Instagram is showing me Quad Lock - cell phone holder - apparently it has over 40K 5 star reviews and supported my many bike associations - anyone have one? is it worth $90?
livebytheleaf
Seem like a good design but I hate even the thinnest of cases on phones and sticking a mount on the back just makes it thicker.
I use the Ram Tough-claw X-grip. It’s only a few seconds with no tools to swap between bikes. For around town (no highway, <50 mph) I don’t usually use the strap. For highway or any off-road, I’ll use the strap.
One thing I don’t like about it, is that you have to position the phone just right so that it doesn’t hit the buttons on your phone. Not a huge deal, but something to think about. On my old iPhone 5, the power button was on the top, on the 6 and newer iPhones, the power button on the side presents more of an issue.
The X-grip can hold multiple devices, the quad-lock needs a special case. I usually carry my personal cell and my work cell - depending on battery status I can use either in the X-grip. I could also use a standalone GPS.
One thing to keep in mind, if you are in a bad crash, it’s better to have your phone on your person than on your bike, in case you need to call for help. A few years ago, there was a news story about a guy who crashed on an exit ramp one town over from me. He crashed late one evening like 10-11pm. He was separated from his bike, and he went into the woods. He was trapped with a severed leg until a trucker happened to see him at 6-7am the next morning. His phone was on his bike.
One thing I don’t like about it, is that you have to position the phone just right so that it doesn’t hit the buttons on your phone. Not a huge deal, but something to think about. On my old iPhone 5, the power button was on the top, on the 6 and newer iPhones, the power button on the side presents more of an issue.
The X-grip can hold multiple devices, the quad-lock needs a special case. I usually carry my personal cell and my work cell - depending on battery status I can use either in the X-grip. I could also use a standalone GPS.
One thing to keep in mind, if you are in a bad crash, it’s better to have your phone on your person than on your bike, in case you need to call for help. A few years ago, there was a news story about a guy who crashed on an exit ramp one town over from me. He crashed late one evening like 10-11pm. He was separated from his bike, and he went into the woods. He was trapped with a severed leg until a trucker happened to see him at 6-7am the next morning. His phone was on his bike.
I ordered a quad lock and ended up sending it back, the mount was nice but the required case is crap (no edge shock protection at all). I prefer to stick with preferred Speck cases. Also had a Ram X-grip, way too fiddly. Would easily press side buttons on my iPhone unless I mounted well off center.
As mentioned above, the Hondo Perfect Squeeze is the answer. It's way ahead of anything else. Even looks nice, and is compact. No plastic.
As mentioned above, the Hondo Perfect Squeeze is the answer. It's way ahead of anything else. Even looks nice, and is compact. No plastic.
I really like my xgrip mount that I installed 4years ago. My phone has never slipped out. Had a USB charging port to boot. I use a cheap old android phone in it for navigation, and keep my real phone in my breast pocket.
Unfortunately this is no longer available.
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Relax and have a homebrew
Autocorrect is my new enema
Unfortunately this is no longer available.
Relax and have a homebrew
Autocorrect is my new enema
My riding buddy does tons of off road riding on her WR. She had a ram X-Grip mount and it worked fine, but she was annoyed about how finicky it was to dis-mount the phone when she wanted to use the camera. She decided to try the quad lock and she said it's night and day better for her.
I have a $12 X-Grip style mount from Ali Express. Came with all the fake ram mount balls and arm. The balls and arm were crap but with the genuine ram ball and arm from my old GPS mount it was great. I added a small clip to the bottom so my phone was secured on all four sides and I wouldn't have to use the annoying rubber band strap thing. With that small mod the mount is very solid and has held up very well on some very rough off road tracks. I've jumped logs with it on at a training course and the phone stayed put. I don't think a standard X-Grip would hold that well without the rubber band, but I think the quad lock would be fine.
I have a $12 X-Grip style mount from Ali Express. Came with all the fake ram mount balls and arm. The balls and arm were crap but with the genuine ram ball and arm from my old GPS mount it was great. I added a small clip to the bottom so my phone was secured on all four sides and I wouldn't have to use the annoying rubber band strap thing. With that small mod the mount is very solid and has held up very well on some very rough off road tracks. I've jumped logs with it on at a training course and the phone stayed put. I don't think a standard X-Grip would hold that well without the rubber band, but I think the quad lock would be fine.
I've stuck with my RAM X-grip for reasons stated.
I always have oddball phones that the big brands don't make accessories for: Nexus 5, two Nexus 5x's, two Moto x4's.
Lifeproof? Nope. Otterbox? Nope. Quadlock? Nope (the "universal" one doesn't count, IMO).
RAM now offers a wireless charging mount. That would be awesome...if my phone supported wireless charging (Qi)! The last phone I had that did was the Nexus 5. Having to plug & unplug the USB C cable is a minor hassle.
I always have oddball phones that the big brands don't make accessories for: Nexus 5, two Nexus 5x's, two Moto x4's.
Lifeproof? Nope. Otterbox? Nope. Quadlock? Nope (the "universal" one doesn't count, IMO).
RAM now offers a wireless charging mount. That would be awesome...if my phone supported wireless charging (Qi)! The last phone I had that did was the Nexus 5. Having to plug & unplug the USB C cable is a minor hassle.
The X-Grip is fiddly and annoying and drops phones. Good if you have Apple stock, I guess.
Ram makes a damn near perfect phone mount, but it can be weirdly hard to uncover. I've used the Quick-Grips on all my bikes for aeons inlcuding all sorts of off-road shenanigans and oopsies on my KLR, not to mention an errant Ford encounter on my Vee. It's cheap, absolutely reliable, quick, positively hangs on to phones with or without a case, and just plain bulletproof. No fiddling when you insert or remove your phone. You can adjust the side fingers so that they don't contact the buttons on your phone.
Downsides are that it's plastic (really good plastic, but still plastic) and looks kinda weird. And the whole Ram ball system looks a little weird in many eyes, although it works wonderfully.
The Quad-Lock sure does look great, and is a nice sleek solution. The Perfect Squeeze stuff also looks great and I know it's inspired near-religious devotion among converts. Both are bloody expensive, though...
For small and medium devices, that which you seek is the RAM-HOL-PD3U
www.rammount.com
Recently I upgraded my phone and I had to move to the larger XL model.
www.rammount.com
Ram makes a damn near perfect phone mount, but it can be weirdly hard to uncover. I've used the Quick-Grips on all my bikes for aeons inlcuding all sorts of off-road shenanigans and oopsies on my KLR, not to mention an errant Ford encounter on my Vee. It's cheap, absolutely reliable, quick, positively hangs on to phones with or without a case, and just plain bulletproof. No fiddling when you insert or remove your phone. You can adjust the side fingers so that they don't contact the buttons on your phone.
Downsides are that it's plastic (really good plastic, but still plastic) and looks kinda weird. And the whole Ram ball system looks a little weird in many eyes, although it works wonderfully.
The Quad-Lock sure does look great, and is a nice sleek solution. The Perfect Squeeze stuff also looks great and I know it's inspired near-religious devotion among converts. Both are bloody expensive, though...
For small and medium devices, that which you seek is the RAM-HOL-PD3U
RAM® Quick-Grip™ Phone Holder
The standard size version of the spring-loaded RAM® Quick-Grip™ phone holder provides a secure fit for a variety of phones and other devices. The adjustable side keepers ensure devices like GPS units and Bluetooth speakers within the listed compatible dimensions will also fit in the holder...
www.rammount.com
Recently I upgraded my phone and I had to move to the larger XL model.
RAM® Quick-Grip™ XL Large Phone Holder
This version of the spring-loaded RAM® Quick-Grip™ holder provides a secure fit for a variety of large phones and other devices. Included is a set of two nuts and bolts to attach the cradle to any RAM® components that contain the universal AMPS hole pattern, including RAM® diamond ball bases.
www.rammount.com
You're using it wrong (Apple joke)
I've never had an xgrip drop a phone, but I always use the rubber tether with it. I use them on both bikes and the boat. My only complaint over the years has been that on some phones one of the arms will tend to want to push one of the side buttons if you don't pay attention to how you put it in the mount.
I have never had my X-Grip drop a phone. The one time it let go was when I crashed on a dirt road, and I don't think you can credibly argue that counts. I wasn't using the tether.
Things I find annoying about the X-Grip: its tendency to press side buttons, and the near-impossibility of using it one-handed. Such is the usual price of "universal" mounts. Since I never buy "flagship" phones, that's par for the course. Model-specific mounts generally don't exist, or are overpriced, if you have anything but an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy.
The reason I eschew Quad-Lock is that their "universal" adapter has to be stuck on a bare phone. Not happening.
Yes, technically, I could probably kludge together epoxy and filler to get the Quad-Lock adapter stuck on the outside of my existing phone case. However, the combination would be so bulky and ugly as to make me wonder why I'm paying so much for Quad-Lock.
All that aside, I can nearly justify the cost of a Perfect Squeeze. It doesn't have the same annoyances as the X-Grip, and doesn't require gluing a huge adapter thingy to my phone. I wouldn't even have to swap handlebar bracket - would only need the RAM ball adapter.
Things I find annoying about the X-Grip: its tendency to press side buttons, and the near-impossibility of using it one-handed. Such is the usual price of "universal" mounts. Since I never buy "flagship" phones, that's par for the course. Model-specific mounts generally don't exist, or are overpriced, if you have anything but an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy.
The reason I eschew Quad-Lock is that their "universal" adapter has to be stuck on a bare phone. Not happening.
Yes, technically, I could probably kludge together epoxy and filler to get the Quad-Lock adapter stuck on the outside of my existing phone case. However, the combination would be so bulky and ugly as to make me wonder why I'm paying so much for Quad-Lock.
All that aside, I can nearly justify the cost of a Perfect Squeeze. It doesn't have the same annoyances as the X-Grip, and doesn't require gluing a huge adapter thingy to my phone. I wouldn't even have to swap handlebar bracket - would only need the RAM ball adapter.
I use a QL mount because I have the case on my phone all the time and use other mounts elsewhere (tripod, bicycle). If I had to put the case on just to use for the motorcycle, not sure it's worth it.
As a related mini-review, I also had installed the motorcycle wireless charger from QuadLock. While it was good quality and easy to install, I ultimately returned it for a wired charger for the following reasons:
As a related mini-review, I also had installed the motorcycle wireless charger from QuadLock. While it was good quality and easy to install, I ultimately returned it for a wired charger for the following reasons:
- I had thought it would have an auto turn off feature but it does not, it continues to draw power even if turned off
- Once I actually wired it up, I realized it's kinda pointless, there is a cord running right to the phone anyways, I am not really saving myself any cabling
- The charge rate was really low (this was my first wireless charger, I think it's normal)
- While riding, the charging would cut in an out, (presumably from vibrations) which made my phone lose power overall, though slowly.
You are correct, wireless chargers aren't very efficient, so the charging rate is generally low (on the order of 1 A or so).
A lot of energy is lost as waste heat. Unavoidable, due to the nature of the technology. Last time I looked at numbers, it was something like 50% power loss to heat. Ouch.
For me, the benefit of the wireless charger would be not having to plug in/unplug the phone every time I get on and off the bike.
However, I don't think it would work too well in practice. Even with wired charging, my phone frequently gets too hot to charge. Mostly this is due to direct sunlight. Wireless charging would generate even more heat.
It's all hypothetical for me, anyway. Phone manufacturers have mostly failed to offer wireless charging, except for the more expensive phones I don't buy.
Wireless charging is most useful for charging overnight, or keeping the battery topped off in an air-conditioned place like an office, or inside your car.
A lot of energy is lost as waste heat. Unavoidable, due to the nature of the technology. Last time I looked at numbers, it was something like 50% power loss to heat. Ouch.
For me, the benefit of the wireless charger would be not having to plug in/unplug the phone every time I get on and off the bike.
However, I don't think it would work too well in practice. Even with wired charging, my phone frequently gets too hot to charge. Mostly this is due to direct sunlight. Wireless charging would generate even more heat.
It's all hypothetical for me, anyway. Phone manufacturers have mostly failed to offer wireless charging, except for the more expensive phones I don't buy.
Wireless charging is most useful for charging overnight, or keeping the battery topped off in an air-conditioned place like an office, or inside your car.
I used to use an X-grip with a ram mount in the past, but this spring switched to a quad lock and then added the wireless charging option when it became available. I found the basic quad lock easier to get my phone on and off, but hated running a cord from the outlet to the phone. Tapped into a switched outlet on my old BMW so I never worried about it draining the battery. For me it was money well spent getting this set up, it is quick, looks good and easy to use. Just ordered a ram mount that will work on my new V-Strom that I picked up yesterday so I can mount it on it.
Brian
PS I haven’t experienced the charging cutting out on mine, either lucky or maybe there was a problem with Umphrey1012’s?
Brian
PS I haven’t experienced the charging cutting out on mine, either lucky or maybe there was a problem with Umphrey1012’s?
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