There is no category of gadgetry that I get more manufacturer e-mails on than phone accessory junk. Which is somewhat ironic considering I can’t even remember the last time I reviewed a phone-specific thing. Still, once you get on some PR mailing lists, they all try and eventually pitch you something phone related.
Ironically enough it was not a pitch, but rather necessity that led me to this review. See, despite my general dislike for using my phone as a cycling head unit (yes, I know, some of you like it nonetheless), I do occasionally have uses for putting it on my handlebars. Most notably – testing out drones. It just makes it a lot easier to see what’s going on when the unit is hopelessly trying to follow me.
And in fact, that’s how I returned to buying a Quad Lock mount. Two actually. See, Shane Miller and I were busy crashing drones into trees out in the mountains off-roading on road bikes. Out of his random stable of gear in the car, he pulls out a Quad Lock mount, which…immediately made a crap-ton of sense for what we were doing.
So a week or so later I walked into a nearby bike shop and bought a couple. Almost two months later, here’s how that’s worked out.
What’s in the box:
There’s a few different variants of kits you can buy, but more than likely you’ll buy the standard cycling one which includes the phone case and the mount. There’s also an armband and just the cases themselves. In my case, I bought two kits: One for my iPhone X and one for my iPhone 7. I tend to use a second older iPhone 7 for recording secondary things like mic audio, preview screens, etc… So I wanted the flexibility to use either phone depending on the circumstances.
Both boxes are virtually identical, so here’s the iPhone 7/8 variant.
Inside you’ve got a box of parts including the mount itself, along with both zipties and industrial strength rubber bands. I went with the rubber bands, since I like to move it around, but I could see if you were doing more mountain biking that zipties might make sense.
To the left you’ll see the phone case, which includes a clear rain cover to keep the watery goodness away from the phone.
You’ll also find the phone case itself there of course, that’s the black piece.
And…well, that’s it. Except for the manual of course, which is pretty darn straightforward.
Oh, and that beautiful red glow is from the gigantic red wall behind the desk/table in my rental house in Perth. Sorry, I don’t entirely like it either.
Size & Weight:
I don’t have a lot of cases and such to compare to, so this section will be rather limited. Instead, we’re going to go with a more simplistic version. Here’s the weight of the mount by itself with the two rubber bands – coming in at 22g:
For context, the plastic Barfly mount is 42g:
Next, here’s the iPhone X phone case by itself – 36g:
The phone with the case is 212g.
To compare an iPhone with and without the case, here’s the two side by side on a flat surface:
As you can see, there’s a bit of stack height increase, but I don’t notice it anymore (and barely did that day). For context, I weighed in my previous $6 iPhone X case from Anker, which came in at 22g (versus 36g for the Quad Lock variant).
Riding with it:
I’ve tested this in two core ways: Road riding and mountain biking. Further, in both the horizontal and vertical orientations. And not to sound obvious, but the general goal here is pretty straightforward: Don’t fall/break off.
Road riding might sound easier, but that’s not necessarily true. In fact, where I’m staying right now in Australia there’s a set of railroad tracks that I ride over almost every day, and usually a few times a day. Except, these aren’t normal railroad tracks. Instead, they are what happens when the city neglects to maintain said tracks and the pavement curls up, forming ‘waves’ of nasty concrete against the tracks. It’s like taking a baseball bat to the bike frame.
But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The first thing we’ve gotta do is connect the mount to my bike. This takes two rubber bands and about 9 seconds. Not 10 seconds, not 8 seconds…but 9 seconds. That is unless you’ve managed to slice off a chunk of your thumb using a cheese slicer thingy 3 days prior, in which case it’ll take about 37 seconds because you’re desperately trying not to snap your finger under the bands. Just sayin’ for a friend.
Once you’ve got that oriented, it’ll look like the below.
Meanwhile, you’ll need to put your phone in the case. The last time I tried a Quad Lock case about 6 years ago, the phone to case hookup was a bit wonky, but for both my iPhone X and iPhone 7, it’s quick and simple and like basically all other high-quality cases. It takes a few seconds to put on or off.
Then, along the bottom you’ll see the connector piece. It’s this part of the case that is clearly the hardest plastic material (compared to the edges of the case which have a bit more bounce to them).
Simply align the phone atop this connector at a 1/8 turn angle, and then it’ll find it’s little friendly home.
Then rotate either to the vertical or horizontal position.
And that’s it, you’re done. The sleeve will then slide up and lock in place, disallowing any further rotation or movement.
In the event you want to remove the phone, and/or change orientation, simply pull the sleeve down.
The above photo does visualize the single downside to the case though: Its height.
The sleeve that makes it so secure is also like having the Empire State Building atop your stem. Ok, it’s not that bad, but it’s a fair chunk for certain.
And this is everything you need to know about the Quad Lock mount. Actually, a few more things. First, I had zero issues using it both mountain biking and road biking. In the case of mountain biking, I actually ended up putting it on the top-tube of my borrowed bike over the course of three rides, merely because the stem wasn’t big enough for it.
While I’m hardly an expert mountain biker, no amount of rocks or small drops did any damage here. Of course, if you’re a more impressive mountain biker than I, then it’s likely you can find a way to break your phone/mount/body/bike/water bottle. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Meanwhile, on the road bike front, I did a crap-ton of riding with this, especially on both road and compact dirt conditions. No issues.
In fact, if I circle back to the ride that started it all – Shane Miller and my off-road but with road-bikes foray, we had zero issues there too. In fact, you can watch the entire video here of the return back up out of the canyon. However, rather than show you a picture of it on Shane’s bike, I’m going to show you the tree that the drone hit…about .25 seconds before the drone hit it. That’s Shane down there (almost precisely dead center) with the Quad Lock mount on his bike and the phone attached to it. The drone is supposed to be following him and the phone.
A second later:
See those green things against the blue sky? Those are tree branches that have been severed:
See, that was more interesting, no?
As for waterproofing, the case does come with a little raincoat of sorts as I mentioned earlier – the clear plastic protector:
But alas, it somehow hasn’t rained once since I arrived in Perth nearly two months ago. Thus, no practical testing out on the road. The bathroom sink however tells me that I can place water atop it, I can still roughly utilize my phone. It’s no longer perfect, but it does the job and I can navigate around apps.
I would caution though that I found even a bit of water running along the edges will get pulled back up into the case a little bit. So if your phone isn’t actually waterproof, I’d use caution. Also, this shouldn’t be seen as a ‘waterproof’ solution. Rather, just a way to keep casual water off the screen.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering – you can even attach a DJI remote control (for at least the DJI Mavic Air) to it and have it all hold together (see more in this full video on it):
I wouldn’t recommend doing this for large bumps, as it got a bit loose when I hit the railroad tracks (but it didn’t fall-off). And realistically if I just put a thick rubber band around it, it’d hold the phone and controller nice and snug.
The next thing I’ve found it moderately useful for is using the Zwift Mobile Link (err…Zwift Companion App as of today). It’s just a simple place to stash my phone, sweaty fingers be damned.
And not to mention also found it useful on the running stroller too:
Finally – I’m happy to report that this past Saturday the phone in its Quad Lock case had a near-death experience. Near being the most important word here. I had the phone charging in the car while driving. After getting home and parking the car I grabbed my phone, not realized it was still connected to the cable. I made it about 1 meter away until the cord reclaimed its properties…partially. This rebound sent the phone flying a remarkable distance and landing precisely on its side edge on the hard garage concrete. It then rebounded to hit the side my bike on a trainer, after which it landed on the trainer mat.
Thankfully, neither the bike or the trainer mat was injured by this flying phone. Oh, and the phone was perfectly fine too.
Wrap-Up:
I seriously don’t know why I didn’t buy these earlier, as it’s made my drone-related video shoots a million times easier. No wonky rubber banded setups required anymore (I once repurposed an original Wahoo ELEMNT box to hold a phone and controller together on my handlebars….it was highly suspect).
Actually, to be fair – I do know why I didn’t buy it earlier: I was annoyed with the company and how much they spammed my existing reviews years ago with various links. It was incessant and annoying, on countless posts of mine that had anything to do with any sort of mount. And not helpful spam, but just straight spam-spam advertising their products. So I mentally blocked them as a solution until I saw just how well it worked with Shane. Thankfully, I haven’t seen any such spam in the past few years, so perhaps they changed marketing firms or direction or something. So I’ll consider that water under the bridge.
Thus, at this point if you need a way to attach a phone to your bike for whatever purpose you’ve got, be it Zwift, a drone, or Strava, then this fits the bill perfectly. And, it makes for a nice phone case otherwise. The case hasn’t left my phone since I bought it, and I don’t think I’ll take it off anytime soon, even when I might have periods I don’t use the mount as much.
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Hopefully you found this review/post useful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s quite a bit of detail in there as well.
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Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I’ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible. And lastly, if you felt this review was useful – I always appreciate feedback in the comments below. Thanks!
Nice to see that you finally got back to the case.
Don’t see the point of rain poncho with modern phones though. They’re waterproof so can hold their own at least during the rain. And the screen is unobstructed if you want to take some pictures along the road.
Generally agree on rain poncho, however, one benefit is that since the water doesn’t touch the screen, you can still actually use your phone when wet – which normally you couldn’t do.
Do you think this rain poncho could protect your screen from a rock kicking up an hitting it? That seems to be the only thing stopping my from buying this. I mean If I fall over and the screen hits a rock I’m not sure how well its protected with this. Thoughts?
Depends how big the rock is. :)
If you crash and hit a rock, it’s unlikely to do anything if the rock is of any size. Whereas if it’s a pebble/gravel, it’ll probably keep it just fine.
Though honestly, the way most handlebars are, it’d actually be really difficult for you to hit the screen with rocks unless the entire bike is upside-down (100% upside-down)…in which case you might have more pressing issues to deal with. If the bike is just on the side, the mount would keep it away from a rock.
I will say that in using the mount day to day here now in Amsterdam on my around-town bike, I’m thinking I’m going to start pulling out the rain poncho more often, since it’s perfect for quick navigation that I still want the screen usable when wet.
The Girl now wants one too…though, she wants it in any other color than black. Obviously, we both can’t have the exact same looking phone. :)
Thanks for the review but the only thing I keep from this is that; if I am going to buy from their website, I am going to be spammed endlessly and damn I hate spammers!
Two options to avoid such situation
A) Buy from a local bike shop as I did
B) Buy from Amazon, which using the links above even supports the site :)
Enjoy!
Use a fresh virtual machine with no user info just to visit the official site and buy?
There’s another system very similar to this from a crowd called SP. I’ve been using it for over a year, totally happy with it.
The BEST thing is that there’s an out front mount, and an accessory pack with every kind of mount you can imagine.
I’ll be honest, the SP option really annoys me. It seems like they’ve blatantly copied the Quad Lock and it’s various accessories. Even the website content and navigation seems suspiciously similar.
Competition is good in any area, but I like to see more than just copying someone else’s product and dropping the price a few bukcs. Show me some real innovation.
I think that’s silly, competition is great for consumers. It looks like for less $$, you get multiple mount options (stem and clamp) and it actually does look like they’ve made some improvements to the clamp style. Instead of having the rubber bands they have some sort of quick-strap which might be easier to put on and remove (but maybe it’s worse, I don’t know).
I haven’t used either product (yet) but as someone who is shopping atm I’m glad I have more options.
Can you wireless charge with the case on ?
Yes, and I’m waiting for them to finally introduce a car mount with wireless charging built-in
Yup, I’ve had no issues using both the Ikea wireless charging pad as well as this cheap Amazon wireless charger (link to amzn.to), with the phone still in the case..
great thanks :)
maybe worth adding to the main text.
I’ve been using for almost a year and it’s one of the smartest purchases I’ve made, but for me it makes more sense the whole system they have. I’ve got the runner band, the mount for the motorbike and the car mount.
In sports activities I’m using the phone much more than previously, not for recording activities (V’ve my Fenix 3 for this), but for taking pictures, calling people, even messaging…
I do find the Quad Lock very useful but, like mentioned, don’t use it with a non-waterproof phone in bad weather. There are some holes in the black backcover where the blue mount fits in. After a few hours on wet roads, water infiltrates on the back as well as under the edges of the “poncho” and damaged the screen of my not so waterproof Iphone 5s. Now I use it on sunny rides and indoor training’s (Trainerroad/Kickr).
A couple of years ago when I got my iPhone 6 I looked for a system I can use for running and biking.
I can’t remember where but I found this Quad Lock System. It was a great purchase! Very usefull. I didn’t change phone yet. Still using an iPhone 6 and I never changed the phone-case again.
It dropped a couple of time on the floor but nothing happened; very stable!
In the meantime I don’t use it for running anymore (I use a flipbelt). But I use it for cycling nearly every day.
I’ve been using Quadlock all the way back since 2012. Last Summer, a six-year old Quadlock mount (one that was placed on the stem) failed on me. One of the hooks for the rubber band broke. To be fair, that happened at rather high speed when I went through the mother of all potholes. I’d just caution long-time users to occasionally check on signs of cracks.
Aside of that, I love the Quadlock. It has held the phone secure through crashes as well. I’d be happy if it was not as tall, but would have just a tiny bit flatter form factor.
I’ve had 2 QuadLocks mounts from that same year 2012. I used one for about two years and then stored both until this year.
One (the unused one) had a hook fail. This was when I was trying to put it on my new bike. The Cannondale stem is larger than most and the force of the band snapped off a hook. Even though it was unused for the entire time, Quadlock support said it’s out of warrantee :( I was able to “restore” usage of this by gluing the shelf back on and using zipties instead of bands (so it doesn’t put stress on the hooks).
The other one (the one used regularly) had two hooks fail. This was when barreling down offroad a mountain.
Given that I’ve done this sort of thing regularly. I have a strong suspicion that plastic has an age-brittleness issue. In the future, when I replace it, I’m going to use zip-ties.
As for the case. I recommend getting you get a Universal Adaptor instead of the limited (and not really useful) phone case + poncho and glue it onto a third party case. If I had figured that out sooner, then I would have gotten use out of my quadlock from 2013-2017.
I used the Quadlock on my iPhone 6+ a couple years ago while training for a 100 mile MTB endurance race. I ended up cutting a small, precise hole in the bottom of the “poncho” so I could plug my battery pack in. I know I lost the waterproofing but I still liked having the “poncho” on it to keep mud off the glass and to be able to use the touchscreen while it was wet.
I would love to hear some feedback about the running band. Wondering if the Empire State Building height would make the phone flop around or if it’s less pronounced on the arm band.
Smash Pedals, Crush Beers.
Smash pedals, crush beers? That’s what people say here in Marquette, MI, home to Blackrocks brewery, super-dialed snowlike trails, and a big ass lake.
Also, some of us use Quadlocks, as they are awesome.
I’m a little surprised that they don’t make the case an outie that fits standard Garmin quarter turn mounts rather than an innie. If the outie stuck out enough or pulled out farther, it could double as a pog (?) like the things my daughter sticks on the back of her phone cases.
Paul, if your looking for a solution to mate a QuadLock case to a Garmin Mount. There is one on Shapeways. (link to shapeways.com).
I have tried it with my phone as well as with a battery pack. Its a pretty snug fit on both sides. I didn’t have any issues with the phone or the battery coming lose during a ride.
-marc
I’ve thought about this choice, but I think it makes sense. I use the dedicated Quadlock case for a Samsung Galaxy S7 as my regular bumper, i.e. I leave the phone in the Quadlock case 100% of times. I can imagine that to be a scenario for many. The way they have built it, the back of the case is more flat and smooth than how it would be if it was an outie. With the innie, it’s just that it adds a point of grip for the fingers. For a bike computer, which you wouldn’t carry in your pocket while you’re off the bike, Garmin’s solution makes sense for a sleeker look of the mount when the computer is not attached. For a smartphone, the reverse is true.
Hi all, as a long standing Quadlock user I thought I would add some of my own thoughts onto the back of DC Rainmaker’s review. Hope it helps!
1. I would only advise using with a waterproof phone (I have used with various over the years Sony Z1 Compact, Z3 Compact, Z5, M4 Aqua, Galaxy S7 and now a Note 8).. It you are using for outside sports use or indoors with sweat (i.e. indoor cycling) I would not recommend. Don’t risk it. Not worth it. Poncho seems a silly thing to me.
2. I have used with their out front mount that is of higher quality than many, but not metal. If using with GoPro attachment it is more stable than most plastic ones as isn’t so extended. It still sits as high as the regular bike mount out of necessity due to holding a large phone.
3. Yep agree with DC’s comment that the bike mount places it high which is not as nice as I would like (my biggest dislike/issue), but does help out if you have a bii of steerer tube above stem poking out :-)
4. Armband is really really nice. I actually have two (for different locations). Eventually the strap wears out but I have replaced with a cheap stretchy reflective (nice!) band from amazon. It is really stable and super handy!! Really easy to take on an off even while running. One of the coolest features of the quadlock system for both bike and run. Only negative is that the Note 8 is getting near the limit for sizing .. I have no issues using it but it is at the max of phone size for use with it (I notice the occasional bounce. not important but worth mentioning)
5. I did get a Quadlock S7 case for my S7 but ended up using my own thinner case with a universal mount adaptor just because I wasn’t so happy with the case in general. Nothing wrong with it but prefer a thinner case with cutouts for the buttons. The Quadlock case does seem to add nice impact protection though (from a visual inspection).. which moves on to how I use with a case. My preferred option is…
6. Hard case (spigen thin usually) using a universal adaptor. The universal adaptor is good (v2 is best with greater surface area). but some tips if using..
6a. The sticky stuff doesn’t like TPU. It likes a hard case (like I mention I use a spigen thin)
6b. I always scratch up with a knife the area on the case i apply it to, to give it more purchase.
6c. Don’t use for 24hrs
6d. Use tentatively first couple of times. (and if possible use a tether just in case like a lanyard). This is just to reassure yourself :-)
Years ago I applied directly to the glass back of my Z3 compact and it didn’t adhere well (glass) .. but the tricks above work for me.. never had a failure since (literally years of use and most days!) despite my bike routes always involving pave type surfaces!
7. Someone mentioned wireless charging? For me the Note8 doesn’t work with the quadlock universal adaptor, but I have two spigen cases (one with quadlock adaptor on it). really easy to switch cases when I wanna use and then the normal case works with wireless charging. Personally I am really happy with this setup. (i was tempted to use a more robust sports case with my quadlock and a thin one for day use, but in the end opted for the same case)
8. Added benefit with using quadlock case (or case with the universal adaptor) is that the back is raised off the table surface. camera seems more protected.
9. have thought about using their wall mount and directly stick to bike stem.. that will reduce stack height. not sure. haven’t built up courage to do it yet
10 I also use the tripod mount from quadlock with a gorilla grip.. means I can do some nice pictures while out and about with it. really cool.. shameless plug: link to instagram.com (sorry!! haha)
Hope this helps.
I am not endorsed in anyway by Quadlock etc, this is a purely personal note as an avid consumer.
Fantastic feedback and ‘real world’ experiences, enjoyed your insta too! Just adding my experiences…
I bought a Quad on a whim, had always liked them but judged them too expensive then spotted someone selling one with a ‘broken’ iphone case on ebay. Good deal, around 1/3 retail. The mount turned up genuine but the ‘broken iphone case’ was actually a cheap knockoff, so buyer beware there are cheap Quad compatible cases out there!
Hunted around for various months (android user) until I eventually picked up a new S5 case (old phone!) from old stock. Coupled with the mount it works a dream and around 50% cost of RRP. When I eventually change my handset I will probably buy a new Quad & case for it (so I can have 2 mounts). Also have no problem paying full price now, really quality product I know I’ll get loads of use out of! Most of the time mine is used for Zwift, but when the better weather comes I’ll likely use outside on the longer 3+ hour rides.
Completely reflects my experiences. For personal preferences, I use the S7 case, because I don’t have a problem with the buttons. I just want to affirm that it IS very protective. Had my phone accidentally falling off from tables on hard stone now a number of times and nothing happened. Yes, I even made it slide over a 10m long floor at the end of which it bumped into steel and nothing happened. (My students were rather shocked. But they immediately were silent and ready for class.)
Milkywaye,
Thanks. Wonderful information.
Using a Note 8, and been waiting for a Quad case for it. Bit worried about a glued on adapter, but maybe I should give it a try?
Great advice.
As for using the universal adaptor, besides the usual (rubbing alcohol on surface, scuffing), one thing I did was to use a heat gun near the 3M right before application. It’s not coming out.
I was thinking the adhesive wall mount (plus above tricks) might work with the more rectangular stems than the handlebar/stem mount (which, btw **will** fail at the posts if you use the rubber bands, its just a matter of when). But I can’t find my extra wall mount. I might have Goodwill’d it :( Curious to see if others have tried that.
I’ve used to be their dealer in my country. Is a really amazing product, but expensive. I have used their case for about 4 years now. Really tough and well made.
i looked into this when i was first looking for a mount for the phone and i ended up getting the rokform (link to rokform.com). The main reason was exactly as Ray said with the empire state building sitting on top of the stem. With the rokform i found it closer to the stem and one less thing for me to worry about it.
also, the rokform has a magnet mount so it’s helpful for mounting it in the car.
thanks for the review ray!
Hi, I looked at rokform, it is indeed a sleek system. Did you buy this one? link to rokform.com – because I can’t find if this one also fits with a magnet in the car.
i got it for my 5s (a couple of years back and still use) and did get the same mount as in the link you sent. it’s puts the phone nice and close to the stem so nice and not so obvious when riding.
based on the image that system does look like it has a magnet (usually goes behind the black section). I’d recommend calling/chatting with their support team as they’re very helpful and can give you the specifics. i called them with my questions and asked about a promo code and they gave me one so that sealed the deal in my buying it.
The car mount is not included in that kit but their car mounts do work with that case.
I’ve been using a Quad Lock for several years and wanted to add my 2 cents:
1. The case itself gives good protection off the bike and has stood up well to the test of time.
2. I still find the little hump in the back of the case annoying as the phone doesn’t sit flat on a table, but not sure how they could fix this.
3. The stem mount it good, but the out front mount is amazing – absolutely rock solid.
4. The rain poncho is kind of a failure for me. The touchscreen barely works when it’s on and it’s yellowed badly after a couple years. Again, not really sure if they could do much better. Like others, this is a fair weather mount for me.
5. I tried to use this on the fat bike, but keeping the phone out in the extreme cold REALLY drains the battery.
Some of these points sound a little negative, but overall, I’d give it a 10 out of 10 for the core functionality. I’d highly recommend it.
I sometimes have the urge to get a Garmin or Wahoo ELMNT, but my phone with the Strava app gives me 95% of what I need. The one big pro of the Garmin/ELMNT would be the weather proofing.
I’ve have been using a QuadLock mount on various bikes for the last 3 years. I absolutely love them.
I have used the outfront mount (OFM), which is solid, but I just don’t like it. For me, the mount itself is not out far enough. When I use the OFM, the phone (iPhone 7) ends up blocking the tops and gets in the way of my hands.
I’ve tried different mounting configurations, including adding an extension bar out in front of my handle bars. I also seem to end up back with the stem mount.
I have even put two stem mounts together, one on top of the stem, and one below. This allowed me to mount the phone on top, and a battery pack right below the phone.
I wish that QuadLock would make two additions to their product line: (1) An extended outfront mount that looks similar to the Garmin, K-Edge or Barfly mounts; (2) A steer tube top cap mount.
I also wish that QuadLock would work with Barfly and K-Edge to help them build adapters for their existing mounts to all the use of a QuadLock case.
-marc
You can use the motorcycle mount on a bike and it’s worlds better than the out front mount or the regular bike mount. It’s heavier and a bit more expensive is basically the only downside.
As an aside, if you’re looking for something that fits a Garmin mount and simply act as a holder for the Zwift Companion App, then I followed these instructions on the TrainnerRoad blog: link to blog.trainerroad.com
It works well and the parts cost around 10 GBP.
However I wouldn’t use this outdoors for three reasons.
1. I fitted the adapter towards the foot of the phone case so the phone is even further “out front” and less likely to be dripped on.
2. I don’t know if the epoxy resin glue would hold up under significant off-road activity.
3. The average phone case probably doesn’t clamp *around* the edges of a phone as much as a purpose built one.
And I am a little jealous that I can’t use this to try clamping my phone and Mavic Pro remote together. Maybe I need one of these after all…
I’ve been using the up front mount on my daily commute for 3 years and it’s great. I didn’t try the stem mount because the up front mount looked more secure.
They do send me a lot of email, but so does everyone else I’ve ever bought stuff from.
I first used it with a cheap (waterproof) Android phone I bought for $50. Quad lock doesn’t have a case for that phone so I stuck their “universal adapter” straight to the back. Worked great. When I upgraded my phone, I scraped the adapter off the old phone and superglued it to a “TPU” plastic case for the new phone. That works great too.
I’ve tried other (cheaper) phone mounts and they all fell apart under normal use but this thing is rock solid. It’s also great that I can attach and detatch my phone with one hand.
Having a phone on your handlebars is way overkill as a speedometer, but it’s great if you want to follow a map.
Have you looked at Rokform? I used the pro bike mount and aluminum case until I bought my edge 1000. They’re less flexible with mounting locations. I’m also a metal junky.
Had one for years, have connectors for car and bike and never, never dropped off.
Very good product indeed.
Hi, I have been biking the last 3 years with the quadlock on my bike, as well as running with their armband.
My phone (samsung s6 previously, now s8+) is inside a Lifeproof case, and I am using the glued adapter on the back of the case lifeproof case.
This setup works great in the rain because the raindrops dont activate the screen while biking.
I simply glue a 3d printed male garmin quarter turn mount piece from shapeways to a phone case of my choice. This has worked for me with every phone since 2010 and at home I even attach an ipad air to my handlebar that way. Heck you could even attach a brick this way. The price comes down to maybe 20 dollars total and it works with every possible phone/bike combination.
Whats even better: some phones like samsung, htc etc. actually provide native ant+ support. The android ipbike app had native smo2 support before most garmin products did. Since I always bring my phone to the bike anyway (for emergencies etc) I have been able to sell my garmin edge 1000 as my display needs are completely fulfilled with my phone and my logging needs are fulfilled by my tri watch (formerly fenix3 and now fr935).
That will work, but the Quad Lock has a safety feature that truly locks the phone in place, you have to pull down on the blue sleeve in order to then twist the phone off. While the Garmin quarter mount has little “lock in” tabs, it is not as secure as Quad Lock.
Quadlock is a slick and sturdy solution that can be multi-purpose, but if you already have a Garmin bracket on your bike the simplest and least expensive option is what Sandra mentions. A Garmin mount plate.
Here’s one: link to shapeways.com
You can either glue it onto the back of your phone or the case of your choice.
If you have an out-front bracket make sure to consider quarter turn clearance before you glue the plate. ;-)
Another happy user here. I have a bike mount on my commuter bike, armband for running. For longer rides on my other bike the phone goes in my jersey pocket, as is appropriate. I have had a couple of significant lithobraking incidents over the time I have been using them, and never lost a phone or sustained meaningful damage.
I also drop my phone on to hard floors almost daily. Corner first, back side first, face first. I am surrounded by people with broken phone screens, mine is still good. I did lose a screen to a piece of rebar once, but that’s not the case’s failure.
Might have missed it but they only support Apple or Samsung Galaxy. Clear cover looks good to keep sweat off for those of us with corrosive sweat.
They have a universal mount that sick onto a smooth case. So, you should be able to use it with just about any phone.
I have been using Quad Lock for about 4 months (I bought my first setup with their Black Friday promotions). I live in the Pacific Northwest, so I get plenty of rain and my iPhone X has been fine. Yes, if the screen is really drenched the touch interface gets a little wonky, but not bad. I also bought a battery case for my iPhone and then the universal mount and that works well too. My Garmin 520 is still my primary bicycle computer, but I like running Strava and/or RidewithGPS on the iPhone. I also have the original Coros bluetooth helmet and find that turning “Hey Siri” on works well with the phone on the handlebars to control music or switch apps via voice.
I have never used this product, but I did want to weigh in on something I experienced in the past with mounting my phone on my road bike handlebars (using a different product, but one that I thought did a fantastic job all around, and yet I still experienced problems).
Essentially, the repeated shaking/vibration of the phone over time caused the camera mounting to become loose inside, and the camera could no longer focus properly. This apparently is also common with riders of motorcycles that mount their phones on the handlebars or tank possibly. A quick google search helped me figure out the likely cause of my issues, and since I replaced my last phone, I am unlikely to ever again mount my phone on my bicycle in this manner (despite the fact that I think it is generally safer there than in a back jersey pocket).
Again, just my experience, and not with this specific product. Maybe the way that it is mounted helps dampen this vibration even further, so it is not likely, but something to bear in mind for anyone looking to mount their phones to their handlebars.
Hey thanks for the review! FYI – Amazon link isn’t working me on iPhone.
Love my Quad Lock. One on my road bike and one on the trainer. And the case has saved my dropped iPhone 7 from damage as well. A worthy investment.
Now if it had a belt clip accessory so it could go from bike to work seamlessly, that’d be great.
They do.
They also have a car mount, which is very good when using the Phone’s GPS :)
I suspected there might be… but didn’t find it on the site originally. However, on your information, I just found it here: link to quadlockcase.com. What threw me off was when I moused-over the “Shop Life” slide on the homepage, it said “All Car Products,” which threw me off.
Thanks for finding this John, DC Rainmaker community to the rescue! Our new website is still being worked on and it looks like we made a typo on the .com version. We will update straight away. Now to see how long it takes the copy products to change their websites???
I’ve had 2 quadlocks for an iPhone 5 and 5S. Eventually the hard plastic insert breaks out/cracks. Before that happens, it loses its detente strength as the tabs wear out (particularly in the car mount where you don’t have the blue locking ring). I also never liked the fact that the phone doesn’t sit flat on a table top.
Not that it’s a bad product, it lasted several years and definitely saved my phone from many drops and bumps!
I did a mcgyver version of this . I bought a cheap phone case from local phone shop 5€ and then got a garmin mount backing plate off ebay. This came with an adhesive patch. I stuck the garmin mount on the back of the phone cover and can now fit the iphone to the garmin mounts on my bike.
I tend to use it indoor only for trubo sessions running trainer road and or zwift companion app on my phone.
cost around 10euro total.
Funny role reversal here where the commenters have much more insight and experience with the product than Ray.
I got my first QuadLock case three months ago. I was never a phone case user before this. It’s a great case. The mount hole on the back makes it easy to hold the phone more confidently.
I got the Run Kit with the arm band. It takes a little getting used to. You need to angle the phone just right to get it on, and the velcro strap is a bit too strong and difficult to pull, in my opinion. But, being able to easily access the phone during runs is great.
I’ll get the bike mount next…
tl;dr: Very satisfied customer, great for multiple uses, not just the bike, many more mounts, can help you find cookies.
As an advanced mountain biker, I have been using Quadlock products for several years, ever since the iPhone 5 came out. I currently have a Quadlock case on my iPhone X. The out-front mount is sleek and low profile (which alleviates’s Ray’s concern with the standard mount’s height), and when turned backwards works great on a mountain bike. The standard mount also works well on mountain bike handlebars, even with just the rubber bands holding it in place. I ride rough, rocky, rooty New England trails, and I have never once had the phone even threaten to fall off. Occasionally if I have used the wrong sized rubber bands the phone/mount combo will droop after several large hits, but it never leaves the bars. In combination with the Trailforks or MTB Project apps, I’m able to ride unfamiliar trails almost as easily as a local by having the phone and maps right on my bars. No more stopping to check the map.
Speaking of maps, for road rides it’s really nice to be able to have the RideWithGPS app and/or Google Maps right there on the handlebars. You never know when you might need re-route to a bakery mid-ride to satisfy that cookie craving.
As Ray said, it works well for Zwifting, but I also use the MobileMouse app to be able to control my Mac from my handlebars, or Apple’ Remote app to control the Apple TV while on the trainer.
I also use the arm band while running. Even with the large size of the iPhone X, there is almost no bouncing, and the phone stays put on my arm. It just works.
The car mount is very useful as well. I drive 3 hours each week to or from work, and I use Waze the keep me up to date on road conditions. It is super easy just to put the phone on the car mount and forget about it.
The case itself isn’t much bigger than most standard cases, but it does have that mounting area. I find that the mounting area is actually kind of nice, because it gives my fingers something to grip on the back side of the phone so it doesn’t slip away. It also provides a surface you can use to prop the phone up against something without it slipping.
Finally, I use old phones as security cameras (to make sure my bikes stay safe!) and combined with Manything and the Quadlock adhesive wall mounts they work great!
Hey Mr Anderson thanks for the write up. I’m going to be doing the Green Mountain Gravel Growler (32oz) this summer (using Ride with GPS) and have been looking at bike mounts. One thing that concerns me is there does not seem to be any screen protection with this case. I’m wonder if the rain poncho add on would help. I worry about a rock kicking up and hitting the screen (or the bike falling over into a rock)
Love the QuadLock system! I have the armband for running, out-front mount for the road bike, and a 3m sticky mount on my car. I have had all three for over a year and no issues (other than the price). I have taken a knife to the case to modify it a bit as it covered too much of the speakers and mic at the bottom of the phone, also cut out the volume buttons of the case. I have used the poncho a few times, its pain to “slip” on and off and the screen becomes difficult to use.
Personally I would like the case to be a bit thinner, the holes for the speaker/mic to be bigger, and the buttons for volume to be a bit more defined.
All-in-all its a great product for what I use it for.
Just put a quad-lock mount on my treadmill for Zwift running. I have three of them on bikes. As you mentioned, great for rides and for Zwift companion. I had problems with Apple TV picking up Milestone pod but with iPhone mounted on the treadmill and connected to Milestone problems disappear. You can also put a mount in a vehicle without in-car gps for google maps. These things are invaluable.
I’ve been using these mounts for a couple years now. One mount on each of my street bikes, also the one for my motorbike, and most recently a runner’s arm-band mount. Simply works.
Great review although I think for most of us what we are craving is a way to respond to texts and emails in a way that does not require stopping or touching the smartphone. I already get messages on my Edge 1030 but I still have to stop to respond. I would love to be able to have 3-4 scripted responses i could tap once and be done with it. “out riding”, “Can you take me off this thread”, “I will respond later” would be my three most common responses ;-)
I bought into the Quad Lock eco-system a few years ago and have been very satisfied. Here are my thoughts on the pieces I own:
Case: I’ve had a couple; one for an iphone 4 and currently for a 6S. Fits snug, is durable (no stretching/looseness after 2+ years), “innie” mounting boss is low profile, very gently tapered, and never snags going in or out of a pocket. Because of that, I keep it on 100% of the time. While not as robust as a Mil-Spec Otterbox or the like, it provides a reasonable amount of protection. Knock on wood, I’ve dropped my phone several times without experiencing any damage. Most recently, I left it on the roof of the car after a Polar Plunge (I’m claiming temporary brain damage from the cold water). I realized when I heard it bounce off the roof rack as I was going around a corner, then saw it tumble across the pavement in my rear view mirror. I stopped the car, walked back, picked it up, and was amazed to find the screen still intact.
The only negative is that, because the center-mount area is a little higher than the edges of the phone, if you are tapping on the screen one-handed while the phone is resting on a desk/table/counter, it wobbles a little.
Poncho. A little thick so screen responsiveness to touches can be spotty. Not a full water-proofing solution; I wouldn’t count on it to provide extended protection in a downpour. It’ll do in a light misting/sprinkle, though, and give temporary protection against a surprise downburst until you can throw the phone in a ziplock, saddle bag, or dry pocket. As others have mentioned, it’s probably unnecessary for newer phones that are already water resistant/waterproof.
Bike Mount: I went with the bolt-on “Out Front” mount instead of the rubber-bandy stem mount. It has been flawless. I highly recommend this over the mount DC tried. There’s lever for the lock instead of the pull-down-ring, so it’s much lower profile. It looks less tacky, too.
Car Mount: I bought the suction-cup windshield mount to be able to use the phone as a Navigation unit. In 3 1/2 years,It’s only come un-stuck a handful of times; always in extreme cold weather situations. It does the intended job nicely, with a snug-swivel ball mount that allows you plenty of flexibility to angle the unit for best visibility regardless of the slope of the windshield.
Tripod Mount: A small adapter that lets you affix your phone to a standard camera tripod threaded post. This has been fabulous for getting quality video for the Bike Fast Fit app.
Hi DC,
Riding with this Quad Lock for several Iphone generations now and still happy. 1 tip: use your transparent plastic screen protection thing you get with every new iphone and place it at the backside of your iPhone. That way no dirt/sand will damage the backside of your iphone over time.
Great review!
“Discovered” quad lock a couple of years ago, awesome product, with some minor flaws.
Besides using it on my bike I also use the little wall mounts for my cars and can nicely mount the phone right next to me to my right to use for navigation, etc. Works great. Far better than the mount on the windshield, also for charging form a USB port there.
Love this system. Nevertheless still searching for a good solution getting a mount on 18 mm tube (hiking pole).
Their bike mount(s) doesn’t come down to this diameter, the scooter/motorcycle mirror mount (+ inserts) does not go up to this diameter.
Suggestions are welcome :-)
I don’t change phone too often, but the thing is, that if you wanted to buy a new phone, you gotta change case. If you had two phones, well that sucks !
Being a bike messenger and working very often in new areas and in new cities actually, making a bike-moutnable phone case one of the most essential worktools !
A phone holds up for 6months to 8months top. 2-3 times of daily charging, plus the constant power use for navigation, social media, training peaks, video editing and 2-3times weekly rain and snow use ….
I find the idea great, following gamin’s twist and lock tradition for constant outdoor use, but clipping in and out like every 5 to 10minutes is pain.
I never found a good phone holder yet, what can hold a Samsung as well as a cheap Chinese ToughPhone with 6000mah battery. At this moment I use NiteIze HandleBand what is an only stem mountable, but very stable platform. Never failed yet. They came out with the Wraptor for mounting any phones on any bars, including baby-buggy handle !
Try BMworks. Firm but easy snap on snap off.
I use a Wahoo mounted on the stem instead of with the ahead mount [eyesight issues]. What would you guys suggest I buy to mount a Not 8, which is fairly large? Buy the stem mount and attach to Top Tube, or the ahead mount and keep it off centre?
I tried both quad lock and SP connect, and another outfit called bmworks. SP connect has the best features and the lowest profile phone cases. They also have more variety of interesting mounts including a longer out front mount and a stem mount. I think they’re the best product in this genre right now.
Beware: The company’s website is very misleading when it comes to the universal mount. It won’t stick to many surfaces, including an Otterbox Defender. Yes, this is spelled out on a page on a “Product Suitability” page on their website, but I don’t see any warnings about that on the product pages, so I went ahead and clicked “Buy.” When the product arrived and I realized the situation, I offered to pay the $18 difference between the universal kit and the Galaxy S7 kit in order to get their phone case. The company’s customer service rep refused. So I’m just forced to send the whole thing back for a refund — they don’t make the sale, and I’m going to warn people away from their deceptive practices.
Update from Brian (who returned the universal mount kit after finding that it won’t work with Otterbox Defender): I just bought the Nite Ize HandleBand. Much cheaper, a bit simpler, seems just as sturdy, doesn’t require you to buy a new, proprietary case, and works with already-purchased phone cases (like the Otterbox Defender). No brainer. Just kicking myself for buying the QuadLock and then paying $17 Canadian to ship it back for a hoped-for refund.
Hi, great review thanks! I may have missed it, but does Touch ID / home button on IP8 work with the poncho please?
Thanks!
Hi I’m planning to get a mount for my road bike. Question is will the constant vibrations harm the iPhone7? Thanks in advance!
Bought the Universal mount to attach to my own case (no Samsung Note 8 specific case/mount) worked great until i decided to sprint, caught the case with my Knee and the phone popped out of the case as my knee flexed it and cartwheeled down the road (case remained firmly attached to the mount though) £286 later and Phone insurance taken out through my bank :).
Bought the Otterbox defender series case and cut through the rubber back to attach the mount to the hard case (universal mount needs hard surface to bond effectively with)
Also bought the Car mount and Belt clip (Big phone in a bigger case so pockets are getting a little tight)
Car mount suction is awesome Phone on the Car mount is exceptional, only draw back (been 1 day with carmount)
that phone attaching to the mount is awkward to remove, They have no Tab (like the outfront/belt clip, or sleeve to pull down) the whole mount turns on the ball joint unless you tighten it up extremely tightly (in which case rotating from vertical to horizontal becomes a case of remove and reattach.
considering all there other solutions for there mounts this is quite a poor solution (still in 2 minds as to whether to return it or not? Really really needs the Blue removal tab almost all other mounts have stop it rotating so you can remove it without tightening the ball joint to what almost feels like breakable torsion.
Update, after a week or 2 of regular use the mount loosened up enough to be able to remove and dock iy 1 handed whilst still holding the phone great in the mount for driving.
great piece of kit.
Hi, just trying to get back to cycling and found your webpage. A lot of useful information!
Regarding the phone mount, anyone here tried this one?
link to morpheus-labs.com
Looking for the best product to buy.
Just got the Quad Lock & I was a little dubious mounting my iphone 7 Plus on my Specialized Levo & hammering it around my local rough rocky terrain, but I’m please to say the phone didn’t budge even on a few off track excursions! Great piece of kit I’d highly recommend for any offload application. FWIW I used the rubber bands & the zip locks.. On a downside I found with the rain/dustcover fitted the screen doesn’t respond so the phone/apps needs to be set & going before you fit it.
I have used the stem/bar mount and the OTF mount with dedicated Quad lock cases and the stick-on universal adapter on a couple of Samsung smart phones, for more than 3 years, using them on a number of bikes, on and off road, touring, mtb and road.
The design is great as it allows full access to the smartphone screen, is easy to clip in/out, and is secure.
However my units have all started to wear after less than 6 months / 5000 km. The raised plastic rings on the adapter and mount start to wear down so the unit starts to rattle and rotate slightly. This does not affect the bar/stem mount so much as it is strongly spring loaded, but the OTF mount becomes almost unusable as it moves around so much.
So, great design, but let down by the quality of the materials used and consequently their longevity.
The limited number of phones for which a dedicated QuadLock case is available is annoying! Also, because for many phones, it’s difficult to find a case to which attach the universal mount. For mine (MotoX4), I’m still looking for a polycarbonate case.
Alternative:
Has anybody tried to glue the universal mount to a silicone case with special silicon glue? Obviously, the adhesive tape would have to be removed first. But then, some bad-ass silicon glue should do the trick, no?
What about this case?
link to amazon.com
Waiting for that new small, light iPhone, and then I think I’ll be getting one of these as well. Is this still your favorite way to mount/attach a phone to your bicycle? Is the mount stable enough that you’d recommend using it to hang a GoPro, too?
Yup, definitely. In fact, just bought two more of them for two new bikes we got in our family this past week.
Note: I tend to use it more for casual cycling than on my road (aka race) bike. But, I do use it on even that too from time to time when I need to.
Hey, love your blog. Been following it for the last few years, and it’s helped me in making purchases, like my first trainer. I’ve been using the Quadlock for the last two years, and love it. However, I’ve been riding more recently, and now using other accessories like a front light, and noticed there’s less space. I have the regular Quadlock mount (top of stem) and the Out Front mount, too. Which mount do you mostly use, and why? Not sure if I should spend $60 on an Out Front Pro–that’s what I’m debating right now for my old road bike.
Hi Ray,
Does the Quadlock work well with Cervelo S3 bars? I have a 2020 S3 Disc and want to mount my iphone XR vs having it sit in my jersey back pocket on rides.
Having used the bike mount on the road (not the out front style) for a just under a year now my initial enjoyment and enthusiasm has changed.
After 8 months the interface between case/quad lock has become more and more loose. The allen bolt is tight so something else has worn rather quickly (the mount is used maybe 2-3 times a week) and the camera on my Galaxy S9 has also developed a shimmering so it seems the stabilization unit has been damaged by road vibrations. Another problem to be aware of (as this product promotes it) is if you’re using the phone for navigation or as a bike computer don’t use one with an OLED screen. Mine now suffers with slight burn-in. My main issue is with the camera. Even with the phone in stand-by the camera’s optical stabilization unit is constantly being hammered by road induced shock. If your device uses digital stability I guess this won’t be a problem.
My replacement device will not be used with this product.
Hmm, that sounds like perhaps more an issue with the phone perhaps being a lemon – might be worth hitting up Samsung and getting it fixed. Minus the mount, which obviously wouldn’t be tied to the phone per se.
For reference, I use mine daily – and have now for almost three years. Probably 2-3 times/day, and it’s the exact same mount I’ve had all along on my main cargo bike. In my case my iPhone 11 Pro is an OLED screen, and I’ve not had any issues there, including with pretty long times of the map screen on.
Most OLED screens will actually slightly alter pixels – usually by a pixel or two, to constantly keep things shifting, albeit invisible to the human.
A lot of people use their phones on handlebars, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard any tie-ins there to the symptoms your describing.
This new offering might be relevant:
link to quadlockcase.com
Hi, thanks for the great reviews of everything always, I love your site. Can I ask if you would recommend the Stem Mount or the Out Front Mount please?
It just depends on personal preference. I mainly use the QuadLock on the stem mount, mostly just cause I use it primarily on commuter bikes.
Thanks so much for your reply!