The Best Phone Mount For Motorcycles?

So you're using your phone for navigation, or music streaming, or some other in-flight duty. How will you mount it? Photo: Akaberka/Shutterstock.com

Like many riders, I’m always on the lookout for the best phone mount for your motorcycle. Smartphones became an integral part of our lives and so an important part of our riding. Whether you want to use your mobile device for music streaming, communication or navigation, you’re going to need a phone mount for in-flight visibility.

There are several options nowadays on the market, targeting different ranges of customers and mostly differing from each other by price. In terms of practicality, they all seem to work quite well, on both road and offroad. But one seems to stand above all. Let's take a look at three, below:

Photo: RAM

If you’re looking for an affordable phone mount that will get the job done, look no further than the RAM X-Grip. This mount is designed to fit most phones, with or without a case. Thanks to its adjustable grip, you can be confident that your phone will be secure, even through bumpy terrain.

It's easy to install—a major plus in my book. It's compatible with the RAM ball mounts and as long as you buy the right-sized X-Grip for your phone, it can withstand most off-road riding. There's a rubber safety net that mounts at the back, but that can make it a slower, more clumsy job to mount your phone, especially with your gloves on. When I used this grip, I often left the rubber retainer loose at the back and only used the spring-tensioned X-shaped lock to secure my phone. I did have a problem with losing the rubber tips on the tips of the X-Grip, since they were simply plugged onto the metal extremities. Even after gluing those to the main harness, I still managed to lose a couple. Rubber doesn't stick very well on metal and this part of the design could definitely be improved. The overall price is roughly $70 USD, which makes it one of the cheapest phone mounts on the market.

Photo: Quadlock

This phone mount has gained a lot of popularity in the moto market over the past couple of years. They have done incredible marketing work to promote and push their products to everyone and everywhere, and it's not just a bunch of empty hype. I believe Quad Lock's phone mounts offer the best combination of quality and price currently available on the market.

I have been using Quad Lock for several years, even during rallies and hard off-road rips on my motorcycle, and the product has always held up very well on all tests. Unlike the self-contained RAM X-Grip, the Quad Lock requires that you also buy phone case—and you should probably add a vibration dampener as well, especially if you have an iPhone, to prevent damage to your phone's camera.

The mount itself costs $70 but then adding the dampener and the case, you reach an overall price of $120. If you’re OK with this system's drawbacks (the locking mechanism protrudes from the back of the case, making your phone bulky, and sometimes it can take several attempts to lock the phone), this is probably the best choice available at the moment.

If you’re willing to spend a little more money on a high-quality phone mount, then I recommend the Peak Design Moto Mount and Everyday case. This mount is made from machined/anodized aluminum and has a magnetic base, with aluminum clips that seamlessly anchor to the phone case. I tested this setup recently over a four-day off-road adventure, and it performed very well. It was sturdy and firm, and also absorbed all the shocks and bumps along the trails thanks to its rubber spacers and integrated vibration absorber. The phone case is slim and well-designed. It barely increases the weight and size of the phone. It clips onto the mount in seconds without any hustle.

This is a massive improvement from the other models I’ve mentioned. It's especially noticeable when you’re working with gloves, or one hand—this mount is miles ahead compared to the others. Definitely worth the extra bucks and it's my favorite overall. The price is not too steep, coming in at $140 USD, including the cover.All Peak Design products come with a solid, no-questions-asked Lifetime Guarantee.

If you’re in the market for a phone mount, I highly recommend Peak Design's offering. It's sleek, durable, and versatile—perfect for any content creator or traveler, who needs quick access to its camera phone while riding.