Wireless charging is now available with the Aussie invention, Quad Lock, so you can more conveniently mount your phone on your bike and charge it on the run.
Quad Lock already has a $A44.95 charging accessory, but you need to plug in a USB cable which is a little messy and time consuming (like about two seconds!).
Now with this $A134.95 wireless charging head accessory that fits on the current mount, you simply attach the phone and it starts charging.
It is a bit bigger than the previous charger, but not unsightly.
Wireless charging
Having your phone charged while you are out on a ride is not only a convenience, but also a safety device.
If you get lost, crash or fall ill, your phone will still have charge so you can ring emergency and they can track you.
The company says some of the chargers already sent out to customers have an issue with the O ring becoming detached. They have provided a video of how to easily re-assemble it.
They assure us that future units will not have this issue.
I have been using a Quad Lock for several years and have been using the charger for several months without any issues.
I’m looking forward to getting a wireless charger!
They are easy to fit, discreet, quick to mount and remove your phone, robust and secure.
While the chargers are waterproof, I found with the cable charger that if you get water on the plug end that goes into your phone, it may not work until you dry it off.
The Quad Lock is available for motorcycles, scooters, cars, bicycles and runners.
You can buy the mount (RAM, handlebar or mirror), the case to suit your iOS or Android phone, a waterproof covering if required and the charging units separately or as a pack to save money.
How to fit
They are very easy to fit with just a few allen bolts and they are very secure with the screws tightened.
The charging units sit on top of the mount with a lead that goes to your battery, a USB port or SAE connector.
To mount your phone, hold it at a 45-degree angle until it slots into place, then twist it clockwise to a vertical or horizontal position where it remains securely in place.
To remove the phone, simply push the blue tab and rotate anti-clockwise.
That makes it useful if you are riding along and see something worthy of a photo – no fumbling in your jacket for your phone, just grab it and take the shot, then re-attach it. (Obviously, stop first!)
The wireless charger should make that a little less fiddly as there is no need to remove a cable.
Although it is very secure, it does vibrate which makes it impossible to use the camera or video function on the move.
There are various places you can mount your phone – handlebar, mirror, triple clamp or RAM mount.
The mirror fitting is especially useful for scooters which often have conventional handlebars. It also puts the phone up nice and high so you don’t have to divert your eyes far from the road ahead to see the screen.
There is also an extension arm that you can fit to raise the phone up even higher in your field of vision. And now you can also get a ball mount to match a RAM fitting.
Quad Lock mobile phone mount with extensionIt is handy to have the phone in front of you for navigational purposes and being able to rotate it to a wide or vertical orientation is very useful.
However, if you just use your phone for calls and music, most Bluetooth devices allow you to operate the controls without touching your phone.
It can be a bit distracting when text messages flash up on our phone while riding. There is a real temptation to read them! However, you can also turn this feature off or exercise some willpower.
Riders often criticise car drivers for texting while driving, so we strongly advise against using it for texts unless you are stopped.
Aussie riders may also find that it is illegal to even touch the phone while riding, although the laws are a bit vague, says the Australian Motorcycle Council.
If you want to access any of the touchscreen facilities, you would need to have special gloves with touch-sensitive finger pads.