how to mount moto droid to your bicycle

[scott_ev]

I use My Tracks. I was using Maverick Pro because the maps seemed a little more detailed in some spots, but it kept my processor running at 100% and ran my battery down fast. Google Maps Navigation is also very good for what you are wanting.

 

[nitro_mudder]

The only problem with the google maps nav is I don't think I can add a location in the woods. I believe you need an address.

 

[scott_ev]

OK. You can use My Tracks and set it to satellite view, record your journey to a destination and save it. Then you'll have a map to follow in the future. You can, within the program, sent it to google maps for easy retrieval and share it with your friends that way too. I love my tracks because it will give you all kinds of info like altitude, distance, distance, elevation changes and on and on. I hope this solves your problem.

 

[Atook]

Another thumbs up for mytracks here. Great little piece of software.

I just throw my droid in my camel back though for mountain biking. For in town it would be great to have the GPS on the handlebars. I've gone over the bars too many times out on the trail to trust any phone mount...

 

[scott_ev]

Understood atook, I wouldn't put my droid on the bars out on anything rough. I will recommend the amzer, though, for city riding or smooth single track. A bare droid fits in very tight. It's not like the universal mounts that accept cases: I wouldn't trust one of those outside the car.

 

[Viktor Vaughn]

As I sit here and watch my Patriots get pounded, I am realizing that I NEED to get back to bike commuting (despite the weather), for fitness purposes.

Any more reviews on Amzer? Anyone do city bike commuting? How about headphone/mouth piece options...do they work in the wind.

I gotta get in shape...I am the size of Vince Willfork haha!

 

[scott_ev]

Any more reviews on Amzer? Anyone do city bike commuting? How about headphone/mouth piece options...do they work in the wind.

I have used the amzer mount for about a month now and have no complaints. It's mounted on a mountain bike and I use it off road in fairly rough conditions without any problems. It is designed for a naked droid and you'd have to take your case off if you have your device in one. And I had to take a file to the top snap to make clearance for my headphones to plug in. I have Ghost Armor on all sides of my phone and it almost won't snap in and that should tall you how nice and tight the device clamps into the mount. IMHO there isn't a better handlebar mount available. Buy one and you'll be very happy and will feel safe riding with your Droid mounted.

 

[amglanyc]

amzer for bike

I just purchsed the amzer from Amazon - it says it ships in 1-3 months?!??! Did anyone buy from Amazon and have to wait this long?

Also - what is the trick to modify so I can use my headphones with it?

Amazon.com: Amzer Bicycle Handlebar Mount for Motorola Droid A855 (Black): Cell Phones & Service

 

[scott_ev]

I just purchsed the amzer from Amazon - it says it ships in 1-3 months?!??! Did anyone buy from Amazon and have to wait this long?

Also - what is the trick to modify so I can use my headphones with it?

Amazon.com: Amzer Bicycle Handlebar Mount for Motorola Droid A855 (Black): Cell Phones & Service

I got mine very fast and yes, I had to take a file to part of the clip so I could plug in my headset. The device still stays in securely though and I ride off-road with it.

 

[Rasjudah]

I got 220 hits in an ebay search...here are 2 of them

Bike Bicycle Mount Holder for Cell Phone iPod MP3 PDA. - eBay (item 170412030479 end time Nov-28-09 15:52:59 PST)

Bike Bicycle Mount Holder For Cell Phone/GPS/MP3/iPhone - eBay (item 270482904227 end time Dec-09-09 16:32:14 PST)

I wonder how these would work on my motorcycle? Or if someone can point me to an eBay or other listing where it would mount on the cycle I'd appreciate it. I will NEVER use a suction cup on my windshield....no way.

Yes commute on my motorcycle and I am wondering if they have mounts for motorcycles. Anyone tried this one on a motorcycle ?

 

[scott_ev]

man, do not buy the one in that picture! That is a generic holder that is only secure enough to be used inside a car. Read back through this thread and use the one I suggested in the beginning. I own the right one and know it to be sturdy, stable and very strong. And it locks the device in very very tight and you MUST have that on a bicycle or motorcycle. The mount will fit on a very large variety of sizes of handlebars and I believe it will mount on a motorcycle without problem.

 

[maheider]

I just purchsed the amzer from Amazon - it says it ships in 1-3 months?!??! Did anyone buy from Amazon and have to wait this long?

Also - what is the trick to modify so I can use my headphones with it?

Amazon.com: Amzer Bicycle Handlebar Mount for Motorola Droid A855 (Black): Cell Phones & Service

I got mine very fast and yes, I had to take a file to part of the clip so I could plug in my headset. The device still stays in securely though and I ride off-road with it.

I bought an Amzer Droid mount just last week from Amazon, and it arrived yesterday. When I ordered it, they had a note on the page "order soon, only one left" so I don't know if I may have gotten the last remaining one or not.

I installed the mount on my bike, and I have to say I am still a bit nervous about the possibility of the Droid falling out. I ride a road bike, and while most roads are fairly decent in the area, there can be some rough areas. I have a Magellan Meridian that I have used previously for a bike GPS, and its mount is very secure, but even with that I had the GPS fall off hitting a bump hard. I think it was not quite fully engaged in the mount on those occasions, but seeing that fall off makes me nervous about the Droid. The Magellan is fairly robust, with a rubber housing and a recessed screen, so it came out with only some scuffed rubber. My guess is the Droid would not fare so well.

With the Amzer mount, it seems nice and tight, with the bottom "hooks" very sturdy - I do not see any way it could pop out from the bottom of the mount.

The top area seems to be where it could come loose. There is a rubber piece over the nose of the clip on the top, and at least with my Droid it seems as though it does not clip all the way over the top edge of the phone. It is most of the way there but not completely down to the extent I would like. So, if I pull out on the phone, it does come out of the mount, though it takes some force to do so. It seems to me that a big bump might just spring it loose. FYI: I took off my case so the phone was as delivered.

I was hoping the top piece would require grabbing it and bending out of the way in order to release the phone, but as I indicated, it seems that outward pressure on the phone will release it.

Does anyone else who has used this mount have the same operation with the mount? Has anyone had trouble with the phone working loose at all? At this point, I am considering putting some rubber bands or something around the top edge of the phone once it is in the mount, hoping that if it does pop loose the rubber bands will stop it from falling out. Maybe I am just paranoid, but I really would hate to lose the phone to a fall on the road.

Installation, with the included wing nut was very easy, though I may use a bit of Locktite on the threads to keep it from vibrating loose. The clip that holds the phone is a separate piece from the handlebar mount, and simply slides into place. There was no apparent way to "lock" that on, and it did not click solidly into place for me, so I ended up using some thin wire to go through the holes on either side of the removable clip portion and then around the post portion underneath to ensure it did not pop off. If it was intended to click or lock into place, it was not apparent to me how to get it to do so.

I would appreciate any real world experience with the mount that you would care to share. Does your mount also seem a bit loose on top, and if so, has it caused any troubles? Has anyone else considered adding "backup" methods of securing in the mount, and if so, what did you use?

 

[segen77]

i know it looks tacky, but IMO when using a mount like this on a bike I would always strap a rubber band around it.

 

[amglanyc]

Did you modify? If so are you able to use headphones? I just ordered another from AMAZR in hopes of getting this thing sooner. I used tracks this morning for my ride into the office, keeping the phone in my bag, and love the app. It is pretty amazing technology. I look forward to having it up on my bar as a "dash".

 

[maheider]

I used the Amzer mount for my Droid for the first time yesterday. Went on a moderate ride of 45 miles on the road, and the mount held the phone securely from what I can tell. I did wrap a couple of rubber bands across the top of the phone and around the back of the top clip just in case, but it did not seem to move at all. The roads were fairly smooth, but there were some bumpy sections and like I said, no apparent movement of the phone. It did get vibrated a bit, which is pretty much impossible to avoid unless perhaps you just put the phone in your jersey pocket. Not sure if vibration will eventually cause any problems with the phone - I hope not.

I used SportyPal to track my ride. I like the features of that program including the detail it records, the ease of uploading and accessing workouts from the web etc but it drained my battery quite quickly it seems. I'm not sure if that was just the GPS or not, though I have previously used MyTracks and I do not remember the battery drain being so severe. I basically had to turn off SportyPal about 35 miles into the ride because my battery was at 10% or less. This was after about 2 hours, or maybe a bit more, of riding.

My typical ride is about 3 to 3.5 hours long once I am in shape for the season, so I am going to have to figure something out if I want to use SportyPal to log my rides it seems. I have a spare battery for my Droid that I can take along, but I don't really want to stop and swap batteries in the middle of a ride if I can avoid it. Of course, If I did that, I would have to end one workout recording and start a new one after the other battery was installed which would take away from the usefulness of the ride recording.

I remember seeing in the past some AA battery phone "chargers" that basically send external battery power to the phone from the AA batteries via the USB connection. I have not had much luck finding ones that look reputable (by which I mean very safe) to use so far searching the web. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with or recommendations for such a device?

I know Seido makes (or will soon have available) a larger capacity Droid battery, but it is larger that the standard one, and thus requires a different back plate. That would make it impossible to use with the Amzer mount, since that is very specifically designed for the stock Droid size, and there is no extra room whatsoever to accommodate a larger battery.

Any ideas?