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TECH NEWS
Alternative Garmin mounts
If the standard Garmin plastic mount isn't for you, then you'll be delighted to hear there are a healthy number of alternative mounts now available. Sure, the supplied Garmin mount works well enough, but it fixes in place with rubber bands and your placement options are restricted to the stem or handlebars.
That's fine if you have the space. But if your stem is too short or two steep, or you've got no free space on your handlebars, you might be interested in another way of mounting your Garmin. While it can be easy to find space for the small Edge 200 and 500, the larger 800 can present problems. Some people also find they can't comfortably view the Garmin's screen when adopting an aggressive position in the drops.
These aftermarket Garmin mounts solve all these problems. The one thing they all have in common is the placement of the Garmin unit ahead of the handlebars and in line with the stem. This frees up space on your handlebars and, because the Garmin is shunted further forwards, can make it easier to view on the bike.
Garmin weren't first to offer just such an alternative mount, but they've addressed this and have released their official mount. Their Bike Bar Mount (£29.99) attaches to the handlebar and the off-set mount places the Garmin directly in front of the stem. This not only frees up space on your handlebars but also places the Garmin further forward so it's easier to see the screen when you're riding, particularly in the drops. The clamp is hinged for easy installation and is made from a composite. It weighs 26g.
K-Edge produce a range of neat GoPro mounts and they've also added this Computer Mount for Garmin Edge to their lineup. Like the Garmin mount, it will take an Edge 200, 500 or 800 and hold it securely in place in front of the handlebars in a central position ahead of the stem. The K-Edge is CNC-machined from 6061 T6 aluminium and two bolts secure it in place. This one isn't budging. Uniquely, the arm that carries the Garmin mount can slide forwards and backwards so you can tailor the position.
US bike shop Above Category produce the Bar Fly, another mount that elevates the Garmin ahead of the stem in an inline position. It's manufactured from Delrin plastic and the wraparound clamp fixes with one single Allen bolt. It's light at just 19g.
RaceWare Direct is a small UK company and they make use of state-of-the-art 3D printing to produce a range of Garmin mounts. They produce an Edge 200/500 mount plus a slightly longer 800 mount, and they fit all handlebar sizes including 35mm. Uniquely, they also do left and right side mounts so you can pick the more suitable. They cost from £24.99 and they're available in a range of colours.
If you're a time triallist then you might be interested in the TT Mount. Attaching to the extension bars this mount places the Garmin slap bang in the middle of the space between the extensions so when you're in the TT position you can still view the Garmin's screen.
There is another way. 3T's Integra (£259.99) is currently the only stem that has been designed to take a Garmin computer mount instead of the usual faceplate - you still need to buy the Edge R Stem Mount separately. You can run the stem without a Garmin as well; a shroud clips into place maintaining the stems clean lines. Of course, no new product is complete without some claims of betterness, and 3T claim the position of the Garmin improves the airflow around the stem. So there you go.
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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34 comments
I'm amazed no one's thought to do one for countries that drive on the left of the road where the mount goes to the left of the stem and swings to the right. This would leave more room for your light on the optimal side of the stem ie the right hand side.
love the new style of the the quick view mounts makes it so much easier to read rather than having to look at your stem all of the time. did have one of the k edge metal mounts but that broke of the clips of the garmin and sent it back to garmin and they sent out a replacement. i am now using a sram garmin mount because i dont want the same thing to happen again and they are much reasonably priced compared with the other mounts.
http://www.charleysbikeaccessories.co.uk/collections/cycling-gps-and-com...
I have the k edge and though its rock solid and way sexy looking it shaves of a bit of the Garmin each time I used it and it scared me to death, I'm using the barfly now, cheap and simple, doesn't have the positive click like the others but I ain't lost it yet
I've got the Bar Fly on my road bike and just added the SRAM one to my commuter bike.
Can't complain about either but the SRAM was only £13.49 from wiggle which is considerably cheaper than most (if not all) of the others.
Video is up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBl_7Jo1tcg&feature=youtu.be
Looks pretty solid to me! Order coming your way...
Thanks racewaredirect - would be great to see the video. If its solid enough for a downhill bike then I'll probably be getting an order in soon!
i talked to raceware direct and they said they're looking at it, so stay tuned...
Like @Doctor Fegg, I'd be interested if there was a model for eTrex.
@racewaredirect - any chnance of seeing this in the future?
I think the comment of vibration was aimed at our raceware mounts but it is likely to be an early model which did suffer from some vibration. The design has now changed to stop any vibration. I have posted a link to a youtube clip showing the raceware mount being run on a downhill bike but it is awaiting admin approval before it is posted.
just thought i would add my tuppenth worth on the raceware mount - having tested 3 or 4 iterations of this mount with martyn of raceware, each time refining the mount (eg dialling out excessive vibration), i can vouch for this being a great value bit of kit....
@racewaredirect I think most people look at the part and think it should be mass produced - and hence should have a low price. It's great that you are able to customise and adapt, buthin an understand why lots of people will think that, for a standard computer and standard sizes of bar, their should be a standard 'out front' style mount at a low price.
Personally, I'm happy to pay for a product that works. But it has to work well! Does anyone have experience of the various mounts above and how much the Garmin vibrates? The one review discussing vibration doesn't mention which mount!
We are working on an adapter for the 705 so that you will be able to run it on any of the 1/4 turn edge mounts, it should be available in around 2 weeks time.
For those that have concerns over the stiffness of the RaceWare 800 mount here is a short video clip of one being put through its paces on a downhill run.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBl_7Jo1tcg&feature=youtu.be
We did a little video review of the K-Edge mount a few weeks ago.
Watch it here http://www.scarletfire.co.uk/2012/10/the-k-edge-out-front-bar-mount-for-...
It's a top bit of kit, and will probably out last the bike!
Or you could get one of these direct from the US:
http://designcycles.net/products.htm
Current exchange rate means it works out at just under £22 POSTED!
If you ask nicely, they will even mark your parcel as a gift to avoid any customs charges.
I took the plunge and bought one and cannot fault it.
I had one of these but it broke in a crash recently. In winter I'd hang a light from the bottom. They don't seem to be making them anymore so do you know of any other dual sided mounts?
K edge for me... It'll match my snazzy chain catcher
They are all such a bloody rip off...anything over £20 is daylight robbery for this...Im sure BBB will have one soon for £6...
Please explain why you think these are such a rip off. We at raceware direct have priced our mounts as competitively as possible. All our products are custom made and hand finished in the UK, at the last count we offered over 400 iterations of our mount and make custom modifications on a regular basis. If we where selling a mass produced injection molded part from china then maybe it would be expensive. But is £25 for a bespoke product really that unreasonable when you compare it with the £350+ that Garmin charge for a mass produced computer?
I bought one of these mounts, not good. Trouble is garmin is now extended away from handlebar to mount, which is good as frees up space. The downside is every vibration is effectively amplified by this extension through to garmin. This means that you can't read garmin on move as it is vibrating like crazy on extended mount. I ended up taking off as unless road was uber smooth you could read any of the information. Even had rubber insert on mount to bar interface but this didn't help either.
K-Edge is about £35-40 but good luck getting hold of one in the UK. Same goes for the Garmin mount, can't find either of them online anywhere, sites that do stock them seem to have their expected dates pushed back and back. Raceware one it is I think for me, fed up of waiting for a K-Edge in black.
@Tony - good idea, will do.
How much is the k edge one?
(linky not working btw)
anyone know if you could cable tie a conventional garmin mount to the k edge or garmin,as i too have a 705 but would like it outfront,without adding the weight of the fsa.Or have garmin got plans for a 705 version?
The K-edge also come with a lifetime warranty. Break it and they'll replace it.
pity there isn't one for the Edge 705
While it's not as cool or as light as the ones for the 800, I use an FSA Control Center (http://www.fullspeedahead.com/products/205/Control-Center-for-K-Wing-Com...) with the 705 mount on it. I find the display a lot easier to read out in front of the handlebars.
ControlCenter.jpg
thanks
Has anyone found anything similar for the Bryton Rider series? Or knows if a Bryton will fit a Garmin mount? It looks much the same design...
Tony tried his Bryton in the Raceware Direct mount and it fitted just fine
In response to Chris Bevan who indicated that Tony had had success using the Raceware mount with a Bryton device... Does this take into account the fact that the Bryton devices have their buttons on the bottom of the device and not on the side? In other words, aside from fitting in the mount, is the device actually usuable? (I have tried to contact Raceware a few times about this question but not received feedback, so firsthand feedback from users would be appreciated).
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