Bike and Motorcycle Phone Mount Shopping Guide

Bike Phone Mount Holder

When behind the wheel of your car, you not only have shelter from the elements, but also the ability to navigate a GPS, make phone calls, and change the music, all from the comfort of a touchscreen device. But since most motorcycles and bikes don’t come with a central console (or roof), these responsibilities fall entirely on your cell phone - and more specifically, your cell phone mount. After all, it’s the phone mount’s job to make sure your phone doesn’t fall, so choosing the right one is important.

Protecting your phone while riding is not only a matter of protecting a valuable investment, but also your safety. Stopping to check your pocket (or worse, biking or riding with one hand for long distances!) is not only inconvenient, but also dangerous. Therefore, if you own a smartphone and like to bike or ride motorcycles, investing in a good phone mount is almost as essential as wearing a helmet, and should be taken into consideration before getting on two wheels.

So unless you truly like to ride free, and by free we mean without a phone, check our guide for some tips when looking to purchase a bike or motorcycle phone mount, and even what to look for if you do need an additional screen mount in your vehicle.

Pocket Free Compatibility

For starters, jumping off your motorcycle or bike to make sure you didn’t miss your turn should be a thing of the past. And rummaging around in your pocket while riding? Forget it.

If you ride motorcycles, pulling off on a highway to check your location can be incredibly dangerous not only for yourself, but also for other drivers. Likewise, if you are a serious and avid bike rider, chances are, your clothing may not even have pockets.

In the past, this problem was solved for motorcyclists by purchasing a GPS navigation device for their vehicle. But quite honestly, these were expensive investments, and a huge privilege to own. Likewise, unless you had a very specific type of bike, they often didn’t work well for cyclists, and their price point ensured that even if they were worth it for the well-seasoned weekend warrior cyclist who likes to bike for miles, it was simply out of reach for casual cyclists.

But now, most phones have built-in maps and GPS capability, so purchasing a separate device makes no sense. Therefore, with the invention of the phone mount, cyclists of all walks (and wheels) of life can rejoice in the ability to have a safer and smoother ride without the risk of danger to life, livelihood, and mobile devices.

But the question still remains, what phone stand is best, and what to look for when purchasing?

Wirecutter Phone Mount

Luckily for us, Wirecutter has identified some key areas to look out for when judging a quality phone mount for a motorcycle or bike in 2022, and these categories really make sense. As a reputable source who has been reviewing phone mounts since 2019, we are going to trust their authority on this issue, and give you some of our own ideas in the process.

1) Durability

When driving fast or over bumpy terrain (such as when mountain-biking), losing your phone can be the end of it. It can get smashed by another car, rock, or even your own set of wheels. Therefore, you really want to ensure that your phone mount won’t come loose on rough roads, or even shake and rattle too much, which can impede its functionality and general lifespan.

With this in mind, it’s definitely important to get a phone mount with some shock absorption, and even more important to get a mount that is specifically made for your phone. After all, fitting a Samsung phone into an iPhone mount is just not going to work, no matter how good the mount is. Which brings us to the next point.

2) Compatibility

It’s no secret that the phone case industry is a big industry, with many different brands reporting to be the best. But each phone is going to be different, as are their phone cases.

If you are the type of person who gets a new phone every year, then getting a new phone case mount may prove expensive, but probably worth the investment (but if you are already getting a new phone every year, then maybe this isn’t a problem).

However, if you don’t change phones or your phone brand very often, then definitely look for a case that is specifically made for your phone.

If it protects your phone from damage, it will 100% be worth the investment, and make it less likely you will have to buy a new one in the future. Additionally, many are slightly adjustable, meaning that you can upgrade your phone to the latest version without also swapping out your phone mount.

This will also ensure the best possible grip and compatibility possible, which is good news all around.

3)  Phone Grip

Where the phone actually attaches to your bike or motorcycle makes a huge difference, and different phone mounts will purport to attach to different areas of your bike. However, not all are created equal, and although there are certainly some creative phone mounts out there, the most solid is still the most basic.

In general, make sure your phone mount is either a handlebar or a stem mount. These are usually the safest and most reliable. However, they may require you to purchase an additional phone case or adaptor, but this could be well worth the money in the long run.

4) Flexible Applications

If you are someone who doesn’t own a bike or a motorcycle but does enjoy using the many shared bike options out there, there are several good options for you.

For a more casual cyclist, choosing a phone mount that fits into your pocket or bag and easily attaches to a bike is a no-brainer. It will help ensure you have some flexibility when commuting or going somewhere new. However, it is not just the ability to attach quickly and efficiently that’s important. It must also detach easily.

Therefore, if you are a casual cyclist, finding a phone mount that goes on and off easily is going to be an important option for you.

The Reviews Are In

Judging your needs and assessing these 4 factors should narrow down your potential choices considerably, and then it’s just a matter of budget.

If you are truly an avid cyclist and/or are also in the market for a phone case, then we definitely suggest shelling out a little more to get a phone case that is compatible with a phone mount, and then purchase the compatible phone mount that goes along with the phone case.

In particular, both Wirecutter and the Drive highly recommend the “Quad Lock” cases and adaptors. They are available for most types of phones, including iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and Pixel. Likewise, when combined with their Out Front Mount, they prove to be entirely effective at nailing all four criteria outlined above. They won’t shake or rattle, and their “twist to fit” technique ensures an easy, painless transition from two legs to two wheels…or more.

Both the cases and adaptors are compatible with a wide range of other Quad Lock mounts, including for running armbands and dashboards (but more on this later).

However, if their price point is outside your range or you are already happy with your current phone case and really can’t be bothered to purchase a new one, consider OMOTON’s Bike Phone Mount Holder. It comes with a unique Eagle Claw Design that includes 4 stretchable stainless steel clamp arms outfitted with thickened silicone pads that ensure a smooth ride, no matter how bumpy the terrain.

Likewise, they are highly compatible with most handlebar dimensions and can be easily installed on anything with a grip, including but not limited to: bicycles, motorcycles, strollers, shopping carts, electric scooters, indoor treadmill, spin bikes, and more.

Plus the One-Minute Installation means you can take it on and off with ease, without needing to use any tools. 

Best Dash Phone Mount

Yes, we know this is an article about bike phone mounts, but if you are someone who really likes a quality mount across the board, then consider getting one for your dashboard, as well.

Plus, even if your vehicle already comes with a central console, it doesn’t hurt to know the best mobile phone stands for a vehicle out there. After all, the same principles for bike phone mounts also apply to dashboard mount phones.

In general, if something is going to be durable enough for use while biking, it should be durable enough to use while driving, and should have no problem attaching it to your dashboard.

However, there are important distinctions to be made, namely related to functionality and use.

Those who are mainly using their phone mounts while in a vehicle probably don’t need as much portability as those who use shared bikes, so it has to be able to stay put on your dashboard (and not stuffed in a bag or a pocket afterwards).

Likewise, ease of use actually becomes more important than durability when shopping around for dashboard phone mounts.

Since vehicles usually have shock absorption built into their functionality, and most people really aren’t using their cars for off-roading, the chances of your phone falling out of the phone mount are significantly less than when biking or using a motorcycle, and the chances of it getting destroyed by the impact from falling are equally as negligible, since the worst case scenario is that it simply falls to the floor of your car, not the pavement.

And for this reason, we definitely recommend magnet mobile phone stands for vehicles.

A magnetic phone mount is definitely the most convenient and the easiest-to-use option for phone mounts in your car because it offers ease of use without having to constantly open and close the phone mount. You simply stick and go, or grab and go when it’s time to leave your vehicle.

Are magnetic phone mounts safe

However, as with most things, there is a lot of conflicting information about magnetic phone mounts and their effectiveness in a moving vehicle. After all, although losing your grip on your phone while driving may not break your phone, it can still be incredibly unsafe for drivers and pedestrians alike.

A fallen phone in a vehicle can impede the foot of the driver, and rummaging around for a fallen phone can also affect visibility on the road. So it’s still important it remains intact for the duration of your ride.

But that being said, if you opt for a high quality magnetic phone mount, you should be totally fine for daily use.

In particular, the Magnetic Car Phone Holder offered by OMOTON uses state-of-the-art enhanced N50 magnets that are sure to secure your phone on even the most bumpy of roads. And the 360° rotation ball joint gives you an optimal viewing angle that will adjust to your preference and not block your sight.

Additionally, the Olecranon Hook Design also ensures that you not only don’t have to worry about your phone falling from the mount, but also your mount falling from your dash, which would be a bigger issue entirely.

The Olecranon Hook Design is designed to firmly fix on your air vent, and will also help prevent shaking or falling. 

Get A Grip

But that being said, although a quality magnetic phone mount is generally very safe for use in a vehicle, we cannot in good faith recommend them for use when biking or taking a motorcycle.

Due to the outdoor nature of biking being associated with all sorts of potential hazards that drivers don’t have to worry about, from street bumps to two handed navigation, a magnetic phone mount is just not going to cut it when biking or taking a motorcycle.

In those scenarios, it’s always best to go with a phone clamp/lock that grips your phone tightly and doesn’t let go.

But for everything else, there are always magnets!