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SKS Compit Smartphone Holder & Cover

8
£39.98

VERDICT:

8
10
Secure and expandable choice for bar-mounting your smartphone
Weight: 
34g

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 SKS Compit Smartphone Holder is a great system for holding your phone securely on the handlebar, and as a general phone case. You can mount lights or a camera out front, and as a base for the Compit+ system you're future-proofed too.

  • Pros: Fits all bar diameters, easy fit and removal of mount and phone, expandable for lights and camera, low profile, works with gloves on
  • Cons: None, really

The Compit system from Germany's SKS is focused on e-bikes and charging phones for navigation, and this is reflected in the design of the Compit mount here – the five little brass contacts are in the mount to pass charging current from an e-bike head unit's USB port to the optional Compit+ battery-wireless charging unit.

> Find your nearest dealer here

In this non-e-bike version the contacts are included but are superfluous, as there's no USB cable to connect them to anything.

SKS Compit+ Smartphone with +ComUnit Wireless Charging Station - mount.jpg

What we have on review here is the basic Compit mount and smartphone cover, the mount retailing at £29.99, with cases being £9.99 each. Phone cases are available for a number of newer phones. I tested the iPhone X model and SKS keeps adding to the range so you should be future-proofed when you upgrade. At time of writing it does cases for iPhone 6 through to 8+, X and XS, Samsung S7-9 and Huawei P20 Pro. Coming soon are iPhone 11 and Samsung 10. If your phone isn't listed, SKS also does a universal stick-on mount, which could also be fitted to a waterproof or ruggedised case if desired.

SKS Compit Cover.jpg

The mount fits handlebars from 22.2 up to 31.8mm diameter using the included rubber adapters, and is absolutely rock-solid. Though not advisable, you can pick up an unladen bike by the mount, it's that solid. The mount is secured either side of the stem by four hefty Torx T20 screws (T20 tool included), and there's 49mm of stem width to play with underneath it.

The plate your phone locks onto can be set to a number of angles using a 3mm Allen (also included), so between the mount itself and the plate you have a lot of adjustment to get the phone viewing angle and clearance for lights or computers just right.

SKS Compit Cover - on bike - top.jpg

If you want to run lights or a camera out front, there's an included set of lower mount light brackets you can swap in. The maximum width of the light mount body possible is 12mm, with a minimum borehole of 6mm. The installation manual is rather thorough and clear on the process.

You can position your phone forwards or rearwards on your handlebar by alternating whether the plate sits to the front or rear of the bar. I set mine forwards to give maximum knee clearance; it's good to have the choice here if you have lots of other handlebar hardware to clear.

SKS Compit Cover - on bike 2.jpg

The case clicks on by positioning at 45 degrees and turning either horizontal or vertical, securing with a solid click. Those familiar with the Quadlock case system will be pleased to know that SKS has made its version of the 'quarter-turn' method even more intuitive and forgiving to mis-alignment at the start.

SKS Compit Cover - back.jpg

To release, there's a little plastic lever that gets depressed, allowing the phone to rotate again then be lifted free.

SKS Compit+ Smartphone with +ComUnit Wireless Charging Station - on bike mount set up.jpg

I gave this system a really good thrashing, on and off-road over really rough sections of road and track – nothing fazed it. The mechanism was consistently rock-solid, with no hint anything was coming loose after many hours of bashing about. If your phone comes off this mount unbidden, then it's likely you've lost something else more strategic, like a handlebar or limb.

As a daily knockabout phone case it worked well – the case is lower in profile than the already-slim Quadlock equivalent, with all buttons and the mute switch accessible. I had no issues plugging in charging cables. The case doesn't really sit proud of the phone's screen, though, so if you put it face-down on a surface it will be in contact. It's not designed to be overtly protective in its own right or it would be considerably chunkier, which is fair enough.

SKS Compit Cover - with phone.jpg

Unlike Quadlock, which sells a 'poncho' to go over phones, SKS must assume you're happy with your phone's native weatherproofness. If you want seriously-hefty protection, fitting the separately-available £9.99 universal stick-on mount to a ruggedised case would be the way to go.

SKS Compit Cover - on bike - side.jpg

Whether you should go for the SKS Compit or the Quadlock Out Front mount really depends on whether you need to mount lights or a camera, or expand to include SKS's optional Compit+ battery/wireless charging module (review to come). The Quadlock system is quickly removable with a single hex screw, unlike the SKS Compit which is more involved but also more configurable and adjustable.

> How to choose the right bike computer

Overall, the SKS Compit Smartphone Holder is a great option for holding your phone for navigation or simply close to hand for that mid-ride selfie. It's secure, expandable and made to SKS's typical high standards, with future phone cover availability almost guaranteed.

Verdict

Secure and expandable choice for bar-mounting your smartphone

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road.cc test report

Make and model: SKS Compit Smartphone Holder & Cover

Size tested: Fits handlebars 22.2 – 31.8mm

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 holding your phone on the handlebar, even on rough terrain, with or without extra lights or cameras.

SKS says: "The smartphone holder for all conventional handlebars and front-end combinations holds your smartphone safely and securely even in extremely rough terrain. With a twist, you can affix your smartphone horizontally or vertically thanks to the oversized bayonet attachment and can move it into the desired position by adjusting the angle."

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

From SKS:

Handlebar Ø 22,2 · 25,4 · 31,8 mm

NOTE! Requires smartphone cover.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
10/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

Goes on quickly, holds the phone solidly, only releases when needed.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

So far so good. Overbuilt and likely to outlast you.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
7/10

At 102g including cover, it's half the weight of a modern phone.

Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

It's on a par with the Quadlock ecosystem. Is it worth it? Well, £40 all-up isn't cheap, but neither is your phone.

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

Can't fault it.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The quick, faff-free action clicking phones on or off.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing really.

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 overall score

It's very good. It would be great to see SKS come up with some sort of quick-release install method here for easy swapping between bikes, but I'm probably nit-picking.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 46  Height: 183cm  Weight: 72kg

I usually ride: Merida Ride 5000 Disc  My best bike is: Velocite Selene

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: cyclo-cross, club rides, general fitness riding, mountain biking, 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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2 comments

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robbyrob2000 | 4 years ago
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And on top of this SKS offers a smart bottle cage which you can fit to the front of the COMPIT plate in case your bike has no mounts or bike adventure bags don't allow to use bottle cages at the same time. https://www.sks-germany.com/en/products/com-cage-velo/

 

Avatar
armb | 4 years ago
0 likes

I currently have a Quadlock, and was thinking about 3D printing a handlebar mount for the wireless charging unit that fits the Quadlock car mount (that I also have), to use with a hub dynamo.

The SKS wireless unit (with battery) looks like a neater alternative in some ways, less so in others: https://www.sks-germany.com/en/products/compit-serie/com-unit/

Quadlock charger for comparison: https://www.quadlockcase.co.uk/products/charging-wireless-charging-head?...

 (I don't have a desktop Quadlock mount, and the Quadlock case stops the unbranded wireless charger that I had been using working - it does work with a Samsung charger though. So while the SKS doesn't have the range of options Quadlock does, a thinner case might help compensate for that.)

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