Quad Lock Bike Kit iPhone 7

The Quad Lock Bike Kit for iPhone 7 is a strong and secure way of mounting your phone to the stem of your bike, and it's very quick and easy to use.

You can't argue with the function; the Quad Lock system works superbly. Essentially, you get three products here: a case for your phone – the black bit – a 'poncho' (great use of the word poncho there), which is a cover that slips over the front – and a mount that fixes to your stem, onto which the case fits.

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Your phone pushes into the case and stays put, never coming out accidentally. The case offers good protection from everyday bumps and knocks and I've dropped my phone a couple of times while it was in there and it has survived unharmed. Good news! You'll probably leave your phone in the case all the time – it's low profile and there's no real reason to take it out.

Raised buttons on the sides of the case correspond with the iPhone's buttons underneath and you get access to the ring on/off switch too, like on most other cases out there. The feature that distinguishes the case is the recessed Quad Lock fixing point on the back (more on that in a mo).

The poncho is designed to protect your phone from rain, dust, sweat and whatever else comes its way, and it does this pretty well. It won't keep out a deluge but an iPhone 7 has an IP67 rating. This means it can be immersed in water to a depth of one metre for 30 minutes, so you might feel you can dispense with the poncho. Up to you. If you do leave it in place it'll at least help to keep your phone clean.

Your phone's touchscreen will work through the poncho, although Quad Lock says that you might have trouble if you already have a thick screen protector on there. I used it with a normal screen protector without any trouble. The touchscreen was a little less sensitive than normal, but not much.

The mount – or the Quad Lock Bike Mount Pro, to give it its full name – is a super-secure design that's simple to use. You put the case on top, spin it 45 degrees in either direction (so you can position your phone portrait or landscape), and four lugs on top of the mount click into place. As well as that, there's a spring-loaded collar that locks the case to the mount. It's a really neat design and I can't see that the case could ever become detached except on purpose.

You can fix the mount to your stem via O-rings (two sets of different diameters are supplied) or zip ties (also supplied). The O-rings are quick to use and allow you to take the mount off your bike easily, but I found that the zip ties would hold the mount more stable.

Obviously, once your phone is mounted to your bike you can see any apps you have running, such as Strava, just by glancing down. You can use your phone as a bike computer or a sat nav, you can link it to a heart rate monitor and/or a cadence sensor and have that info displayed... You know the kind of things that smartphones can do so I won't go into those possibilities here. Chances are that even without a Quad Lock you'll be taking your phone with you on every ride anyway so you might want to make the most of its potential.

As well as bike mounts (including an out front mount), you can fix the case to other Quad Lock mounts. There's an arm band for running, for example, and a mount that fixes to the windscreen or dashboard of your car so you can get route directions as you drive.

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The only criticism I have is that it's quite expensive; that said, so is your iPhone, and the Quad Lock really does hold it securely.

Overall, it's a great system that works brilliantly. If you want to view your phone while you're riding, this is an excellent way to do it.

Verdict

Super-secure system for mounting your phone to a bike