Bracketron’s Xventure line announced a slew of new mounts for action sports cameras in January, and we’ve been testing the Versa Handlebar Strap Mount for since then.
Using a zip-tie like closure to wrap around and grab any reasonably sized bar, the Versa opens up a new world of mounting positions with a fairly secure, stable design. Once attached to the frame, a ball-and-socket segment allows for 360º of rotation and anywhere from 80° to 90° of bend. On the end of that is a 1/4-twenty threaded camera mount, letting it work with any small point and shoot and a variety of dedicated action sports video cams. For GoPro, you’ll need that brand’s adapter, which is what I’ve tested with.
The nubs on the bezel that tightens the ball-and-socket aren’t very tall or grippy, but I was able to get it tight enough by hand to prevent major movement. Over really rough terrain, it’d swivel a little, but I presume an adjustable wrench with light pressure would help lock it into place. Just not so much pressure that it’d crack the plastic.
Considering the position I had it in for the Cane Creek DB Inline launch, a small amount of movement didn’t upset me:
The Versa kept the camera steady, preventing jarring movements and blur that makes so many videos unwatchable. Check the video shot at Cane Creek here.
The ratcheted strap cinches down tight easily, but a good final tug helps ensure stability. The plastic strap is a bit firm (probably good, making it more durable), which means it takes some effort to make it conform to less-than-round tubes. As evident from the pics here, there’s enough strap to fit tubes a little thicker than a 31.8 handlebar, but there’s little chance it’ll fit most modern carbon-bike downtubes. The strap’s thickness combined with the platform’s footprint means it’s also unlikely to fit well on thinner stays. That still leaves plenty of creative uses, though, along with the usual suspects – handlebars and seatposts.
My one complaint is the rubber anti-slip panel on the bottom of the platform. After a couple uses, the glue came loose and it was sliding around. I moved it back into position, but the glue continues to lose its hold. That said, apparently they’ve already reworked the design:
This is the latest version shown on their website, which adds grippers/spacers on the strap, a more knurled ball joint screw and lower profile mount. The strap also switches to side mounted edges and release buttons. I’m not sure which I like better, but I’m leaning toward the one I have.
Retail is just $19.95, a small ask to add some unique angles to your footage. They also offer a clamp on style for $24.95 that would have a more secure base for those only wanting to mount to the handlebar. Or plenty of other mount options on their website:
