With all the workout apps there are in the App Store and Play Store, it's common place to take your smartphone with you while out on a bike ride. If you're looking for an inexpensive way to secure your smartphone to your handlebars then look no further. This is the U-Grip Plus Universal Smartphone Bike Mount by Aduro. If you saw my review of the U-Grip Plus Suction Cup Mount, this mount shares a lot of the same components. I'm a huge fan of the suction cup mount and Aduro was kind enough to send me this mount for review to see if performs as well. The main difference is this mount has red rubber webbing that holds your smartphone by the corners to provide extra security while driving your bike.
The mount consists of a spring loaded grip and an adjustable collar for setting the tension. The grip attaches to a ball socket on the base. The base wraps around the handle bars and has three shims to accommodate a wide variety of handlebar sizes. You tighten the base to the handle bars using the included bolt and hex key. Its a shame that it's not a tool free installation but I'm thankful that Aduro has include the only tool you'll need.
I mentioned in the suction cup mount review that the first component I thought would fail would be the spring loaded grip. On the old mount you can see the springs inside of the grip when the arms are pulled apart. The bike mount has a cover that protects those springs from being exposed.
For my bike I had to use all three of the provided shims for a tight fit. Doing so made the mount very solid.
Installing your smart phone in the mount is very simple. You can spread the arms of the grip by pressing your phone against one side of the grip. Then you attach the red webbing by pulling it over the corners of the phone one corner at a time. My iPhone 6 in an Otterbox case fits easily into this mount. I also tested a friends Galaxy Note with a case and it fit as well. So an iPhone 6 Plus shouldn't be a problem either. To remove you simply pull off the webbing from the corners and remove the phone.
I was really impressed with how solid my phone was in this mount. There was no noticeable vibration and my phone didn't budge even when driving in rough terrain.
Because this mount is so similar to the suction cup mount the parts are interchangeable. I showed in the suction cup mount review how the suction cup was strong enough to even work as a Go Pro style mount to the outside of my truck. Now with the adding webbing you don't have to worry about your phone coming out of the grip either. This isn't going to replace your Go Pro, but it does open up a world of possibilities for mounting your smartphone other than your windshield and your bike handlebars.
This mount is very simple and yet works very well. I was very impressed with how stable my phone was in the mount. And there's no reason why this wouldn't work with a motorcycle either. It currently sells for $30 on Amazon and although that's not quite as big of a bargain as the suction cup mount, it's definitely worth that. If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments. If you've enjoyed this video review please consider subscribing on YouTube at http://youtube.com/jjcoolstuffreviews.