Mount your iPhone 5 or 5S to your bike handlebars

I don’t know if you know this, but on London Cyclist we’ve got a bit of thing for chatting about smartphones and bikes:

• iPhone apps for cyclists
• Using GPS on your Android or iPhone
• Tigra iPhone 5 bike mount
• Cycling apps for Android

Up until very recently, we even sold iPhone bike mounts in our eShop. Sadly, we’ve closed the eShop, but the obsession continues.

Today, I want to chat about a mount by Tigra for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5.

With the help of my full time blogging assistant (my unpaid sister Nikki) I filmed this quick video that shows the mount in action:

The mounts have come a long way since the first iPhone 4 edition, so I’ll try and go over all the features here.

Falling off your bike and hitting the concrete proof

The worst thing that could possibly happen when you’ve mounted your iPhone to your bike handlebars, is you hit a pothole and it comes flying off, hitting the concrete and then getting crushed under the wheels of a inconveniently located lorry.

Obviously, that’s the first thing Tigra have designed against here. Once you clip in the mount, a small screw at the back tightly keeps it in position.

After much testing, I can confidently say, with the screw tightened, this isn’t going anywhere.

Keeping your iPhone charged

Should you have a long distance ride to undertake, there’s a chance your iPhone battery won’t last, especially if you are keeping the screen constantly on to follow directions.

Fortunately, there are a raft of portable chargers available that will keep your iPhone topped up. The Tigra mount has a detachable plug at the bottom of the case, so you can run the cable through there. The portable charger can then be stowed away in a frame bag.

Listening to directions

There is another removable plug beneath the headphone port. With the standard iPhone headphones, you can fit the cable through and listen to directions. Sadly, if you use a pair of headphones that have a twisty attachment, it won’t fit with the case. I was a little sad about this as I don’t like to use my standard iPhone headphones when exercising as they feel like they’re going to fall out of my ear.

Rainproof

If you happen to get caught out in a 86 mile sportive with the rain lashing down, you won’t have any worries about your iPhone. The case is completely rainproof. I tried this out by leaving it out in the rain, running a hosepipe over it and each time my iPhone was completely snug and dry inside the case.

Screen visibility

Obviously with a thin film in front of your iPhone you’re never going to have the same visibility as if you had a mount without it. However, the visibility remains really good, the pictures above make it look worse than it is. Personally, I’ve never had a problem with this.

Installation

Installing the mounting bracket is quick and easy. It comes with an Allen Key which you use to twist the nut and tighten it around your handlebars. This will fit a wide range of handlebar sizes thanks to the wide loop provided. I decided to cut the loop down a little with a pair of cable cutters, as I simply didn’t need all the excess.

The mount rotates, so you can position it in landscape or portrait and you can fit it either to your handlebars or your stem.

My only complain is that due to the amount of mounting strap provided, it can take a while to twist it tightly. However, as I mentioned above, you can just cut down the strap to a size you need.

TouchID Support

A nice addition for those with an iPhone 5S is that you can just put your thumb over the button and it’ll still unlock your phone without you needing to enter a code. It’s a nice touch and I’m impressed that Tigra managed to get this to work despite the thin film covering the iPhone.

Review

The mount retails on CycleWiz.co.uk for £29.95 and in my opinion that’s a great price for a great bit of kit.