My experiences with the X-Grip were less than stellar. On my very first trip out, I hit a small bump on the road, at which point the X-Grip launched the phone into my lap (fortunately). It has a rubber stretchy thing you can use to give it extra hold on the phone, but that takes a long time to take on and off, and it obscures part of the screen. Most annoyingly, the X-Grip arms continually pressed the volume and power buttons on my phone.
Next I tried the RAM Mount Quick-Grip, and wrote a review about it here. It was MUCH better than the X-Grip, but it still took time to connect and disconnect the wires every time you wanted to use it, and the small plastic arms looked a bit fragile to me.
So here's the phone mount I ended up using: the RAM Mount GDS Dock, which I bought on Amazon for $35. This is a completely different idea when it comes to mounts: not only does it securely mount your phone, but it also connects it to your bike automatically.
How it accomplishes this is by using a custom case to fit your phone. In my case, I used the Samsung S7 GDS Case, $30 on Amazon.
Here's the mount and the case as they arrived:
The mount has a well at the bottom with a set of springy pogo pins that make contact with the phone case. The well is "D" shaped, to prevent you from installing the phone backwards.
The bottom of the rubbery case has a set of electrical pads that make contact with the mount's pins.
Inside the case is a small connector for the phone. In this case, this S7 case has a micro-USB connector.
The top of the mount has a springy arm that gets pulled outward when the phone is installed.
The back of the mount has a wire, which has a female micro-USB connector. You would plug your charger into this. It can also be purchased with a USB-C connector.
The first thing I had to do was remove the old case from my phone.
The RAM case is nowhere near as high tech or quality of my Spigen case. Whereas the Spigen case has a hard shell, and a soft, shock-absorbing TPS interior, the RAM case is just a soft rubbery wraparound - it would protect against most bangs or falls, but definitely not as well as the old case. That's OK, as this phone is only ever going to be used on the bike.
Installing the phone into the RAM IntelliSkin case, you angle the bottom in first, so that the connector slides into the phone.
Once installed, the case wraps around the phone. Holes in the front allow sound to reach the microphone on the bottom of the phone.
There are drain holes in the case to allow water and moisture to escape should it get wet. I explicitly picked the S7 for my bike, as it is a waterproof phone, and won't be harmed by rain.
The top of the case has a hole to expose the noise-cancelling microphone in the phone.
The case simply drops into the mount, and the connection is made. This connection passes only power - no audio. Again, this is fine, as I'm using Bluetooth for audio on my bike.
Once installed the springy arm on the top of the mount holds the phone very firmly in place. The phone cannot slide out sideways, as the bottom of it is resting in the well of the mount.
The ball mount (an extra $10 from Amazon), mounts on the back of the GDS mount.
I decided I didn't want the ugly green sticker on my mount, so I peeled it off.
I installed the mount on my right brake reservoir using a RAM Mount Clutch Reservoir Mount and a short swivel arm for maximum adjustability.
Installed on my GL1500, the highly-adjustable mount holds my phone at the perfect position.
The USB wire on my bike already reached out to the mount, so what to do? I just wrapped the GDS mount wire around the mount a couple times, then plugged it in.
As soon as the bike is switched on, the phone receives power. I have the phone configured to automatically power up, connect to Bluetooth, and run Android Auto, without having to touch it.
At night, the phone dims itself down, and the mount holds it in just the right position.
Putting the phone in the dock and taking it back out couldn't be simpler, and takes literally seconds with just one hand - and no wires to connect or disconnect!
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I'm finally satisfied. The mount is extremely solid, the phone doesn't budge even on the bumpiest roads, and the convenience of being able to put the phone in and take it out without having to bother with wires is huge. I highly recommend it!
Pros
- Solid
- Easy to use
- No wires
- Pretty much unbreakable
Cons
- Must use their case
- A little more expensive
- Cases available only for popular phones
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