Off-road worthy cell phone holder?

[ridesanoldbike]

I'm thinking about buying a Ram mount cell phone holder for my upcoming trip but I'm wanting some input from you guys that have used them on the rough, washboarded, and rutted up roads and trails. I'd really rather not lose my phone so I'm curious. How well do these work?

[Crapflinger]

I've got the ram x mount on my bike (with the fork stem mount)....I've not taken it off road but with the rubber phone keeper (assuming it's not too small for your phone), your phone isn't likely to go very far if the mount let go for some reason. any variation of zip ties, rubber bands, etc... will make any mount more grabby for sure.

the only mounts that I can think of that I wouldn't second guess for phone droppage require a special case for the phone that locks securely into the mounting base...and well....I prefer the case I have.

[spaceman_spiff]

The ram Mount sucks hard.
Check out the perfect squeeze. It's absolutely amazing

[Bill_B]

This is what I set up for my bike.  It's a ram mount plate that I mounted to the bottom of the phone case. The case is fully enclosed and has a full rubber linner to absorb the shock of the ride and is water resistant but I would not use it IF the rain was really heavy.  Also has an opening on the bottom to keep the phone plugged into power all the time if you have the bike wired for that.  I've laid the bike down many times with no breakage.  The case was purchased on eBay from a China company and despite that it's a really good case I like it a lot.  I wanted a solution that would fully enclose the phone and protect is as much as possible, phone it to mucho $.   

 The only thing I don't like about having the phone on the bike is in bright sun it's really hard to see the screen but that is more of a phone thing not the case. If anyone knows of a screen protector that has a sun filter and will alow use of the phone in direct sun light please let me know.  

 

 

Edited June 19, 2017 by Bill_B

[DirtyBoots]

Believe it or not these work very well. I've used one on my mountain bike for the last 2 years and have never lost my phone. Even when in the occasion crash (some quite violent), after I pick my self up, and go get my bike, the phone is still there on the bars.

Roam Bike Phone Mount, Universal - for Motorcycle - Bike Handlebars, Adjustable, Fits iPhone 6s | 6s Plus, iPhone 7 | 7 Plus, Galaxy S7, S6, S5, Holds Phones Up To 3.5" Wide: for Motorcycles and Bikes https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LWDCSIZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_lVoAzb94CJ15Z

[shrubitup]

I keep mine inside of a padded shipment mailer and then inside my backpack. I take it out when needed at trail breaks. Having it on the bars is just too exposed to me. 

[ohgood]

On 6/5/2017 at 9:50 AM, ridesanoldbike said:

 

I'm thinking about buying a Ram mount cell phone holder for my upcoming trip but I'm wanting some input from you guys that have used them on the rough, washboarded, and rutted up roads and trails. I'd really rather not lose my phone so I'm curious. How well do these work?

 

I've watched the junk that RAM sells fall apart, eject phones on both highway and DS rides. most of what I ride is off road now, and I've used the "Finn bike mount" for thousands of miles. I cut up inner tubes to test it when they couldn't ship it fast enough and was amazed how secure it holds the phone. I could drag my drz backwards by that mount. 

 

then I tried this one https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Cellphone-Universal-Smartphones-Handlebars/dp/B01NGZZ4QT  and prefer it over the Finn because I can leave it on the bars access remove the phone. 

the Finn mount is so thin you can pack five of them in your bag without noticing. very handy. 

the perfect squeeze mount (Google it) mentioned earlier is the best SOLID mount you can buy. I prefer soft mounts because they flex in a crash instead of smashing the screen or breaking the mount. 

I've used phones for navigation, on the bars, for years without issues. lots and lots of crashes, not one problem or damage device. 

 

oh ya, if the ram crap wasn't crap, they would be shipping them with rubber bands now. ;-)

[Kompact]

Totally disagree, RAM mounts and their holders are top quality.

[alucard0822]

The Ram X-grip is really convenient, been happy with most of mine.  It think 99% of phones that have popped out of them is from 1 of 2 things, the rubber fingers failing, either by hardening up in the sun, getting oil or water on them, or the fingers slipping off the frame itself.  There is also a vulnerability, if a heavy phone is placed horizontally,a hard bump can spring the catch open momentarily, and the phone can pop out.  You can use a different mount that mechanically locks, can use the include rubber keeper(provided your phone is tiny and fits it),can put a velcro patch on the mount and phone case to avoid it jarring the fingers open on bumps, or you can loop pretty much any camera tether through 2 holes in your phone case, and put it around the mount.  I generally use a tether, but luckily the phone hasn't come loose, if I go offroad, I'll turn the phone vertical, so it doesn't spring the X-grip open, never had a problem.

[Cyclic]

I have an I phone 6s and a cheaper RAM universal cel phone spring loaded cel phone holder, not the X one. I have had insane wipeouts and my phone never comes out. It is attached to bars by the RAM bar mount.

 

[Sigma Pi]

I have a cheap chinese ram mount knock off and it holds my phone great when off roading. 

[Vanillagurilla]

I also use a ram x mount and if I'm going to go offroad I slip the extra part over the corners. Never had it even move on the xr650r.

[portabill]

I put Velcro on the center on the X Grip and on the back of my phone, with the softer loops on the phone. Working pretty good so far.

[Fango]

Stick your phone in an Otterbox and mount it using ram ball stuff.

Ram ball mounts are great. Solid and do a good job, but they can only go so far.

When I hit a deer at 60mph I, my bike and my phone went flying. I did 200+ feet, my bike a bit more and my phone even further.

The Otterbox protected the phone perfectly and I was able to use it after the crash.

While we are talking about protection... get yourself an Airbag vest. Thanks to my vest I only cut my thumb in the crash and I only had one small "pathetically small" bruise.

Deer was killed on impact.

 

Video of my crash... you can see me pick up my phone...

 

 

 

[ohgood]

if the RAM stuff could be trusted with out Band-Aids like Velcro and rubber bands, it would be fine to recommend it. 

 

but since rubber bands and Velcro work fine without the $70 RAM junk, I just skip the unneeded RAM and carry on. 

[Vanillagurilla]

On 8/11/2017 at 8:04 AM, ohgood said:

if the RAM stuff could be trusted with out Band-Aids like Velcro and rubber bands, it would be fine to recommend it. 

 

but since rubber bands and Velcro work fine without the $70 RAM junk, I just skip the unneeded RAM and carry on. 

mine works great by itself for daily riding, if I was going off road i would slip the the rubber piece over the corners of my phone if I was going to leave it there.

You can only squeeze a phone so hard without some type of mechanical clamp. Is your $700 phone worth cheaping out on a clamp? O btw I'm just using the handlebar clamp mount. Not one that will thread in or bolt to your clamps, yes they have those too. It has never even moved on me let alone came loose. I was taught and learned growing up that if you can, buy the best you can afford and do it once because something cheap will fail in time and cost you even more.

[ohgood]

On 8/16/2017 at 5:52 AM, Vanillagurilla said:

mine works great by itself for daily riding, if I was going off road i would slip the the rubber piece over the corners of my phone if I was going to leave it there.

You can only squeeze a phone so hard without some type of mechanical clamp. Is your $700 phone worth cheaping out on a clamp? O btw I'm just using the handlebar clamp mount. Not one that will thread in or bolt to your clamps, yes they have those too. It has never even moved on me let alone came loose. I was taught and learned growing up that if you can, buy the best you can afford and do it once because something cheap will fail in time and cost you even more.

 

well, my phone was only $70. it's waterproof, ruggedized, and has a great set of glonass/GPS/Wi-Fi/LTE/NFC/Bluetooth/ant sensors....

I don't care if it's a $100 mount like the ' perfect squeeze', a crappy mount like the $70 ram stuff, or a great flexible mount like the $4 Finn knockoffs, I'll use logic to determine applicability instead of just the purchase price ;-)...I learned a long long time ago that spending more on a turd just means it's a more expensive turd. :-)

 

again, if the ram was a usable design that didn't need Velcro and rubber bands to secure the phoneI'd call it decent... but it isn't. 

Edited August 18, 2017 by ohgood
boo

[Vanillagurilla]

Well all that finn mount is - is a rubber band. I feel a lot better having 2 forms of retention rather then the rubber bandaid you speak of.

[DirtyBoots]

Just because it's expensive doesn't mean it good (ie Beats headphones)

Just because it's inexpensive doesn't mean it cheap.

The term you get what you pay for certainly does apply in some cases. What is unfortunately true is often times you aren't getting what you paid for when marketing pushes a product and the overall concern of the manufacturer is not quality of the product but the bottom dollar.

It pays to be a savvy shopper.

[Vanillagurilla]

On 8/18/2017 at 8:10 AM, DirtyBoots said:

Just because it's expensive doesn't mean it good (ie Beats headphones)

Just because it's inexpensive doesn't mean it cheap.

The term you get what you pay for certainly does apply in some cases. What is unfortunately true is often times you aren't getting what you paid for when marketing pushes a product and the overall concern of the manufacturer is not quality of the product but the bottom dollar.

It pays to be a savvy shopper.

Have you tried ram mounts?