Whilst riding around London, it’s likely you’ve developed your own internal GPS for getting around. But what happens when you want to venture further? Or try completely new routes?
In September I’m planning on riding to Taunton. Following the route will be a lot easier if I have the bike equivalent of a TomTom in front of me.
That’s where the Quad Lock bike mount comes in, along with my Samsung Galaxy.
Having used it for a year now, I feel it’s a good time to share my review.
There are two main versions of the Quad Lock. The first is a case for iPhones with an inbuilt mount. Alternatively, for the non-iPhone crowd, you can get a universal kit. This sticks directly on to your phone or case. I’ve been using the universal version – but the principles are the same for both.
iPhone Quad Lock Bike Mount – £40-£50
This is available for iPhones 5, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus only (the size on iPhone 6S, 6S Plus is the same so it works on those phones too and likely on the iPhone 7). It comes in a pack with the case for the phone, a ‘poncho’ top case to protect from rain and the male mount for the bike with its attachments. The case itself is pretty sleek and only a little thicker than a normal case. The actual Quad Lock part of it is just a hole in the back so it doesn’t stand out too much.
I don’t have an iPhone so have not tried it out personally, but I have friends who have them and attest to their strength and ease of use. The waterproof cover apparently works pretty well at keeping the worst of the elements off.
Universal mobile phone kit – £25
This is a simpler version and suitable for any phone. You get a sticker version of the female side of the mount and then the attachment for the bike. This is the version that is simplest, cheapest and fits any phone. As I have an Android phone, it is also the version I’ve got.
You can stick the mount directly to your phone, but this would mean that it would always be there. I got a cheap case and stuck it to that so as to be able to use my phone on its own or put it into another case should I wish.
The main downside of the universal kit is that you have to buy a case and waterproofing for the phone if you want to use it in all weather, all year round. This has not been a problem for me as for the last year I have had a Samsung Galaxy S5 and the phone is waterproof, meaning I don’t have to worry about keeping it dry. I recently spent nearly 6 hours on the bike in the rain with my phone attached using the Quad Lock and it was fine.
Best uses
Obviously the Quad Lock is great for keeping you phone at hand for directions. This was the primary reason I got one in the the first place – I kept getting lost on long, cross London journeys.
I don’t make so many of these kinds of journeys anymore, and I know a lot of the routes across London, so I don’t use it as frequently. However I have found it very useful for keeping my phone handy for photographs.
Problems?
Generally this is a great product. Its pretty easy to use most of the time, but there have been a couple of occasions when I have struggled to get the phone remounted if I take it off to take a photograph. This is a problem if you are trying to do it while riding along (I was off-road at the time, incase you were wondering!).
Ideally the phone would mount to your stem. If your bike stem is less than 90mm however, it won’t fit. This is the case with my touring bike. I don’t have space on my handlebars all the time, so sometimes I have to put the Quad Lock on the top tube. On the Genesis Flyer the stem is long enough and the mounting pedicle is tall enough to clear the Take-Out basket is have – it works perfectly.
If you do not have an iPhone can can use the ‘poncho’ or a waterproof phone, you probably need to be careful about keeping your phone out in the rain. If you want to use a mount a lot in the winter then there are other options out there that are more dry-bag style and might be better suited.
Review conclusions
The Quad Lock phone bike mount is great. It is simple, easy to use and does what it needs to. It’s useful for photos and directions.
The Universal kit is good value for those with an existing case such as Otterbox.
Get your own Quad Lock Universal Kit or iPhone kit from Amazon.co.uk with free Prime shipping!
Do you have a Quad Lock bike phone mount? What have your experiences been?
If you’re using the stick on mount, then I’d highly recommend checking from time to time that it isn’t coming unstuck! Mine did, and it cost me a £75 insurance excess to get my phone repaired! I’m still using it, as it is in every other way a great product, but I’m just making sure I’m careful in future.
As for the issue of short stems, there is also an offset bar mount which takes up only a small amount of the bar, and lets you position the phone centrally over the stem. I’ve got these on both my MTBs, and they work very well.
With regards to the phone getting wet, however, I can only assume Emily’s S5 has a different sort of screen to my Sony Xperia Z2, as whilst that too is waterproof, as soon as you get any water on the screen, it immediately thinks you’re trying to press the screen, and it goes haywire until you wipe it clean again! This is annoying enough when it’s just a bit of mud flicking up whilst mountain biking, but it’s a complete nightmare when commuting in the rain, so you would absolutely need an additional case, even though the phone is waterproof.
Hi
Out of interest what app do you (or others) use for routing, especially around London. I have used various cycle apps but once you deviate from their route (because road is blocked or closed, or just missed a turn) it can’t seem to cope.
Because of this, I haven’t really bothered with bar mounting, preferring my inner homing pigeon.
Have you tried google maps? Whilst the routes it chooses aren’t the best, you can edit the route on your computer by clicking and dragging waypoints, and then send the edited route to your phone (if you’re logged in to your google account on both devices). Once you start turn by turn directions it’s also ok at dealing with re-routing.
As my phone isn’t waterproof I usually connect earphones and stick one earbud in my left ear to hear the audio directions and just let the other one dangle underneath my top. I use a cheap pair of earphones with no sound isolation so I can still hear traffic.
Thanks, Dave & Vincent. Will try that. Cycle Hub sent me back to start point after 5 mins of “recalculating” so will try Google / Apple when in new parts of town.
I can’t tell about dynamic routing, ie. the phone will compute a route as you ride, but as for static routing, I like Maps.me. It’s fast and has all the basic features I need. Having the maps in the phone means it can be used without an Internet connection, ideal overseas or in the countryside.
I just draw a route on the computer before leaving for a trip, using either Cycle.travel or Google Maps, and send the KML file to the phone through USB.
I often get a route calculated on Bike Hub and Rhein email it to myself and load it onto the cyclemeter app on my phone. It gets round any glitches in bike hub and loss of connection. Bike hub comes up with some great routes out of town. If I want to plan my own route I use the gypsies.com website and again load it onto cyclemeter.
Sorry – it’s the gpsies.com website. Damn autocorrect.
I agree with Chris above – the sticky pad isn’t that strong – mine fell off riding down a bumpy road. I removed the 3m pad & just used super glue on the bumper case, and that hasn’t let go yet…IIRC their website says it doesn’t stick to TPU cases.