and the stem with Velcro straps. The phone goes easily in the lid section and is held firmly in place against the cover by Velcro flaps, which help to ensure a good connection with the touchscreen and reduce reflection. It would be a tight fit to get a spare tube and tools in there too, but a small grab-strap makes it easy to take all your valuables with you when you leave the bike.
The Zefal Bike Kit is relatively simple to fit and rock-solid in use, thanks to a no-tools-needed setup that uses rubber O-rings to attach the mount to a bar or stem. The snap-on phone case has an integral fitting that allows you to swap it between different mounts and uses – although it’s a bit too chunky to persuade us to leave it on all the time. We tested the Bike Bundle version of the SP Connect, which includes a stem cap/bar mount plus a weather cover as standard, making this good value. For another £10 the Road Bike Bundle has an improved mount that holds the phone out front, with space for a light/camera.
This is one of the better phone cases: it has a tactile feel and the integral mount is low profile enough not to get in the way during everyday use. But there isn’t a positive click when locking it in place and it requires a firm hand to release it.
The mount on the back of the case can be used as a stand – it works better in portrait mode but is useful enough to consider leaving on permanently, removing a hassle factor when setting out. There is an upgrade bracket available as an extra that holds the phone out front, with space for a light or camera. While it’s not very sleek or hi-tech, we found ourselves warming to the Riverside 520 way more than anticipated simply because the tube-mounted twin bags are very convenient.
The kicker is that the straps could be longer, which means some ingenuity is required to fix it securely in place. The phone goes into its holder easily, but because it isn’t held firmly against the cover, reflection from the plastic can sometimes make it hard to see the screen. These sorts of mounts, generally speaking, will allow you to align your phone in either portrait or landscape orientation.
Although for the sake of keeping it out of the way of errant knees, it’s best to use portrait orientation if the phone is mounted on the stem. Instead, they use a universal mount that attaches to your handlebars or stem, and will grip practically any phone even if it’s already in a protective case. The obvious advantage is that you don’t need to buy a new mount when you change phones (and you can lend it to people), but therein lies its disadvantage, too: we reckon they’re a lot less secure. If you’d rather keep the real estate on your bar clear, then carrying your phone in a frame bag is the alternative.
The key consideration is whether the transparent window provides sufficient protection from the elements while also allowing you to operate the phone’s touchscreen. So if you can’t hear the audio alerts, the frame-bag option may be more suitable for riders who are willing to stop when they want to use their phones.
Most mounts come in various sizes and guises to accommodate as many varieties of phone as possible, but double-check before you plough ahead with your purchase.
Quadlock – Gear Lock – Bike Mount Kit
Het is echter in een enkel geval mogelijk dat door omstandigheden de bezorging vertraagd is.
Quad Lock mobile phone mount review: Solid and secure
Once a crowdfunded start-up making phone mounts for cyclists, Quad Lock has grown to become an international name. The Melbourne-based company launched right around the time the iPhone was finding its feet and has since expanded its product offerings to allow the vast majority of smartphones to be mounted securely to bicycles, motorbikes, inside cars and even on office desks. Perhaps it was the more time spent riding indoors and wishing my phone was near, maybe it was my desire to go exploring with maps under my nose, or it could simply have been the relentless bombardment of Instagram adverts (which I’m still getting at an uncomfortable rate). From US$60 / AU$70 (including case) Highs: Wide product range provides plenty of use options, durable materials, rock solid connection interface, easy to detach, turns your phone into a riding display.
Wide product range provides plenty of use options, durable materials, rock solid connection interface, easy to detach, turns your phone into a riding display. And if you happen to have something other than an iPhone, Samsung, Google or Huawei phone, then Quad Lock offers an adhesive-based backing plate, too (for AU$20). For my iPhone Xr, the case costs US$30 / AU$35, weighs 42 g, and adds 5 mm in thickness to the bare phone at the fattest point. From running armbands to holders for motorbike placement to desktop wireless charging stations, through to tripod adapters – the options are plentiful and fully cross-compatible with the entire lineup of cases.
Like the simpler Handlebar/Stem mount, this is made from a strong nylon / polycarbonate composite and offers stainless steel hardware. With the included rubber shims it can be set up on round-shaped handlebars ranging from 22-35 mm diameter and can be mounted in either a forward or backward (over the stem) orientation. Both Out Front mounts can be fitted with an optional camera/light adapter underneath which uses the common GoPro-style three prong attachment. Alternatively, Quad Lock includes a suction-cup-friendly adhesive-based backing plate that can be mounted elsewhere in the car.
I found the phone case just a little fiddlier to locate with the Out Front mount as the mechanism doesn’t evenly pivot out of the way. Removing the phone is a matter of using a finger or thumb to depress the lever while twisting – this part is extremely easy. The cases feature a composite plastic (polycarbonate and thermoplastic polyurethane) construction with a soft microfibre liner. However, I do believe Quad Lock has found a decent balance between a durable material that isn’t too slippery, while also keeping it smooth enough to easily grab from a pocket.
Alternatively, Quad Lock offers its own wireless charging head that can be used with either the desk stand or car holder and this works without hiccup or fear of misalignment. On a similar note, I’ve heard others complain that the case makes contactless payment a little finicky.
The Quad Lock keeps the phone impressively snug and you won’t be distracted by anything moving around when it shouldn’t. By contrast, the regular Out Front mount places the phone well above the handlebars, and I simply found it more distracting and less appealing to look at.
The flip side of that regular Out Front mount is that the phone screen is just that little bit closer and easier to access, and those using the Quad Lock for mapping purposes will likely prefer this element. Personally, I found the general clunkiness of having a phone at my bars rather distracting, and so it’s something I’ve since removed entirely from my mountain and road bikes. However, I’ll almost certainly reattach the Quad Lock to my bars the next time I ride somewhere that requires a detailed map of where I’m headed. Likewise, I’ve come to love the Quad Lock car mount when driving somewhere unknown.
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