Review – Olixar universal bike phone mount

I toyed with getting one of these a while back but I wasn’t convinced it would hold my iPhone securely enough.  So getting the chance to test out and review a sample seemed a good (but cautious) step to take.  In the end I was pleasantly surprised….

Olixar universal bike mount

Description
This is a universal mounting to connect a smart phone to the handlebar of a bicycle, or I guess, even a motorbike or a golf buggy.

It is a two piece design with one half clamping to the handlebars and the other half holding the phone.  The two halves lock together easily enough and when clipped together it seems totally secure with a reassuring “click”.

The holder can adjust for phones between 54 and 100mm, so virtually all current smart phones could be used with the Olixar.  There is a little button, which when pressed, slowly allows the arms to glide wide open. Once the phone is in place, the arms can be pushed inwards to hold the phone securely.  These arms are slightly flexible (a bit of springiness) have some neat little grippy bits of soft rubber which add to the security of the phone.  Also there is a little flap which supports the base of the phone and there is a soft pad for the back of the phone to rest on; I imagine this is designed to stop the phone rattling around on a bicycle.

Olixar universal bike phone mount

The handlebar clamp is pretty straight forward and has a single screw knob for attaching to a handlebar.  Helpfully there are two little soft pads stuck on the inside to provide a good grip on the handlebar.  Two further rubber strips are supplied if the handlebar is a non-standard size and small (that might be handy if you’re using the Olixar on a golf buggy or something else.

In use
Please don’t make the mistake I made!  In my eagerness to get this onto some handlebars to try out I found I was trying to clamp it around the brake cables, as well as the handlebars.  How embarrassing!  Me of all people!  Please don’t tell anyone!  Apart from that middle-age moment, fitting it was a piece of cake.

I am really pleased to say the mount held my iPhone in place very securely as I went for a cycle ride one evening.  There was no vibration showing itself with any wobbles, rattles or anything like that.  Just as well really as any smart phone is an expensive bit of kit on a bicycle handlebar and the last thing you want is to loose it.

Dad, why don’t you wave it around?
Good idea, perhaps.  So once the road test was done – and passed with flying colours – it was time to be a bit more extreme.  I took the mount off the bike and with the phone still in place, it was waved, jerked and shaken to see how securely it would hold the phone.  Happily it held firmly in place and didn’t budge at all.

Now I know this wasn’t exactly a scientific experiment with all kinds of controls and test conditions, but it did nevertheless seem to do the job well.

Conclusion
If you’re thinking it might be useful to have your smart phone on your handlebars, for using a map app for instance, this could be the answer.  As I mentioned above it could be used on other things like golf buggies, pushchairs and the like.  It certainly works in terms of holding my iPhone in place very securely.

At £9.99 it seems a good deal and it’s available direct from Mobile Fun, in fact here’s a link to their website: Mobile Fun

Many thanks to Mobile Fun for supplying this sample for me to test.