Mountain Biking Resources .com

You might like to take your smartphone along with you if, like me, you:

1. Use GPS maps to follow a trail or to work out exactly where you are.
2. Track your rides, for training or motivation.

I know that specific GPS devices like the Garmins do this job beautifully, but to avoid spending £150-£300 on a separate device having a bar mount for your iPhone is a very good alternative.  The option to have the one device to track/follow routes; take photos; talk to people (yes, I know, wow); post to your favourite social media sites whilst you’re out etc. is an option I decided to take.

After quite a bit of research to find the best way to attach my iPhone to the handebars, I chose the Tigra mount.

(If you’re looking for a Video Case for your iPhone, have a look at this other review of the ProductX POV iPhone Camera Case)

Why choose the Tigra Bike Mount?

The Tigra iPhone Handlebar Mount is a fairly simple affair, not much bigger than the phone itself.  In my opinion, the main benefits are:

• It’s easy to fit, with a pretty infinitely-adjustable collar that’s open on one side so you don’t need to remove any brake or gear levers.
• The phone housing attaches to the collar with a satisfying double-click and in over 12 months of use (with a multitude of offroad bumps and quite a few crashes) there’s never been any sign of the housing trying to disconnect from the collar.
• There’s decent weather-proofing, with a rubber seal around the housing and extra rubber plugs for the headphone and mic holes if you’re not using them.  So if you get caught in a shower, there’s no need to panic.
• The clear plastic front recognises your finger inputs so you can control the phone without removing it from the mount.
• There’s a cutout for the camera lens on the reverse so you can take photos without taking the camera out.
• All the important buttons can be used whilst your phone’s mounted.

Any Bad Points?

Very few things in life are perfect.  In use, I’ve found a couple of niggles with the Tigra mount which I should tell you about.  They’ve not stopped me loving the product, but I sometimes wish they’d been addressed.

• The collar fastener could be tighter.  It’s basically a plastic jubilee clip and very easy to over-tighten, at which point it slips back a notch.  I’m thinking of inserting a thin strip of rubber in there to make things more secure.  In fairness it’s adequate enough, but it can slip a little when you’re hammering down the trail.
• The rubber plugs for the earphone and mic holes are easy to lose.  I’ve decided to tape up the earphone hole permanently, as I don’t have tunes on when riding.  It’s the plug at the top so now I know there’s no weather creeping in there.  I can see why Tigra needed to give me the option to listen to tunes on the go, but I prefer a permanent seal.

In very rainy conditions, I take the extra precaution of slipping my iPhone into a butty bag. This is mainly so I can take it out of the mount without any splashes if I stop for a brew.  On one ride last year though, I actually fell into the canal and the phone survived unharmed with the extra weatherproofing!  Bonus. 🙂

I’d definitely recommend the Tigra mount .  It’s a cost-effective way of using GPS on the bike for road or trail rides, whether you’re following a mapped route or just recording where you’ve been.  Much cheaper than a Garmin to do the same job, and of course you have your phone handy, too!

If you have a look using the box below, make sure you select the one for your iPhone – there are separate versions for iPhone 3/3GS and the iPhone 4/4GS.

Tell ‘em Phill sent you 🙂