One of the most common questions I receive is, “How can I attach my phone to my bike?” There are many different reasons you may want your phone to be visible on your bike handlebars. You may use it for turn-by-turn directions, to view your speed and heart rate, or maybe you are riding the indoor trainer and you want to watch a show! I also like to have my phone close by so that I can quickly take the phone off my handlebar mount and take a photo or video.
When looking for a bike phone mount, I’m looking for how secure my smartphone is on the bike, how easy it is to use, whether is it adjustable, and how it installs. Let’s take a quick look at my favorites, discuss what features I’m looking for, and then dive into more detail on each style.
Table of Contents
Overall Best Bike Phone Mounts and Holders
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My go-to city biking phone bike mount that uses the Peak Design Everyday Phone Case. It is easy to move around bikes and I even take it traveling with me!
Not the most secure but easy to use for basic city biking.
A somewhat generic bike phone holder but this one is from a rad company promoting bike safety with their dash cam app.
For those that want their phone viewable but not out on display.
Does the bike mount hold your phone securely?
The security of my overly expensive phone on my bike handlebar is the number one concern I have when testing out bike phone mounts. I don’t want to hit a pothole and my phone falls off. There are different ways these phone mounts and holders work.
Rubber Strap Bike Phone Holders – The common setup for the affordable phone mount options are some type of band that wraps around your phone. These work well as long as you aren’t trying out different-sized phones, I found they do stretch out. If you switch between a bigger phone to a smaller phone the rubber may be too stretched out to hold the smaller phone well. The advantage is that you aren’t potentially over-tightening the clamp on your phone, and you can use any phone case you want.
Jaw Style Bike Phone Holder – These types of bike phone holders tighten down around your phone, either in 2 or 4 places. The advantage is that you can have different size devices with the same mount. The downside is that you could potentially over-tighten your phone case.
Dedicated Phone Case or Adapter – This style became more popular in the last 5 years thanks to the Quad Lock. This is a dedicated phone case that has a built-in attachment on the back that snaps into a mount on your handlebar. I never was a fan of the Quad Lock due to the bulk (I do have a slimmer version in for review that I’ll update you on soon!) and really fell in love with this style of bike phone mounts when Peak Design launched their Everyday Mobile Phone Case and Universal Bar Mount (review). The downfall of these dedicated phone case systems is that can be expensive to get started in and they may not have one for your style phone as they focus on what smartphones have the most units sold to justify dedicated cases. Some systems like the Peak Design Mobile and Quad Lock have stick-on adapters for the back of your smartphone case which may be the best setup for you.
Bag Style – This style was very popular before phones became waterproof. For some people, this still is a preferred option so their phone is out of the way and not displayed for everyone to see.
Bike Phone Mount vs Bike Phone Holder vs Phone Pouch, which is better?
For my style of biking where I want to be able to quickly take my phone off either to grab a photo or because I’m locking up my bike for a quick photo, I prefer the dedicated mount style but those are typically more expensive so that’s where the Bike Phone Holder style comes in.
The Phone Pouch or Bag style is slowly becoming outdated, but I know people that don’t want their phone on display but still want it to be close enough that someone is calling that you could see who it is and that’s where I think the bike phone packs come in handy.
The Adjustability of the Bike Phone Mount
This may not matter to some, but I do like to be able to adjust my bike phone mount. I do this either to help with sun glare or if my position changes on the bike. Most bike phone mounts require a tool to adjust the position, but some that are mounted with a band are easier to adjust on the fly.
How Easy is the Installation?
I travel a lot for work, and I switch between bikes I’m reviewing or testing pretty often so I’m switching my phone mount between bikes. There seem to be three types of installation:
A clamshell style and a bolt or screw that tightens on one side. This typically requires a shim to adjust the clamp to your handlebar size. This can be the most stable mounting option with the cleanest install by mounting your phone right out in front or on top of your stem and handlebar. I use the Peak Design Out Front bike mount on my road bike for a streamlined look and for the most stable setup.
It is worth mentioning that some of these clamshell systems can be absolute garbage with cheap hardware and shims. They are fine for casual use but typically break or wear out prematurely.
Zip ties or rubber elastic bands to tighten down. This requires less of a shim and also allows the mount to be installed in different places like on your stem.
A rubber band that attaches to itself with buckles or notches. This is by far the fastest but sometimes you still need a shim to get the perfect tension on these bands. I use the Peak Design Universal mount on most of my city bikes so I can remove it when locking in less safe areas, or when traveling I put this around my backpack shoulder strap to have it ready to install on a bikeshare bike for navigation around new cities.
Do You Want a Cell Phone Mount System?
Something like the Peak Design Mobile system or Quad Lock have an entire system of accessories for life off the bike. This includes car mounts, charging stands, tripod mounts, and more.
Don’t Forget Your Screen Protector
No matter how good the bike phone mount is, I still recommend having a screen protector! The Ailun brand is one I’ve been using for many years and has kept my phone safe. I’ve had to replace the protector after crashes or hard drops but my screen has always been safe!
Conclusion
I’ve tested many bike phone mounts over the year and these are the best I have come across. If you have a favorite I have missed, let me know!