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Quad Lock Out Front Mount

10
£24.95

VERDICT:

10
10
The Quad Lock Out Front Mount is an excellent solution for phone, camera and light mounting in various orientations
Weight: 
37g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Quad Lock Out Front Mount puts your phone where you can see it, and de-clutters your bar by also holding GoPros or other compatible-mount devices. It's an excellent solution for short stems too.

Nearly a year ago Chris reviewed the original Quad Lock iPhone Bike Kit and gave it a 9/10. Prior to that Dave reviewed the Universal Bike Kit and likewise gave it 9/10, but lamented the stem-only position and longed for something 'out front'. Lo and behold…

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The Out Front Mount has been in development for over a year, and the result shows that Quad Lock has done its homework. At 37g it's light for what it is, having a very secure locking mechanism that's designed to pair with the matching phone cases or Universal mount. Pushing down the large blue tab allows the phone to be rotated through 45 degrees and released.

Quad Lock Out Front Mount and GoPro Adapter - phone mounted underside.jpg

Garmin's quarter-turn mount does a good job, but it's a protruding lock mechanism built into what is a much smaller, lighter device – you can't do that with £500 phones from different manufacturers. As Chris found in his review, the Quad Lock Case works really well on its own. My iPhone lives permanently in one, as does my wife's – they are great phone protectors in their own right, the mount bit only adding a 2mm bulge over a small area of the back of the phone.

Quad Lock Out Front Mount and GoPro Adapter - parts.jpg

The Out Front Mount is offset to position your phone central to the stem, 4cm out from the handlebar. The band that clamps around your bar is only 12mm wide, allowing other accessories alongside if needed. The clamp fits 31.8mm-diameter bars natively, or 25.4mm with the supplied adapter, and is just under 4mm thick, so fits under gear and brake cables where they exit the bar tape.

One way or another

A bonus of the design is that it can be flipped around to position the mount over the stem. This is a perfect solution for stems with less than the 50mm of free length required by the standard Quad Lock mount. (My wife's bike has a 70mm stem but there's only 25mm free of welding and clamp at either end; her bike also has a narrow bar and cyclo-cross top brake levers either side of the stem, so not much room to mount anything there.) This also positions your phone in a more protected space.

Quad Lock Out Front Mount and GoPro Adapter - phone mounted on stem.jpg

The optional GoPro Adapter (10g) is an excellent solution for accessories using that mount type. It tucks a GoPro in underneath with 15mm between the rear of the camera and the handlebar. With the GoPro removed, the adapter is almost invisible.

Quad Lock Out Front Mount and GoPro Adapter - Go Pro mount.jpg
Quad Lock Out Front Mount and GoPro Adapter - set up.jpg

The securing cap screws and metal threads used in both mounts are high quality, and the overall feel is premium with tight tolerances.

I found that the blue release lever was easier to use with gloves on than the original mount, where you had to curl your fingers around the phone and push down on the lockring to release the phone. Not that that was 'hard' to use, but the lever is even easier; even in 'landscape' mode with the lever obscured, a phone can be released and replaced with one hand.

I never used zip ties to attach the original mount, and the rubber o-rings never quite held the phone one hundred per cent stable. This new mount corrects that – it's rock-solid.

I want that, man

At time of writing you can get the Out Front Mount plus GoPro Adapter for £28.75, including postage, using the seemingly permanent 10 per cent discount on the Quad Lock website. If you don't opt for the GoPro mount you have to pay shipping, which totals £26.06. So you can basically get the GoPro mount for an extra £2.69 by shopping smart. You'll also need the correct Quad Lock Case for your phone (from £19.95, less 10%).

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Having invested in the Quad Lock system for cycling and running, across four different phone models, I'm sold. New phone cases are released pretty quickly once Apple, Samsung and others bring out new hardware, and they are always compatible with the existing mounts.

Rapture

As we've covered in previous reviews, the security of your device in a Quad Lock mount is top-class and the stability of the Out Front Mount only improves on this. Quad Lock isn't selling a waterproof solution though. If you need genuine waterproofness either go for an IP-rated phone (as Dave does) or an aftermarket case and use the Universal adapter.

The Quad Lock Out Front Mount has to be the best whole-system solution for multi-vendor phone, camera and light mounting on the market today. At £28.75 all-in it's great value, to safely and securely hang many hundreds of pounds' worth of electronics on any bike.

Verdict

The Quad Lock Out Front Mount is an excellent solution for phone, camera and light mounting in various orientations

road.cc test report

Make and model: Quad Lock Out Front Mount

Size tested: n/a

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

It's for people who want to mount any phone to their handlebar, with the option of also supporting GoPro-fitting accessories.

Quad Lock says: "The Out-Front Mount positions your phone for easier viewing as well as providing improved aerodynamics. The mount can be flipped to attach over the stem which is ideal for Mountain Bikes and short or unusually shaped stems."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Quad Lock says:

Heads up position provides better viewing angle

Aerodynamic low profile design

Secure dual stage lock (Patent Pending)

Can be rotated for over stem mounting

Suits handle-bar sizes 31.8mm and 25.4mm

Compatible with all Quad Lock Cases

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
10/10

Every facet of the design and build execution is faultless.

Rate the product for performance:
 
10/10

Can't fault it. Ease of use vs security is excellent.

Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10

After a few months and many adding/removing to different bikes, it still looks and works like new.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
9/10

37g is not much at all.

Rate the product for value:
 
10/10

Value has to be a balance of utility, enjoyment and cost. On this basis, it's a 10.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Brilliantly. It was always stable and secure when fitting or removing the phone, one-handed.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The ability to flip it round.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your score

The only way I can think to improve on this is for it to be a bit lower in profile. But it's hard to see where any savings would come from without changing it from a universal product into one specific to different stems. At £28.75 with the GoPro adapter, to mount a £500 phone and £200 camera securely, onto any bike – that's huge value and an exceptional experience in one.

Overall rating: 10/10

About the tester

Age: 42  Height: 183cm  Weight: 72kg

I usually ride: Charge Juicer  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: A few times a week  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: club rides, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mountain biking, and Dutch bike pootling

Living in the Highlands, Mike is constantly finding innovative and usually cold/wet ways to accelerate the degradation of cycling kit. At his happiest in a warm workshop holding an anodised tool of high repute, Mike's been taking bikes apart and (mostly) putting them back together for forty years. With a day job in global IT (he's not completely sure what that means either) and having run a boutique cycle service business on the side for a decade, bikes are his escape into the practical and life-changing for his customers.

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10 comments

Avatar
Rixter | 8 years ago
0 likes

Looks like a pretty interesting device

Avatar
Cooks | 8 years ago
0 likes

Could you rotate that 90 degrees, and use your phone as a video camera?

Avatar
KiwiMike replied to Cooks | 8 years ago
0 likes
Cooks wrote:

Could you rotate that 90 degrees, and use your phone as a video camera?

 

Yes. Yes you could. I now wish I'd seen that for the review. You'd have to have a 3mm allen key on you.

Avatar
psitta | 8 years ago
0 likes

It looks very similar to the Garmin mount device - but is it the same? Can I put my EDGE 800 on it, rather than a phone?

 

Avatar
KiwiMike replied to psitta | 8 years ago
0 likes
psitta wrote:

It looks very similar to the Garmin mount device - but is it the same? Can I put my EDGE 800 on it, rather than a phone?

 

 

Nope. The Edge device has a male connector (as do all Garmins AFAIK). Different design, and I'm not aware of a 3rd-party adaptor.

Avatar
The _Kaner replied to KiwiMike | 8 years ago
0 likes
KiwiMike wrote:
psitta wrote:

It looks very similar to the Garmin mount device - but is it the same? Can I put my EDGE 800 on it, rather than a phone?

 

 

Nope. The Edge device has a male connector (as do all Garmins AFAIK). Different design, and I'm not aware of a 3rd-party adaptor.

 

ah ha...so you might possibly be able to stick a Garmin on to the rear of your phone...instant GPS Phone...oh wait....

Avatar
Dicklexic | 8 years ago
0 likes

I bought one a few weeks ago. It replaced the standard mount on my stem and has been very good. I bought it mainly to move the phone further forward (out front) so that when slogging it out on long hot climbs the drips of sweat dont fall onto my phone, which had been a problem for me with the standard mount. Also the release lever is much easier to use than the standard 'collet' type fitting. I used the GoPro mount for the first time yesterday during a cyclocross race. The results are mixed. Where the circuit was smooth then the image quality is fine. However on the rougher and more 'washboard' like sections, the slight flexibilty of the plastic arm means that there is very noticable vibration to the footage. Not something I ever found an issue with the machined aluminium K-Edge one I have been using. The whole assembly seems very good quality and very secure, and for smooth roads I think it'll be fine, but rougher tarmac and off road duties will call for a much stiffer mount.

Avatar
MuddyGoose | 8 years ago
0 likes

I have the original quadlock and spoke well of it on my blog - https://poggiodelre.wordpress.com/2014/07/20/review-of-the-quad-lock-sys...

And this looks additionally awesome.  Especially as I have a Muvi K2 camera that will fit the optional mount pefectly.  My only problem is that having already got the original mount, another £30 on a mount that I don't really need is hard to justify.  I could do with a trade in offer!

Avatar
KiwiMike replied to MuddyGoose | 8 years ago
0 likes
MuddyGoose wrote:

I have the original quadlock and spoke well of it on my blog - https://poggiodelre.wordpress.com/2014/07/20/review-of-the-quad-lock-sys...

And this looks additionally awesome.  Especially as I have a Muvi K2 camera that will fit the optional mount pefectly.  My only problem is that having already got the original mount, another £30 on a mount that I don't really need is hard to justify.  I could do with a trade in offer!

eBay is your trade-in.

You've got a ~£200 camera there, so you don't want a cheap mount. You'll get £12 back selling your old mount on eBay. So net you'll get a phone and camera mount for about £17.

Avatar
MuddyGoose replied to KiwiMike | 8 years ago
0 likes
KiwiMike wrote:
MuddyGoose wrote:

I have the original quadlock and spoke well of it on my blog - https://poggiodelre.wordpress.com/2014/07/20/review-of-the-quad-lock-sys...

And this looks additionally awesome.  Especially as I have a Muvi K2 camera that will fit the optional mount pefectly.  My only problem is that having already got the original mount, another £30 on a mount that I don't really need is hard to justify.  I could do with a trade in offer!

eBay is your trade-in.

You've got a ~£200 camera there, so you don't want a cheap mount. You'll get £12 back selling your old mount on eBay. So net you'll get a phone and camera mount for about £17.

True.  I doubt I'll get £12 for my old mount though as they are on there new for £16.  Maybe get £8 ish.  I also doubt I'll get anything for my old camera mount as they are on ebay 'ten a penny' pretty much.

So I'm fairly sure it'll remain a costly upgrade.  Still temping though; one for the new year maybe...

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