Until now, Delta Cycle was known more for wall- and floor-mounted bicycle storage options, making it easy to rack your bike in the garage (or living room). Now, they’re making it just as easy to rack your phone to your handlebar.
We tested their new X-Pro and Holder models, which offer two completely different methods for securing your phone to your bicycle. Each has multiple options, with the X-Pro also offering a steerer tube spacer mount design that keeps the phone closer in.
If you’re looking for a quick, easy, and secure way to use your smartphone for navigation while riding, check these out…
Delta X-Mount Pro Handlebar Smartphone Mount
The Delta X-Mount Pro gets its name from the X-shaped silicone band that gives it a universal fit. We tested it with plus-sized iPhone 8 and X, both with a thicker case, and it fit and held just fine.
The straps come close to the buttons on either side of an iPhone, but don’t quite hit them if you position everything correctly. They’re firm, and maintain solid grip on the phone.
Yes, it’s a little weird sticking a $1,000 phone off the front of your bike on a lightweight alloy beam with stretchy bands holding it in place. But I rode it over potholes and big cracks in the street, through drain dips, and over any normal bump I could find in our downtown. The phone held steady and didn’t bounce or shift at all.
What makes the X-Mount Pro standout from other mounts is the included accessories and addition of an anti-rotation beam. First, the accessories:
Want to run a Garmin or Wahoo instead of your phone? No problem, just unbolt the phone mount and swap in one of the included GPS cycling computer mounts. With almost every brand of cycling head unit using either Garmin- or Wahoo-compatible mounting tabs, this mount should work with just about anything.
The actual mount comes in a just 42g, and Delta’s claimed weight with the anti-rotation beam is 50g. Quite light for such a big mount.
Fortunately, that lightweight didn’t make it flimsy. The T-shaped beam offered enough support to keep the phone steady. One thing we rarely see on any mounts is an anti-rotation system, but with so much weight out front, this one’s key.
Delta’s mount is slotted on the inside of the bar clamping area, and that slides over a plastic guide that bends to rest under the stem. The L-shaped protrusion rests against the bottom of the stem, and once you clamp the mount onto it, the slotted design prevents it from spinning on the bar. So, your phone won’t droop a little every time you hit a bump.
Retail is $59.99, available direct and on Amazon.
They also offer the X-Mount Pro Low Profile ($24.99, possibly less on Amazon) phone holder that slides over your steerer tube and gets locked into place with the headset’s top cap.
It has a slight rise angle, so won’t work for “comfort” stems that have an extreme angle. But for most normal stems with 12º or less, it should fit fine, especially if you have another spacer between it and the top of the stem.
I found that these, and the XL Holders below, captured the phones easily and held them well enough for commuting and running errands. I wouldn’t use them for more aggressive road, gravel, or mountain biking…but for casual riding, they worked great and I applaud the well-thought-out feature set and universal fit.
Delta Smartphone Holder XL
Available in normal and XL, these options are great for cruisers and other bicycles with bigger sweeping handlebars. Or older bikes with really narrow diameter handlebars. As long as you don’t have much else mounted to your bars…the XL is big, and takes up a lot of real estate.
The Phone Holders use a stretch cord to capture your phone, and the XL extends to fit plus-sized phones with a case on, up to 3.5″ wide. There’s also a Hefty+ Phone Holder for phones/cases up to 4.5″ wide. All of them surround the phone and should protect it from scratches (or worse) if you wreck.
Clever features like rubber pads on the corners keep your phone from rattling inside it, and ports on the bottom let the speakers blast through for clear sound.
Once your phone is inside, a patented cam lever locks it shut so there’s no way it would stretch open while riding. Honestly, I’m not sure how that would happen anyway, but this provides peace of mind that your phone will absolutely not bounce out no matter what.
The Phone Holder comes with a plastic top cap mount to replace your steerer tube’s cap if you prefer to have it centered over the stem. Otherwise, it clamps around your handlebar and secures with a bolt.
A second bolt allows for angle adjustment once installed, which is more useful than you’d think when you’re trying to get just the right position while also jockeying for space around everything else on the bar.
Retail ranges from $31.99 to $41.99 depending on size.
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