Bicycle Mount

[+mooreadventures]

I've been looking for a way to mount my GPS on my bicycle securely. I haven't been able to find an aftermarket one, so I thought I would post here for any suggestions - someone out there has got to have one or modified something to work.

 

Any suggestions?

[+Airmapper]

R-A-M it. I'd hope you don't crash a lot, but even if you did I think a ram mount could handle it. They make mounts for a lot of GPSr's, get a tubular attachment end, kinda like a C-clamp only shaped to securely hold to a handlebar or anything else round. I have heard of other companies that make similar products, try looking for ATV mounts as they have similar handlebar arrangements.

Now you said you were looking for something aftermarket or improvised, I can't think of anything offhand. I've used a Nite-Ize GPS holster to hold my GPS on the handlebars, but it is not very secure.

[CenTexDodger]

What he said--RAM Mounts are the best.

 

You can check them out at GPS City.

 

They have a complete selection.

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

I've been looking for a way to mount my GPS on my bicycle securely. I haven't been able to find an aftermarket one, so I thought I would post here for any suggestions - someone out there has got to have one or modified something to work.

 

Any suggestions?

What kind of GPS do you have?

 

Rich Owings

www.MakeYourOwnMaps.com

www.GPStracklog.com

 

“We were desert mystics, my friends and I, poring over our maps as others do their holy books.” – Edward Abbey

[+mooreadventures]

What kind of GPS do you have?

 

I have a Whistler GPS 200, it is sized about the same as a eTrex.

 

Thanks for everyones responses

Edited September 16, 2005 by mooreadventures

[+BigFurryMonster]

I have a Garmin with a bike mount that goes with it. VERY easy to be able to navigate when biking. Got a lot of interest from my friends/colleagues.

 

Doesn't your GPSr's brand offer one?

[+R4D4R]

does the shock of bouncing off ruts and rocks on a trail have any adverse effects on a hard mounted GPS like these? i usually keep mine on the bungee cords on my hydropack, but its a PITA to stop every once in a while, remove the pack and see where i am. i wanted to get a bar/tube mount, but was worried about the shock protection

[+Airmapper]

I've used a "hard mount (RAM)" on my bike. I'm mostly on pavement, so vibration wasn't bad. I did notice enough vibration to make the screen difficult to see over rougher terrain. If your GPS allows you to make the number readouts large, they will be easier to see when moving. Other than that crashing would be my biggest consern, a lot of GPS units can cost more than the bike thier mounted on.

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

does the shock of bouncing off ruts and rocks on a trail have any adverse effects on a hard mounted GPS like these?  i usually keep mine on the bungee cords on my hydropack, but its a PITA to stop every once in a while, remove the pack and see where i am. i wanted to get a bar/tube mount, but was worried about the shock protection

I imagine that a few years of such abuse could damage a unit. I have an old eTrex Venture that has problems, but I think it was due to moisture, not biking. My wife and I each have handlebar mounted GPS units, with no known problems to date. We ride some pretty rough stuff. Crashes are worse IMHO.

 

Rich Owings

www.MakeYourOwnMaps.com

www.GPStracklog.com

 

"We were desert mystics, my friends and I, poring over our maps as others do their holy books." - Edward Abbey

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

I recently bought a Whistler GPS 200 and I have been curious about a bike mount and accessories in general and I have done some research that may help you with your question.

 

It appears to me that Whistler has discontinued it and exited the GPS business (I got a refurb unit on eBay though it came with a 90-day Whistler warranty and an option for a 3-year extended warranty for only $10 that I confirmed with the manufacturer), though they seem to support existing owners quite well. The Western US map CD was damaged and they sent me a new one right away, but it was basically the files put onto a CD-RW, I was pretty surprised about that (pleasantly about the speed of service, dismayed about how I got it, though it did work). Then I asked about accessories and was told to call 800-531-0004 (their consumer hotline) as the only accessory I have found elsewhere was the external antenna and was looking for a car adapter so I don't have to blow batteries when using it in the car. I have not called them as they are basically 9-5 M-F hours and it is hard for me to call them at work.

 

I discovered through some VERY long research that this unit is sold in Asia by a Taiwanese company called Holux (www.holux.com....to the US and Canada they strictly sell GPS receivers that only work with a laptop) and is called the Holux GM 100 (they are the actual makers of the device) and in Europe by a British/German company called Alan Electronics as the Alan Map 500 and Map 600 respectively (www.alan-uk.com).

 

Their sites seem to have some accessories available including a car mount that may work on a bike and possibly a phone number (though it will require paying for an international call) or email to contact them about this. One thing that interests me is that they have a European map for the map software (I downloaded their map software and it was almost exactly like the software that Whistler provides and was compatible with the Whistler US maps, so I'm imagining the Euro maps would work with the Whistler software (but I don't need it to the point of paying Alan $150 to find out); but I also found in a Google GPS forum that someone tinkered with loading the Alan firmware into a Whistler unit to update and "improve" it and it wouldn't turn on after that and Whistler support was nice enough to help him get the old firmware installed.

 

I hope that helps you. By the way, how is your Whistler unit? I am new to the GPS world and I'm not sure if it's performance is "normal" vs. a Garmin Etrex or other "low end" Garmin or Magellen unit or if I wasted my money. Lack of accessories aside, it seems to usually take 10 minutes to get it's first fix and if I use it in my car, it only keeps the lock if I have it pressed at a 45-deg angle against a window or with the external antenna magnetically pressed on the roof. When it does lock, it works extremely well though for a sub-$100 unit; the compass is quite accurate as are the maps and I'm finding near-WAAS accuracy in what I think is a non-WAAS unit. But if I suddenly accelerate or decelrate rapidly, it loses it's lock in a way similar to if I'm first turning on the unit where I have to stop and wait at least 5 minutes to get a new fix (it doesn't do this if I have the lock simply outdoors and suddenly walk or run or something, it pretty much keeps it then). My concern is that if I take it geocaching it will go into one of these 10-minute "lock losses" while I'm out in the woods or something, I don't mind waiting 10 minutes to initially get it started, but its frustrating to have to do that after it's supposedly "warm". Do you know if the firmware/OS upgrade on the Whistler site (which I just installed) helps with this any? Thanks.

[rgarza28]

I got a road bike and I use a homemade contraption thats basically a small platform tiewrapped to the handlebar stem and I velcro the gps unit to it. The platform does double duty to velcro a small radio and speakers to it when im not using the gps unit. It works well on my road bike but I'm not sure how it will hold up to a dirtbike.

[+mooreadventures]

hairymon -

 

My GPS 200 is working pretty well - in fact a little bit better now that I did the firmware update. This is my second unit - the first took 10 mins to acquire sats and calculate location, if at all. Whistler replaced it and said it had a weak antenna. The 2 biggest draw backs so far are the fast that it only shows degree/min/sec (not standard for geocaching) and the lack of converting loc files. I've tried several possibilities, but you can only upload from thier mapping program - if oyu haven't tried yet, you cannot copy the wrt file that is created to a mem card and expect the GPS unit to read it, the file has to be uploded in to the unit using the USB/Serial cable.

 

For a under $100 unit, I think I got my money's worth.

 

- Mark

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

Thanks, Mark. I noticed after the firmware upgrade that my unit performs better too....it's generally taking 1-3 minutes to acquire the satellites, and hasn't taken more than 5. Haven't tried it in a car (either with or without the external antenna) since the upgrade though, but you've made me feel confident that I can use it on geocaching.

 

By the way, I was able to double the download speed from 9600 to 19200 when directly connecting the unit to the PC. Still pretty slow (I've heard of others who just use a CF card reader to speed it up) but better. Couldn't get it to work any higher.

 

Do you know offhand, I know when you load a new set of maps you cannot access the old ones, but does it actually erase the old maps from the CF card? I just don't want to keep changing maps as I go and find out the card is "full" with unreadable stuff and have to get a reader just to erase it all. If you don't know I'll ask Whistler support, from what I've seen, I agree with you they're quite good, thanks.

[+mooreadventures]

hairymon

 

I download all of my maps using a CF card reader - I bought one the 8-n-1 readers and use it for my digital camera as well, so the only thing that I use the direct connect for is to transfer Waypoints.

 

I know that when you download a new waypoint file, it over writes the previous file - so i would assume the same for maps.

 

If I could just automate the process of adding waypoints - I would be happy.

[+doggity]

does the shock of bouncing off ruts and rocks on a trail have any adverse effects on a hard mounted GPS like these?  i usually keep mine on the bungee cords on my hydropack, but its a PITA to stop every once in a while, remove the pack and see where i am. i wanted to get a bar/tube mount, but was worried about the shock protection

I imagine that a few years of such abuse could damage a unit. I have an old eTrex Venture that has problems, but I think it was due to moisture, not biking. My wife and I each have handlebar mounted GPS units, with no known problems to date. We ride some pretty rough stuff. Crashes are worse IMHO.

Hi,

 

I used to do a lot of long distance motorycycling and adventure touring on my dual-sport motorcycle, and I would typically run two RAM mounted GPSrs on my bike (common practice among hard-core mileage hounds).

 

My travels took me thousands of rough miles off-pavement, from Labrador to Alaska, through large remote stretches of North America. The GPSrs seem to have been unaffected by weather and vibration, although I hear adjustable antennas can be a bit of a weak point over time.

 

One of my units was badly damaged in an accident with a car, however (screen was cracked) but I sent it to Garmin for repair and they replaced it.

 

doggity

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

Mark, I just wanted to let you know that the firmware did improve things in the car as well. With the external antenna, the acceleration/deceleration issue is no longer one, and I've more often than before been able to put it in my cup holder WITHOUT the external antenna and gotten it to work.

 

I'm thinking of looking for a dash mount for the unit if I find one I'll let you know.