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We reviewed this guide, updated some product information, and added new uses for the budget choices we discovered during the pandemic.
Using a smartphone holder while riding a bicycle is a boon for anyone who wants easy access to their device. But as the price of a mobile phone approaches and exceeds the $1,000 mark, you want to make sure that your device can connect securely. After riding over 90 miles of flat and bumpy roads with 23 smartphone bikes, we concluded that the Quad Lock stand is the stand we use for our mobile phones.
These mobile phone-specific protective cases are suitable for all the latest iPhone models (back to and including the 5/5S/SE series), and can be locked into the clip mount of the Quad Lock.
These mobile phone-specific protective cases are sized to fit all the latest models of Samsung Galaxy (back to and including S7), and can be locked into the clip mount of the Quad Lock.
The adapter is affixed to the back of compatible phones and phone cases, and can be locked into the clip-on mount of the Quad Lock.
*At the time of publication, the price was $15.
This clip-on installation is suitable for handlebars of any size; once you lock the phone in it (using a Quad Lock case or universal adapter), the phone will be securely secured in place.
The Quad Lock case (for iPhone and Samsung Galaxy) and the Quad Lock universal adapter combined with the company’s Out-Front Mount (we prefer the Quad Lock case and the pole mount in the mounting kit) have proven to be useful An inspiring solution for safely connecting any smartphone to any bicycle. In our test, no matter how bumpy the road became, the phone in the Quad Lock product almost did not vibrate—not to mention rattling or shaking. Both the phone case and the universal adapter can be twisted to lock on the base, and then fixed on the handlebar of the bicycle. The iPhone 8 Plus case we tested does not interfere with the phone’s functions, and we believe that according to the Quad Lock case we tested against other guidelines, it can protect the phone in daily use. (In addition, you can use the case and adapter with many other mounts of Quad Lock-for car dashboards and running armbands, etc.) The recessed socket on the back of the case is the least noticeable case we have used One of the type bicycle mounts. test. The universal adapter protrudes from the phone case (or back), and like most adapters of this type, you may find this annoying-you may want to buy a separate "bicycle riding" case for your phone.
Although not as sturdy as the Quad Lock system, of all the silicone strap models we have tested, this installation method can secure the phone most safely, and it should be no problem for riders who occasionally use or share bicycles.
Nite Ize Wraptor is a simple, well-designed choice for riders who want to be able to mount their phone on their bicycles or shared bicycles and usually ride on flat paved roads. (As we discovered when we were riding a bike on a smart trainer during the pandemic, it can also help you take advantage of the steering function of the Zwift bike game. For this you need to connect your phone to the handlebar of the bike.) Silicone strap to connect your phone Connected to the bracket and installed on the bicycle, it feels stronger than other similar brackets. Due to the elasticity of silicone, we did find that when we were riding on rugged terrain, the vibration of our test phone in the Wraptor would be greater than the vibration on the more expensive Quad Lock bracket, but this is not the same as ours. The rattle seen on the silicone bracket is completely different, even some mounts based on the case. Wraptor is suitable for handlebars of various sizes and is easy to install and remove. Similarly, the straps are suitable for mobile phones of all sizes, and they won't interfere with the phone's screen or buttons-this is a problem we have encountered with other silicone holders. Even if you step on the pedal, you can easily rotate the phone from portrait to landscape (and vice versa). The entire bracket is small enough to be tucked into a pocket when not in use.
These mobile phone-specific protective cases are suitable for all the latest iPhone models (back to and including the 5/5S/SE series), and can be locked into the clip mount of the Quad Lock.
These mobile phone-specific protective cases are sized to fit all the latest models of Samsung Galaxy (back to and including S7), and can be locked into the clip mount of the Quad Lock.
The adapter is affixed to the back of compatible phones and phone cases, and can be locked into the clip-on mount of the Quad Lock.
*At the time of publication, the price was $15.
This clip-on installation is suitable for handlebars of any size; once you lock the phone in it (using a Quad Lock case or universal adapter), the phone will be securely secured in place.
Although not as sturdy as the Quad Lock system, of all the silicone strap models we have tested, this installation method can secure the phone most safely, and it should be no problem for riders who occasionally use or share bicycles.
For Wirecutter, I researched, tested, and wrote articles about folding bicycles, running belts, and various other sports equipment.
I often ride a bicycle, mainly for leisure or commuting. I'm not a serious cyclist and I don't want to invest in a bicycle computer-I usually just use my Garmin GPS watch or the Strava app on my phone to record my ride. I own multiple smartphone bike holders, but none of them are my favorite, mainly for following Google Maps cycling routes when exploring on weekends.
I also had a long conversation with Wirecutter senior writer Nick Guy. He is our iPhone case expert. He has been working in this area for nine years, about what is a good (or at least qualified) mobile phone protection set.
For bicycle commuters or leisure riders who want to see and hear their phones on their bicycles or shared bicycles, the smartphone bicycle stand is a worthwhile investment. It is also useful for those who want to record their rides for fitness purposes but don’t need a dedicated bicycle computer for bells and whistles. And, as a former colleague once pointed out, despite the risks, people do use their mobile phones to play music (and other things) during the ride, and it is much safer for riders to use a visible and easily accessible mobile phone than using a mobile phone. When speeding on the road, groping for the device in your pocket or bag.
I started my research by looking at bicycle enthusiast publications and websites (such as Bicycling, Cycling Weekly, and BikeRadar) how they commented on mounts and which models they liked the most. I also searched Amazon’s best sellers and several bicycle-specific online stores to understand what people bought (and how satisfied they were with the purchase) and the products that well-known retailers chose to sell.
There are many designs of bicycle smartphone holders; we studied the three most common types of mounts. The first one consists of two parts: a phone case or a stick-on adapter (placed on your own phone case), and a compatible base that connects to the bicycle. The second type uses silicone straps or plastic brackets to support oversized smartphones. The third one completely wraps the phone-you can view its screen through the transparent plastic cover.
From my initial list of 29 mounts, I cancelled a few due to uncertain reviews or inventory issues. Then I called 22 mounts for testing, including the phone specific version and the general version of the two-part system.
I tested the adapter with iPhone 8 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S8 Active (as our more normal-sized smartphones) and Samsung Galaxy S8 Active (representing oversized models and special models made by the installation company for them). If the phone does not fit the case or stand, if they appear particularly unsafe in the stand, or some parts of the stand obstruct the usability of the phone’s screen or buttons, I will immediately cancel some of the stands.
I installed each of the remaining brackets on the handlebar (31.8 mm diameter) or stem of the Trek Lexa road bike. I took everyone around for 2 miles on the roads of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where I worked remotely. It's just that a small section of the road contains four different surfaces: old gravel asphalt, rutted soil, freshly poured concrete, and recently repaved asphalt.
Selecting the six best mounts so far, I tested them on a borrowed mountain bike. The two mounts are not suitable for the thinner (22mm) handlebars-so they are gone. I rode with the other four people under different conditions until I was confident in my choice. (Some of those eliminated in these final tests received good reviews in the race section because they might be good choices for specific bikes or riders.)
These mobile phone-specific protective cases are suitable for all the latest iPhone models (back to and including the 5/5S/SE series), and can be locked into the clip mount of the Quad Lock.
These mobile phone-specific protective cases are sized to fit all the latest models of Samsung Galaxy (back to and including S7), and can be locked into the clip mount of the Quad Lock.
The adapter is affixed to the back of compatible phones and phone cases, and can be locked into the clip-on mount of the Quad Lock.
*At the time of publication, the price was $15.
This clip-on installation is suitable for handlebars of any size; once you lock the phone in it (using a Quad Lock case or universal adapter), the phone will be securely secured in place.
The Quad Lock case (for iPhone and Samsung Galaxy) or the universal adapter used with Out-Front Mount makes our test phone very stable when riding on various roads. If you are an ordinary rider and want to make your smartphone your common co-pilot when you use tools in the city, we recommend putting this combination on top of other mounts.
The sockets of the mobile phone case and the universal adapter are screwed and firmly locked on the mounting bracket of the bicycle. If you do not loosen the safety bar, it will not be loosened. You can do it with one hand.
We found it easy to put the iPhone 8 Plus case on our test phone. It fits well, does not interfere with side buttons or wireless charging (Quad says its phone case should be used with "most Qi certified chargers"), and has a high enough lip to fall on the front of the phone Protect the phone at the time-put it on a flat surface. Although the socket on the back is eye-catching, it is one of the least troublesome sockets we have tested.
Quad Lock produces protective cases for most iPhone and Samsung Galaxy models; those who own other phones can use a universal adapter, which is firmly attached to the phone or case with a high-adhesive adhesive. The company recommends fixing the adapter directly to your phone, if the phone is made of suitable materials (rarely), or fixed to a housing made of materials on the approved list. Before we purchased a test case for my Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, I didn’t see the list-anyway, the phone's available housing options are limited-but even so, the adapter is still solid on my unapproved TPU housing Connected together.
The Out-Front Mount is made of glass-filled nylon and is fastened to a 31.8 mm handlebar with a hexagon socket bolt; it is equipped with a hexagon wrench and rubber spacers for 22 mm and 25.4 mm rods. Quad Lock sells the more expensive Out-Front Pro Mount, and we also tested it. It is made of anodized aluminum and the design is more aerodynamic; however, the non-Pro feels very sturdy, and we believe that few casual riders are willing to spend extra money to improve aerodynamics. In addition, the hexagon socket bolts on the Pro are screwed in from the bottom, making it more difficult to install than non-Pro installations.
The bike kit sold by Quad Lock includes a phone case or a universal adapter with the company’s stem/handle bike holder. I tested this mount; although I found it stable and safe, for several reasons, I like it less than the slightly more expensive Out-Front Mount. This bracket is best installed on the stem of the bicycle, but you cannot adjust the viewing angle of the phone there. It can also be mounted on the handlebars, but in a narrow space without tape, the mount is not suitable for vertical mounting on my test road bike, and it awkwardly protrudes on the thinner handlebars of the mountain bike. It also has two assembly methods, both without tools, but not without defects. First, a pair of powerful silicone O-rings are reusable but not easy to put on and take off; it is also unclear how many times you can do this before the ring breaks. The second is a set of cable ties, which gives you more peace of mind, but cannot be reused. In addition, the phone case kit comes with a suitable rain cover (also sold separately). I find it difficult to turn it on and off, and given that most new phones are waterproof anyway, this seems unnecessary.
As we pointed out in the iPhone case guide, Quad Lock provides many other uses of additional brackets, including car dashboards, motorcycles and running armbands, which can be used with their phone cases and universal adapters.
Although the mounting socket of the Quad Lock phone case is not as eye-catching as similar products, it still produces an uneven dent on the back of the phone, which may disturb some people. The universal adapter adds enough volume, and I don’t want it to exist all the time; you might consider purchasing an approved protective case for use with the mount.
I found it tricky to align the socket with the mount, and I often fumbled and peeked under the phone to see why things didn't match; I did find that pressing the lock release lever helped it to continue in fewer ways.
If you do not release the lock on the base, you cannot change the phone from portrait mode to landscape mode. I find that I don't need to do this often, because portrait is usually the best orientation for the application. Nonetheless, other mounts, including our budget options, make it easier to do this.
Although not as sturdy as the Quad Lock system, of all the silicone strap models we have tested, this installation method can secure the phone most safely, and it should be no problem for riders who occasionally use or share bicycles.
Nite Ize Wraptor is a great choice for occasional riders and anyone who wants to easily add or remove phone holders from their own or bike sharing bikes. It won't keep your phone in place like the Quad Lock mount, but it costs less than one-third of the price, and it fits the phone case you already have.
With Wraptor, the silicone strap can not only fix the mobile phone, but also fix the bracket to the bicycle. The ones that hold the phone on the stand are wider and thicker than most other styles of this kind. Nite Ize stated that Wraptor will fit normal and oversized phones, whether with a protective case or not; our shoulder strap fits our iPhone 8 Plus into the Speck Presidio Grip case (we chose for the 8 Plus to provide additional protection), and They also firmly hold the smaller Samsung Galaxy S8 Active. Unlike some of the silicone brackets we tested, they also did not cover the buttons or screen in a way that prevented the phone from being used.
An unexpected use of this mount appeared during the pandemic, when many of us were cycling indoors, connected to smart trainers, and spent a lot of time in virtual bike games. One of the games, the Zwift app, introduced a steering function that only works when you connect your phone (running the game) to the handlebar, and Wraptor proved to be ideal for this purpose.
A thick silicone strap fixes the bracket to the handlebar of the bicycle; you stretch the strap around the rod and hook one of the strap's holes to a nail at the bottom of the strap. The phone on the stand will rotate between portrait and landscape, and it will click into place every few degrees as it rotates. The whole thing is very compact and can be tucked into your pocket when you are not using it, which is especially convenient for bike-sharing users.
Due to the elasticity of silicone itself, when I rolled over bumps and potholes, the test phone vibrated more in this mount than in the Quad Lock. However, of all the easy-to-install and easy-to-remove silicone mounts I have tested, the Nite Ize is the most stable-for example, the one from VUP+, which shakes and oscillates even with the slightest change in surface texture. In fact, the performance of this mount is better than two of the more expensive and apparently stronger housing mounts, namely SP Connect and Tigra.
Nevertheless, although we did not find any signs of wear during the test, and we have been using similar straps for many years without problems, we recommend checking the straps regularly.
The Thule smart phone bicycle stand is different from any other stand we have tested; it has a heavy base attached to the center of the handlebar and a spring stand and silicone strap, which can be fixed to any size cell phone. It was cumbersome and time-consuming to install, but once it was installed on the handlebar of a road bike, my phone remained stationary. Unfortunately, this mount is not compatible with the test mountain bike, even with the included plastic gasket.
The low profile forged aluminum frame of Delta Cycle X-Mount Pro can only be installed under the handlebar cover of the bicycle-there is no other way to install it, nor to adjust its angle. The sturdy silicone strap can securely fix ordinary or extra-large mobile phones, but only in portrait orientation.
When we tested it, it only applied to the iPhone. The Morpheus M4s Bike Kit from Germany has a very fit and hand-feeling phone case, but its edge is lower than the minimum 1 mm recommended by Apple for screen protection. No tools are needed to install the base, as long as we tighten the thumbscrews, the whole riding process is very stable. The Morpheus case prevented Qi charging, but a Morpheus representative told us at the time that Qi compatibility and versions of other phones were under development. However, starting in the spring of 2021, Morpheus products will no longer be sold in the United States.
The concept of the iOmounts Nomad universal bicycle phone holder is great: you glue a half-dollar disk to the back of the phone or a compatible phone case, wrap the mounting base on the handlebar, and then tighten it, like a zipper tie . In our test, the magnet does keep the phone stable and safe. However, the base is difficult to fit, release and removal is very frustrating, and due to the metal disc, the base is not compatible with Qi charging. Most importantly, this mount is sold out on iOmounts' own website and anywhere else we saw in the spring of 2021.
I tested almost the entire Rokform bicycle stand series, including Rugged and Crystal cases for iPhone 8 Plus, universal stand adapters for Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, and Pro-lite stands. None of them are as good as Quad Lock, but they are more costly. Rokform has replaced the Pro-lite bracket with the V4 Pro series mobile phone bike bracket, which looks more sturdy but still expensive.
SP Connect Bike Bundle comes with a protective cover for iPhone and Samsung Galaxy or a universal adapter for any other device. It is equipped with two low-profile mounting bases, which are connected to the stem and handlebar respectively. The handlebar option allows you to adjust the viewing angle before tightening, but our test phone vibrates more there than when connected to the stem. There is no angle adjustment of the stem stand. When I use it on a road bike, I worry that if I stand up and step on the pedal, I will hit my knee. The universal adapter feels looser than the housing during installation. (SP Connect now offers an updated version, Bike Bundle II; we will take a look soon.)
The Tigra Sport FitClic Neo series is conceptually similar to the Quad Lock and Rokform models, but not as good. The case of the iPhone 8 Plus blocks the side buttons of the phone. The process of locking and unlocking the mobile phone and the stand involves a thin plastic horizontal surface, which is not very user-friendly. The standard installation is more stable than the external installation, but the rattling noise of our test phone in both locations exceeded our expectations.
Topeak Ridecase for iPhone lacks sufficient protective lip and is not compatible with wireless charging. In addition, it is challenging to extract the mobile phone to change it to a different case.
Using two TrailKase products from Bikase that I tested, the test phone would rattle and vibrate every time it hits. TrailKase Quick Release 360-degree bracket has a heavy metal mounting base that can protrude a lot, while TrailKase Original's low-profile plastic mount feels fragile.
Topeak Omni RideCase DX looks very sturdy. Unfortunately, its wide silicone stand covers the home button on the screens of the iPhone 8 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S8.
VUP+ Silicone Bike Phone Holder is an easy-to-install, low-cost silicone holder that is very popular on Amazon. Unfortunately, the test phone rattled, vibrated, and bounced too much during my ride, and the lower strap blocked the home button on the iPhone 8 Plus.
Another low-priced Amazon best-selling product, AILUN bicycle silicone with mobile phone holder, feels much more fragile than similar style holders, we dare not test it on a bicycle. Its strap may also interfere with the home button of the phone.
The lower strap of the Team Obsidian Silicone Bike Mount covers the home buttons of the two phones. I tried to pull the thick silicone strap onto the 8 Plus in the Speck Presidio case.
Putting our phones in and out of Delta Cycle Smartphone Holder XL and Hefty Holder is challenging. Both are big, clumsy, and frankly, ugly.
Nite Ize HandleBand feels durable and safe. However, the broadband passes through and blocks part of the phone screen.
The Drybag of the Topeak smartphone we tested with a 5-inch size fits tightly with the iPhone 8 Plus case. However, we are more concerned about how many rattles and bumps the test phone will make during the slightest road changes, regardless of whether the bag is installed on the handlebar or the handlebar.
Bikase Handy Andy 6 is equipped with two Velcro straps, which are easy to ride on and take off. I noticed that the phone moves and shakes very little on the road. But the plastic window reflects such strong glare that I can't see the phone screen at all. (Later mobile phones don’t seem to have a new version.)
On September 26, 2018, 7 excellent phone holders for cycling and biking
Craig Cunningham, review of the best bicycle phone holder, Bike Weekly, May 4, 2020
Jamie Beach, The Best Bike Phone Holder: Buyer’s Guide and Recommendations, Bike Radar, February 3, 2017
Amy Roberts (Amy Roberts) is a Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT), Running Instructor (USATF Level 1) and a regionally competitive runner. She has also served as a staff writer for the Good Housekeeping Institute for the past five years, working closely with engineers and other scientists to interpret product test results.
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