If you can’t leave home without your phone, you might as well keep it in plain view
It’s easy to become dependent on the electronics that have been invading our lives like never before. I bet you never leave the house without your smartphone, do you? Other than its main purpose of taking pictures … I mean making calls … your phone is hard to leave behind for so many reasons.
That includes using it while you’re riding your motorcycle — not as a distraction but as an information centre. Keeping it in view from the saddle is important to keep an eye on the local weather; if you have an app that interacts with your motorcycle or a helmet headset via Bluetooth; if you use it as a GPS; or in case someone dares contact you while you’re out for a ride. There are so many reasons to keep your phone in view.
One of the many ways to keep your phone handy is via an ultra-flexible smartphone holder by Peak Design. Peak Design makes myriad mounts for all of your modes of transportation, whether it’s your car, bicycle or of course, your motorcycle.
The easy-to-mount bracket attaches to any diameter handlebar, thanks to a variety of rubber inserts. The beautifully sleek, well-designed mounting system is attractive to look at and would be a nice addition to any style of motorcycle. There is also a discreet steering stem mount if your bike will accept it.
The actual phone mount is isolated from engine vibration thanks to a flexible, shock-absorbing rubber insert between the metal handlebar bracket and receiver and the phone case mount. This rubber mounting system is key to isolating vibration and saving your smartphone camera’s optical image stabilization if the going gets rough or you have a lot of engine vibration.
The actual phone case is specific to your model of phone if you choose to use Peak Design’s protective phone case. Peak Design claims its case protects your smartphone up to a two-metre drop. Peak Design’s protective phone case measures the exact dimensions as the OtterBox case I used to use. If you prefer to use a third-party case, there is an adhesive-backed universal adapter mount available that sticks to your existing phone case.
The ingenious two-stage phone mount uses a MagSafe (ensure your phone is MagSafe compatible) magnet between the vehicle’s mount and the phone’s case to ensure it’s positioned properly for the locking system to engage.
You simply set your phone onto the vehicle mount and the phone clips into place thanks to the strong magnet and the locking tabs located on the mount. The locking latch is precise and intuitive, leaving no doubt your phone is securely attached. It’s so easy.
The standard handlebar mount does have a limitation, though. I found that it’s adjustable in a couple different ways, providing it’s secured to your handlebar in a location that’s parallel to your eyes, but if you have to mount it on an angled portion of your handlebar because of interference from the bike or other components like a GPS or tankbag then it isn’t pointing directly at you. To alleviate that problem, Peak Design also has a 1-inch ball adapter phone mount making the angle possibilities infinite with standard RAM mount hardware, which is inexpensive and available just about everywhere.
When my smartphone was attached to the Peak Design mount, no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t separate my phone from the mount, until, of course, I wanted to. The phone can be removed with one hand by simply pushing one of two release buttons on the mount and the phone instantly releases. It’s a very slick design.
This is by far the best phone mount I have tried. I’ve logged many kilometres that include plenty of rough roads with my phone on the handlebar and I am totally confident in its safety.
The Peak Design handlebar set up I’m using amounts to about $125 (ball mount ($69.62) and a Peak Design phone case ($55.68)) plus a simple RAM mount for my handlebar. For more information on Peak Design’s lifetime warranty, on its mount systems and phone cases that it offers, go to ca.peakdesign.com.
