SP Connect challenges Quad Lock phone mount

Austrian SP Connect is taking on Australian-designed Quad Lock in the race for your handlebar phone mount.

Handlebar phone mounts have grown in popularity as more riders use their phones for GPS, music and communication.

Some motorcycle instruments also now connect directly with your phone and, in future, they may be replaced by your phone.

Mount up

There is now a wide variety of mounts on offer. Some are not very secure while some others, such as the RAM mounts, may be secure, but they are expensive and large, clunky, ugly units.

The only ones we know that allow you to charge your phone as well are the Quad Lock (with a $44.95 adapter) and the X2 (pictured above) which we sell in our online shop for $35.

Quad Lock, designed by Chris Peters of Melbourne, has emerged as the leader with its small size, secure fit and ability to quickly adjust from landscape to vertical at the press of a button.

Quad Lock costs about $85 for the handlebar mount and phone case, while the Austrian SP Connect Moto Mount Pro kit costs $99.95 – $129.95 for a bundle, depending on your phone.

While the Quad Lock is largely hard plastic, the SP Gadgets mount is CNC-machined, aircraft-grade alloy. It feels a little heavier and therefore should be more secure.

However, we have never had any problems with the Quad Lock coming loose and falling off, even over off-road courses.

We have also noticed that vibration is similarly minimal on both.

Like the Quad Lock, you can get an extension arm that makes positioning your phone on your handlebars more versatile.

Easy connect

Both mounts can swivel from horizontal to vertical, but the SP Connect requires you to use a tool to turn the locking mechanism in the back of the phone case first.

That means you can’t do it on the fly. You have to remove the phone from the mount, then use the special tool to change it, then relocate the phone.

While some people are happy having the phone either landscape or portrait, I like to be able to swivel from one to the other: horizontal because it offers a nicer, lower profile on the bars and vertical when I am following a map.

The only advantage of the SP Connect is that you can also use the special tool as a table rest so you can conduct Face Time calls without having to hold the phone at an angle.

While the Quad Lock videos show people quickly fitting the phone, they can actually be quite fiddly to get on because you have to attach it at exactly a 45-degree angle.

SP Connect connects easily by placing it at a right angle and swivelling it 90 degrees into position.

Both have bundles that come with rubber mounts for all sizes of motorcycle handlebars, bolts and mirrors, as well as on bicycles.

Bundles also come with clear plastic rain covers that are touch sensitive.

However, I’ve never needed to use one even in pouring rain as recent iPhones are basically rain proof. However, I have tested them both for touch sensitivity with the rain cover on and they work fine.

SP Connect wins hands down on looks and they have also just released a chrome-plated version!

It is available for most Apple, Samsung and Huawei devices, but if you have another phone or want to keep your own case, there is a universal option.