Phone case recommendation please

[Borderer]

Hi - I use my phone (Moto G4) for navigation on the bike. It sits on the stem, attached by a Blackburn strap thingy. This isn't ideal as it isn't protected from the rain and also the elastic loops from the Blackburn often press on the buttons on the side and cause it to reset or turn off. Sometimes the stem cells can do this too as the phone sits down quite low, almost directly on the stem. So I am looking for a recommendation for a case of some sort. I have bought a few in the past and they have all been rubbish. I want one that is waterproof and allows me to still use the touch screen through the window. If it attached to the stem or bars that would be ideal. Oh and cheap too!
Cheers.

[Moder-dye]

I've been looking at these topeak ones

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Topeak-6-Smart ... O0QAvD_BwE

They do other sizes and a stem cap mount
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/topeak-ridecase ... 4062&pauid

Not cheap together in my books, but look good and get good reviews. I've not bought them yet as I've just splurged on a new set of wheels

[GregMay]

Lifeproof Fre here. I believe it can attach to things. But I keep it in a bag turned off. Works well, no problem using with cover on, works in rain mostly.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Karl has one of these he's testing at present http://www.lomo.co.uk/acatalog/bike-phone-mount.html

Couple of little things which could possibly be better but overall it works well enough.

[Borderer]

Nice one - will check it out, thanks. A Scottish company too

[Moder-dye]

That lomo one looks interesting and cheaper. I'd be a little concerned that it relies on a single rubber band to hold it all on, but I guess you could cable tie it for more peace of mind.

Be interested to hear the testing feedback

[Bearbonesnorm]

The bar attachment on the Lomo is a kind of locking cam affair. At first glance it looks like it won't be secure enough but neither Karl or me had any problems with it at all.

[ericrobo]

I liked the look of that Lomo thingy so ordered one and it came this morning. (£15 + £2.99 delivery)

Overall impression that it’s good, did a ride up the street a bit.

Some points:
It’s going to be totally waterproof I would say
I wonder how long the rubber band will last, and they should have sent a spare (meaning it would have been better if they did)
It’s a very stiff piece of rubber, and once it’s on it is very secure

The case itself: holds a phone but not room for much else but I guess that’s alright. The phone doesn’t move inside it
The back of the case is padded, so it feels that even riding over rocks the phone will be ok... time will tell.
But the moving plastic bits mentioned below may suffer a bit from the forces from bumping over rocks...
If or WHEN you fall off the case and phone and gubbins will not catch any or much harm unless a tree falls on you - ouch
The Perspex outer of the phone - wonder how long that will last ?
The back of the blue case has a plastic piece, secured by 3 sturdy ‘inserts’, which easily clips into the holder on the stem, and it removes easily but also locks in place.
The holder (now on the stem secured by the above mentioned rubber band) is a point of weakness. It allows 3 different positions, flat, tilted up, tilted up a bit more... wonder how long all those plastic moving parts will last?

Finally got it fitted - need strong fingers depending on how thick your stem is. The blue case does waddle quite a bit, so I was thinking should I apply a bit of araldite to ‘tighten’ it up a bit OR phone them to see what they say...

However riding it up the street it didn’t seem to be a problem.

And I could still operate the phone as pressing the ‘perspex’ case does get through to the phone..
I got Aneta to phone me as I was riding and everything was fine.

So far so good...

The reason I like the idea so much is that when I’m out I very often have to stop, get the phone out of my pocket just to read the map (I use Memory Map ), and because more often than not it’s peeing down I have to take the phone out of it’s little freezer bag...wipe it with a finger because it’s now wet...
I have to do this because following the line on the Garmin is hit and miss.... you find out you’ve gone wrong when you’re off course by quite a few metres..

With Memory-Map (and it works in airplane mode to save battery) your position is a cross hair and the good thing is that there is a long red line with an arrow at the end, which indicates your direction...very useful.

I also have the phone in low power mode, so it goes blank after about 10 seconds.... however if I want it on so I can see where I am I’ve set up (which you can do with an iPhone) as part of the ‘one swipe up’ from the bottom of the screen, an icon for low power mode to easily turn it on/off... and this ‘swipe up’ works through the Perspex, even in the rain.

So it’s looking good - praps I won’t get lost as much... (if anybody at Gsrmin was interested you would think they would develop a gps specific with a good resolution screen, without eating the batteries too much)

[cycleofaddiction]

Just bought the missus one of these and probably going to get one myself. It's one of the best solutions I've seen but it's not cheap.

https://sp-connect.co.uk/collections/bike

[PaulE]

I bought one of the topeak ones for my road bike, seems ok but is now too small as I swapped from a Moto g to a wileyfox. If it's of interest, I can post it to you to try?

[dlovett]

I'm a part time cycle courier and need to have my phone accessible for orders and delivery instructions. I have two topeka ones and they work very well in all weathers. You can also buy other mounts for them.

[ericrobo]

Cycle of addiction:
Weatherproof but not waterproof... ? I don’t usually ride through puddles deeper than the handlebars, but, like yesterday afternoon the edge of storm Brian was wet, very wet- the Lomo case kept the phone totally dry.

How would this SP fare in those conditions ?

The blurb doesn’t make that clear at all.

And can you still operate the phone through the casing ?

After my test ride of the Lomo yesterday afternoon:

One MAJOR fault was that if you are going downhill (and for me it was a bit bumpy too) - in the flat position of the three positions - the air gets underneath the case and flicks it into the most upright position. Happened a few times.

You have to stop to re-adjust it back to the flat position. To do this with wet gloves it’s difficult to find the little lever.
If you force it too much it would break it I think.

I may phone them about this cos otherwise it’s a good product.

[ericrobo]

PaulE

Interested in the Topeak one for iPhone5s...

Thinking of phoning Lomo tomorrow about it not holding its flat position, so I may return it...

If I do I’d be interested in your Topeak one...

Will let you know

[cycleofaddiction]

Cycle of addiction:
Weatherproof but not waterproof... ? I don’t usually ride through puddles deeper than the handlebars, but, like yesterday afternoon the edge of storm Brian was wet, very wet- the Lomo case kept the phone totally dry.

How would this SP fare in those conditions ?

The blurb doesn’t make that clear at all.

And can you still operate the phone through the casing ?

After my test ride of the Lomo yesterday afternoon:

One MAJOR fault was that if you are going downhill (and for me it was a bit bumpy too) - in the flat position of the three positions - the air gets underneath the case and flicks it into the most upright position. Happened a few times.

You have to stop to re-adjust it back to the flat position. To do this with wet gloves it’s difficult to find the little lever.
If you force it too much it would break it I think.

I may phone them about this cos otherwise it’s a good product.

The case has a plastic/rubber case which fits over the top of the phone and seals it from the elements which with my phone being rated as "waterproof" I'm satisfied that the phone is protected from the elements. The phone is still operable by touch but may be affected if the phone has an aftermarket screen protector fitted. The bike bundle includes fittings for bar,stem and stem cap and a fitting that allows you to tilt the phone. The fact that the SP makes different cases for whatever model handset you use makes for a very neat and tidy set-up which I know isn't an issue for everyone but I know I certainly don't want some big ugly thing clogging up my bars.

[Borderer]

Interesting reviews guys thanks. Would be interested to hear more about the Lomo 'flipping' issue.
Thanks PaulE, I will message you.
Cheers

[ericrobo]

Phoned Lomo yesterday about it flipping out of the flat position when you ride downhill or even slightly downhill or over bumps.

They’ve agreed to refund me.

If they do a redesign they will email me and let me know...

If your phone is already in a case will it still fit in the Topeak one ?

[thenorthwind]

I've got one of these (https://www.blacks.co.uk/activities/112 ... orted.html) that I picked up for £1.50 in an outdoor shop sale. I've had it for 3 or 4 years at least and it must have spent, cumulatively, weeks strapped to my bars with one of those 4-way rubber band things (a slightly clumsy setup but it works). It's starting to crack very slightly on the closure, but it rolls over a couple of times and I'm not remotely concerned about it letting water in - I reckon it's got a few years left it in yet.

When I do replace it, it'll probably be something very similar but with a quarter-turn type mount (though this won't protect the phone from shock as well).